Keesh Brewer
Dr.Zubel
English 200
10 October 2017
The hand that signed the paper
In the poem “The hand that signed the paper” by Dylan Thomas, the poet harshly mocks the cold and unfriendliness present of politics and conflict. This poem is explicitly about war. The tone of the speaker reveals his disgust for political leaders as a whole. Throughout this paper the poem will be analyzed through literary devices, as well as elements and themes in the poem which come together as a whole. In the beginning of the poem the leader of this country juts signed a document, that sets off a terrible and permanent outcome for the people. Thomas goes on to talk about how a king was killed by five others. In the second stanza the “hand” which is responsible for the massive outcomes is getting mocked. The line reads “the mighty hand leads to …show more content…
The “Gooses quill” in this poem is also an important symbol by Metonymy. Synecdoche is part of something that's used to signify the whole, Metonymy is somethings which is closely associated with a subject is substituted for it. A hand In “The hand that signed the Paper” the hand is actually the ruler. Thomas uses the hand as a way to distance the ruler and government, (who is actually making these decisions) away from the people. in the same that your hand is distant from your body is the same way the author uses the ruler/government away from the people. Another synecdoche in the poem is the line “Hands have no tears to flow”(419). This line makes us see the political power behind the hand as faraway but mostly inhuman. The metonymy in this poem is the “gooses quill” the gooses quill symbolizes the power of ruler associated with the hand. The main reason the poet uses these literary devices, are to make the reader believe that the ruler is not actually the bad person making all these decisions that affect people
Dr.Zubel
English 200
10 October 2017
The hand that signed the paper
In the poem “The hand that signed the paper” by Dylan Thomas, the poet harshly mocks the cold and unfriendliness present of politics and conflict. This poem is explicitly about war. The tone of the speaker reveals his disgust for political leaders as a whole. Throughout this paper the poem will be analyzed through literary devices, as well as elements and themes in the poem which come together as a whole. In the beginning of the poem the leader of this country juts signed a document, that sets off a terrible and permanent outcome for the people. Thomas goes on to talk about how a king was killed by five others. In the second stanza the “hand” which is responsible for the massive outcomes is getting mocked. The line reads “the mighty hand leads to …show more content…
The “Gooses quill” in this poem is also an important symbol by Metonymy. Synecdoche is part of something that's used to signify the whole, Metonymy is somethings which is closely associated with a subject is substituted for it. A hand In “The hand that signed the Paper” the hand is actually the ruler. Thomas uses the hand as a way to distance the ruler and government, (who is actually making these decisions) away from the people. in the same that your hand is distant from your body is the same way the author uses the ruler/government away from the people. Another synecdoche in the poem is the line “Hands have no tears to flow”(419). This line makes us see the political power behind the hand as faraway but mostly inhuman. The metonymy in this poem is the “gooses quill” the gooses quill symbolizes the power of ruler associated with the hand. The main reason the poet uses these literary devices, are to make the reader believe that the ruler is not actually the bad person making all these decisions that affect people