From the given options, select the one which correctly identifies the…

The correct answer is Option (1) → Personification

Personification:

• Personification gives human qualities or actions to something that is not human, such as an idea or a feeling.
• It makes an abstract idea vivid by showing it as a living person.
• This line: in "Laughter holding both her sides", laughter is a woman ("her") who holds her sides, as people do when they laugh hard.
  Example: "Opportunity knocked at his door" is personification.

Why the Other Options are Incorrect?

Option 2: Simile — Incorrect.

• A simile compares two things using "like" or "as".
• The line has no "like" or "as" and makes no comparison.
  Example: "Her eyes shone like stars" is a simile.

Option 3: Irony — Incorrect. Irony is saying one thing while meaning the opposite; the line does not mean the opposite of what it says.
Example: "Perfect timing," he said, as the bus left without him.

Option 4: Pun — Incorrect.

• A pun is a play on words that uses two meanings of one word, or two words that sound alike, usually for humour.
• No word in the line is used in two senses.
  Example: "I used to be a banker, but I lost interest" is a pun.

Contrast: personification gives a non-human thing a human action (laughter holding her sides); a simile only compares with "like" or "as", and a pun plays on two meanings of a word.