Once upon a Time by Gabriel Okara : Summary + Questions - Answers

Once upon a Time

[BY: Gabriel Okara]

Table of Contents :

1. Introduction of the poem

2. Summary of the poem

3. Stanza-wise explanation

4. Exercises/ Questions and their Answers

5. Some additional Questions and their Answers

6. Long Essay type question and its Answer

7. Some analytical points

______________________________

1. Introduction of the poem :

Composed by Gabriel Okara, this poem is in a dramatic monologue form, where the speaker talks to his son. The poem has a feeling of nostalgia. It is also about changes that have gone in socialization along with the loss of innocence. The speaker is also concerned about the adverse effect of the modern western culture on his African culture.

Modern people are hypocrites. They wear several masks on their faces, and none of their behaviour, socialization or gestures are true. 

The speaker too has adapted the modern ways of behaviour and manners. But he is sad at it. He wants to revert to his olden simple days and he requests his son to help him in doing so. 

2. Summary of the Poem :

This poem has been composed by Gabriel Okara. In it, he has shown how modern people behave in an artificial and polished way, and there is no genuineness in them. 

The poem is in a dramatic monologue where a father is telling his son about the people behave in the present times. 

The poet has juxtaposed how previously people used to behave in a genuine and truthful way. They used to be sincere in their behaviour, expressions and in their words.

In contrast, the modern people are hypocrites, insincere, cold and unfriendly. They no longer mean they say and never say what they mean.

 Their laughs, shaking hands, or welcoming, all are only muting things. They wear several masks on their faces, and never reveal their true self. It will be only a mistake if one believes them.

Living in such a society for a long time, the speaker has also learnt to behave in the same way. 

But in fact he is not happy with what he has learnt. He is tired of pretending emotions. He wants to unlearn (discard/ forget) all such muting things, and wants to relearn the genuine true behaviour, which he used to have previously.

His son is still young and an innocent child. So he wants to relearn his lost innocence from him (the child)

3. Stanza-wise Explanation :

Stanza 1:

Once upon a time, son

they used to laugh with their hearts 

and laugh with their eyes;

but now they only laugh with their teeth,

while their ice-block-cold eyes

search behind my shadow.

[Annotation: 

a. laughing with hearts and laughing with eyes :

• A genuine heartfelt laughter which reflects a true joy and happiness
• A sincere laugh

It is a very good example of metaphorical expression.

b. laughing with teeth : This phrase indicates an insincere and fake laugh in which there is no emotion, and which shows no true joy or happiness. It is only a lifeless mechanical laugh, just showing teeth, only to fulfil the  formality of laughing. It has only been a part of socializing.

It is also a very good example of metaphorical expression.

c. ice-block-cold eyes : Emotionless eyes.

Here the eyes of modern men are compared with ice-blocks. This phrase indicates lack of love and warmth of feeling in the eyes of people. People have turned so cold hearted.

d. searching behind shadow : This phrase can be interpreted in more than one way.

• it might mean searching for the negative sides of the person with whom s/he is shaking hands, which they might use against him/her.
• it might also mean as if s/he is probing or scrutinizing, an attempt to enter the privacy of the person (with whom they are shaking hands), or to know what they could get from him. 
• now people have some hidden, unspoken, ulterior motives even in socializing]

Explanation : 

The first stanza opens with an address of the speaker (the father) to his son.

[The speaker talking to his son]

He tells his son about the behaviour of the people in the past and in the present times, and how has people's laughter and their meanings have changed from then to now.

He has juxtaposed (put side by side for contrast) the laughter of the people of the past time with the laughter of the modern people to show the difference.

Formerly they used to laugh with their eyes and hearts. That is, they used to give a genuine laughter, and a real happiness used to reflect through their laughter.

[Laughing with eyes and hearts]

But such days are gone. Now people are no longer genuine, honest and sincere. Now they don't laugh with their hearts. They just show their teeth in the name of laughing. There is no sincere feeling in such modern laughs. 

