Choose the correct figure of speech used in the following sentence:
Ramesh ji signed his son’s admission form for IIT Madras with a proud pen.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Transferred epithet
A pen cannot feel proud. Ramesh ji is the proud one, because his son got into IIT. The word “proud” is moved from him to the pen he signs with.
| Figure | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Personification | human qualities or actions given to a thing, an animal or an idea | The old wall clock in the staff room sighed at every hour. |
| (2) Metaphor | a hidden comparison: it says one thing is another, without “like” or “as” | Our new class teacher is a lighthouse for the weaker students. |
| (3) Transferred epithet (answer) | a describing word moved from a person to a thing linked to them | Rohan spent a nervous morning before his interview. |
| (4) Hyperbole | a big exaggeration made for effect | After the wedding shopping, Mausi’s suitcase weighed more than an elephant. |