Stephen Crane: Selected Poems Literary Elements

Stephen Crane: Selected Poems Literary Elements

Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View

The poems are usually written from the perspective of an omniscient narrator.

Form and Meter

Many of Crane's poems are written in free verse.

Metaphors and Similes

"I saw a man pursuing the horizon" is a metaphor for self-delusion.

Alliteration and Assonance

"Born to drill and die," is an example of alliteration from the poem "War is Kind."

Irony

In "I saw a man pursuing the horizon," the man is ironically pursuing something he will never reach.

Genre

Poetry

Setting

The poems all have different settings. For example, the poem "Behold, the grave of a wicked man" is set in a graveyard.

Tone

Crane's poetry is often satirical in tone.

Protagonist and Antagonist

In "War is Kind," the maiden is the protagonist, while war is the antagonist.

Major Conflict

In the satifical poem "war is kind," the main conflict is between one's emotional reaction to war, and the advocation of war by leaders and society.

Climax

The climax of the poem "A Man Said to the Universe," is when the universe responds that he is indifferent to the affairs of humanity.

Foreshadowing

The first line of "War is Kind," foreshadows the emotional content of the poem.

Understatement

Crane often argues in his poetry that people understate the importance of their own moral compass and their emotional reactions to things. This idea is prominent in "Behold, the grave of a wicked man" in particular.

Allusions

In "the impact of a dollar upon the heart," Crane alludes to the "yawning emblems of Persia."

Metonymy and Synecdoche

"The Universe," is used as a metonym for nature as a whole, including the idea of fate.

Personification

The universe is personified in "A Man Said to the Universe."

Hyperbole

N/A

Onomatopoeia

N/A

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