Question

"Ten thousand saw I at a glance" is an example of:

• A. hyperbole
• B. simile
• C. alliteration
• D. metaphor

Answer 1

Answer:

A. hyperbole

• The line "Ten thousand saw I at a glance" from Wordsworth’s Daffodils is an exaggeration — the poet did not literally count ten thousand daffodils, but uses that number to emphasize how many there were.

• That kind of exaggeration to create emphasis is what defines hyperbole.

The other options don’t fit:

• Simile would use like or as for comparison, which isn’t in that line.

• Alliteration is repetition of initial consonant sounds (e.g. “ten thousand”), but although “ten thousand” has a repeated “t,” the main figure here is exaggeration, not sound repetition.

• Metaphor implies a direct comparison, which isn’t what’s happening — it’s more about vivid description via exaggeration.