Question

Which of the following lines contains the same literary device as the one in these lines from the poem: ‘Our memory, suddenly sharpened/examines/gnaws on kind words’.

Options

• The weakening eye of a day

• As silent as pictures on the wall

• My spirit flew in feathers then

• The little window where the sun came peeping in at the morn.

Answer 1

The little window where the sun came peeping in at the morn.

Explanation:

The lines ‘Our memory, suddenly sharpened/examines/gnaws on kind words’ use personification because memory is given human-like actions such as examining and gnawing. Similarly, in option (d), the sun is personified, as it is described as peeping, a human action. Hence, both lines employ the same literary device of personification.