Download our SSCE Study Guide Bundle
“The City Planners” by Margaret Atwood makes extensive use of figures of speech to convey its criticism of modern suburban life and imposed order. Atwood uses devices such as personification, simile, metaphor, irony, and hyperbole to animate the physical environment and expose the tension beneath its calm surface. In this section, the prominent figures of speech in the poem will be examined with textual references to show how they contribute to the poem’s overall message.
Personification
Personification is a figure of speech in which human qualities, emotions, or actions are attributed to non-human objects, ideas, or abstractions. The poem relies heavily on personification. It manifests in the following lines:
“what offends us is / the sanities” (Lines 3–4) “houses in pedantic rows… sanitary trees, assert” (Lines 5–6) “discouraged grass” (Lines 12) “driveways… sidestep hysteria” (Lines 13–14) “roofs… slant of avoidance” (Lines 16) “paint… surprising as a bruise” (Lines 20) “too-fixed stare of the wide windows” (Lines 22) “panic of suburb order” (Lines 37)
In lines 3–4, “sanities” are said to “offend.” They are given the ability to provoke emotion like a human agent. This suggests that imposed order behaves like an oppressive force. In lines 5–6, houses and trees are described as “asserting” order. The verb “assert” implies deliberate intention. The “discouraged grass” (line 12) suggests vegetation emotionally subdued by mechanical trimming; it strengthens the idea that nature is psychologically oppressed. Driveways that “sidestep hysteria” (lines 13–14) behave like people avoiding emotional outbursts. It implies that the architecture is designed to suppress human intensity. Roofs showing a “slant of avoidance” (line 16) further humanise structures; it suggests withdrawal and/or fear. The splash of paint “surprising as a bruise” (line 20) carries a faint animating quality, as though the mark intrudes like an unexpected injury. Windows possessing a “too-fixed stare” (line 22) are endowed with vision and judgment. The “panic” embedded in suburban order (line 37) attributes emotional anxiety to the social structure itself.
Get the Full Analysis in PDF
Enjoying this breakdown? What you’re reading is just part of the full experience. The premium PDF edition brings everything together in one seamless, distraction-free document that has the poem, themes, structure, and full commentary. If you’re studying seriously, this is the version you’ll want.
Simile
A simile is a comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as.” It can be found in these lines:
“levelness of surface like a rebuke” (Lines 7–8) “surprising as a bruise” (Line 20) “gradual as glaciers” (Line 27) “rigid as wooden borders” (Line 35)
The perfect “levelness” compared to “a rebuke” (lines 7–8) indicates that neatness morally judges imperfection. The paint mark “as a bruise” (20) equates maintenance with bodily injury. The collapse of houses “gradual as glaciers” (line 27) emphasises slow but unstoppable destruction. The planners’ lines “rigid as wooden borders” (line 35) highlight inflexibility; it suggests imposed divisions lacking organic life.
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in closely placed words. It is used in lines:
“straight swath” (Line 12) “same slant” (Line 16) “brick… bruise” (Line 20) “wide windows” (Line 22) “now nobody notices” (Line 28) “wall… white” (Line 36)
The /s/ sound in “straight swath” produces a smooth but mechanical rhythm, suggestive of controlled cutting. “Same slant” stresses uniformity through sound repetition. The /b/ in “brick… bruise” gives a blunt sonic effect matching the violence implied. “Wide windows” creates an open visual stretch. “Now nobody notices” uses soft nasal repetition to stress passive neglect. “Wall… white” echoes emptiness and blankness within the planners’ abstract space.
Metaphor
A metaphor is an implicit comparison where one thing is described as another without “like” or “as.” It is evident in lines:
“smell… sickness” (Lines 18–19) “houses… capsized” (Lines 26–27) “clay seas” (Line 27)
Oil smell is framed as “sickness” (lines 18–19) to metaphorically present pollution as disease within the suburb. “Houses capsized” (line 26) equates architecture with sinking vessels. “Clay seas” (line 27) transforms earth into engulfing water in depiction of nature’s reclaiming force.
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or effect. It is used in the following lines:
“when the houses, capsized, will slide / obliquely into the clay seas” (Lines 26-27) “insane faces of political conspirators” (Line 30)
The vision of entire suburbs sliding into earth (lines 26-27) magnifies the collapse to apocalyptic scale. Similarly, the description of the planners with “insane faces” (line 30) exaggerates their psychological distortion to critique bureaucratic authority.
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device that hints at events that will occur later. This can be found in “future cracks in the plaster” (line 25) where the cracks anticipate structural collapse while also signaling that decay already exists beneath perfection.
Irony (Situational)
Irony is a device that involves contrast between expectation and reality. It manifests in lines 3-4 where “sanities” are said to cause offense to the speaker. The order that is meant to comfort disturbs instead. Irony is also noticeable in line 28 that asserts that “nobody notices” the imminent collapse; it exposes societal blindness. Besides, the suburb is designed to represent sanity, order, and safety. However, it actually feels disturbing and unnatural. What is supposed to prevent chaos ends up revealing fear and madness instead.
Get the Full Analysis in PDF
Enjoying this breakdown? What you’re reading is just part of the full experience. The premium PDF edition brings everything together in one seamless, distraction-free document that has the poem, themes, structure, and full commentary. If you’re studying seriously, this is the version you’ll want.
Paradox
A paradox expresses a seeming contradiction with truth. This is present in lines 37: “panic of suburb order.” Here, order is linked with panic. The contradiction reveals that excessive order is itself irrational.
Imagery
Imagery uses descriptive language that appeals to the senses. Visual images such as “houses in pedantic rows,” “sanitary trees,” “cracks in the plaster,” and “discouraged grass” help readers imagine a neighbourhood that is neat, controlled, and lifeless. On the same plane, olfactory imagery is evident in the oil smell, while the auditory imagery is found in the whine of the mower. These sensory details build the suburb’s artificial calm and its underlying unease.
Symbolism
The poem also contains symbolism. Symbolism is a figure of speech in which a word, object, image, action, or setting represents a deeper meaning beyond its literal sense. The suburb symbolises modern society’s obsession with control and uniformity, while snow and blizzards in the final section symbolise confusion, isolation, and blindness.
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is a figure of speech in which two contrasting images, ideas, or situations are placed side by side for emphasis. It can be found in lines 5–6, 18–20, and 26–28, where neat suburban order is set against disturbing signs of decay and collapse. In lines 5–6, the carefully arranged houses in “pedantic rows” and the “sanitary trees” are presented as symbols of calm order. In lines 18–20, this calm exterior is contrasted with unsettling details such as the lingering oil smell, described as a faint sickness, and the splash of paint likened to a bruise. In lines 26–28, the contrast becomes more extreme as the stable houses are imagined capsizing and sliding into the earth.
Receive Literary Updates through our Social Media Channels:
- WhatsApp: Literature PADI or Literature-in-English with LP
- Telegram: Literature PADI
- YouTube: @literaturepadi
- Facebook: Literature PADI
