Read the poem and answer the questions given below it.
Notifications at Midnight
At midnight, when the house is dark and still,
and Amma’s door is shut across the hall,
my phone begins to buzz on the window sill
and throws a square of blue light on the wall.
“You up?” from Rohan. Someone shares a reel.
The class group argues over Monday’s sum.
A streak of thirty days I must not break,
a sale that ends at two. And on they come.
The phone lies warm and heavy in my hand,
my thumb is sore from sliding up the glass,
the sheet is hot and crumpled at my back,
and still I let another hour pass.
At one I turn the screen face down. And then
the old, plain dark comes back, so soft and deep.
I turn my weary pillow to its cool side,
and hear the fan, and slowly fall asleep.
Identify the figure of speech used in the line:
“I turn my weary pillow to its cool side”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Transferred epithet
Transferred epithet:
- A transferred epithet moves a describing word from a person to a thing near that person.
- A pillow cannot be “weary” (very tired). It is the speaker who is weary after an hour of scrolling. The tiredness of the speaker is moved to the pillow. Example: The prisoner paced up and down his lonely cell.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Simile — Incorrect. A simile compares two different things using “like” or “as”. Example: Her hands were as cold as ice.
Option 3: Hyperbole — Incorrect. Hyperbole is a big exaggeration that is not meant to be taken as true. Example: I have a mountain of homework this week.
Option 4: Oxymoron — Incorrect. An oxymoron puts two words of opposite meaning side by side. Example: There was a sweet pain in saying goodbye to school.