From the given options, select the figure of speech (poetic device) used in expression:
Elsa became the benevolent beast of the forest
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Oxymoron
Benevolent means kind, generous and wishing good to others, while a beast is a savage, wild animal, a word that suggests fierceness and cruelty. "Benevolent beast" sets kindness against savagery, a clash of opposite ideas.
| Option | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Simile | A simile compares two things using "like" or "as". The line has no such word. It does not say Elsa was like a beast. | He was as brave as a lion. |
| (2) Personification | Personification gives human qualities to a non-human thing, such as wind that whispers or a house that groans. The striking feature of this line is not a human quality given to an object. It is the pairing of two contrary words, kind "benevolent" with savage "beast". | The wind whispered through the trees. |
| (3) Oxymoron (answer) | An oxymoron puts together two words of opposite or clashing meaning to create a striking effect. | The room fell into a deafening silence. |
| (4) Pun | a play on a word that has two meanings or on words that sound alike, used for humour. No word in the line is used in two senses. | A bicycle cannot stand on its own because it is two tired. |