What are the poetic devices used in the poem Before The Birth of One of Her Children?

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Radhika · Accepted Answer · 2023-08-21T21:41:51+05:30

Metaphor: The poem employs metaphorical language to create vivid comparisons and convey deeper meanings. For example, the speaker compares her body to a “cradle” and her unborn child to a “bud” in the following lines: “My rambling brat (in print) should mother call, / I cast thee by as one unfit for light, / Thy visage was so irksome in my sight, / Yet being mine own, at length affection would / Thy blemishes amend, if so I could. / I washed thy face, but more defects I saw, / And rubbing off a spot still made a flaw.”

Personification: The poem employs personification, attributing human characteristics to non-human entities. For instance, the speaker personifies her poem as a child by referring to it as a “rambling brat” and using maternal language to describe her relationship with it.

Apostrophe: The poem uses apostrophe, addressing an absent or abstract entity directly. In this case, the speaker addresses her unborn child throughout the poem, engaging in a conversation with the child before its birth.

Imagery: Bradstreet utilizes vivid and sensory imagery to create visual and emotional impressions. For example, in the lines, “But when I saw thee stamping, struggling, striving, / As if to rise above that sphere thou’rt in,” the reader can imagine the child’s movements and sense the speaker’s emotional response.

Hyperbole: The poem employs hyperbole, exaggerating for emphasis or dramatic effect. In the lines, “I washed thy face, but more defects I saw, / And rubbing off a spot still made a flaw,” the speaker exaggerates the flaws she perceives in her unborn child’s appearance.

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