RHyme:
Jerk, Irk, Perk, Cork, Park, Gawk, Dork, Quirk, Mark
Keen, Lean, Mustn't |
Rhyme is the repetition of identical or similar concluding syllables in different words. Specifically though, Duffy choses to use Masculine Rhyme, the rhyming of single syllable words and Half Rhyme, rhyme in which the vowel sounds are nearly but not exactly the same. By using rhyme in the poem, it makes it sound like a nursery rhyme. It gives the poem a lighter feeling, even though the situation is quite deep and serious.
At the beginning of the two lines, there is repetition with the words "keen" and "lean". It connects the two lines together to show that they are correlated with each other. Mustn't is also used as repetition to bring the that quatrain together. |
Assonance:
...but now it incenses me...
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Assonance is the repetition of the sound of a vowel or diphthong in nonrhyming stressed syllables. The word incenses stresses the "s/c" sound and it helps to convey the emotions of the speaker, Mrs. Sisyphus. The harsh consonant sounds violent and it shows that she is feeling deep anger and frustration towards her husband.
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Onomatopoeia:
He might as well bark
What use is a perk, I shriek, when you haven't time to pop open a cork |
Onomatopoeia is the formation of a word from a sound associated with what it is named. Duffy uses the words bark, shriek, and pop in the poem. When read, these words sound like the actions Mrs. Sisyphus is taking. It creates a vivid image and sound within the readers mind.
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Alliteration:
Folk flock from miles around just to gawk.
A load of old bollocks is nearer the mark. |
Alliteration is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. The phrases folk flock and load of old bollocks, add to the nursery rhyme effect due to their similar sounding consents as well as their same, elongated vowel sounds.
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