Student Question
How do literary devices like allusion and metaphor persuade a reader of a statement?
Quick answer:
Literary devices like allusion and metaphor persuade readers by relying on their prior knowledge and experiences. For example, allusions evoke cultural or historical contexts, while metaphors draw on familiar imagery or concepts. Analyzing these devices involves identifying them and assessing their contextual clues, such as irony or figurative language, to understand their persuasive power. If these devices align with the reader's understanding or experience, they can effectively convey meaning and persuade.
The effectiveness of literary, or stylistic, devices like metaphor and
allusion depends upon knowledge the reader brings to reading the text. If my
Greek mythology is weak, a Classical allusion to Scylla and Nisus will persuade
me of nothing, only confuse and distract me. Similarly, the metaphor "her
presence was a Himalayan breeze" will persuade me of nothing unless I know
geography and the climate and air quality in the Himalayas. So let us assume
readers are knowledgeable about these and human experience, which is what
personification depends upon.
The following excerpt from Pope’s The Rape of the Lock contains
Classical allusion and can be examined to see how
analysis shows how a reader might be persuaded by it.
Clarissa drew with tempting Grace
A two-edg'd Weapon from her shining Case;
So Ladies in Romance assist their Knight,
Present the Spear, and arm him for the Fight.
He takes the...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
Gift with rev'rence, (Canto III)
Pope employs chivalric allusion to the era of knights and chivalry. The
allusions are "drew ... a two-edged Weapon from her ... Case," "in Romance
assist their Knight," "present the spear," "arm him for the Fight," and "takes
the gift with reverence."
The first step to analyzing this for persuasion is to
identify the allusions. If readers were to take these
phrases literally, they'd be very confused. They'd picture a knight in shinning
armor in the middle of a parlor in 1712 amidst boisterously
dressed women with enormous skirts: a most incongruous image. They would also
envision a petticoat clad woman draw a weapon from her "Case," as though she
too were a warrior.
Therefore, the second step to analyzing whether this allusion
is persuasive is to determine if there are textual
clues to alert the reader to the presence and meaning of the
allusions.
One clue is that the whole context is satirically humorous and ironic. At no
point is anything to be taken for what it literally says. Everything has an
unstated figurative meaning. Another clue is the vocabulary that tells readers
Pope is being satirical and ironic: e.g., "tempting Grace," these words
contradict each other, setting up irony; "her shinning Case," a warrior lady
might have a polished scabbard but not a "shinning Case"; "So Ladies in Romance
assist" indicates a mock portrayal of what ladies of old did. This analysis
indicates that--since the whole tends to figurative language and meaning
underlying irony and satire--the mention of Knights and shinning Cases is also
figurative and hence an allusion to a time of old.
Analysis for things like metaphor would follow the same procedure by examining
the text for diction, vocabulary, irony, tone, mood (the same as atmosphere),
other figurative language as well as illustration of statements and imagery.
If, for example, our Himalayan metaphor were followed by "cool" and "fresh" or
by the comparative simile "as welcome as air to a bird," which illustrate
through vocabulary and imagery, then you may determine the metaphor to be
persuasive to readers.
Devices like personification and imagery
depend upon life experience instead of knowledge. The third step in
analysis to show if these devices persuade readers is to evaluate
whether they are true to humanexperience. For example, the personification, "the
plaster wall reeled joyfully," might be judged not in keeping with human
experience, therefore not persuasive. These are steps in analyzing literary, or
stylistic, devices for if they persuade readers.