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Question

Difficulty: Very hardFigurative Language and Tropes

Read the poetic excerpt below carefully:

"His humble pride became his shield of brass,
Creating a silent thunder through the pass."

Which figure of speech is primarily deployed in the phrase "humble pride"?

  1. OxymoronAnswer
  2. B
    Paradox
  3. C
    Simile
  4. D
    Dramatic Irony

Answer

Oxymoron
The correct choice is Oxymoron because 'humble' and 'pride' are two opposing words placed side-by-side to express a complex, self-contradictory quality within a single phrase.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the target phrase in the poem
Identified the phrase 'humble pride' containing two words with opposite meanings placed side-by-side.
Determining the grammatical structure and placement of contrasting terms is essential for identifying the precise trope.
2
Differentiate between condensed word-level contrast and statement-level contrast
The expression juxtaposes 'humble' (modest) and 'pride' (haughty self-regard) immediately next to each other within a single noun phrase, fitting the definition of an oxymoron rather than a full clause/statement paradox.
Oxymoron requires contiguous placement of contradictory terms, whereas paradox spans a full proposition.

Key Concept

Oxymoron versus Paradox in Literary Tropes
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Topics

Figurative Language and Tropes

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