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Difficulty: MediumUnseen Text Appreciation and Analysis

Read the unseen poetic extract below and answer the question that follows:

"Beneath the silver moonlight's heavy glare,
We walked through crowded streets of solitude;
The quiet noise of midnight filled the air,
Where ancient shadows carefully intrude."

Which literary device is predominantly featured in the expressions "crowded streets of solitude" and "quiet noise"?

  1. OxymoronAnswer
  2. B
    Paradox
  3. C
    Metaphor
  4. D
    Assonance

Answer

Oxymoron
The expressions 'crowded streets of solitude' and 'quiet noise' join directly opposing words to produce a compressed stylistic contrast. Bringing together mutually exclusive terms side-by-side is the exact definition of an oxymoron.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the structure of the target phrases from the extract.
The phrases pair contrasting ideas directly together: 'crowded' with 'solitude', and 'quiet' with 'noise'.
Analyzing how words relate semantically reveals the figure of speech used.
2
Differentiate between oxymoron and other literary devices.
The side-by-side placement of words with contradictory meanings defines an oxymoron.
Oxymoron specifically requires adjacent contradictory terms.

Key Concept

Identification of Figures of Speech in Unseen Extracts (Oxymoron vs. Paradox)
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Topics

Unseen Text Appreciation and Analysis

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