“A man may break a word with you, sir, and words are but wind.” -William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors The quote

“A man may break a word with you, sir, and words are but wind.” -William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors The quote above is an example of a (n):

A. simile

B. personification

C. metaphor

D. alliteration

Answer: C. metaphor

The quote ‘A man may break a word with you, sir, and words are but wind’ is one such metaphor. A metaphor establishes a connection between two distinct things, that is to say one item becomes identified with another.

The metaphor in this case is that a promise broken breaking of the word is likened to wind suggesting how words or promises can be as hollow, transitory and ethereal as the blowing currents. It is a direct comparison between words and the wind. This is a metaphor because it does not make use of the words ‘like’ or ’as’ which are employed in comparative phrases.

A simile should employ the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ to make a comparison. Personification is a nomenclature given to animate ascribing of human characteristics or attributes, using the same in antibiotic objects. Alliteration is a sound device where the initial consonant sounds are repeated in words that follow successively . The quotation does not include such other devices of literature.