“Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them” - David Hume. Sara Teasdale’s poem “Barter” certainly came from a magnificent mind. The theme of the poem is, life is a glorious thing that has many lovely aspects to enlighten it. Using literary elements help her poem change the way people think about life. The literary devices alliteration, rhyme scheme, and repetition can all be found in Sara’s poem. The literary device alliteration can be found in Teasdale’s poem. She uses alliteration by painting a picture in your mind to connect with her thoughts. Alliteration is shown in “Soaring fire that sways and sings” (l. 4). The author using alliteration allows the reader to mentally picture fire swaying and singing as if it were a child at a playground. In lines 11 and 12, she states, “And for your spirit’s still delight, Holy thoughts that star the night”. Alliteration helps set the tone of the author’s voice as if she was reading it to the reader. The way the sentence was put together tells us that a person who is lacking happiness, can pray and have hope. Sara uses …show more content…
Everyone can relate to the emotional ties of a bad day. Today, some people get caught up in all of the horrible things life has to offer instead of appreciating what incredible things we have in our lives. It’s just a bad day, not a bad life. Teasdale expresses her love for life in her poem “Barter” and tells her readers they need to love themselves for what they have. I get frustrated many times a day but I get over it because, what I have in my life today is indescribable compared to others lives. After reading this poem, I will appreciate what I have and count my blessings every moment I can. Sara Teasdale uses many poetic devices in her wonderful poem and alliteration, rhyme scheme, and repetition are ones that made the poem