”Beach Glass” by Amy Clampitt

    Written by Amy Clampitt, the poem Beach Glass was full of a literary device called figurative speech.

            Literary devices include literary elements and techniques. Both of them have a universal function of letting ideas flow in a literary piece. Under literary technique, meanwhile, is the use of figurative speech.

            Figurative speech involves using of language intended for giving words “another meaning.” This form of creativity usually involves the use of simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, oxymoron, among others.

            In the poem Beach Glass, I observed that the poet used the literary device or technique: figurative language.

            As I read the poem, I noticed that the poet used words that have, in a way, “different” meanings. Some of the phrases should not be taken literally. By this, it means that the poet did not use the denotative meaning of words, which is the usual practice in writing poems.

             The setting of the poem apparently is a beach, which the poet described as having “millenniums of quartz, granite, and basalt.”  The poet was successful in using descriptive words that would help the readers to “feel” what is being implied by the poem.

            Also, just like the usual kind of poem, Clampitt used several adjectives that would make the poem more effective. Adjectives add some kind of “appeal” to the readers since it describes everything that was tackled in the poem.

            The poet was very effective in using the figurative language to make the poem more creative. Her kind of creativity is at par excellence. I know not all could appreciate the poem or every word in her poem, but that’s the beauty of reading poems: you could not rely on the denotative meanings of the words written by the poet.

While the poets are creative, the readers should also be creative enough to give meaning in the literary pieces that came across.

            The use of figurative language in a poem could be considered as cliché, it’s the usual device, I know many would think. I, myself, was also guilty of that mindset. I thought that everyone is fond using figurative language that makes it more uninteresting—or so I thought.

            But then, there are actually poems that used figurative language as if it’s the poet first time—simply because the words are not dull and boring. They are not the usual, so to speak.

            Clampitt did not only give life to the things that she mentioned in her poem, but also to the literary device of figurative speech.

            Her descriptions were so vivid that made me feel that I was actually there in the beach—which is the setting of the poem. The way she described the shore was fascinating. It was amazing how she did all of these.

            Given the creativity that I guess God-given and trained, all of us may do something like the work of Clampitt or any other notable poets.

            Aside from these, we have the literary devices that would help us realize and put into action our creative juices on us. Literary devices are of big help for us to convey our messages in any literary piece effectively and creatively.

            While some are being intimidated with literary devices because they are not easy to understand at first, there is always a room for learning.

            Just like the words used in the Beach Glass, we could also be successful in conveying the messages that we want to send across.

            Clampitt work is an excellent example, indeed, of how effective a literary device could be, specifically the use of figurative speech.