The Poems of Aemilia Lanyer Literary Elements

The Poems of Aemilia Lanyer Literary Elements

Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View

"Salve Deus Rex Judæorum" is told from the perspective of a third-person objective point of view.

Form and Meter

"To the Doubtfull Reader" is written in a heroic couplet form.

Metaphors and Similes

The term "faith" is used in most of the poems in a metaphorical way to make reference to the possibility women have to be powerful and to stand on their own feet and be independent.

Alliteration and Assonance

The line "And crown'd with everlasting Sov'raigntie" in the poem "Salve Deus Rex Judæorum" contains an alliteration.

Irony

One of the most ironic elements in the poems is the way in which the narrator continues to claim women do not need men in their lives and how she still urges her female readers to remain faithful, loyal and to listen to their husbands.

Genre

"Salve Deus Rex Judæorum" is a religious poem.

Setting

The action in "To the Doubtfull Reader" takes place inside the narrator's own home and inside her room.

Tone

The tone used in "Salve Deus Rex Judæorum" is a praising one.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The protagonist in "To the Queenes Most Excellent Majestie" is the queen and the antagonist is the unknown person who does not believe the queen is able to rule the country effectively.

Major Conflict

The major conflict in "The Description of Cooke-ham: is an internal one and is between the narrator's desire to move forward and the need to feel safe and protected.

Climax

The poem "To the Vertuous Reader" reaches its climax when the narrator claims women do not need men in their lives to give them value.

Foreshadowing

N/A

Understatement

In the beginning of the poem "Salve Deus Rex Judæorum", the narrator claims nothing will happen to the main character of the poem, Jesus Christ. This is, however, an understatement because, at the end of the poem, Christ is killed.

Allusions

One main allusion found in almost every poem is the idea that women are not equal to the men in their lives. This point of view is used in the poems to argue that this is the main reason why women are unable to rise to their full potential.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

The term "letter" is used in the poem "To the Queenes Most Excellent Majestie" as a general term to represent a person's adoration for a public figure.

Personification

The line "the streets urged me on" in the poem "The Description of Cooke-ham" contains a personification.

Hyperbole

We have a hyperbole in the line "She's as old as the hills" in the poem "Salve Deus Rex Judæorum".

Onomatopoeia

We find an onomatopoeia in the line "The books fell on the table with a loud thump" in the poem "To the Queenes Most Excellent Majestie".

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