Figurative Language In The Bells

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“Bells, bells bells/ From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.” What might these phrases mean? This is a reference guide to American literature. This guide is for people “Leaping higher, higher, higher, / With a desperate desire,” to understand the theme and meaning of this unique poem. In Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Bells”, he uses various types of bells and poetic elements to describe and compare to emotions how he sees it. The use of figurative language and sound devices in “The Bells” greatly enhances the meaning of this poem. In line 3, which states “What a world of merriment their melody foretells!” uses assonance to better visualize the mood “silver bells on sledges” creates for the reader. The assonance used in the line creates…show more content…
The first few lines of section one, Poe starts out his poem saying “Hear the sledges with the bells!/ Silver bells!/ What a world of merriment their melody foretells!”. This section focuses on silver bells which are used on sledges or sleighs during winter. He goes on to describe the tinkling noise they make which forms a kind of merry music. Silver bells are used for happy occasions. For example, if you go on a sleigh ride with your family, that would be the perfect time for those bells to ring because it is a happy time. The second section in lines 15- 17 of “The Bells” starts out with “Hear the mellow wedding bells,/ Golden bells!/ What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!”. This focuses on golden bells particularly used during weddings because of their soft and rich sound and color. When there is love in the air during a wedding, the pleasing sound of the bells mixes perfectly with the mood. Golden bells are conveyed with a happy, peaceful mood. They create a song-like pattern that rings through the night to form the perfect wedding. The mood these bells make are similar, but both are important during certain occasions to give people a certain
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