Read the following passage and answer the questions.
What is the life if full of care,
we have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as the sheep or cows.
No time to see when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can,
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
What is the primary poetic device used in the poem?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Repetition
Repetition is the use of the same word or phrase again and again for emphasis. The phrase "No time" opens line after line ("No time to stand beneath the boughs", "No time to see ...", "No time to turn ..."), and the opening couplet returns at the end ("We have no time to stand and stare"). The device drives home the poet's complaint about our hurried lives.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Simile — Incorrect. Wrong focus: a simile compares two things using like or as. There is one ("Streams full of stars like skies at night"), but it appears only once; it is not the main device.
Option 3: Enjambment — Incorrect. Wrong focus: enjambment is the running on of a sentence from one line into the next without a pause. A few lines run on, but most of the poem is made of end-stopped couplets.
Option 4: Exaggeration — Incorrect. Misread: exaggeration (hyperbole) overstates something for effect; the poem makes a plain, gentle complaint and does not overstate.