Essay Sample on Literary Devices and Styles

Question 1: Unities of Play

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Unities of action, time and place in drama refers to the three principles that are derived from the French classicist Aristotle. In her play, Susan Glaspell meets these credentials by ensuring a single action to take place within a specific place and day. To develop the plot and the intended theme, Susan ensures that the play exists in a single space at a time. Besides, the coverage does not take more than 24 hours. This allows the actions to be within the three unities defined by Aristotle.

Question 2: Idealism and Disillusionment

Idealism and Disillusionment are two concepts that are widely used in poetry and plays. As demonstrated in the play "Trifles," idealism and disillusionment meet when the greatest evolutionary tension takes place. The poem "Annabel Lee" also demonstrates the discrepancy where realism takes an interest in national issues as opposed to humanistic issues such as human feelings like joy. In this regard, it can be deduced from the poem and the play that realism is concerned with national issues like security while disillusionment is concerned with overall human feelings.

Question 3: Tragic Character

Just as demonstrated in Dead Man's Path, Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart presents Okonkwo as a tragic character. It should be noted that a tragic character, as defined by Aristotle, is a character of noble nature and has tragic flaws who discovers fate through his/her actions. As shown by Okonkwo, he has a tragic flaw which is the fear of failure and weaknesses. Although this fear makes him work hard, it causes his numerous problems. As explained by Aristotle about a tragic hero, Okonkwo realizes his tragic fate due to the impulsive murder making him fall from his grace.

Question 4: Female Gothic

Charlotte Gilman illustrated a gothic tale of repression as well as freedom through intricate symbolism. She demonstrates this by giving an account of a woman being driven to madness. She further shows the feminist connotations through symbolism. For example, the wallpaper which is central to the story illustrates the hidden self as well as the eventual damnation through obsession. Such an illustration can be compared to the work by Ellen Moers. In her text, Literary Women, Moers demonstrates how Shelley transformed the matters of incest and patricide into the phantasmagoria. Through this, the character brings out feminine anxieties to the gothic.

Question 5: Poetry Expression

In his poem, Facing It, Komunyakaa describes the ambivalent emotions he had during the Vietnam War. As a veteran, he reflects on his experiences regarding conflicting feelings, especially about racism. Komunyakaa uses figurative language such as "black face fades" to reflect the roles of the African Americans. Also, he expresses, "I'm a window," a metaphor that shows self-perception. Although he doesn't see the speaker, the visual image, as well as metaphoric language full of symbolism, expresses his story.

Question 6: Imagery and Word Choice

Wallace Steven and Dylan Thomas illustrate death through imagery and symbolism differently. Thomas uses the unusual metaphor "forked no lighting" to command attention about the menace. This is demonstrated in his address to his father in the second person thereby using an imperative mood. On the other hand, Wallace illustrates death through images of funerals and corpses as well as the use of wormy metaphors. In this regard, it can be established while Thomas mainly uses figurative language, Wallace uses symbolism to depict the theme of death.

Question 7: Individual Uncertainty

Individual uncertainty is widely utilized by many authors to create suspense in stories. "The Yellow Wallpaper," just like the "Medusa," a poem by Bogan illustrates individual uncertainty. In the short story, Gilman creates a story of a suffering woman and makes the reader believe she is anorexic. The woman seems to be communicating with her husband before she is obsessed with the wallpaper. This makes the reader believe that the woman is mentally ill and hence some of her views do not make sense. In this regard, the reader is left wondering what the end would be for the woman.

Question 8: Romantic Language

Edgar Poe and William Yeats make use of romantic language in poetry successfully hence being regarded as some of the greatest romanticisms in poetry. Both writers use personification to create a romantic cliche for the inversions towards love and women. Poe reflects in his life through his imagination to illustrate the problems faced during that period. Yeats also reflects on life through self-indulgence that escapes stigmatization to create excitement among the readers. In this regard, both poets create an ironically disillusioning effect through romantic imagery.

Question 9: Southern Gothic

Southern gothic, a genre that is used by Flannery O'Connor is from gothic fiction that entails some supernatural events in it. As shown by O'Connor's work, the play is characterized by the grotesque quality that keeps the readers interested. This makes the play to depict a southern tradition since it takes place in Georgia. The trips to Florida and Tennessee enable the author to illustrate the Southern Goth as the grandmother and Misfit illustrate separation that was common in the South. The illustration of the Civil War is also a demonstration of Southern goth.

Question 10: Suburban Gothic

Joyce Oats demonstrates a suburban gothic in her work "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by creating an impression of a struggling suburban woman as a character. Annie enters the narrative which then dissolves into pure horror. Besides, sexual manipulation shows an example of gothic themes. It should also be pointed out that the setting is during the social revolution where the American women were asserting their rights concerning the claims of sexuality. Such anxieties were more common in the suburbs. In this regard, Oats recreates the struggles of women in the suburbs hence creating a Suburban gothic.