Question

Identify the figure of speech used in the sentence: "Death lays his icy hand on kings."

• A. Personification
• B. Exclamation
• C. Simile
• D. Anticlimax

Hint:

Notice that "Death" is given a hand and performs a human action.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Let's test the sentence against each option's core definition instead of guessing.

1. Personification: gives human traits or actions to something non human. Death "lays his icy hand" like a person would, so this definition fits well.
2. Exclamation: needs strong sudden feeling, usually marked by an exclamation mark or a cry like "Alas!". This sentence is a plain statement, so it fails this test.
3. Simile: needs "like" or "as" to compare two things openly. There is no such word here, so this option fails.
4. Anticlimax: needs a build up that suddenly falls to something trivial or funny. This line stays serious throughout about death and kings, so it fails too.

Only personification survives this check, confirming option A.

Let's summarize:

• Human actions or body parts given to non human things signal personification.

This trait test is a fast way to separate personification from other figures of speech.