EnglishComprehension - (Poetry / Literary)

Which figure of speech is used in the line “And lifts her leafy arms…

Read the poem and answer the following question

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Which figure of speech is used in the line “And lifts her leafy arms to pray”?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → Personification

Personification:

Personification means giving human qualities or actions to a thing that is not human.
In the line “And lifts her leafy arms to pray”, the tree is called “her”. Its branches are its “arms”.
It lifts them to pray, as a person does. A tree cannot pray, so the line treats it as a person. Example: The sun smiled down on the children at play.

Why the Other Options are Incorrect?

Option 1: Simile — Incorrect. A simile compares two things with “like” or “as”. The line has no such comparing word. Example: Her hands were as cold as ice.

Option 3: Hyperbole — Incorrect. Hyperbole is a big exaggeration made for effect. The line does not overstate anything. Example: I have told you a million times to shut the door.

Option 4: Onomatopoeia — Incorrect. Onomatopoeia is the use of a word that copies a sound, like “buzz”. No word in the line copies a sound. Example: The bees buzzed around the flowers.