Literary Luminary
Similes, Metaphors, Alliteration, and Vivid Imagery
SIMILES
1.) "His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay," (21). This is a simile because when comparing Tim's hair to mouldy hay he uses the word like to compare them. This line means that his hair looks like mouldy hay.
2.) "Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!" (75). This is also a simile because when the author compares her face to a light he uses the word like again. This line means that her facial expressions and emotions stood out, out of everything else in the night.
METAPHORS
1.) "The road was ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor," (30). This is a comparing the road to a ribbon of moonlight without using the comparison words like or as. This line in the poem means that there is a strip of light on the road surrounded by the darkness of the night.
2.) "Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him - with her death" (79). This is a metaphor because the author says her breasts were shattered even though it was just another way of saying she killed herself. The line means that it was a tragedy and that she died.
ALLITERATION
1.) "Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing clear; Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did not hear?" (68-69). These two lines are examples of alliteration because they are repeatedly using the sound "Tlot". These lines means that Bess can hear the Highwayman's horse getting closer and closer but it seems like the soldiers do not hear it at all.
VIVID IMAGERY
1.) "And he rode with jeweled twinkle, His pistol butts a-twinkle, His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky," (10-12) This is an example of vivid imagery because it gives a very detailed explanation of the situation. The line is giving you a description of his pistol, sword, and the night sky.