Question

Choose the figure of speech in the given line:
"Like pearls, and now a silver blade."
a) Simile
b) Oxymoron
c) Personification
d) Hyperbole

Answer 1

Hint: The figure of speech is used in a sentence to give a non-literal meaning to it. The use of ‘like’ in the sentence indicates a comparison between the objects.

Complete answer:
The figure of speech is a word or phrase that annotates a non-literal meaning to the sentence. The most commonly used figures of speech are simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, oxymoron, and so on. They help in providing rhetorical effect to the sentence.
In the given sentence, something is compared to the ‘pearls.’ The use of like in the statement shows the use of simile. The simile is a figure of speech that compares one thing to another using like or as. Therefore, the option gives us the right answer.
An oxymoron in option b is wrong as we use it to show contrasting terms simultaneously. Example: irregular pattern.
Personification is that figure of speech that attributes human characteristics to non-living and abstract things. Example: the howling wind. Therefore, option c cannot be the right answer.
Option d is also incorrect as hyperbole is used in a sentence to exaggerate statements or claims to create an added effect. Example: I have asked you to do it over a million times!

Note: Figure of speech is entirely different from parts of speech. The latter describes what structures a meaningful sentence – noun, verb, pronoun, and so.