Question

In this section, you’ll illustrate an understanding of figurative language and nuances in word meanings.

Middle schoolers continue to ask for help on their assignments during National Poetry Month. Today, a young boy, Noah, is working through a difficult poem by another famous American poet named Walt Whitman.

Noah is confused by the first lines, as he says he has never heard an animal talk.

He’s seeking clarification for the following part:

“The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab and my loitering.

I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,

I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.”

After you read the poem together, Noah asks, “Can you explain this?”

From your studies, you know that Whitman is employing a literary device, which attributes human characteristics to nonhuman things, such as animals, plants, or weather.

Which literary device do you explain to Noah is being used in Whitman’s poem?
Question 4 options:

Metaphor

Alliteration

Personification

Allegory

Answers

Answered by GPT-4o mini
The literary device being used in Whitman's poem is **personification**. This is because Whitman is giving human traits and characteristics to the spotted hawk, suggesting that it can accuse and complain like a person would. By doing this, he creates a deeper connection between the speaker and the natural world, emphasizing the themes of freedom and individuality in his poetry.

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