Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The poem "I saw my country's walls" is told from the perspective of a third-person subjective point of view.
Form and Meter
The poems are written in a free verse form.
Metaphors and Similes
The shadow is used in the poem "All These Are Swept Away In One Brief Year" as a metaphor for death.
Alliteration and Assonance
We have an alliteration in the poem "How From Between My Hands" in the line "Oh how you flow away, my years,".
Irony
One of the most ironic elements which appear in most poems is the idea that even though death is often presented as something negative, the narrator looks forwards to it since it means he will find happiness and freedom.
Genre
The poems are meditative poems and sonnets.
Setting
The action in the poem "To Rome buried in ruins" takes place in the distant past in Rome.
Tone
The tone used in most poems is a neutral one.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist in "To Rome buried in ruins" is the pilgrim while the antagonist is the person who is happy living a boring and uneventful life.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in "Oh how you flow away, my years," is between life and death.
Climax
The poem "I saw my county's walls" reaches its climax when the narrator goes to the countryside.
Foreshadowing
No foreshadowing elements can be found in the poems.
Understatement
At the beginning of the poem "All These Are Swept Away In One Brief Year" the narrator talks about those who live only for a short period of time and implies that everyone in the world lives for a short period of time. This is later proven to be an understatement when the narrator describes how some people, namely those who are extremely religious, have the possibility to live forever.
Allusions
One of the main allusions in the poem "To a nose" is the idea that everyone has a great amount of pride in themselves and the idea that humility exists is just a lie.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The term pilgrim in the poem "To Rome buried in ruins" is used as a general term to make reference to those who are in a constant search for the truth.
Personification
We have a personification in the poem "To a note" in the line "the nose going first".
Hyperbole
We have a hyperbole in the poem "All These Are Swept Away In One Brief Year" in the line "of eager and valiant steel and icy marble".
Onomatopoeia
We have an onomatopoeia in the poem "Love Constant Beyond Death" in the line "the shadow is softly whispering in my ear".
