Home learning LA lesson 1

The Grave Of Shelley by Oscar Wilde

Like burnt-out torches by a sick man's bed
Gaunt cypress-trees stand round the sun-bleached stone;
Here doth the little night-owl make her throne,
And the slight lizard show his jewelled head.
And, where the chaliced poppies flame to red,
In the still chamber of yon pyramid
Surely some Old-World Sphinx lurks darkly hid,
Grim warder of this pleasaunce of the dead.

Ah! sweet indeed to rest within the womb
Of Earth, great mother of eternal sleep,
But sweeter far for thee a restless tomb
In the blue cavern of an echoing deep,
Or where the tall ships founder in the gloom
Against the rocks of some wave-shattered steep.

1. How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?
Similes: In the first two sentences, the "Gaunt cypress-trees" are "Like burnt-out torches" around "the sun-bleached stone" which is like "a sick man's bed". This makes it seem that the the trees are enshrouding the 'sun-bleached stone'.
Personification: " the little night owl make her throne" This makes it seem the owl is a queen or king, watching over the 'sun-bleached stone'.
Symbolism: The blue cavern is like the sea, where many have died due to drowning.
2. Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.
This poem invokes a somber and mysterious mood. Which gives out a lot of some emotion.