What literary device is most prominent in this excerpt from Williams’s poem, “The Widow’s Lament in Springtime”? “though they were my joy / formerly, today I notice them / and turn away forgetting.”

imagery
metaphor
foreshadowing
antithesis

the correct option is D: Antithesis

Explanation:

An Antithesis is a literary device which features opposing or contrary ideas side by side to achieve a contrasting effect.

"Though they were my joy"then he adds formerly thus negating or reversing the first phrase. The same goes for the second line in the excerpt:

"today I notice them..." then he adds "and turn away forgetting" thus flipping the first part of the sentence. Hence the contrasts are used to creatively highlight his thoughts.

Cheers!

The word "mighty" has a strong connotation about Beowulf. It is a connotative word because it relates to the context. Without the context, it wouldn't be clear what it actually means. In this case, it means that Beowulf is known to be brave and widely honored. The word "sensible" has a strong connotation about Beowulf's chosen warriors. It means that they are afraid of the journey's outcome, but they nevertheless keep their opinions to themselves. They kept silent "though he was dear to them" - although they anticipate that something bad might happen.