Literary Devices In Shakespeare's 'Like Niobe, All The Tears'
463 Words2 Pages
AP Lit, Period: 3
Ms. Visconti
11 January 2016
Hamlet Essay
Throughout his play, Hamlet, Shakespeare employs literary devices to express Hamlet’s opinions of his mother’s recent marriage and his uncle replacing his father. In order to convey Hamlet’s opinions that occur immediately after Claudius addresses the court for the first time, Shakespeare uses devices such as allusion, metaphor, simile, and imagery.
First, Shakespeare uses allusion by comparing the mourning of his mother, Gertrude, to the Greek mythical figure Niobe. This allusion is found in line 21 of the soliloquy, “Like Niobe, all the tears:-why she, even she—.” Shakespeare is referring to the story of Anfione and Niobe. Niobe lost her fourteen children by upsetting the
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