Literary Devices in The Bells

In these two lines, Poe employs personification to develop mood in the poem. Here, the bells have “throats” and “groan.” Unlike the bright and positive moods of the first two parts of the poem, part IV is grim and dark. The groaning suggests pain or suffering.

The poem relies on many types of rhyme to create its melody. End rhyme, rhyming that occurs on the last syllable of the line, and assonance, repeated vowel sounds, are used throughout. However, as the poem becomes darker and more ominous, Poe begins to rely on consonance, repeated consonant sounds, such as that found in “jangling” and “wrangling,” as well as “sinks,” “swells,” “sinking,” and “swelling.” By using consonance, the poem generates harsher, harder sounds that signal the poem’s shift in content and mood.

In part III, Poe continues to use repetition. Repeated words in parts I and II include “tinkle” and “delight,” but here Poe repeats the word “shriek.” A “shriek” is a short, high-pitched, violent yell. This description suggests that the “brazen bells” have a panicked, uneasy sound, which is a sharp departure in tone from the previous parts of the poem.

The adjective “alarum” is the antiquated form of the word “alarm.” Poe probably relies on this form to maintain the meter of the poem. “The Bells” is largely composed of trochees, a rhythmic unit consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable. Though there are many deviations from this pattern (the word “bells” usually hangs at the end of the line without an unstressed syllable to follow), it helps generate the poem’s lyrical quality.

Poe uses parallelism, or repeated grammatical structures, to develop the overall structure of the poem. Like part I, part II begins with the speaker’s calling upon readers to imagine they are hearing bells and focuses on the sound of golden wedding bells. Notice that the substance of the bells has become more precious, from silver to gold, and the phase of life that the poem deals with has shifted from childhood to the romantic experiences of early adulthood.

The repetition of “bells” acts as a refrain throughout the four parts of the poem. Though the poem changes in structure, each part is longer than the previous part, and each part ends with the word “bells” repeated. These lines act like a musical chorus, enhancing the lyrical elements of the poem, despite the shifts in mood.

The noun “tintinnabulation” means a ringing or tinkling sound and is one of the many onomatopoeias threaded throughout the poem. Onomatopoeias are words in which the sound reflects the meaning, such as “hush,” “buzz,” or “tick tock.” The first two syllables of “tintinnabulation” sound like the metallic ringing noise that the poem seeks to evoke.