Which term is used when a speaker or writer breaks off and directs speech to an absent person, an inanimate object, or abstract quality?

Which term is used when a speaker or writer breaks off and directs speech to an absent person, an inanimate object, or abstract quality?

• A. Apostrophe
• B. Attitude
• C. Genre
• D. Narrator

Answer: (A)

When a speaker directs speech to someone who isn’t present, to an inanimate object, or to an abstract quality, that figure of speech is called apostrophe. It treatment makes the audience feel as if the addressed person or thing could hear and respond, which often heightens emotion or drama. You see this in poetry and prose when lines speak to a dead or absent person, a thing like the moon or death, or even an abstract idea like fate. For example, addressing death as if it could answer (“O death, be not proud”) or speaking to a star as if it could listen (“Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are”) are classic uses of apostrophe. The effect is a heightened sense of immediacy and intensity. Attitude refers to the writer’s or speaker’s stance toward the subject, not to addressing someone or something directly. Genre is the category or type of literature. Narrator is the voice telling the story, not a direct break to an absent addressee.

When a speaker directs speech to someone who isn’t present, to an inanimate object, or to an abstract quality, that figure of speech is called apostrophe. It treatment makes the audience feel as if the addressed person or thing could hear and respond, which often heightens emotion or drama. You see this in poetry and prose when lines speak to a dead or absent person, a thing like the moon or death, or even an abstract idea like fate. For example, addressing death as if it could answer (“O death, be not proud”) or speaking to a star as if it could listen (“Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are”) are classic uses of apostrophe. The effect is a heightened sense of immediacy and intensity.

Attitude refers to the writer’s or speaker’s stance toward the subject, not to addressing someone or something directly. Genre is the category or type of literature. Narrator is the voice telling the story, not a direct break to an absent addressee.