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
Antithesis:
- Antithesis places two opposite ideas side by side in balanced, parallel phrases, so that each sharpens the other.
- The line is from Alexander Pope's poem "An Essay on Criticism".
- Deciding clue: "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.
Example: Man proposes, God disposes.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: hyperbole — Incorrect. Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration for effect; the line states a plain truth without exaggerating it.
Example: I have told you a million times to shut the door.
Option 2: anaphora — Incorrect. Anaphora is 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.
Example: We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds.
Option 4: metaphor — Incorrect. A metaphor calls one thing another to suggest a likeness, without "like" or "as"; nothing in the line is compared to something else.
Example: Time is a thief.
Contrast: antithesis sets two opposite ideas in balanced halves; hyperbole exaggerates, anaphora repeats an opening phrase, and a metaphor calls one thing another.