[Now they just show their teeth in the name of laughing]

A genuine happiness is not reflected through their eyes while laughing. They laugh only with their 'ice-block-cold' eyes. Here 'ice-block-cold-eyes' indicates a total lack of love and warmth of feeling. 

Even the intention of modern laughter is changed. These days if they pretend laughing with somebody, they are secretly  busy with searching behind his shadows. It is as if they are looking for something which they can use against him.

Note : The stanza begins with the phrase "Once upon a time" (which is also the title of the poem). Along with being a set phrase for starting fairy tales, this phrase is also used to present matters of past times to evoke a longing for some pleasant past events and to present a contrast with the past .

The speaker wants to say that human qualities like innocence, honesty, sincerity were things of the past, which the modern people completely lack.

--------------------

Stanza 2 :

There was a time indeed 

they used to shake hands with their hearts

but that's gone, son.

Now they shake hands without hearts

while their left hands search 

my empty pockets.

[Annotation :

a. 

indeed : Truly, really. 

Here the speaker has used this phrase to give emphasis to the fact that there was really a time people used to be honest. They didn't do things only for formality.

b. 

searching one's (empty) pockets : This phrase also can be interpreted in different ways :

•  Finding out the social or economic status of the other person. By searching "pockets" they try to find out if the other person is of any value for him, or he can be of any help.
• Another interpretation of the phrase might be that while shaking hands the modern man wants to be sure if the other person (with whom he is going to shake hand) is planning to take some undue advantage or benefit from him. (But the speaker does not have such motive, and in that sense he has an empty pocket.)

Here the satire is that these days relationships are determined and maintained by wealth, financial status or power or position.

Explanation :

In this stanza the speaker talks about the differences in the manners of shaking hands ... there has come a great difference between shaking hands of the previous people and the modern people. The intention of shaking hands has changed too. 

Previously they "used to shake hands with their hearts". In other words, they used to shake hands with a great pleasure upon meeting somebody, and that used to be a honest handshake.

But now the situation is changed --- now they shake hands without hearts. That is, they just fulfil a social ritual by shaking hands. There is no real happiness in doing so. 

Even the intention behind such hand shakes is not open and fair. If they shake hands with their right hands their left hands search the other man's empty pockets. In other words they weigh the other man's social or economic status. 

A genuine friendship like the past time is no longer there.

-----------------------

Stanza 3 :

'Feel at home,' 'Come again,'

they say, and when I come 

again and feel 

at home, once, twice, 

there will be no thrice --

for then I find the doors shut on me.

[Annotation : Feel at home : This idiom means to feel comfortable, happy and relaxed at a particular place. Mostly hosts use this idiom to their guests.]

Explanation : 

This stanza is about hospitality, welcoming and being amiable. 'They' have become insincere in this field too. Here the speaker tells how modern people welcome others, how far they are true to it.

Guests are no longer  welcome these days. If you visit them, you  will be given a warm welcome perhaps for the first time. They will show their welcome by saying 'Feel at home', and while parting they will even say to 'Come again'. 

But they don't really mean it, they say it only to be polite.

If you really believe them, and visit them again, that will be a mistake, because there will be no welcome next time. There will be no hospitality, and even the doors will be shut on you . 

[There will be no thrice]

Note : The irony here is that modern people are are never true or sincere when they welcome friends or relatives at their homes, and invite them to visit again. In fact they never want that friends or relatives visit them.

-------------------------

Stanza 4 :

So, I have learnt many things, son,

I have learned to wear many faces

like dresses -- homeface, 

officeface, streetface, hostface,

cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles

like a fixed portrait smile.

[Annotation :

a. wearing many faces : to put on false faces, changing faces according to situation or the need of time

[Modern people wear different masks on their faces]

b. different types of faces that the speaker has learned :

• homeface: type of face suitable while at home, with family members (here the irony is that now people are not their true selves even at their homes)
• officeface: type of face suitable at office while dealing with superiors, colleagues or subordinates
• streetface: type of face generally people have while walking with among the strangers
• hostface: type of face people wear while welcoming and entertaining guests
• cocktailface: a face which you show to the people at a party

c. conforming: agreeing with or matching with something (here smiling matching with the different faces)

d. portrait smile: artificial or forced smile put on face without being truly happy, like the one which people bring on their faces while taking a picture, which is always fixed, and can not be changed after they are taken.

