Identify the figure of speech in the following sentence:
The silence screamed accusation.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Oxymoron
Oxymoron:
- An oxymoron puts together two words of opposite meaning for a striking effect.
- This sentence: silence means the absence of all sound, while screamed means made a loud cry. Joining the two creates a contradiction: the silence was so full of blame that it seemed to scream.
Example: A deafening silence followed the announcement.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Hyperbole — Incorrect. Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration for effect; the force of this sentence comes from a contradiction, not from exaggerating size or amount.
Example: I have told you a thousand times to switch off the fan.
Option 2: Metaphor — Incorrect. A metaphor says that one thing is another, without "like" or "as". The sentence does carry an implied comparison, but its striking point is the clash between "silence" and "screamed", two words of opposite meaning, which is the mark of an oxymoron.
Example: For the poor farmer, the first rain was a gift from heaven.
Option 4: Litotes — Incorrect. Litotes is understatement made by denying the opposite ("not bad" for "good"); there is no understatement here.
Example: The food at the new restaurant was not bad at all.
Contrast: an oxymoron joins two words of opposite meaning ("silence" and "screamed"); a metaphor only says that one thing is another.