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Mary Shelley Use Of Figurative Language Essay

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Even with little to no figurative language within the poem itself, much more is left to be said for the scattered puzzle pieces that allow the poem to relate to one another and flow harmoniously. Towards the beginning, the phrase “where loud waves are dumb”, the waves are being personified in order to fit what Percy had aforementioned, which was “river-girt islands”; in turn, its meaning is that of circular river island, hence why Percy called it dumb: due to the fact that the water only ever flowed in a circular pattern and no other; only obedience and compliance, like a mindless minion (Shelley, line 4). Another clue is the reference to Mary Shelley’s Midas, “. . . were as silent as ever old Tmolus”, which was used as a simile to point out the fact that everything was as silent as the old judge, who criticized the singing completion between Apollo and Pan, while they were avidly attentive (Shelley, line 11). One more similar inkling is found in the final sentence of the poem, “If envy or age had not frozen your blood, …show more content…

The opening immediately sets the reader at a starting slate, with “forests and highlands” as the kick off visual for the poem (Shelley, line 1). Following this description, Shelley goes on to describe all who are there, heeding Pan’s song as he sings (“winds in the reeds . . . lizards below in the grass” is one of multiple verses that contains these descriptive qualities) (Shelley, lines 6 – 11). They rapidly piece together in a rushing crescendo to bombard the reader with images as they scan along the poem, to absorb and envision the full impression of the work. Another ideal example is the second to final verse, which paints a picture of a universal image; the comparisons between life and death, heaven and hell and such as those (“. . . And Heaven . . . I pursu’d a maiden and clasp’d a reed” goes further on to list these comprehensive topics) (Shelley, lines 27 –

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