Here this expression is used as metaphor for 'dishonesty'.

Explanation : 

This stanza is different from the first three stanzas.

If in the first three consecutive stanzas the speaker has presented an ideas of how deceptive and tricky the modern people have been, in this stanza (4th stanza) he admits that after living in the society for a long time, he too has adapted such muting things in his personal life.

He has learnt many things --- he has learnt to wear different faces (change facial expression) according to the need of time and situation, as people change dresses for different occasions. His different faces are homeface, officeface etc. 

He not only wears many faces, but also matches them with proper smiles.

Here making different faces stand for hypocrisy (deception/ insincerity), and having a 'fixed portrait smile means smiling artificially without truly happy.

--------------------

Stanza 5:

And I have learned, too,

to laugh with only my teeth

and shake hands without my heart.

I have learnt to say, 'Goodbye'

when I mean 'Good-riddance';

to say 'Glad to meet you'

without being glad; and to say 'It's been 

nice talking to you,' after being bored. 

[Annotation:

laughing only with teeth : giving only an artificial smile/ fake smile]

Explanation: 

In this stanza the speaker tells more such muting things (fake behaviour) which he has learnt living in this society. 

He has learnt to laugh only with his teeth (giving fake smile), shaking hands without his heart (shaking hands only as a social ritual or for formality). He has learnt to say 'Goodbye' when he means 'Good-riddance'.  

He has learnt to say 'Glad to meet you' without being glad, learnt to say 'Nice talking to you' after being bored. 

In short, he has learnt and adapted to fake polished behaviours and hiding true emotions.

[Note : 'Good Bye' is a farewell expression to a person while taking leave, whereas 'Good-riddance' is said when an unwanted person has gone.]

--------------------------

Stanza 6 :

But believe me, son,

I want to be what I used to be 

when I was like you. I want 

to unlearn all these muting things.

Most of all, I want to relearn 

how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror 

shows only my teeth like a snake's bare fangs!

[Annotation: 

a. unlearn : discard/ forget

b. muting things : changing all the times/ it may be also mean the hidden real emotion 

c. relearn : learning (something) once more

d. snake's bare fang : the poisonous teeth of a snake]

[Snake's Bare Fangs]

Explanation :

This stanza comes with a turn in this dramatic monologue. Here we find the speaker's attitude towards the changing human behaviour.

Although he has learnt lots of modern ways of fake behaviour, he hasn't been able to accept them from his heart. He regrets that he has adapted such habits. He wants to leave them away.

Practising such habits has such an effect upon him that he finds his teeth like a snake's fangs (poisonous teeth of a snake) while smiling before a mirror. 

[The speaker finds his teeth like snake's fangs in the mirror] 

In Other words he feels that his inner- self has been full of malicious (evil/ hate/ meanness) for others. This is a serious example of how human nature and human values have deteriorated.

He is tired of such behaviour, and tells his son that he wants to unlearn (forget) all such newly adapted behaviours. He wants to return back to the time when he was as innocent as his son is now. He wants to relearn his olden ways of behaviour.

---------------------

Stanza 7 :

So show me, son

how to laugh; show me how

I used to laugh and smile

once upon a time when I was like you.

Explanation :

In this stanza we find the poet's strong desire to get back the simplicity and innocence of his childhood days.

So he asks his son to teach him how he used to laugh and smile many years ago, when he was as innocent as he (the son) is now.

______________________________

4. [Exercises/ Questions and their Answers]

Comprehension

1. The poem is called 'Once upon a Time'. This has been done to achieve the following. Say whether each one is true (T) or false (F).

