Read the extract and answer the question Look thou be true. Do not give dalliance Took much the rein. The strongest oaths are straw To the fire i' the blood...

Answer Details

The literary device in lines 52 and 53 is a metaphor. This is because the speaker is comparing the strongest oaths to straw that can be easily burned by the fire in one's blood. The comparison is not directly stated as in a simile, but rather implied through the use of the words "are" and "to". The metaphor helps to emphasize the speaker's warning to the addressee to be more abstemious and not let their passions control them.