Question

Which figurative language comes across most clearly in this excerpt from T.S. Eliot's "Preludes"?

The winter evening settles down
With smell of steaks in passageways.
Six o'clock.
The burnt-out ends of smoky days.
And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lots;
The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimney-pots,
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lighting of the lamps.

irony
imagery
repetition
hyperbole

Answer 1

the correct answer is imagery

Answer 2

The correct answer is imagery. Remember that imagery is figurative language that appeals to the five senses. An image is a description that appealse to the reader's sense of sight, smell, hearing, touch, or taste. In this passage, Eliot is using strong sensory imagery. Among other things, he describes "the smell of stakes" (smell), "the burnt-out ends of smoky days" (sight), "a gusty shower" (sight), the sound of rain "on broken blinds and chimney-pots" (sound). Therefore, the correct answer is imagery.