Question

Difficulty: HardLiterary Devices, Diction, and Style in Prose

Match each prose extract on the left to the dominant literary device or stylistic feature it demonstrates on the right.

  • "The market square was a swirling ocean of colorful fabrics and shouting voices, drowning all sense of solitude."Metaphor
  • "A deafening silence enveloped the courtroom as the judge prepared to pronounce the final verdict."Oxymoron
  • "The ancient mangrove trees reached out their gnarled fingers to clutch at the passing canoe."Personification
  • "To preserve their traditional freedom, the villagers had to submit to a strict set of communal laws."Paradox

Answer

Extract 1 matches with Metaphor; Extract 2 matches with Oxymoron; Extract 3 matches with Personification; Extract 4 matches with Paradox.
Each prose extract demonstrates a distinct literary device: the direct comparison of the market to an ocean is a Metaphor; placing contradictory terms 'deafening silence' together forms an Oxymoron; assigning human hands and actions to mangrove trees is Personification; and the self-contradictory statement regarding law and freedom constitutes a Paradox.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze Extract 1 for figurative comparison.
Identified a direct comparison between 'market square' and 'swirling ocean' without comparative conjunctions.
Direct comparison establishes a metaphor.
2
Examine Extract 2 for juxtaposed contradictory terms.
Found 'deafening' (loud noise) placed directly beside 'silence' (absence of noise).
Juxtaposition of contradictory words forms an oxymoron.
3
Evaluate Extract 3 for human traits assigned to non-human entities.
Observed trees having 'fingers' and performing the human action of 'clutching'.
Giving human characteristics to inanimate trees is personification.
4
Assess Extract 4 for structural statement contradiction.
Recognized a full sentence asserting that submission to strict laws leads to freedom.
A complete statement that appears contradictory but expresses a fundamental truth is a paradox.

Key Concept

Identification of figurative language and stylistic devices in prose extracts
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