Introduction
Poetic authors use several models of literary techniques to convey the meaning of their text to particular audiences. The literary devices incorporated in such writings convey writers’ precise intentions and thoughts through various approaches, depending on the isolated themes and personas. Literature techniques significantly create and clarify ideas, making writing more forceful and colorful (Clinton, 2022).
Metaphor is one of the literary techniques in which a poet may use a phrase or a word to denote an idea or an object in place of another to suggest a similarity between them. In the poems “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, “Digging” by Seamus Heaney, and “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, the authors have explicitly used metaphor to leap beyond obvious comparisons, identifying objects and ideas as new entities of contemplation. The reading outcomes of the two poems facilitate the critical analysis and comparison of literary devices, such as metaphors, and their influence on the writings. In addition, the synthesis of the poetic works assesses the importance of metaphor and its influence in shaping poetic themes and contexts.
Communication of Primary Ideas
Langston Hughes employed several metaphors in “Harlem” to communicate its message. According to Rasse and Gibbs (2021), the poem’s central theme is “what happens to a dream deferred?” (Rasse & Gibbs, 2021). It is a metaphoric appellation used by Hughes. The author employs the question as a symbol to define the aftermath of an unfulfilled dream, suggesting that it can lead to disappointment, pain, or even frustration.
“Dream deferred” is a metaphor employed by Hughes in the poem to compare different experiences. The author asks if a deferred dream can dry up like a raisin in the sun “dry up like a raisin in the sun” (Hughes, 1990, line 2) to denote the unfulfilled dreams that can become lifeless, dull, or even lose vitality. On a critical approach, this metaphor helps the audience connect the poem’s abstract concept to a vivid language that transcends the virtual reality of the poem, rendering it as just a dream.
Comparison of Dreams
Metaphors can be used to invoke comparative analysis of objects and human characteristics. For instance, the line “festers like a score” (Hughes, 1990, line 3) is a metaphoric appellation that compares a dream to infected wounds that cause discomfort or pain. Hughes uses this metaphor to emphasize the negative impact of postponed dreams, highlighting the sense of stagnation and the loss of potential that result from unrealized dreams. Readers can make a quick judgment regarding the thoughts of the persona in the literary setting.
The authors ask if a dream deferred can “stink like rotten meat” (Hughes, 1990, line 5). The phrase suggests that unfulfilled dreams can be disgusting or even burdensome. From a literature perspective, stink means unpleasant smell. Connecting the figurative language to the poem’s theme makes the audience understand that a “deferred dream can stink like rotten meat,” meaning that chasing a dream for too long can negatively impact the owner’s health (Hughes, 1990).
It also conveys delayed dreams’ burden and emotional weight “…Crust and sugar over/like a syrup sweet?” (Hughes, 1990, lines 6 & 7). It is a metaphoric language that compares dreams to a sugary substance that is attractive on the surface with no substance underneath. This metaphor tells the reader that delayed dreams can give hope, but at the dead end, bitter, empty, and unpleasant, leading to the tone of disappointment and frustration as the poem’s subject portrays.
Overcharging Messages
In “Digging” by Seamus Heaney, the authors also employ metaphors to compare ideas and convey overarching messages. Research on the “Digging” poem (Heaney, 1966) exposes readers to the literal and metaphoric evaluation of poetic works. The metaphorical implication in the phrase digging explores his ancestry and childhood roots.
To the reader, the phrase establishes a dichotomy of emotions that questions the past and a sense of alienation from lineage. “Between my finger and my thumb…The squat pen rests…I’ll dig with it” (Heaney, 1966, lines 1 & 2). The quote cited in this section is a metaphor for non-literal digging, suggesting that he will explore his culture’s ideas (Rayees, 2021).
To the audience, this metaphor is important in the context of the poem’s overall subject because the juxtaposition of the phrase digging the poet undertakes with the squat pen, compared to the literal understanding of searching assumed by the poem figures such as the poet’s grandfather and father to craft ideas of traditional digging, depicts Heaney’s vocational digging as a cultural poet.
Echoic Effects of Brightness
In the third stanza, “He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep,” the author manipulates the power of metaphoric language. Here, Heaney compares the echoing effect of brightness or “brightness echoing” as an uncertain and amorphous depiction of his conscious mind (Heaney, 1966, line 12). Hence, through this metaphor, the poet, through his work and figurative journey into his past, gains a sense of his own identity, as evident in this poem (Rayees, 2021).
The author states, “I ‘ve no spade to follow like them” (Heaney, 1966, line 28). In the poem’s last line, he says his new weapon, the pen, and says, “I will dig with it” (Heaney, 1966, line 31). Here, Heaney compares his ancestral hard physical labor to his mental labor. The audience must understand that the poem is a reconciliatory expression of an author who will not follow the steps of the grandfather and the father as a common laborer.
In the poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, Marge uses metaphor to enhance the profound meaning of ideas beneath the text. The author intentionally uses the phrase “the magic of puberty” (Piercy, 1971, line 5) to compare childhood and adolescence, depicting the transformation that happens to the protagonist in the girlchild in puberty stage, as well as accentuating the importance and the weight of changes happening to her peers. Consistent with the poem’s theme, the metaphor reveals to the reader the excellent difference adolescence causes that an individual may fail to believe, mainly physiological and psychological transformation, as well as shaping sexuality.
“Her good nature wore like a fan belt” is a metaphor Piercy uses to show the nature and strength of the female spirit she had throughout her childhood. At the same time, Piercy (1971, line 15) incorporates the metaphor to compare the imperfect deeds of individuals against society’s perceptions. The nature of the body and the mind are demanding and depicted with the fan belts. It tells the audience that an individual goes through tough times in life, such as insults, as stated in the text, and dealing with everyone based on their opinions. In the poem, however, “Her Good Nature” attempts to consider everyone’s opinion, but it fails to work. She could not deal with every opinion, which wore her down because every opinion was concentrated with imperfections.
Conclusion
Metaphors, literary techniques used in Hughes’ Harlem, Heaney’s Digging, and Piercy’s Barbie Doll, give a framework for understanding how thought, language, and ideas are interconnected. The authors have employed metaphors to enable the audience to comprehend abstract concepts, themes, and pictures with clarity and conviction. The authors have also used metaphor beyond just linguistic expression and as a tool to convey complex emotions and information that reflect our social and cultural values, as seen in “Digging” and “Barbie Doll.”
References
Clinton, M. (2022). Storylines, metaphors, and solutions in the work-readiness literature: A frame analysis. Nurse Education Today, 119(17), 105–593. Web.
Heaney, S. (1966). Digging. Poetry Foundation; Poetry Magazine. Web.
Hughes, L. (1990). Harlem (a dream deferred).Selected Poems of Langston Hughes. University of Missouri Press.
Piercy, M. (1971). Barbie Doll. Poem Hunter. Web.
Rasse, C., & Gibbs, R. W., Jr. (2021). Metaphorical thinking in our literary experiences of J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye.” Journal of Literary Semantics, 50(1), 3–23. Web.
Rayees, A. (2021). Element of Irishness in Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Digging.’ The Creative Launcher, 6(3), 75–78. Web.