Read the poem and answer the questions given below it.
A Letter Never Posted
I wrote it on the night we fought, Imran,
in pencil first, then over it in ink:
three pages on the cricket bat I broke
and blamed on you before I stopped to think.
I said I missed our long walks home from school.
I said the new boy’s jokes were not that bright.
I said that I was sorry. Twice. And then
I struck one out. Two did not seem quite right.
I bought a stamp and wrote your full address.
I left it on my desk to post next day.
Next day you sat beside Vikram in class,
and so I put the envelope away.
Each Diwali, when we cleaned the house, it moved
one drawer down, under bills and broken pens.
Your family left for Pune that December.
I heard it later, from our common friends.
It is still here. The stamp is two rupees,
the flap unstuck, the pages curled at the end.
Last year I found your number in a group.
I typed out “Hi, it’s me,” and did not send.
Identify the figure of speech used in the lines:
“I said I missed our long walks home from school.
I said the new boy’s jokes were not that bright.
I said that I was sorry.”
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Anaphora
Anaphora:
- Anaphora is the repetition of the same words at the start of lines that come one after another.
- Here “I said” begins three lines in a row. The repeated words show the speaker pouring out one thing after another in the letter. Example: Every morning she ran, every evening she read, every night she wrote.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Simile — Incorrect. A simile compares two different things using “like” or “as”. Example: The baby’s cheeks were as soft as cotton.
Option 2: Oxymoron — Incorrect. An oxymoron puts two words of opposite meaning side by side. Example: The hall fell into a loud silence when the result was read.
Option 4: Hyperbole — Incorrect. Hyperbole is a big exaggeration that is not meant to be taken as true. Example: I have told you a million times to shut the door.