Hey there!
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<h3>Poem analytics:</h3>
- The poem is free verse.
- There is some rhyme.
- Refrain uses a A-B-A meter (all other stanzas are repeated).
- Written in third-person.
- Written by Maya Angelou
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<h3>Metaphors:</h3>
Definition - Refers one thing directly while mentioning another thing.
"To cure their hearts of stone" - The rich are isolated and do not have that feeling of human emotion, which is why doctors can't cure them.
"And bread loaf is not stone" - She lacks nourishment spiritually.
"Where water is not thirsty" - Biblical reference to which she is lacking nourishment spiritually.
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<h3>Similes:</h3>
Definition - Compares two things with words "like" and "as".
"Their wives run round like banshees" - Related to Irish folklore, the wives souls are dying because money can't buy happiness.
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<h3>Alliteration:</h3>
Definition - Repetitive or identical consonant sounds.
"Nobody, but nobody" - The "n" (consonant), gives emphasis on how negative and empty the word is.
"Now if you listen closely" - The "s" (consonant), is repeated.
"Where water is not thirsty" - The "w" (consonant), is repeated.
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<h3>Assonance:</h3>
Definition - Identical sounds/syllables.
"Lying, thinking" - Repetition of "-ing" creates emphasis on the "i" sound.
"And I don't believe I'm wrong" - Repetition of "i".
"Alone, all alone" - Repetition of "a".
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<h3>Hyperbole:</h3>
Definition -Statements that are not supposed to be taken seriously.
"And I can hear the moan" - She hears people complain about their suffering but she doesn't hear the entire world complain.
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<h2>Personification:</h2>
Definition - Something inhuman is given human like attributes.
"Water is thirsty" - Water is not living but it has been given a human like attribute.
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<h3>
Metonymy:</h3>
Definition - It is figurative language that no one really knows about. It means that the name of something is referred to the name of something that is closely related with that concept or thing.
"How to find my soul a home" - The home the author is referring to is not a physical place but a spiritual place. In other words, the speaker wants to be part of a group that is connected spiritually and religiously. The speaker wants to find her soul some peace and the solidarity human beings receive is the kind of home she is looking for (a world that comes together peacefully).
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Best of Luck|
