Which figure of speech is a direct address to an absent or imaginary person?

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

Answer: (A)

Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which the speaker speaks directly to someone who is not present or to an inanimate object or abstract idea. That direct address to a missing or imagined addressee is what sets apostrophe apart. You’ll often hear an “O” or “Oh” at the start, signaling that the speaker is talking to someone who can’t respond—like “O Death, be not proud” or “Oh Moon, you watch over the quiet street.”

This is different from personification, which gives human traits to a nonhuman thing but doesn’t necessarily involve speaking to it as if it could reply. It’s also different from hyperbole, which uses exaggeration for emphasis, and from metaphor, which makes a direct comparison between two things without implying a real addressee.