Student Question
What poetic device do "tinkle" and "clanging" illustrate in Poe's "The Bells"?
Quick answer:
In "The Bells," the words "tinkle" and "clanging" illustrate the poetic device of onomatopoeia, where words mimic the sounds they describe. Edgar Allan Poe uses these and other onomatopoeic words, such as "tintinnabulation," "jingling," "shriek," "roar," "twanging," and "groan," to convey the various sounds of ringing bells, enhancing the auditory imagery in the poem.
The words tinkle and clanging are examples of onomatopoeia, meaning that the words "sound" like what they mean.
In "The Bells," Edgar Alan Poe uses these and many other onomatopoeic words to describe the different sounds that ringing bells make.
Some of the other words in this poem that mimic the sound of bells are:
*tintinnabulation
*jingling
*shriek
*roar
*twanging
*groan
The Online Etymologic Dictionary (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php) identifies all of these words as being of "imitative" origin, meaning that they are attempts to imitate a sound; in other words, they are examples of onomatopoeia.
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