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Difficulty: MediumLiterary Devices and Figurative Language

Read the excerpt from a prescribed poetic text below:

"O iron gates of time, yield your heavy keys and let the captive years return!"

Which literary device is predominantly employed in the line above?

  1. ApostropheAnswer
  2. B
    Oxymoron
  3. C
    Synecdoche
  4. D
    Euphemism

Answer

Apostrophe is used in the excerpt because the speaker directly addresses an abstract entity and inanimate object ('iron gates of time') as if it were capable of hearing and yielding keys.
The line directly addresses 'iron gates of time' using the exclamatory invocation 'O', which defines an apostrophe—a rhetorical device where a speaker addresses an absent person, an abstract idea, or an inanimate object as though it were capable of responding.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the target of the speaker's address in the excerpt.
The speaker opens with the invocation 'O iron gates of time...', addressing an abstract concept ('time') personified as 'iron gates'.
Determining who or what is being addressed is key to identifying the figure of speech.
2
Match the invocation technique to its formal literary term.
Formally addressing an inanimate object or abstract idea using an exclamatory phrase ('O...') constitutes an apostrophe.
Apostrophe specifically refers to a direct address to an absent, inanimate, or abstract entity.

Key Concept

Apostrophe in Literary Excerpts
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Topics

Literary Devices and Figurative Language

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