Point of View

The third person narrator who tells this story is interesting in that he, or she, seems to disappear. It is almost as if the reader is telling the story to him or herself. This faceless narrator is not objective, however—the language the narrator uses to tell the tale is emotional and suspenseful.

Anthropomorphism

The narrator leads readers to think of the cliff as unfeeling, unthinking, as cliffs surely are, but in this story, the cliff has been given human attributes: It opens "a great black mouth . . . in its face." It seems to yawn, as if it is "tired of battle." The waves, meanwhile, meet "confusedly." They chase each other, climb over each other, spit, yawn, tumble, hiss, and roar.

Symbolism

So, who is this cliff? Who are these waves? The narrator is mute on this subject. There are clues, however. The weak, confused waves...