1. to show that the poem is a fairy tale. (Ans: False)
2. to express his nostalgic feelings for the past when people were genuine and honest. (Ans: True)
3. to show the contrast between the people in the past and in the modern time. (Ans: True)
4. to highlight the poet's regret at the changing human behaviour (Ans: True)
5. to express the poet's admiration for the modern man's ability to hide his true feelings. (Ans: False)

2. The poet expresses a desire to his son to teach him how to smile as he used to in the past. 

Pick out the line from the poem that expresses this wish.

This also shows that the poet ... (write true or false)

1. ... has also changed like those around him. (True)
2. ... is happy with the changes in his personality. (False)
3. ... is upset with the changes he observes in himself. (True)
4. ... is not happy with the superficiality that has crept into human relationships. (True)

Reference to the Context 

Answer the following questions with reference to the lines in the following stanzas:

Stanza 1.

1. "Once upon a time _____ my shadow."

a. What does the word 'they' refer to ?

Answer : Here the word 'they' refers to the modern people.

b. What effect does the poet create by using the phrase 'once upon a time'?

Ans : By using the phrase 'once upon a time', the poet creates the impression that good human qualities like friendship, warm welcome to guests etc. have become things of distant past, which sound like a fairy tale.

c. How can a person laugh with his eyes and heart ?

Ans : Yes certainly. Laughing with eyes and heart means giving a genuine laugh, and such a laugh is reflected through our eyes.

d. How does one laugh with the teeth ?

Answer : Laughing with teeth is showing one's teeth in the name of laughing. In other words, it is only an artificial laugh without any emotion of happiness in it.

e. What poetic device is used here ?

Answer : The poetic device used here is 'Metaphor'.

f. What human behaviour is being discussed in this stanza ?

Answer : This stanza criticizes the fake, insincere and superficial laughter of the modern people. Now, instead of expressing a true emotion of joy, laughter has become only a formality.

Stanza 2. 

2. "There was a time _____ my empty pockets."

a. What do the words "there was a time" refer to?

Answer : This phrase refers to the time long ago when people used to be honest and genuine.

b. What happened at that time?

Answer : At that time people used to shake hands with their hearts.

c. '... while their left hands search ...'. What do they search? What is the significance of this search?

Answer : They search the speaker's empty pockets.

The significance of this search is now people want to find out your economic or social status of the other people.

d. Based on the poem's context what do you think will be the reaction of people who search the poet's pockets, and find them empty?

Answer : If they find the pockets empty, they will make distances from him, because they will think the speaker (the poet) is of no value for him.

 Stanza 3.

3. "Feel at home ___ for then I find the doors shut on me."

a. Who is being asked to come again ?

Answer : The speaker (or, the poet) is being asked to come again.

b. Where is he being invited to ?

Answer : He is being invited either to his friend's (or perhaps some relative's) house.

c. What is meant by feel at home? Does the poet 'feel at home' in the situation describes in the stanza ?

Answer : By saying 'feel at home' generally hosts ask their guests to feel comfortable, happy and relaxed while staying at their homes.

No, the speaker does not feel at home in the situation described here.

d. Which words or expressions are used by the poet to indicate that repeated visits are not welcome ?

Answer : The last two lines of the stanza clearly indicate the poet's expression :

'there will be no thrice -

for then find the doors shut on me.'

e. What is ironical about this invitation ?

Answer : The invitation is ironical in the sense that although people now invite others to visit their houses, they don't want them to visit them their houses.

Stanza 4.  

4. "So I have learnt many things, son, ___ like a fixed portrait smile."

a. What has the father learnt ?

Answer : The father has learnt to wear many faces, with all their conforming smiles. 

In other words, he has learnt to wear artificial expressions according to need and situation of time.

b. Explain “Like a fixed portrait smile." 

Answer : "A fixed portrait smile" means smiling artificially without being truly happy.

c. What do the different faces stand for ?

Answer : The different faces stand for the different situations of life in which one has to behave differently.

Stanza 5.

5. "And I have learnt, too, ___ after being bored."

a. Mention the other things that the father learnt.

