Question

What stylistic device is MOST prominent in these lines?

I'll give my jewels for a set of beads, My gorgeous palace for a hermitage, My gay apparel for an almsman's gown, My figured goblets for a dish of wood, My sceptre for a palmer's walking staff, My subjects for a pair of carved saints And my large kingdom for a little grave, A little little grave, an obscure grave;

A.) Irony
B.) Metonymy
C.) Personification
D.) Symbolism

Answer 1

They would give up all of the benefits that come with being wealthy just to have privacy. Each situation that is listed, like "I'll give my jewels for a set of bead" represents the willingness to give up the benefits of being wealthy/royal to escape the cost, which is being well-known and not having privacy, having to worry about what people think. In the scenarios the narrator is using to portray this feeling, one thing represents another, which is the definition of symbolism.

Explanation: D

Answer 2

The most prominent stylistic device in those lines is D. Symbolism. The whole idea of the passage is that the narrator would give up their glamorous life for one where they aren't in the spotlight. They would give up all of the benefits that come with being wealthy just to have privacy. Each situation that is listed, like "I'll give my jewels for a set of bead" represents the willingness to give up the benefits of being wealthy/royal to escape the cost, which is being well-known and not having privacy, having to worry about what people think. In the scenarios the narrator is using to portray this feeling, one thing represents another, which is the definition of symbolism.