Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The poet is the narrator, and the poem is written in the first-person point of view.
Form and Meter
Blank verse poem
Metaphors and Similes
God is compared to moral goodness, safety and strength.
Alliteration and Assonance
“Is sing the sofa” – repetition of /s/
Irony
The irony of the sofa is evident in the poem because despite being a stationary object, it inspires the poet to write about mundane.
Genre
Lyrical poetry
Setting
The poem is set in winter when the poet and everyone else are sitting inside their warm houses.
Tone
Satirical, sarcastic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is the poet
Major Conflict
The major conflict is when the poet reminds readers that beauty is temporal and needs to observe sanity and good morals. The poet writes: "Prospects, however, lovely may be seen Till half their beauties fade; the weary-sight…."
Climax
The poem reaches a climax when the poet uses a satirical tone to imply the need to be happy despite whatever circumstance. The poet says, "Delight us, happy to renounce a while…."
Foreshadowing
The line, "Who calls gay?" foreshadows the cultural discussion on morality.
Understatement
There is no specific example of understatement.
Allusions
“Of day-spring overshoot his humble nest.”
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The poet uses nature as a metonymy to express the mysteriousness of God’s authority.
Personification
Flash desperation
Hyperbole
N/A
Onomatopoeia
'No smartness in jest, and wonders why."