How to use the poetic devices

Pope 1 How to use the poetic devices: Allusion, Apostrophe, and Cliché An allusion is a generally brief implied or indirect reference to a person, place, thing, event, or other literary work, that the reader has supposedly seen or heard of in the past. References that can be made include history, legends, myths, religious books like the Bible, books, poems, and pop culture. The poet uses this device to condense a lot of meaning into a single word or phrase, which causes the reader to think deeper and relate better to what they are reading. The origin of the word allusion comes from the Latin allusio which means "play on words" or "game." Allusio derives from Latin alludere which means "to play around" or "to refer to in a mocking way." Now it has become more of a respectful reference than a mocking one, but the main idea remains the same. An allusion lets the reader into a kind of inside joke where if the reader can make the connection to the reference, they can understand the text on a deeper level. Allusions are used often to make the text more enjoyable to the reader and to make reference to literary works the poet finds joy in or to accredit other authors that may inspire them. An example of an allusion is used by Robert Frost can be found in “Nothing gold can stay” which he creates in 1923, “Then leaf subsides to leaf./So Eden sank to grief,/So dawn goes down to day./Nothing gold can stay.” Robert Frost references the Bible when mentioning Eden the garden where Adam and Eve once lived. He uses this reference to prove more on his point of “nothing gold can stay,” because Eden is the epitome of paradise and even it fell with time. Another example of an allusion is used by Harper Lee is found in “To Kill a Mockingbird” which she creates in 1960, “Are we poor, Atticus?" Atticus nodded. "We are indeed." Jem's nose wrinkled. "Are we as poor as the Cunninghams?" "Not exactly. The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them hardest."” Harper Lee references the Stock Market Crash of 1929 with “the crash” which lead to the Great Depression in the 1930s. She references history that the characters live through and that she experiences as a child. She shows that “the crash” even though it was mentioned briefly had a large impact on the town the characters live in. Another example of an allusion is used by Emily Dickinson in “All Overgrown by Cunning Moss” which she creates in 1959, “All overgrown by cunning moss,/All interspersed with weed,/The little cage of "Currer Bell"/In quiet "Haworth" laid.” Emily Dickinson references the English author Charlotte Brontë because she mentions “Currer Bell” Charlotte’s pen name and “Haworth” the town that Charlotte is buried in. This poem is written as a kind of tribute to Charlotte Brontë who influences Emily Dickinson greatly. Another example of an allusion is “Public speaking has always been her kryptonite.” This sentence alludes to Superman a comic book superhero who has only one weakness a rock named kryptonite. This means she is great at many other things however her only weakness or downfall is public speaking. Another example of an allusion is “He produced a Cheshire Cat smile at the thought.” This sentence alludes to the Cheshire Cat a character from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carrol which he creates in 1865. The Cheshire Cat is mad, mischievous, and unpredictable sometimes aiding Alice and other times hindering her through her journey in Wonderland. This means the boy is thinking about something either insane, terrible, or unpredictable idea that is extremely difficult to guess easily. Another example of an allusion is “Charlie was as obsessed with Christmas as Captain Ahab is with Moby Dick.” This sentence alludes to Moby Dick by Herman Melville which he creates in 1851. Captain Ahab the protagonist of the story is obsessed with finding and destroying the whale, Moby Dick. This is because the whale causes Captain Ahab to lose his leg. This means that Charlie is so obsessed with Christmas that he’d dedicate his life to it no matter how ridiculous it may be. In short, allusions can be utilised in many ways one just has to think about subjects they enjoy in other literature and make reference to them in a piece of writing. Pope 2 An apostrophe is a phrase or speech made by a character that addresses either a dead or absent person, or an inanimate object or even an abstract idea. This is used to direct the reader’s attention to the thing being addressed and note the importance it has to the character. It also lets the character express their inner most thoughts to something that won’t respond. Therefore, the character must feel greatly about this entity because they choose to address it out loud, which many do not do in everyday life if they know the entity won’t respond. The entity the character is addressing will be capitalized and sometimes it follows an ‘O’ or ‘Oh’ for a more Shakespearian effect. The word apostrophe originates from the Greek verb apostrephein, which means “to turn away.” And changes passing through the language of Latin then to English. The verb strephein, meaning “to turn” in Greek, is found often in other words that relate to the art of rhetoric, which is exactly the art of apostrophe. An example of apostrophe is by Jane Taylor in “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” which she creates in 1806, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star / How I wonder what you are.” Jane Taylor uses apostrophe by addressing a star which is an inanimate object as if it were a person. Another example of apostrophe is by Tennessee Williams in, “The Glass Menagerie” which he creates in 1944, “Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!