This question is based on Selected Poems from Johnson, R et al(eds): New Poetry from Africa; Soyinka,(ed); Poems of Black Africa; Senanu, K.E, and Vincent, ...

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The literary device in the extract above from Herbert's The Pulley is personification. Personification is a literary device where human qualities are given to non-human entities, such as objects or animals. In this case, weariness, which is an abstract concept, is personified because it is given the human quality of being able to toss someone to a physical location, in this case, the speaker's breast. The personification emphasizes the power of weariness in bringing the speaker closer to God, which is the central theme of the poem.