Emily Dickinson's poem "The Cricket Sang" utilizes several types of figurative language. Here are a few examples:
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Personification: The poem describes the cricket as "singing," which gives the insect human-like qualities. Additionally, "the twilight stood as strangers do / With hat in hand" personifies twilight, suggesting it has human characteristics such as politeness.
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Imagery: The poem creates visual imagery, especially with descriptions like "The low grass loaded with the dew," which evokes a clear picture of a dewy landscape at twilight.
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Metaphor: The phrase "A vastness, as a neighbor, came" uses metaphor to compare an abstract idea (vastness) to a neighbor, suggesting familiarity and proximity.
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Symbolism: The cricket and the twilight symbolize the transition from day to night, indicating the end of labor and the onset of rest and peace.
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Contrast: The juxtaposition of workmen finishing their work ("one by one") with the arrival of twilight creates a sense of transition and change from day to night.
Overall, Dickinson's use of figurative language enhances the poem's themes of transition, tranquility, and the relationship between nature and human experience.