GATE 2021 XH2 – Question 57
Consider these excerpts.
Quote P: “O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being, / Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead / Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, / Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, / Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou, / Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed”.
Quote Q: “O golden-tongued Romance with serene lute! / Fair plumed Siren! Queen of far away!”
Which devices occur in BOTH excerpts?
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Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: (A) Apostrophe; (D) Personification
Explanation
Both speakers directly address an absent or nonhuman entity, which is apostrophe, A. Both give an abstraction or natural force a personal identity and agency, which is personification, D. Shelley’s “wild West Wind” is strongly alliterative, but that does not establish alliteration as a common device in both excerpts. Neither passage principally expresses aporia or unresolved doubt. Select A,D.