Answer : Besides learning making different faces, the father has learnt many other things like laughing only with his teeth, shaking hands without heart, saying good bye when he means saying 'good riddance'. 

He has also learnt to say 'glad to meet you without being glad, and 'nice talking talking to you' after being bored.

b. Which learnings by the father refer to emotionless relationship ?

Answer : Almost all his new learnings refer to the emotionless relationship, for example, saying good bye while one wants to say 'good riddance', or saying glad to meet you without being glad. etc.

c. Select any two phrases that show the contrast between intention and action.

Answer : They are:

• Saying'Glad to met you' without being glad
• Saying 'It's nice talking to you', after being bored.

Stanza 6.

6. "But believe me, son, ___ shows only my teeth like a snake's bare fangs!" 

a. What does the father wish for in this stanza ?

Answer : He wishes for being as innocent as he himself used to when he was a child.

b. Who is 'I' in these lines ?

Answer : 'I' in these lines is the speaker himself.

c. What are the 'muting' things referred to here ?

Answer : 'Muting things' are all masked unreal emotions, and fake behaviour.

Here muting things refer to behaviourial aspects like wearing many faces, saying 'glad to meet you' without being glad, or 'nice talking to you' after being bored etc.

d. Why does he want to unlearn them ?

Answer : He wants to unlearn such muting things because he is tired of such fake emotions, and wants to behave in a genuine way as he used to be in his past.

e. Why does the poet want to relearn how to laugh ?

Answer : He wants to relearn how to laugh because being habituated in the modern ways, now his laugh in front of the mirror shows his teeth like a snake's fangs.

f. Whom does the poet want to relearn from ?

Answer : He wants to relearn how to laugh from his son.

g. Who does he appeal to for help ?

Answer : He appeals to his son for help.

h. In stanza 6 teeth have been compared to  _______. 

Answer : In this stanza teeth have been compared to snake's bare fangs.

i. What does the simile "like a snake's bare fangs" bring to your mind? Explain what the poet means when he uses this simile in this stanza.

Answer : The simile brings a picture of a sinister (evil) or harmful interaction between two people. 

The poet here means that even if the modern people laugh, there is deception and a hidden danger behind it.

Stanza 7 .

7. So show me, son ___ when I was like you.

a. What does the father ask his son to do ?

Answer : He asks his son help him relearn how he used to laugh and smile when he himself was a child like his son.

 _____ 5. Some Additional Questions and Answers _____ 

_____________________________________________________________________

1. Who is talking in this poem ?

Answer : An elderly person ( a father) is talking in this poem.

2. What assumptions can you make about the kind of life he has lived with his present circumstances.

Answer : He used to pass his early life in a simple innocent way without hiding any emotions.

But after he came into contact with with modern people, he found himself surrounded himself amidst hypocrite people, having double talks, and hiding real emotions.

3. What kind of person do you imagine him to be ?

Answer : He is simple, honest and genuine by heart, but is now troubled by modern people's pretending emotions and fake behaviour. 

4. What does the speaker hope to learn from his child ?

Answer : He hopes to relearn his innocent behaviour, for example to laugh with heart and eyes.

5. What does he mean by wanting 'to unlearn all these muting things' ?

Or

What are things that the poet wants to unlearn ?

Answer : He wants to discard (get rid of/ throw away) the artificial way of life full of muting things, which he has adopted living in this modern world.

6. Why do you think the poet has given it the title 'Once upon a Time" ?

Answer : The title serves two purposes: firstly, he wants to suggest that a genuine honest behaviour and early human values have been a matter of distant past. 

Secondly, this phrase also gives the impression that such values might be seen as a matter of fairy tales.

7. How did the people laugh once upon upon a time, and how do they laugh now ?

Answer : Once upon a time people laughed with a true joy and happiness with their hearts and eyes. But now they only give an artificial smile only showing their teeth.

