Read the following excerpt from a short story:
'The old lighthouse stood on the cliff's edge, a lonely sentinel against the churning gray sea.
For years, its beam had cut through the darkest storms, a promise of safe harbor.
But now, the paint was peeling, and the light within was dark.
The town below had built a new, automated beacon on the far side of the bay, one that required no keeper, no human hand to guide sailors home.'
Which of the following literary devices is most evident in the first sentence?
