Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The poem “October 1” is told from the perspective of a third person objective point of view.
Form and Meter
“The Alphabet” is written in free verse and as such it does not have a fixed form and meter.
Metaphors and Similes
The main metaphor used in the poem “Americans are Afraid of Lizards” is the lizard which is mentioned in various instances. The lizard always produces fear in the heart of the American while the other people seeing the lizard are unaffected by its presence. Because of this, the lizard is used as a metaphor for all those elements which may induce fear in a person.
Alliteration and Assonance
We have an alliteration in the line “You go with me, You are a distant tree” in the poem “151st Psalm”.
Irony
We find an irony in the poem “Aside” when the narrator claims happiness can only be found through extreme pain and suffering.
Genre
The poem “October 1” is a meditative poem.
Setting
The action in the poem “Americans are Afraid of Lizards” takes place inside the home of an American during the duration of a day.
Tone
The tone in “151st Psalm” is a joyous one.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist in “Americans are Afraid of Lizards” is the servant woman who saves the lizard and the antagonist is the American who calls for the servant to kill the lizard.
Major Conflict
The main conflict in “Aside” is between the present and the desire for eternity.
Climax
The poem “The Alphabet” reaches its climax when the narrator urges his readers to turn to Christianity as the true religion.
Foreshadowing
N/A
Understatement
In the beginning of the poem “Aside”, the narrator claims the poem is about the present. This is however revealed to be an understatement as the narrator focuses more on the past and on the future than on the present time.
Allusions
In the poem “The Alphabet”, the narrator mentions different religions which existed in the past and some which exist even today. As the narrator describes these religions, he mentions how they are empty and have no real value. This direct criticism can be seen as an allusion towards the idea that Christianity is the true religion everyone must turn to.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“You” in the poem “151st Psalm” is a pronoun used in a general way to refer to every reader which may one day read the poem in question.
Personification
The line “The letters as strict as flames” contains a personification. The line appears in the line “The Alphabet”.
Hyperbole
We have hyperbole in the lines “And all that is dear to the personal conscious reaches /Around us again like filings around iron magnets,” in the poem “Aside”.
Onomatopoeia
The line “wooden shoes echoed across the block” contains onomatopoeia. The line appears in the poem “October 1”.