Read the following poem and attempt the question :
Harlem
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore -
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over -
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
The word 'like' in the third sentence denotes which figure of speech?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → simile
A simile compares two different things directly, using like or as. In "fester like a sore", the deferred dream is compared to a wound that becomes infected; the word "like" signals the comparison. The poem is built on such similes: like a raisin, like a sore, like rotten meat, like a syrupy sweet, like a heavy load.
Example: Her smile was like a ray of sunshine.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: metaphor — Incorrect. A metaphor compares without "like" or "as", saying that one thing is another; the presence of "like" makes this a simile.
Example: Time is a thief.
Option 2: alliteration — Incorrect. Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the start of nearby words; it concerns sound, not comparison.
Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Option 3: synecdoche — Incorrect. Synecdoche uses a part to stand for the whole (or the whole for a part); "like" does no such thing.
Example: The captain asked for all hands on deck.