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Difficulty: MediumLiterary Devices and Figurative Language

Read the following English translation of a stanza from 'Canción de otoño en primavera' by Rubén Darío:

'Youth, divine treasure,
already you go, not to return!
When I want to weep, I do not weep,
and sometimes I weep without intending.'

Which literary device is demonstrated in the contrast between wanting to weep and the inability to do so in the last two lines?

  1. AntithesisAnswer
  2. B
    Apostrophe
  3. C
    Hyperbole
  4. D
    Personification

Answer

Antithesis
The correct option is antithesis because the final two lines of the stanza present a clear contrast and juxtaposition of opposite concepts: the desire to weep without the physical action of doing so, and the involuntary action of weeping without the conscious desire. This structure emphasizes the speaker's emotional state through contradiction.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the final two lines of the excerpt to identify the core relationship between the ideas presented.
The lines contrast the desire to weep ('When I want to weep, I do not weep') with the action of weeping ('and sometimes I weep without intending').
Understanding the relationship between the statements is necessary to identify the rhetorical structure.
2
Match the identified relationship to the definitions of standard literary devices.
The juxtaposition of opposite or contrasting ideas in a balanced grammatical structure is known as antithesis.
This allows for the correct classification of the figurative language used in the passage.

Key Concept

Identifying and interpreting antithesis in literary texts
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Literary Devices and Figurative Language

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