Tuesday, June 30, 2015

What is the technique used by and effect of the quotation, "Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, /Having some business, do entreat her eyes...

In these lines, Romeo essentially says that two of the prettiest stars from the sky had to go away for some business and have asked Juliet's eyes to shine in the sky in their stead while they are gone.  This quotation makes use of the poetic device called personification.  This is when human attributes are given to something that is not human.  Obviously, stars are not sentient, and they lack the ability to ask anyone to do anything.  However, in using this device, Shakespeare achieves a level of whimsy, as if Romeo's world were magical now with Juliet in it.  It also helps to show just how beautiful Romeo believes Juliet to be; in this sense, the line also contains a comparison, a metaphor, wherein he claims that her eyes are as bright and beautiful as the stars are.  When he ascribes the action of "twinkl[ing]" to her eyes, he compares them to stars because it is stars that twinkle, not eyes.

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Thomas Jefferson's election in 1800 is sometimes called the Revolution of 1800. Why could it be described in this way?

Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1800 can be called the “Revolution of 1800” because it was the first time in America’s short history that pow...