A Time for Everything Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices

A Time for Everything

By King Solomon

To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.

Summary of A Time for Everything

Popularity of “A Time for Everything”: “A Time for Everything” by King Solomon, a great ancient king, and writer, is a descriptive poem. It appeared in Ecclesiastes, one of the books of Old Testaments.The poem highlights the importance of time that there is a right time for everything. It also urges us to think that a universe works in an appropriate circle. Although most of the works have been written on this universal theme, the representation of these ideas in verse form has made this poetic piece laudable.
“A Time for Everything” As a Representative Absolute Truth: The poem sheds light on one of the greatest truths of life. It begins when the speaker says that everything happens at an appropriate time. To support his ideas, he presents various examples like there is a time for birth and death. Similarly, there is a time for plantation and cultivation, a time to kill and break down. He adds that emotions like sadness, joy, pain, and sorrow also alter with time. As the poem continues, he adds there is a proper time for war and peace, speaking and lovemaking. Thus, every emotion, object, and thing in the world happens at the right time.
Major Themes in “A Time for Everything”: The importance of time, life versus time, and the law of nature are the major themes of the poem. The poem revolves around a simple yet universal phenomenon that there is time for everything. Almost every verse of the poem gives a particular message to the audience that time never remains the same. If they find themselves in a specific situation, they should not forget that nothing lasts forever. Everything in the universe rapidly changes, making us experience a variety of things. Through this poem, the writer explains how helpless man is; he cannot control or change anything. Instead, everything changes at the right time. Therefore, to bring comfort to life, everyone should keep these words of wisdom in mind.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “A Time for Everything”

literary devices are magical elements that give a unique feeling and meaning to seemingly simple poetic pieces. The analysis of the devices used in this beautiful poem is as follows.

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ and /o/ “A time to love, and a time to hate” and again the sound of /e/ in “A time to rend, and a time to sew.”
Allusion: Allusion is a belief and an indirect reference of a person, place, thing, or idea of a historical, cultural, political, or literary significance. The poem alludes to the Biblical verses that soothe people with a message of hope and joy such as “A time to be born, a time to die;”
Allegory: It is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures, and events. The speaker has used allegoric expression in the first stanza of the poem when he informs us about the law of nature such as;

“To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. King Solomon has repeated the words “a time” throughout the poem to emphasize the point such as;

“A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.”

Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /t/ in “time to.”
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /t/ in “a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted” and the sound of /r/ in “a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.”
Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. King Solomon has used imagery in this poem such as “A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together”, “a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted,” and “A time of war, and a time of peace.”
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poet has used time as an extended metaphor just to show how everything in the universe happens when the time is right for it.
Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows symbolism such as; life, death, hope, war, and peace just to show how time brings us varied experiences.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “A Time for Everything”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

Diction and Tone: The poem shows descriptive diction using rhetorical strategies but its tone is quite serious.
Free Verse: As the poem does not follow any rhyme scheme, it is a free verse poem.
Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are sixteen lines in this poem with no stanza break.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines from the poem “A Time for Everything” are useful to quote in motivational speeches to make people understand the law of nature.