UNSEEN PROSE AND POETRY
Read the passage below and answer the following questions:
Along marched the crowd, determined not to be distracted from its cause and the course it had charted. If anyone could intimidate the chief, it was Sasu, who led the crowd. The chief nurtured unruffled restraint. He knew Sasu, knew that Sasu would not waste the trust between them on renegades.
One way to divert a mob from its goal is to join in with it, lead it on, but, finally, veer it from the course of its cause. Onward, towards the chief’s palace marched the crowd, singing war songs.
The sun frowned as the palace guards, rattling like leaves in a storm – fear branded on their faces, came out to survey the threatening crowd and prepare for a siege. Just then, Sasu turned about, heading away from the palace – with the crowd, and the war songs.
The last paragraph illustrates
-
anti-climax
- rising action
- suspense
- foreshadow
The correct answer is: A
Explanation
The last paragraph illustrates anti-climax. Anti-climax is a rhetorical device which can be defined as a disappointing situation or a sudden transition in discourse from an important idea to a ludicrous or trivial one. It is when at a specific point, expectations are raised, everything is built-up and then suddenly something boring or disappointing happens. In the passage, the crowd is marching towards the palace, singing war songs, creating a build-up, but then Sasu turns away from the palace, leading the crowd away, which is an anti-climax.