8. How do people make friendship with others at present according to the poet ?

Answer : Now there is no genuine selfless friendship. Now, before making friends with somebody, modern people try to find out if s/he is of a high social status, or whether s/he will be of any help for him in future.

9. Why does the poet say "Glad to meet you" without being glad?

Answer : With a long association with the society, the poet has taken up the ways and manners of modern men.

He has found people saying "Glad to meet you" without being glad, and so he has adapted it.

10. What does the poet want to be ?

Answer : The poet is sick of the double standard of the behavioural patterns of the modern society. So he wants to go back to the time, and to be what he used to be in the past.

11. What happens to the poet when he visits some one for the third time?

Answer : When he does so, he finds the doors shut on his face.

12. Pick out from the poem the expressions that indicate conflicting ideas.

Answer : Some examples of conflicting ideas from the poem are:

saying "Glad to meet you" without being glad, or saying "It has been really nice talking to you" after being bored.

13. How does the poet compare his face with dresses ?

Answer : As people change their faces according to mood, place, occasion or situation, similarly the poet changes his face according to place, situation or time. 

He makes different faces while at office, home, or while spending time with friends.

14. What does the poet mean when he says 'Good bye' ?

Answer : When he says 'Good bye', he actually means 'Good riddance'.

15. What does the poet desire to unlearn and to relearn ?

Answer : He wants to unlearn fake behaviour, double talks and hypocrisies of the modern society.

 He wants to relearn his lost innocence and genuine behaviour of his past days.

16. How is the poet's laugh reflected in the mirror ?

Answer : What does the poet long for ?

Answer : He longs for his past days, when he was free of all the fake artificial behaviours of the modern society.

17. Mention the qualities the child in the poem symbolizes.

Answer : He symbolizes innocence, real genuine behaviour . He is far from the modern ways of fake behaviour and double talks.

18. Explain the things the poet has learnt when he grew into an adult.

Answer : As he has grown into an adult, he has learnt new ways of socializing, hiding and faking emotions and wearing several masks on his face.

19. Pick three true statements from the given below :

Answer :

• The poet is a small innocent boy who is pleading to his father for help . (False)
• Snake's bare fangs symbolize dangerous and harmful intentions. (True)
• The poet wants to go back to the state of innocence. (True)
• The poet has adapted societal decorum willingly. (False)
• The poet is unhappy about the way he has changed into. (True)

______ 6. Long Essay Type Question ______

____________________________________

a. How far has Gabriel Okara criticized His contemporary society through this poem ?

Answer :

This poem comes as a stark criticism of the modern society. The poet compares the behaviour of the people of the olden days with that of modern people. There has come a vast contrast between the two.

Formerly people were true, genuine and revealed their true emotions. There used to be no difference between what they said and what they did. 

But now people have been hypocrites, and behave insincerely in a deceptive way. 

There is deception in every field of socialization. Now neither their laugh is genuine, nor their hand-shakes are real, nor they truly invite a friend to their houses. Guests are no longer a welcome. Although they ask you to come and be comfortable at their houses, but they never actually mean that.

Modern people have several layers of masks on their faces, and it is just impossible to know what true self is. 

So, by the end he expresses his desire to revert (to go back/ return) to the earlier societal situation when people were not such fake and hypocrites.   

________________________________________

7. Some Analytical Points

1.Name of the poem : 'Once upon a Time'

2. The Poet : Gabriel Okara (24 April, 1921 ---- 25 March, 2019)

 (24 April, 1921 ---- 25 March, 2019)

Okara was a Nigerian poet and a novelist. After leaving school he became a book binder, and soon began writing plays and features for radio. 

In 1953 his poem 'The Call of the River Nun' won an award at the Nigerian Festival of Arts. By 1960, he was recognized as a renowned literary figure.

He is known as the first modernist poet of Africa. The beauty of his writing is that he has included African thought, religion, folklore and imagery into both his verse and prose.

3. Time Period: The poem first appeared in Okara's 1978 collection 'The Fisherman's Invocation'

4. Genre : A Dramatic Monologue.

 It is a short expressive poem with a first person perspective. So, it is a Lyrical poem.

