Identify the figure of speech in the sentence: 'The cruel kindness of the surgeon's scalpel brought both agony and salvation.'
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. oxymoron
- Step 1: Look at the juxtaposed phrase: 'cruel kindness'. Step 2. Combining two contradictory terms side-by-side to express a paradoxical truth is an oxymoron. Answer: oxymoron. Why not the others: Euphemism softens a harsh reality; metonymy substitutes an associated word; apostrophe addresses an absent entity.
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