/I reach for a cigarette, I cross the street, I run into the movies or a bar, I buy a drink, I speak to/the nearest stranger -anything that can blow your candles out!/ – for nowadays the world is lit by lightning! Blow out your candles, Laura – and so good-bye.” Tennessee Williams uses apostrophe because he writes from the perspective of Tom Wingfield who leaves his home as well as his mother and sister Laura. Tom addresses the absent Laura as if she were there because even though he’s left he still thinks of her a lot and misses her dearly. Another example of apostrophe is by Walt Whitman in “O Captain! My Captain!” which he creates in 1865, “O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,/The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,/The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,/While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;/But O heart! heart! Heart!/O the bleeding drops of red,/ Where on the deck my Captain lies,/Fallen cold and dead.” Walt Whitman uses apostrophe when addressing, “O Captain! My Captain!” which is referring to Abraham Lincoln who has recently died then. So, Walt Whitman is addressing a dead figure. Another example of apostrophe is “Grandma, how I wish you were still here to guide me through life.” Grandma is capitalized which shows she is being addressed by the character. Grandma is a dead person being addressed in this scenario. Grandma is not really there, therefore she can not respond. The character is just so sad that she’s gone that it comforts them to speak to her anyway. Another example of apostrophe is “O World, why do you like to make my life miserable?” The word world is capitalized which shows it is the inanimate object the character addresses. The world is not actually making their life miserable they just feel that they have to blame their misery on something other than themselves to make them feel better. Another example of apostrophe is “Luck, thank you for always being on my side.” The word luck is capitalized which shows it is the abstraction being addressed by the character. Luck is not actually working behind the scenes to make this person’s life always work out, but they feel that there must be a reason for why they are doing so well. Therefore, they believe they should be grateful to something, so they choose to thank luck. In closing apostrophe is used to address an entity that is either dead or absent or an inanimate object or abstraction and is used to show the importance of said entity to the character addressing it. A cliché is phrase or statement that is overused and doesn’t involve an original idea; therefore, it is boring and commonplace. Cliché originates from the French verb clicher which means "to produce in stereotype." A stereotype in 19th century France is a printing plate that is used to create many versions of the same design. While using a stereotype, it makes a "clicking" sound. This created the onomatopoeia word of cliché. An example of cliché in literature is by Geoffrey Chaucer from “The Canterbury Tales: The Yeoman's Tale” which he creates in 1386, “Better late than never.” This means that it is better to do something after it was supposed to be finished than to never do it at all. This is now a cliché because one Pope 3 uses it often when describing things, they’ve accomplished after the fact. Another example of cliché is by Shakespeare from “The Merchant of Venice” which he creates in 1605, “Love is blind.” This means one’s love for others can conceal reality. This is now a cliché because one uses it often when describing relationships sometimes unhealthy with others. Another example of cliché is by Margaret Mitchell from “Gone with the wind” she creates this in 1940, “Tomorrow is another day.” This means tomorrow brings a new opportunity to solve the problems effecting one today. This is a cliché because one uses it often to comfort others when they experience a bad day. Another example of cliché is, “It’s raining cats and dogs.” It’s a phrase used when it is raining or storming. Which is created because of the huge rainfall in the 1710 that is so bad that it flooded and brought dead animals to the land. This is a cliché because it is overused when one describes a downpour of rain. Another example of cliché is, “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.” This means one is so hungry one is comparing their level of hunger to so much so they could consume a horse. This example is used often when one is hungry. Another example of cliché is, “And they all lived happily ever after.” This is used often at the end of stories, fairy tales, or even legends. This is a cliché because it is overused when one tries to end a story quickly and without originality. To recap a cliché is a phrase or statement that’s used so repetitively that it shows lack of new ideas and consequently clichés are unstimulating and tedious to read. Work cited Allen, Shundalyn. “Everything You Want to Know about Poetic Apostrophe.” Everything You Want to Know About Poetic Apostrophe | Grammarly Blog, Grammarly Blog, 13 May 2019, https://www.grammarly.com/blog/apostrophe-poetry/. Pope 4 ALTA Language Services. “The Etymology of Clichés.” ALTA Language Services, ALTA Language Services, 18 Feb. 2021, https://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/etymology-of-cliches/#:~:text=The%20word %20%E2%80%9Cclich%C3%A9%E2%80%9D%20is%20a,the%20onomatopoeic%20word %20%E2%80%9Cclich%C3%A9.%E2%80%9D. 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