In Ezra Pound's In a Station of the Metro, the implied literary device used is?

• A. Alliteration
• B. Metaphor
• C. Irony
• D. Personification

Answer: (B)

This item is about recognizing an implied metaphor—the way Pound turns a crowded metro moment into a single, striking image by equating faces with petals. In the two lines, the faces are first described as an apparition in the crowd, then reimagined as petals on a wet, black bough. Because the comparison isn’t spelled out with like or as, the relation is implied, which is the essence of a metaphor.

This aligns with Imagist practice: capture a concrete, precise image and let it carry meaning. It’s not primarily about sound patterns, so it isn’t about alliteration. There’s no ironic twist or clear personification at work—those aren’t the central devices here. The dominant technique is the metaphor that fuses human faces with natural imagery to create a fleeting, vivid impression.