Figures of Speech

• Personification: Tennyson gives human-like qualities to the mountain to show how deeply connected Oenone feels with nature. For example: “Dear mother Ida, hearken ere I die.”
• Imagery: Imagery means using words to create pictures in the reader’s mind. In Oenone, Tennyson paints a picture of a mountain full of flowing fountains and streams. For example: “Dear mother Ida, many-fountain’d Ida…” 
• Symbols

• Mount Ida: Symbolizes innocence, peace, and the natural world, which Oenone has lost after Paris left her.
• Paris: Represents betrayal, temptation, and the painful consequences of desire.
• Helen: Symbolizes beauty that causes destruction.
• Fire Imagery: The inner fire that Oenone feels symbolizes intense pain, passion, and emotional destruction.
• The Child in the Womb (Imagined): Symbolizes fear of repeating the past and Oenone’s wish to prevent future suffering caused by love and betrayal.