Answer:
Some of the literary devices used in "Lamb to the Slaughter" are imagery, irony, pun, narrative perspective, and foreshadowing.
Step-by-step explanation:
Roald Dahl's short story "Lamb To The Slaughter" revolves around the story of how a pregnant wife killed her policeman husband to prevent him from divorcing her. The story presents an interesting yet at times humorous scenario without the murderer being caught.
Literary devices are certain elements of writing that writers use or employ in their works to give a more interesting way of telling the story. Some of the literary devices used in this story are as follows-
1. Pun- Pun is the use of a word that has multiple meanings. The pun is in the title "Lamb to the slaughter". While we can literally refer to the lamb that was put into the oven and used for the murder act, it also refers to Mary, the wife, who will be suffering if her husband divorces her. There's been nothing that suggests that she had done anything wrong but has been faithful and waiting on her husband. So, the divorce will leave her suffering, like an innocent lamb left to suffer.
2. Verbal irony- Verbal irony is when something is said which the characters in the story have no idea about but the readers know. When the policemen commented "It's probably right under our noses", this is a case of verbal irony. We know they're eating the murder weapon and that the statement is true, but the characters have no idea about it.
3. Foreshadowing- Foreshadowing is when something is said that is kind of a hint for what will happen in the future. When Patrick says "This is going to be a bit of a shock to you", he is already starting the cycle of events that will lead to the coming scenes. This foreshadows or presents a hint to what may happen in the next few minutes.
4. Imagery- Imagery is used when the home of the Maloneys: "The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table-lamps alight, hers and the one by the empty chair opposite. On the sideboard behind her, two tall glasses, soda water, whiskey. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos basket." This description presents the image of the room for the readers to understand and imagine how the room looks like.
5. Narrative perspective- This provides the readers the point of view of the narration. And in the story, the narration is done in the third-person perspective. This means that the readers are able to access the thoughts and feelings of Mary only. This is evident in the lines
"Her first instinct was not to believe any of it, to reject it all. It occurred to her that perhaps he hadn't even spoken, that she herself had imagined the whole thing. Maybe, if she went about her business and acted as though she hadn't been listening, then later, when she sort of woke up again, she might find none of it had ever happened."