Question

Choose the most appropriate option that best explains the figure of speech in this line :
In rivers the water that you touch is the last of what passed and the first of that which comes: so, with time present. (Leonardo Da Vinci )

• A. Personification of the tangible and the intangible
• B. Simile that compares water and time
• C. Hyperbole that reveals elements of similarities
• D. Metaphysical analogy that divides time past from time future

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

In the given line by Leonardo Da Vinci, the sentence serves as an analogy. The focus of the analogy is a comparison between water in a river and the concept of time. Water in a river constantly flows; as soon as you touch it, it passes, and new water arrives. Similarly, time is always moving from past to future, with the present being just a momentary point of transition. This is characteristic of a Metaphysical analogy that divides time past from time future. The statement doesn't merely attempt to humanize time or water, so it cannot be considered personification. Nor does it use 'like' or 'as' for a simile. It also does not exaggerate attributes, ruling out hyperbole. Instead, it uses deeper philosophical thought to conceptualize the nature of time and water, making it metaphysical. Therefore, the correct answer is:

Metaphysical analogy that divides time past from time future