Question

Which literary device has Edmund Spenser used in these lines from Sonnet 9?

Long-while I sought to what I might compare
Those powerful eyes, which lighten my dark sprite,
Yet find I nought on earth to which I dare
Resemble th'image of their goodly light.
Not to the sun: for they do shine by night


A.simile
B.metaphor
C.hyperbole
D.personification

Answer 1

C). Hyperbole.

Step-by-step explanation:

Hyperbole is illustrated as the literary device that offers an overstatement or acute exaggeration to highlight a specific idea or point. It helps the author to create a splendid and distinguished effect in order to emphasize a particular point.

As per the question, the literary device employed by Spenser in this excerpt from his 'Sonnet 9' would be 'hyperbole' as the poet exaggerates the description of eyes by saying 'powerful eyes....lighten...dark sprite' and contradicts it by describing it as 'resemble ...image of goodly light', 'shine by night' that helps emphasize the beauty and gleam of his beloved's eyes which however is contradictory as the words 'dark' and 'goodly' proposes a self-contradiction. Thus, option C is the correct answer.

Answer 2

The correct answer is C. Hyperbole. This is because her eyes do not really shine goodly light nor do they shine by night, he is just overreacting. It isn't a simile because it doesn't have the famous "as something as something" pattern, nor are they a metaphor because he describes her eyes obviously and doesn't try to symbolically represent them. They aren't personified and do not show human emotions or thoughts and opinions, or behavior.