Read the following passage and answer the questions by choosing the correct option :-
The sun descending in the west,
The evening star does shine;
The birds are silent in their nest.
And I must seek for mine
The moon, like a flower
In heaven's high bower
With silent delight
Sits and smiles on the night
Farewell, green fields and happy grove,
Where flocks have took delight:
Where lambs have nibbled, silent move
The feet of angels bright;
Unseen they pour blessing
And joy without ceasing
On each bud and blossom,
And each sleeping bosom.
They look in every thoughtless nest
Where birds are covered warm:
They visit caves of every beast,
To keep them all from harm:
If they see any weeping
That should have been sleeping
They pour sleep on their head,
And sit down by their bed
Choose the correct figure of speech in the line "Sits and smiles on the night".
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Personification
Personification:
- Personification gives human actions or feelings to something that is not human.
- It makes nature seem alive and close to us.
- This line: the moon sits and smiles "With silent delight", actions and a mood that belong to a person.
Example: The wind whispered through the trees.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Simile — Incorrect.
- A simile is a comparison using "like" or "as".
- The simile of the stanza is "The moon, like a flower"; the line "Sits and smiles on the night" has no "like" or "as".
Option 2: Hyperbole — Incorrect. Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration for effect ("I have told you a hundred times"); the line exaggerates nothing.
Option 4: Transferred epithet — Incorrect.
- A transferred epithet moves an adjective from the person it describes to a thing, as in "a sleepless night".
- The line has no such adjective; it gives the moon a human action.
Contrast: a simile compares with "like" or "as"; personification gives a non-human thing a human action, as the moon "sits and smiles" here.
Note: The actual question was dropped by NTA. For the benefit of the students and to give additional practice, the original question has been replaced with a new question.