Mother of Pearl - Literary Devices

Mother of Pearl
by Raymond A. Foss

An historical shell
on their shelf
a memento, a reminder of the sea
of the coast
glistening under the movie of dust
of the passing years
a clouded rainbow
shimmering color within the surface,
inside the intensity of the shell,
its skin, its sinew
reflecting, refracting
living coloration
urging younger fingers to contact
younger eyes to wonder
at its iridescent splendor
saved and treasured
on their shelf

Literary Analysis
“Mother of Pearl” is a symbolic poem, which describes the splendor of a female, as either a mother or a beloved. There are 3 themes intertwined, which might be nature, memories, and reward of a girl’s beauty. The scene of this poem is centered on a decorative shelf or possibly a mantelpiece in a house, in which a shell of mom of pearl sits. The speaker then shifts this scene to a seacoast.

The speaker is the poet himself, who has visible the mom of pearl positioned at the shelf as a dazzling ornament piece. The title “Mother of Pearl” is suggestive of a lady as a precious gift compared to this unique and delightful piece of herbal art. The poem begins via describing an “An ancient shell / on their shelf.” The poet reflects on older times, whilst this shell was first located as “a memento, a reminder of the sea / of the coast.” The speaker once found the mom of pearl at the beach, and feedback that it now seems “glistening underneath the film of dust.”

Then the speaker movements on to perceive the outer splendor and glitter of the mother of pearl shell, the way it shines like “a clouded rainbow / shimmering coloration in the surface” creating a rainbow of colors.The shell is like the outer pores and skin of a pearl, and it has a totally specific look from the inside. The poet praises the wonder of nature and God, how He has created remarkable matters and creatures like beautiful women and such shells. He uses a beautiful personification to describe the pearl and brings out its human qualities saying, “its pores and skin, its sinew.” The use of diverse photos of touch and sight, coupled with hyperbole, has made this mom of pearl a fascinating object exactly much like a lovely lady.

In the very last traces, he alleges that the fee of this precise shell is realized due to its “iridescent splendor,” and for this reason it is “stored and treasured / on their shelf.”The poet is fully sensitive to the shell’s splendor and regards it as well worth marveling at.

Structural Analysis
The poem is a lyric written in a unfastened form and contains only a unmarried stanza. Due to the truth that this poem is written in free verse, there is no rhyme scheme. We can see this certainly if we attempt to label the rhyme:

An historical shell A
on their shelf B
a memento, a reminder of the sea C
of the coast D

The metrical pattern is likewise abnormal with alternating meters, as no single meter is found on this poem. However, the foremost meter is iambic such as “An ancient shell/on their shelf/a memento, a reminder of the sea.”Internal consonance is used as in, “reflecting, refracting” and enjambment is discovered in the whole poem “glistening beneath the film of dust / of the passing years.” Internal rhyme is used in the nearby words “pores and skin, sinew” to create rhythm within the absence of any everyday metrical pattern.

The diction is enormously connotative and indirect, with a bunch of metaphors, photographs and personifications. A literary device referred to as hypotaxis is employed in the course of the complete poem, as the main idea is “An ancient shell” containing mother of pearl, whilst the rest of the poem is a description of the splendor of this pearl such as, “its pores and skin, its sinew / reflecting, refracting / living shade / urging younger arms to touch.”

Guidance for Usage of Quotes
“Mother of Pearl” is a poem approximately a stunning shell on a family’s shelf. Some may evaluate this to the admiration of a woman and her splendor, and assume that it will pay regard to God and His creation. The female is as compared to a shell with a mother of pearl sheen, making the contrast to valuable mom possible. Lovers also can read into the poem romantic admiration of a female. Accordingly, the woman in this poem can be appeared as a mom or a beloved. Hence, younger men can quote appropriate lines from this poem and ship them on Mother’s Day to percentage their love. They also can use rates for his or her beloveds whom they pass over and have associated recollections with them such as:

“its skin, its sinew
reflecting, refracting
living shade
urging younger hands to contact
younger eyes to surprise
at its iridescent beauty.”