William Faulkner’s poem “A Rose for Emily”, tells the story of Miss Emily, an unmarried, but supposedly wealthy, who is the talk and the rage in Jefferson. The entire story is a testament to Faulkner’s mastery of certain literary devices. Faulkner carefully chooses the right literary devices to express the theme in a way that isn’t immediately obvious. It is this extraordinary clever use literary devices that makes
“A Rose for Emily”, a literary masterpiece, is so well-known. Faulkner’s most innovative literary devices are setting, symbolism, imagery and imagery. They all help to emphasize a theme about the progression in time. Faulkner uses the story’s setting to highlight the theme time. The story begins in a small American town in late 1800s or early 1900s.
According to the narrator, the house is described as a “big, squarish house with spires, cupolas, and scrolled balconies in light some of seventies, situated on what had been once our most exclusive street” (Faulkner, 148). It is clear that Miss Emily has lived in her home for some time. The older style of the house indicates the town’s old age. The narrator states that the “garages and cotton-gins had encroached, and obliterated even their august names; only miss Emily’s house remained, lifting it’s stubborn, coquettish degeneration above the gasoline pumps, and cotton wagons an eyesore among all eyesores” (Faulkner148).
This statement shows that Miss Emily’s house has survived through changes and development, and is now surrounded with modern homes and other establishments. Faulkner’s theme on time is illustrated by the disapproving tone that the narrator uses. The house also represents Miss Emily’s inability to adapt to Jefferson’s changes and her inability to cope with the time-based phenomenon. Faulkner’s work is rich in symbolism. The house doubles as a symbol and setting because it is a reminder of the past. Miss Emily’s home is not the only symbolic object in the story. Others are more subtle and less obvious. Faulkner 149 says Miss Emily wore an extended gold chain around the neck that had an invisible watch at its end.
Time is a visible representation in any type of clock or watch. This watch, hidden under her belt and constantly ticking, was a powerful symbol of time and the most horrible effects of it: death. Each tick of the watch represents Miss Emily’s heartbeat. Both the watch and Miss Emily will eventually stop working as time passes. The watch’s hidden nature signifies that death can not always be predicted. Faulkner also uses dust to symbolise the passage of times. Faulkner uses dust at the end to indicate the time between Miss Emily’s creation and Homer Barron discovering his corpse. “Among them lay a tie and collar as if they were just removed. The dust left a pale crescent on the surface,” states Faulkner (Faulkner 156)
Faulkner uses dust only to describe. While the tie and collar appear to have been removed just now, the dust serves to indicate that the tie and collar were removed years ago. As it leaves its marks on every stationary item in Miss Emily’s house, the dust is a symbol for time and ageing. Faulkner’s piece is full of imagery. Faulkner makes the most of gray to show time, one of his cleverest and most effective uses of imagery. Faulkner uses gray to represent aging. He describes Miss Emily’s hair color in different shades, showing how time has progressed. The flashback narrator says, “When we last saw Miss Emily, her hair had become grayer and she was fatter” (Faulkner, 154). The narrator then states that it became grayer over the years until it reached a pepper-and salt-iron gray …” (Faulkner154).
Finally, the narrator says Miss Emily’s hair is still “remaining”
The hair is a vigorous iron-gray that looks like a man’s hair” (Faulkner154). Faulkner describes Miss Emily’s servant’s ageing by saying that “Daily,” “Monthly”, and “Annually” Faulkner 155. Faulkner uses gray liberally in this section of text, which allows the reader to imagine Miss Emily’s servant growing older and her own age. This creates the illusion that time is passing. Like dust, gray appears to be a descriptive color. Faulkner, however, carefully selected this color to continue the theme time. Faulkner uses Faulkner’s setting
“A Rose for Emily” uses symbolism, imagery and imagery to illustrate a theme about time progression. Faulkner creatively creates an illusion that time is passing through the story by using various entities like the watch, dust and the house. Each item represents a different element of time. Faulkner’s use of literary devices like this is what makes his work so fascinating. Faulkner’s brilliant writing style makes it possible for the reader to understand every word of “A Rose for Emily”.
