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What are the poetic devices used in the poem The Burning Babe?

What are the poetic devices used in the poem The Burning Babe?
English PoetryRobert SouthwellThe Burning Babe

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    2. Radhika
      Best Answer

      • Imagery- Imagery is the use of vivid and descriptive language that appeals to the senses, creating a mental image for the reader. It can be seen in the linen “A pretty Babe all burning bright did in the air appear;/ Who, scorched with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed”

      • Paradox- Paradox is a statement or situation that appears contradictory but reveals a deeper truth. The burning babe, an infant emitting heat, yet shedding tears, embodies a paradoxical image.

      • Metaphor- Metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unrelated things, suggesting that they are alike. It can be seen in the line, “My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns.”

      • Personification- Personification is giving human qualities to non-human entities or abstract concepts. The notions of Justice and Mercy are personified in the poem.

      • Enjabment- Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, stanza, or couplet. It is used in the poem.

      • Symbolism- Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities beyond their literal meaning. The burning babe symbolizes Christ, and the furnace represents the transformative process of spiritual purification.

      • Alliteration- Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of adjacent or closely positioned words. It can be seen in phrases lile, “burning babe”, “…in fiery heats I fry,”, etc.

      • Allusion- Allusion is the reference to another work of literature, person, or event, often with symbolic significance. Allusions to biblical concepts and narratives, such as the nativity and the use of thorns as fuel, contribute to the poem’s depth.

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