POETIC DEVICES IN THE POEM 'ONCE UPON A TIME '

                                

     

                                                             ONCE UPON A TIME 

                                                                                  -Gabrial okara 

POETIC DEVICES  

              One of the poetic devices used is Metaphor. The poet says that people’s eyes are as cold as ice. This means that there is no warmth or real feeling in the words that they say, or how they behave. This metaphor literally allows one's visualize a block of ice, cold and unwelcoming.

            The use of Simile is reflected in several areas. The poet compares people’s faces to smiles in a portrait. If you think about a portrait, it is usually very formal and stiff, even uncomfortable. Therefore, the implication is that the smiles are actually fake and stiff. They are conforming or trying to fit, to a preconceived mold that is set up by societal expectations. The poet compares the persona’s laugh to snakes’. When you think of a snake, words such as sneaky and deceitful come to mind. Therefore, the implication is that the persona is false just like the people he despises.