Question

Identify the figure of speech used in the following lines: 'The house was crouching on its elbows then,' Choose the appropriate option from the ones given below:

• A. Personification
• B. Alliteration
• C. Simile
• D. Hyperbole

Hint:

Whenever a non-living object is shown as thinking, speaking, feeling, walking, smiling, crying, or performing any other human action, the figure of speech is generally Personification.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Concept: Figures of speech are literary devices that writers use to make their language more expressive, imaginative, and vivid. They often convey meanings beyond the literal interpretation of words. To identify the correct figure of speech, it is important to understand the defining characteristics of each literary device.
• Personification: Giving human qualities, actions, emotions, or characteristics to non-living things, animals, or abstract ideas.
• Alliteration: Repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words.
• Simile: A comparison between two unlike things using words such as ‘like” or ‘as”.
• Hyperbole: A deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.

Step 1: Analyzing the Subject of the Sentence The sentence begins with the expression: [ “The house was crouching on its elbows then.” ] The subject of the sentence is “the house”. A house is a non-living object and therefore cannot perform actions that require human movement or physical structure.

Step 2: Examining the Action Described The action attributed to the house is ‘crouching”. Crouching is a human action that involves bending the body and taking a lowered position. Furthermore, the phrase mentions ‘its elbows”, which are body parts associated with living beings.

Step 3: Identifying the Literary Device Since the house is being described as if it possesses human body parts and is capable of performing human actions, the writer is attributing human characteristics to an inanimate object. This is the exact definition of Personification.

Step 4: Eliminating the Other Options
• Option (B) Alliteration: There is no significant repetition of initial consonant sounds.
• Option (C) Simile: No comparison using ‘like” or ‘as” is present.
• Option (D) Hyperbole: The sentence is not primarily based on exaggeration. Instead, it gives human qualities to a non-living object. Therefore, the correct answer is Personification.