Question at position 5 What poetic device is Langston Hughes using in the following excerpt? Life for me hasn't been a golden stair. It’s had nails in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor— Bare.denotationsimilemetaphorpersonificationonomatopoeia单项选择题
A
denotation
B
simile
C
metaphor
D
personification
E
onomatopoeia

Question

Question at position 5 What poetic device is Langston Hughes using in the following excerpt? Life for me hasn't been a golden stair. It’s had nails in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor— Bare.denotationsimilemetaphorpersonificationonomatopoeia单项选择题

A

denotation

B

simile

C

metaphor

D

personification

E

onomatopoeia

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

When analyzing the excerpt, it's important to identify how Langston Hughes conveys meaning through literary devices.
Option 1: denotation. This refers to the literal dictionary meaning of words. The lines use figurative language rather than sticking to literal, surface meanings, so denotation is not the device at work here.
Option 2: simile. A simile typically uses words like 'like' or 'as' to compare two things. The excerpt does not contain a direct comparison introduced by like/as, so this option does not fit.
Option 3: metaphor. A metaphor is an implied or direct comparison between two unlike things. In the lines, life is described with a stair that has nails, splinters, torn boards, and bare floors, without saying life is 'like' or 'as' a staircase. This presents life as something arduous and burdened through extended imagery, which is a classic metaphorical portrayal.
Option 4: personification. Personification would attribute human qualities to nonhuman things. While the imagery involves hardship, it does not depict life or the stair as performing human actions or feelings; it rather describes the stair as it is, which supports metaphor more than personification in this specific phrasing.
Option 5: onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia involves words that imitate sounds (e.g., buzz, crack). The excerpt contains no sound-imitating words, so this is not the device Hughes uses here.
In summary, the passage employs a metaphor through extended, concrete imagery to convey the roughness and obstacles in life, rather than using denotation, simile, personification, or onomatopoeia. The absence of 'like' or 'as' signals that a simile is not used, while the vivid depiction aligns with metaphorical language rather than attributing human actions (personification) or sound-imitating words (onomatopoeia).

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