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Difficulty: EasyLiterary Devices and Figurative Language

Match each literary excerpt below with the primary figurative device it illustrates.

  • "The whispering wind wept softly through the empty halls."Personification
  • "His fiery temper flared up like an erupting volcano."Simile
  • "I have walked ten thousand miles beneath the scorching sun today."Hyperbole
  • "Life is a fleeting shadow that vanishes in the morning light."Metaphor

Answer

Pair the excerpt describing the weeping wind with Personification, the temper compared using 'like' with Simile, the extreme exaggeration of walking distance with Hyperbole, and the direct identification of life as a shadow with Metaphor.
Each excerpt matches its primary device based on standard literary definitions: personification gives human emotional agency to the wind, simile compares temper to a volcano using 'like', hyperbole magnifies distance to express fatigue, and metaphor directly describes life as a shadow.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the first excerpt: "The whispering wind wept softly through the empty halls."
The phrase attributes human attributes (whispering, weeping) to non-human weather elements.
Attributing human qualities, feelings, or actions to inanimate objects or nature is personification.
2
Analyze the second excerpt: "His fiery temper flared up like an erupting volcano."
The comparison is drawn explicitly using the connector 'like'.
An explicit comparison between two distinct entities using connective terms such as 'like' or 'as' is a simile.
3
Analyze the third excerpt: "I have walked ten thousand miles beneath the scorching sun today."
The physical distance stated is deliberately overstated to emphasize physical strain.
An intentional and obvious overstatement or exaggeration used for rhetorical emphasis is hyperbole.
4
Analyze the fourth excerpt: "Life is a fleeting shadow that vanishes in the morning light."
The sentence makes a direct equivalence between 'life' and 'a fleeting shadow' without comparative words.
A direct comparison stating that one thing is another thing is a metaphor.

Key Concept

Identifying Literary Devices and Figurative Language in Literary Texts
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Literary Devices and Figurative Language

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