Question

The phrase “cherished by the faithful sun” (line 21980) is an example of ____________.
A. Irony
B. Paradox
C. Personification
D. Oxymoron
E. Poetic licence

Answer 1

Hint: Figure of speech is an intentional deviation from ordinary language or it is a word or phrase that possesses a separate meaning from its literal definition.

Complete answer:
Figures of speech in English are: simile, metaphor, personification, apostrophe, irony, oxymoron and etc. are used to convey the meaning other than the literal meaning.
Option A) Irony – is an incorrect answer because irony indicates the contrast between what is said and what is meant. For example: A fire station burns down. The phrase “cherished by the faithful sun” does not show any irony. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.
Option B) Paradox - is an incorrect answer because a paradox is a statement or group of sentences that contradict what we know while delivering an inherent truth. Thus, this is an incorrect answer because in the phrase there are no contradicting features or qualities.
Option C) Personification – is the correct answer because personification is a type of metaphor and a common literary tool. Personification defines the qualities of a person to something that is not a human or that isn’t even alive. For example: The wind howled in the night, Lightning danced across the sky. Personification in the phrase occurs when a thing is represented as a person, in literal or art. Thus, this is the correct answer.
Option D) Oxymoron - is an incorrect answer because an oxymoron is a combination of two words that contradicts each other. It’s a dramatic figure of speech. Thus, this is an incorrect answer because in the phrase there are no contradicting features or qualities.
Option E) Poetic licence – is an incorrect answer because poetic licence is a part of speech that defines licences or liberty taken by a poet, prose writer, or other artist in deviating from rule, conventional form, logic or fact in order to produce a desired result. Thus, this cannot be the correct answer.
The phrase “cherished by the faithful sun” (line 21980) is an example of personification.

So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note:
Figure of speech are means of expressing one's thought and emotions by adding intensity to the words used in it. It is a rhetorical way of speaking or telling the uses of words in distinctive way. For example: the use of figure of speech in the sentences:
1: Our luxury hotel turned out to be a farm building – irony (irony is a figure of speech that is used in the sentence).
2: “My weakness is my strength” – paradox (paradox is a figure of speech used in this sentence).
3: The car danced across the icy road – personification (personification is a figure of speech used in this sentence).
4: That woman is pretty ugly – oxymoron (oxymoron is a figure of speech used in this sentence).
5: He used a fair amount of poetic licence when describing his life in rural India – Poetic licence (poetic licence is a figure of speech used in this sentence).