(1)Identify the figurative language, "The babble of a brook" is an example of ? a. simile, b. metaphor, c.

Question

c. aliteration, d. onomatopoceia
What is the meters/poetry?
(2)I have searched in my heart for an answer to give But the word that I find there are hollow and dull.
(3) Rejoice, rejoice!
Sing loud--give thanks
(4)The city now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning;silent bare

Answer 1

On (1):

It is not a simile. A simile sets out a direct comparative relationship between two objects which share similar characteristics, usually using 'like' or 'as'. 'My wife is like an angel' is a simile.

There is scope for argument as to whether it is a metaphor. A metaphor sets out a more subtle, implied comparative relationship between two objects which share similar characteristics, but does not use a direct comparative preposition such as 'like' or 'as'. The answer to this question depends on your views on the root meaning of the word 'babble'. Does it mean 'to talk in an excitable way'; or does it mean 'the sound a stream or brook makes'? If the former, then your phrase is a metaphor, because it implicitly compares the sound of a stream to the sound of a person talking in an excitable way. If the latter, it is not a metaphor because it is just a word which signifies the sound of a stream (in which case 'my girlfriend was babbling on and on last night' would be a metaphor).

In a formal sense, this phrase is alliterative. Alliteration refers to repetition of consonant sounds - like the 'b' and 'b' here. However, the phrase as a whole is not really alliterative in a literary sense, because no literary or artistic effect is achieved here: it is simply a coincidence that the two words start with a 'b'. Compare this line from Wilfred Owen's Anthem for Doomed Youth: 'Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle'. The repeated 't' and 'r' sounds actually have the artistic effect of sounding like rifles; the nature of the repeated consonant sounds in question also emphasise the harshness of the line and the conditions it is describing.

However, the word 'babble' in itself is arguably functionally alliterative, because the repeated 'b' sounds in that word do have some literary effect, imitating the sound of a brook's progress.

The phrase is onomatopoeic. Onomatopoeia involves the use of words which actually sound like the noise they are describing. So, babble is onomatopoeic becuase, as I've said, babbling actually sounds a bit like the word 'babble'. There are loads of similar onomatopeic words - 'pop' sounds like something popping, for insantance; similarly, 'bang' or 'oink' or 'screech'.

OK, the rest:
(2) is anapaestic
(4) is iambic pentameter.
Can't help with the formal name for (3), I'm afraid: it is also iambic - perhaps iambic duameter?!

Answer 2

(4) is the easiest: "like" a garment -- all simile has "like"
(1) metaphor -- because we transfer the usual meaning of babble, which is a human trait to describe the noise of the brook
(2) metaphor
(3) is an alliteration, the stress is on the 2nd syllable
Onomatopocia is like "boom" or "cuckoo" -- a word that mimics a sound.

and, I'm just guessing. esp. on (2)

Answer 3

Alliteration