Identify the most appropriate figure of speech used in the given phrase:
'Little sorrows sit and weep'
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Personification
"Sorrows" are feelings, yet in this line they "sit and weep" like people.
| Option | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) Hyperbole | deliberate exaggeration. Nothing in the line is exaggerated. | I am so hungry I could eat a horse. |
| (2) Metaphor | A metaphor says that one thing is another. The sorrows are not called something else, they are given human actions. | Life is a journey. |
| (3) Irony | saying the opposite of what one means, or an outcome opposite to what is expected. The line is meant sincerely. | The fire station burnt down last night. |
| (4) Personification (answer) | Personification gives human qualities, feelings or actions to things that are not human, such as animals, objects or ideas. | The wind howled angrily all night. |