5. Point of View : First person point of view 

It is written from the point of view of the speaker.

6. Speaker : The speaker of this poem is a middle aged person talking to his son. (represents old generation)

7. Addressee : The speaker's young son. (represents young generation)

8. Tone/ Mood :

Tone : Ironic, Satirical, Nostalgic, Sad

Mood : Somber

9 . Theme : Cultural crisis, Loss of innocence, Degradation of human values.

10 . Form and Structure :

a.> It is written in Free Verse with irregular stanzas, without following a particular rhyme scheme.

b.> This poem has a circular form, because it starts and ends with the same phrase :

"Once upon a Time"

c.> There are altogether seven stanzas in the poem. Stanza division is as follows :

* Stanzas 1 -- 3

In these three stanzas the speaker is talking about the new ways of socializing, which is all fake. He also compares them with the old ways of socializing .

Stanza 1 tells us how do modern people laugh

Stanza 2 tells us how do modern people shake hands

Stanza 3 tells us how do modern people welcome their friends or relatives to their houses.

The conclusion is that in the present time neither laugh is genuine, and nor shaking hands, nor their welcoming is genuine.

* Stanzas 4 -- 5

In these two stanzas he accepts living in the society, he too has adapted the modern ways of behaviour, and tells a list of the things he has learnt.

* Stanza 6. 

In this stanza he tells his son that he is sick of such newly adapted manners, and want to get rid of them.

He wants to give up all such muting things and wants to go back to his olden days when he used to be a true honest person.

* Stanza 7. 

In this stanza he requests his son to help him in relearning his olden days of genuine behaviour.

11. . Some literary devices used in the poem :

• Enjambment : There are several occurrences of enjambment in this poem. One such example is :"they used to laugh with their hearts/ and laugh with their eyes"
• Repetition : 'laugh', 'shake hands', 'son' etc. are repeated
• Metaphor : 'ice block cold eyes', 'homeface' etc.
• Simile : "with all their conforming smiles/ like a fixed portrait" / "my teeth like a snake's bare fangs" etc.
• Imagery : There are several imageries used in this poem. For example, shaking hands, smiling, different facial expressions for different situations, snake's bare fangs etc.
• Alliteration : 'So show me son', 'But believe me' etc.
• Assonance : once upon a time, son../ like a fixed portrait smile../ I want .... etc.
• Irony : Now they 'only laugh with their teeth,'/  '.... there will be no thrice' 
• Caesura : [Caesura is a break in a line often marked by punctuation or a grammatical boundary. Caesura in this poem reflects the speaker's 'internal conflict' and 'the artificiality of modern society'.] ... There are several examples of caesura in this poem, for example, "search behind my shadow", "So I have learned many things, son" etc.
• Sibilance : [It is "the repetition of 'hissing' or 'hushing' sounds like 's', 'sh', 'z', 'zh' 'f', 'th' etc. It is used to create a specific effect. ...] For example, 'So show me son ...'
• Antithesis : It is when the speaker says :  "I have learned to say 'Good Bye'/ when I mean 'Good riddance' ".
• Symbol : 'Snake's bare fangs' is the symbol of mischief and and selfishness.
• Dehumanization : [Dehumanization is the act of portraying people as less than human. This is done by comparing them to animals, objects or machines etc. or denying them fundamental human qualities like emotions, morality etc.] ... In this poem, by comparing the speaker's laugh with snake's fangs the human quality of laughing , or being amiable has been reduced to a snake's poisonous teeth which is a symbol of deceit and a hidden danger. 

___________________________________

Credits :

1. Images : Google Image

2. Black and white illustration of snake's fangs in mirror : Chinar 1/ Foundation Books Pvt. Ltd./New Delhi

3. Conceptual Assistance : Bhaskar Bagchi and Sriparna Chakraborty Bagchi

________________________________________________________

Viewers are requested to drop their suggestions and feedbacks in the comment box below. They help improving contents.

____________________________________