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Difficulty: MediumFigurative Language Devices

Read the following lines from James Shirley’s poem "Death the Leveller" (published in 1659) carefully before choosing your answer:

The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against Fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings:
Sceptre and Crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade;

In lines 5–8, the speaker's use of metonymy ("Sceptre and Crown" and "scythe and spade") primarily functions to do which of the following?

  1. emphasize that social hierarchy and worldly power are ultimately rendered meaningless by the universality of deathAnswer
  2. B
    identify the specific ceremonial regalia and agricultural tools common to the seventeenth century
  3. C
    illustrate the physical decay of royal treasures and farming implements when left exposed to the elements
  4. D
    convey the poet’s personal resentment toward the ruling class and his desire for political reform
  5. E
    suggest that laborers will eventually rise up to overthrow their rulers in a political revolution

Answer

The correct option is the one stating that the metonymy functions to emphasize that social hierarchy and worldly power are ultimately rendered meaningless by the universality of death.
The correct answer explains that the metonymy of 'Sceptre and Crown' and 'scythe and spade' represents the social extremes of royalty and manual labor. By describing them as tumbling down and becoming equal in the dust, the speaker conveys the central theme that death is an inevitable leveler of all earthly differences and power structures.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the figurative language devices used in lines 5–8.
The objects 'Sceptre and Crown' stand for monarchs/ruling class, while 'scythe and spade' stand for laborers/working class. This is an instance of metonymy, where an associated object represents a larger group or concept.
Recognizing the metonymy is the first step to analyzing its function.
2
Analyze how these objects interact within the grammatical structure and context of the lines.
The text states that these opposing groups of objects must both 'tumble down' and be made 'equal' in the 'dust' under 'Death's icy hand'.
This contextualizes the metonymy to see what is happening to the entities they represent.
3
Connect the interaction of the metonymy to the theme of the passage.
The transition from life/power to dust shows that death ignores social boundaries and renders all human-made hierarchies irrelevant, leveling everyone to the same state.
This determines the primary thematic function of the metonymy, leading directly to the correct choice.

Key Concept

Analyzing the thematic function of figurative language, specifically metonymy, in poetry.
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Topics

Figurative Language Devices

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