What is the meaning of the wordexcavate as used in line 1 of the poem, "if"?

Explanation:

Many literary devices fall under the category of "figure of speech," which previous Educators have identified in preceding answers. This answer will call attention to those figures of speech in "If" which are commonly understood maxims or scenarios in English-speaking culture. There are indeed certain tropes which we turn to time and again to make meaningful comparisons to real life phenomena.

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