APFIVE Describe the use of similes and metaphors.
How do the metaphorical implications of ‘ruinaque montis litora obstantia’ function within Pliny’s broader figurative presentation of the natural disaster?
Iam navibus cinis incidebat, quo propius accederent, calidior et densior; iam pumices etiam nigrique et ambusti et fracti igne lapides; iam vadum subitum ruinaque montis litora obstantia.
It creates an extended simile comparing the mountain’s debris to military fortifications
It employs synecdoche using ‘ruina’ to represent the entire volcanic destruction
It personifies the mountain’s collapse as deliberately blocking escape routes, emphasizing nature’s hostile agency
It uses hyperbole to exaggerate the amount of debris in the water
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