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Question

Difficulty: MediumLiterary Devices and Figurative Language

Match each literary excerpt from the prescribed text on the left with the correct literary device it demonstrates on the right.

  • "The general was no novice in the art of tactical warfare, having survived ten grueling campaigns."Litotes
  • "And the storm raged, and the thunder roared, and the sea swelled against our battered vessel."Polysyndeton
  • "She gathered her dignity, her leather cloak, and her composure before stepping out into the crowd."Zeugma
  • "The proud conqueror offered war to the rebellious kings, but peace to the humble villagers."Antithesis

Answer

The correct pairings match the excerpt containing 'no novice' with Litotes, the passage with repeated 'and' conjunctions with Polysyndeton, the phrase using 'gathered' for both physical and abstract items with Zeugma, and the contrasting 'war/peace' statement with Antithesis.
Each excerpt exhibits explicit structural characteristics matching its paired literary device: double negation or understatement for Litotes, repeated conjunctions for Polysyndeton, a single verb connecting concrete and abstract nouns for Zeugma, and parallel opposing ideas for Antithesis.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the figurative construction in the first excerpt
Identified 'no novice' as an intentional understatement using negative phrasing to affirm expertise.
Negating the opposite to emphasize an affirmative state defines Litotes.
2
Analyze the syntactic structure of the second excerpt
Observed multiple consecutive clauses linked by repeated conjunctions ('and').
Using redundant conjunctions for stylistic effect is Polysyndeton.
3
Inspect the verb relationship in the third excerpt
Found 'gathered' governing both a physical garment and abstract mental attributes.
Linking words of different semantic or physical categories with one verb forms Zeugma.
4
Evaluate the thematic structure of the fourth excerpt
Identified balanced opposition between 'war to kings' and 'peace to villagers'.
Parallel placement of opposing concepts constitutes Antithesis.

Key Concept

Identification and contextual analysis of figures of speech in prescribed texts
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Topics

Literary Devices and Figurative Language

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