The figure of speech used in she was listening to the silence of the room is

1. Analyze the question We need to name the figure of speech in "she was listening to the silence of the room."

2. Explain the concepts

• Conceit: an elaborate, extended metaphor comparing two very unlike things (common in metaphysical poetry).
• Irony: saying or showing the opposite of what is expected or meant, or a gap between expectation and reality.
• Oxymoron: placing two contradictory terms together, such as "deafening silence" or "bitter sweet."
• Zeugma: one word (usually a verb) governing two or more words in different senses, such as "He lost his keys and his temper."

3. Work through it "Listening" is an act of hearing sound, while "silence" is the absence of sound. The phrase puts the two together: listening to silence. This is a contradiction in terms, so it fits the idea of an oxymoron (or a closely related paradox).

• Conceit: there is no extended comparison, so it is out.
• Irony: there is no opposite meaning or contrast between expectation and outcome, so it is out.
• Zeugma: there is only one verb and one object, with no double sense, so it is out.

Strictly speaking, an oxymoron is usually an adjective-noun pair ("deafening silence"). Here the contradiction lies between the verb and its object.

4. Answer The contradiction between "listening" and "silence" makes it an oxymoron, which is option C.

5. Exam tip For figure-of-speech questions, look for the clash. If two ideas directly contradict each other, think oxymoron. If one word serves two different meanings, think zeugma. If the meaning is the opposite of what is said, think irony.