From the given options, select the Figure of Speech (Poetic Device) used in the expression:
A big black bug bit a big black dog
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Alliteration
In “A big black bug bit a big black dog”, the /b/ sound begins six of the nine words.
| Option | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Simile | A simile compares two different things using “like” or “as”. The line compares nothing. | Her smile was as bright as the sun. |
| (2) Metaphor | A metaphor calls one thing another to show a likeness, without “like” or “as”. The bug and the dog are described literally. | For a busy shopkeeper, time is money. |
| (3) Alliteration (answer) | Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words that are close together, used for its musical effect. | Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers is a famous line built on alliteration. |
| (4) Oxymoron | An oxymoron puts two words of opposite meaning side by side. “Big black” are not opposites. | The room fell into a deafening silence. |
Contrast: alliteration repeats the same opening sound. A simile, a metaphor and an oxymoron work through meaning, not sound.