Question

Without any warning, the disease

sweeps across the country
like a traveling circus.

People who were once blue,
who slouched from carrying
a bag of misery over one shoulder

are now clinically cheerful.
Symptoms include kind gestures,
a bouncy stride, a smile

bigger than a slice of cantaloupe.
You pray that you will be infected,
hope a happy germ invades your body

and multiplies, spreading merriment
to all your major organs
like door-to-door Christmas carolers

until the virus finally reaches your heart:
that red house at the end of the block
where your deepest wishes reside,

where a dog howls behind a gate
every time that sorrow
pulls his hearse up the driveway.

Source: Hernandez, David. “Happiness Epidemic.” Casa Poema. Casa Poem, n.d. Web. 6 June 2011.



Which poetic technique is illustrated throughout the entire poem “Happiness Epidemic“?

metonymy
onomatopoeia
conceit
allusion

Answer 1

The poem 'Happiness Epidemic' utilizes the poetic technique of conceit, which is an extended metaphor comparing the spread of happiness to an infectious disease. Therefore correct option is C

Step-by-step explanation:

The poetic technique illustrated throughout the entire poem "Happiness Epidemic" by David Hernandez is conceit. A conceit is an extended metaphor that draws a striking parallel between two seemingly disparate things. In this poem, the metaphor of a 'happiness epidemic' compares the spread of joy and cheerfulness to the spread of an infectious disease. The vivid and continuous comparison used in the poem helps to bring this concept to life by describing happiness as a condition, with associated symptoms and effects on people, which is akin to a physical illness but with positive connotations.