Question

Identify the figurative language used in these stanzas of Amy Lowell's "In Excelsis."

In complete sentences, explain how it is used to convey meaning in the poem.

You—you—
Your shadow is sunlight on a plate of silver;
Your footsteps, the seeding-place of lilies;
Your hands moving, a chime of bells across a windless air.
The movement of your hands is the long, golden running of light from a rising sun;
It is the hopping of birds upon a garden-path.

Answer 1

"Your shadow is sunlight on a plate of silver;" is an example of a metaphor. The metaphor helps to convey the meaning of the poem by explaining that her shadow is sunlight, which helps to show the meaning of the poem, the admiration of the individual. "The movement of your hands is the long, golden running of light from a rising sun"; this quote would be an example of hyperbole. A hyperbole is a literary device that features an extreme exaggeration that isn’t meant to be taken literally. The author mentions her hands being the long, golden running light from the rising sun; she's exaggerating the length of the movement of her hands. This also contributes to the meaning of the poem, because the admiration is exaggerated by the author. Another figurative language would be personification. An example of it would be "the movement of your hands; it is the hopping of birds upon a garden-path". This quote would be an example of personification because hands can't literally hop like birds.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

The figurative language used in the above stanzas is METAPHOR.

Metaphor is a comparison of two objects that are unrelated but have similarities. These similarities are used for more rhetorical effect and to catch audience's attention.

Shadow is compared to sunlight on a plate of silver.
Footsteps is compared to seeding-place of lilies
Moving hands is compared to chime of bells.
Movement of hands is compared to light of a rising sun and hopping of birds.