Barter by sara teasdale life has loveliness to sell, all beautiful and splendid things, blue waves whitened on a cliff, soaring fire that sways and sings, and children's faces looking up holding wonder like a cup. life has loveliness to sell, music like a curve of gold, scent of pine trees in the rain, eyes that love you, arms that hold, and for your spirit's still delight, holy thoughts that star the night. spend all you have for loveliness, buy it and never count the cost; for one white singing hour of peace count many a year of strife well lost, and for a breath of ecstasy give all you have been, or could be. what is the meaning of “barter”? how does the author’s word choice, figurative language, and use of poetic devices convey the meaning and the tone? use evidence from the text to support your response. your response should be one or two complete paragraphs.

The meaning of “barter” is to exchange goods or services for other goods or services instead of using money. In this case, the word “barter” is the name of the poem by Sara Teasdale (1917) and its definition reflects on the meaning of the poem which is to purchase and appreciate magical moments (loveliness) in our life that are worth hard work. For instance, Teasdale mentions “Blue waves whitened on a cliff”, “Soaring fire that sways and sings”, and “And children's faces looking up” as moments that life has to “sell” us and that should be enjoyed never counting the cost. The tone of the poem is joyful, optimistic, and sentimental. In order to support the meaning and the tone of the poem, the writer used some poetic devices. One poetic device used in the poem is simile in the phrases “holding wonder like a cup” and “music like a curve of gold”, making a comparison between two different things. Another poetic device is alliteration in the phrase “Life has loveliness to sell” with the repetition of the sound /l/ in neighboring words (life, loveliness, sell). In this same phrase, a different poetic device can be found: repetition, since it is repeated in Line 7 (Stanza 2). Another poetic device is personification, since the fire is given human qualities like singing in the phrase “Soaring fire that sways and sings”.

- the mistakes that have been done in the past will repeat themselves

- you will trust all the wrong people

there is no paragraph seven here.