Explanation
Approach
This line comes from the well-known inspirational/team-spirit poem that begins: "You may think it fine to be praised for skill, / But a greater thing to do / Is to set your mind and set your will / On the goal that's just in view..." — later continuing with imagery like "helping your fellowman to score / When his chances hopeless seem" and "the battle is lost or the battle is won / By the spirit of the team."
Step-by-step
Step 1: Understand the poem's overall structure
Throughout this poem, the language of a sports game — "skill," "score," "the goal," "the team," "the battle" — is used consistently to represent something larger: life itself, and the value of teamwork, selflessness, and cooperation over individual glory.
Step 2: Identify the device
Metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is described directly as (or in terms of) another, without using "like" or "as," to imply a deeper comparison. Here, the entire poem uses "the game" as an extended metaphor for life — being "praised for skill" represents personal achievement/recognition, while "helping your fellowman to score" represents selfless service and cooperation with others in life's larger pursuits.
Step 3: Confirm the line's role in the metaphor
The line "You may think it fine to be praised for skill" sets up the poem's central contrast — between the surface-level satisfaction of individual praise (skill) and the deeper, more meaningful pursuit of a shared goal — both of which are framed using the language of sport, standing in metaphorically for life's real challenges and virtues (teamwork, humility, service to others).
Step 4: Rule out the other options
- Not Hyperbole — There's no deliberate exaggeration in this specific line.
- Not Irony — The statement is not expressing the opposite of its literal meaning; it's a sincere, direct statement setting up the poem's contrast.
- Not Personification — No human qualities are given to a non-human/abstract thing in this line.
Correct Option: D) Metaphor — the language of "skill" and being "praised" (game/sport imagery) is used metaphorically throughout the poem to represent personal achievement versus selfless service in life, with this line establishing that central comparison.