Tag: techniques of style

Questions Related to techniques of style

Read the poems carefully, and accordingly, fill in the blank:
The Old Man's Comforts
"You are old, father William," the young man cried,
"The few locks which are left you are grey;
You are hale, father William, a hearty old man;
Now tell me the reason, I pray."


"In the days of my youth," father William replied,
"I remember'd that youth would fly fast,
And abus'd not my health and my vigour at first,
That I never might need them at last."


You are Old, Father William
You are old, Father William, the young man said,
And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head
Do you think, at your age, it is right?

In my youth, Father William replied to his son,
I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.

The second poem takes inspiration from the first poem. The second poem may be said to be a ________________.

  1. parable

  2. parody

  3. modernization

  4. extension


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

Parody is an imitation of a particular work, exaggerating it deliberately to produce a comic effect- pokes fun at the work it immigrates. Here, the second poem is a parody of the first. So, the answer to the question asked is option B.

Identify the literary device in the following passage:
   

   Wherefore Christian was left to tumble in the Slough of Despond alone: but still he endeavoured to struggle to that side of the slough that was still further from his own house, and next to the wicket-gate; the which he did, but could not get out, because of the burden that was upon his back: but I beheld in my dream, that a man came to him, whose name was Help, and asked him, What he did there?
CHR: Sir, said Christian, I was bid go this way by a man called Evangelist, who directed me also to yonder gate, that I might escape the wrath to come; and as I was going thither I fell in here.

HELP: But why did not you look for the steps?

CHR: Fear followed me so hard, that I fled the next way, and fell in.

HELP: Then said he, Give me thy hand: so he gave him his hand, and he drew him out, and set him upon sound ground, and bid him go on his way. [Ps. 40:2]

  1. Irony

  2. Satire

  3. Metaphor

  4. Allegory


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

The passage here is not ironic or satiric. It is also not a metaphor. Allegory refers to a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. The given passage has a moral or religious meaning- it belongs to Psalm 40 1-2. So, the correct answer is option D.

Identify the literary device used in the following passage:

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darlingmy darlingmy life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

  1. Exaggeration

  2. Metaphor

  3. Pathos

  4. Synecdoche


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

The given lines clearly employ pathos as the lines appeal to the emotions of the reader and evoke sorrow and pity for the poet. The correct answer is option C.

Brutus: Peace! Count the clock.
Cassius: The clock has stricken three.

These lines place a clock in classical Rome when clocks had not yet been invented. These lines contain an example of

  1. anachronism

  2. exaggeration

  3. euphemism

  4. transferred epithet


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Anachronism is the action of attributing something to a period to which it does not belong. Here, Cassius and Brutus mention clock but in classical Rome there were no clocks. So, the given lines are an example of anachronism. The answer is option A. 

Identify the literary device used in the following lines:

There wasn't anybody at the church, except maybe a hog or two, for there wasn't any lock on the door and hogs likes a puncheon floor in  summer-time because its cool. If you notice, most folks don't go to church only when they've got to; but a hog is different.

  1. Satire

  2. Epic

  3. Pastoral

  4. Exaggeration


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Satire uses humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to expose and criticize people's vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other social issues. The given lines employ satire (irony) to make a social commentary. The correct answer is option A.

Identify the literary style of the following passage:

Sing of the well-quivered, silver-bowed Delian son of Zeus
with an eager heart and a fair sounding tongue. 
Put in your hand the beautiful olive branch of a suppliant
and the glorious bough, young men of Athens. 
And may a faultless hymn sing of the son of Leto
Who once begot the helper against diseases and human misery,
Asclepios, an eager young man.
On the peaks of Pelion a centaur taught him the craft
and wisdom that ward off pains for mortals.
He is the child of Coronis, gentle to men, a most revered deity.

  1. Ode

  2. Paean

  3. Pastoral

  4. Sonnet


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

Option B is correct because a paean is a literary work written to praise or pay tribute to someone. It is a way of praising someone's work or life in a poetic manner. Here, the poet describes the goodness of Asclepios and tries to praise him and his life.
Option A is incorrect; this stanza is not an ode. Odes are written to be sung. They are lyrical and have lots of rhyming syllables, which is not true of the given text.
Option C is incorrect. This stanza is not a pastoral. A pastoral is the defining of one's land, country or the people from a particular region in a poetic manner.
Option D is incorrect. This stanza is not a sonnet. Sonnets are usually composed of 14 lines and are written with rhyming words most of the time. 

Identify the genre of the following passage:

A jackdaw saw that the doves were well-fed, so she painted herself white and flew into the dove-cot. The doves thought at first that she was a dove like them, and let her in. But the jackdaw forgot herself and croaked in jackdaw fashion. Then the doves began to pick at her and drove her away. The jackdaw flew back to her friends but the jackdaws were frightened of her, seeing her white, and themselves drove her away.

  1. Fable

  2. Burlesque

  3. Pastoral

  4. Georgic


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

A fable is a simple tale that attributes human-like qualities to animals and presents a moral lesson. The given passage has all these elements. So, the passage is a fable. The correct option is A.

Identify the literary device in the following sentence:

   They crowded very close about him, with their hands always on him in a careful, caressing grip, as though all the while feeling him make sure he was there. It was like men handling a fish which is still alive and may jump back into the water.

  1. Metaphor

  2. Allusion

  3. Analogy

  4. Personification


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

Analogy is a comparison between one thing and another, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification. Here, "men handling a fish which is still alive and may jump back into the water" is an analogy - it provides a vivid imagery that makes it clear to the reader exactly how the crowd sorrounded him. So, the answer here is option C.

Identify the genre of the following passage:

In a field one summers day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its hearts content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"
"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "we have got plenty of
food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
   When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food, and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: "it is best to prepare for the days of necessity."

  1. Satire

  2. Fable

  3. Epigram

  4. Hyperbole


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

A fable is a simple tale that attributes human-like qualities to animals and presents a moral lesson. The given passage has all these elements. So, the passage is a fable. The correct answer is option B.

Which of the options correctly identifies the purpose of satire? 
Select the best option. 

  1. to entertain readers

  2. to ridicule malpractices in society

  3. to constructively criticize society

  4. to incite a revolt


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

Satire is a literary device that uses humor, exaggeration, irony or ridicule to criticize people's stupidity and vices. From this, we can conclude that the main purpose of satire is to constructively criticize the society. So, the best answer is option C.