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WAEC SSCE - Literature In English - 1998 (Objective)

Question 1 Report

Read the following poem carefully and answer the questions that follow:
O stealing time, the subject of delay,
Delay the rack of unrefrained desire,
What strange design has thou my hopes to stay?
My hopes which do but to mine own aspire?

Old age is wise, and full of constant truth,
Old age well stayed from ranging humours lives,
Old age hath known, whatever was in youth,
Old age overcome the greater honour gives.

The literary device used in line 1 is an example of
Answer Details
The literary device used in line 1 is an example of an apostrophe. The speaker addresses time as if it were a person who can hear and respond to their words. Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which a speaker addresses an imaginary or absent person, object or idea. In this poem, the speaker addresses "stealing time" and personifies it as the "subject of delay." The speaker asks time why it is delaying their hopes and aspirations, which shows that the speaker is frustrated and impatient. Therefore, the literary device used in line 1 is an apostrophe.
Read lesson note on Poetry (JAMB)
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