Gerard Manley Hopkins, selected poems Contents
Figures of speech in The Wreck of the Deutschland
Metaphor and personification
The main figure of speech is the metaphor. Similes are rarely used, perhaps we could say, never.
Personification is used of death (11); hope (15) and heart (18). A specific type of personification is anthropomorphism, in which God is given human characteristics, e.g. ‘thy finger' (1); ‘frown of his face' (3); ‘fondler' (9); ‘feathers' (12).
Other figures of speech
Less used figures are:
- metonymy (e.g. ‘maiden's knee' (7) representing her maternal love)
- synecdoche ‘telling of tongue' (9) (part of the anatomy to represent the whole of the speech act)
- oxymoron (e.g. ‘winter and warm' (two opposite concepts put together as if the same)).
- apostrophe, or a direct address to someone or something, occurs in the apostrophe to his heart (18).
Investigating figures of speech in The Wreck of the Deutschland
- What effect does Hopkins achieve by using metaphors to the exclusion of similes?
An image or form of comparison where one thing is said actually to be another - e.g. 'fleecy clouds'.
An image where one thing is said to be 'as' or 'like' another: e.g. 'He jumped up like a jack-in-the-box'.
A figure of speech where a non-person, for example an animal, the weather, or some inanimate object, is described as if it were a person, being given human qualities.
The use of language applicable to human beings in speaking of God.
Figure of speech, wherein a certain quality of a thing or a person is used to represent it entirely
A figure of speech, where some part of an object is taken to represent it all.
A Figure of speech in which two apparently opposite words or ideas are put together as if they were in agreement.
1. A turning aside to address someone directly in a poem.
2. The sign ( ' ) used to indicate the omission of one or more letters or to denote possession in a noun.
Related material
Scan and go
Scan on your mobile for direct link.