Which figure of speech is used when comparing burning an oak to the patience needed to woo?

• A. Metaphor
• B. Simile
• C. Personification
• D. Hyperbole

Answer: (A)

Metaphor. That direct comparison is shown by treating the act of burning an oak as a stand-in for the patience needed to woo—two unlike things are equated without using like or as. Because there’s no use of “like” or “as,” it isn’t a simile. It doesn’t grant human traits to the oak, so it isn’t personification. And while you could read intense effort as dramatic, the defining feature here is the direct equation of patience to fire, not an overstatement. So the strongest, clearest label is metaphor.