Select the correct figure of speech used in the following sentence from the given options:-
To err is human, to forgive divine.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → antithesis
The line is from Alexander Pope's poem "An Essay on Criticism". "To err" (to make mistakes) is set against "to forgive", and "human" against "divine", in two balanced halves: making mistakes is human, forgiving them is god-like.
| Option | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) hyperbole | deliberate exaggeration for effect. The line states a plain truth without exaggerating it. | I have told you a million times to shut the door. |
| (2) anaphora | the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines. The line rests on contrast, not on a repeated opening phrase. | We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds. |
| (3) antithesis (answer) | Antithesis places two opposite ideas side by side in balanced, parallel phrases, so that each sharpens the other. | Man proposes, God disposes. |
| (4) metaphor | A metaphor calls one thing another to suggest a likeness, without "like" or "as". Nothing in the line is compared to something else. | Time is a thief. |