Dabour Hub EGEgyptian Curriculum 2026/2027
Figurative imagery and rhetorical devices

Figurative imagery and rhetorical devices

Point 8 of 10 — Lesson 1: Exile and Longing for the Homeland by Ahmed Shawqi and the Revival SchoolQuestion bank: 0 questions (0 with pictures)

08Figurative imagery and rhetorical devices

Simile (tashbih)

  • "It blew like the playful sa", and the passing of "a doze" and "a snatched pleasure": the days of youth are likened to a soft breeze, to quick sleep and to a stolen joy — all for the swiftness of their passing.
  • "My soul is the boiler and my heart is the sail": a concise simile (baliagh) that makes the soul the boiler and the heart the sail.

Metaphor (isti'ara)

  • "Has the heart forgotten", "time heals its wound": personification of the heart and of time.
  • "The steamships rang... and howled": the ships are likened to crying creatures.
  • "The heart is an alert monk that sees the ships off with its bell": a concise simile carrying personification of the heart.

Metonymy / kinaya

  • "Daughter of the sea" is a kinaya for the ship, and "your father" a kinaya for the sea.

Sound and balance devices (badi')

  • Imperfect paronomasia (jinna naqis): "surah" and "tasawwurāt" (image and images).
  • Perfect paronomasia (jinna tamm): "sala" and "sala".
  • Antithesis (Tibaq): lawful/unlawful, "sail"/"anchor", "from it"/"to it", night/day.
  • These devices are unforced and serve the meaning.

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