Which of the following best describes litote, a favorite rhetorical device in Old English poetry ?
Correct answer: C. ironic understatement
- A. embellishment at the service of Christian doctrine
- B. repetition of parallel syntactic structures
- C. ironic understatement
- D. stress on every third diphthong
Explanation
Litotes expresses an idea through deliberate understatement, often by denying its opposite, and it may create irony. The other choices describe Christian allegory, parallelism, or a nonexistent metrical rule.
Report an error
The more specific you are, the faster it gets fixed. A source beats an opinion.
Prefer email? [email protected]
Practise Literary Terms and Devices
330 free Literary Terms and Devices MCQs from English Literature, each with the correct answer and an explanation. Unlimited attempts, no account needed.
Discussion
Stuck on an option, or know a faster way to get there? Ask or explain it here.
No comments yet. Be the first to explain this one.
Exams that ask English Literature questions like this
English Literature is on 2 papers prepared for on TestUstad, and all of them draw the same bank, so this question is worth knowing for every one of them.
More Literary Terms and Devices questions
What is blank verse ?
Which of the following was not one of the four bodily humours ?
A "classic" book is usually one that possesses what quality ?
The use of \whale-road\for sea and \lifehouse\ for body are examples of what literary technique, popular in Old English poetry ?
What was vellum ?
Which of the following terms is most closely related to the phrase "the explained supernatural" ?