personification literary definition

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune – from Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Though Frost never specifies what it is that “doesn’t love a wall,” we can take it to mean that nature revolts against artificial separations and borders. Let’s see some examples of personifications. Often the use of personification also helps to show a character’s own attitudes toward a certain thing if they project or ascribe their own feelings onto an inanimate object. All Free. The moon is feminized (as often it is in literature, if given a gender) and said to be a governess of floods. Personification is also sometimes referred to as anthropomorphism when it is used to give human feelings and actions to animals. In this example, the owl has become a person, with fully human abilities to think and talk. We could love that tractor then as Personification is a literary device that gives human attributes to a non-human object. Personification has remained popular throughout the centuries, given that it can add aesthetic qualities to a work and provide a way for authors to describe inanimate objects. If it's literal, then the words mean exactly what they say. Personification is a figure of speech where human qualities are given to lifeless objects or ideas. It is when you assign the qualities of a person to something that isn't human or that isn't even alive, such as nature or household items. personification Bedeutung, Definition personification: 1. a person who is a perfect example of something: 2. the act of giving a human quality or…. The land company–that’s the bank when it has land A writer can either say something literally, or figuratively. Definition. John Steinbeck’s classic The Grapes of Wrath is set during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s. Romantic literature is marked by six primary characteristics: celebration of nature, focus on the individual and spirituality, celebration of isolation and melancholy, interest in the common man, idealization of women, and personification and pathetic fallacy. 3. When we talk about non-human things as if they were human, we personify them. Personification: Personification is the attribution of human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. Personification in Literature . “Smiled” gives you a positive feeling about the day. Personification is a part of figurative language. english figures of speech quotes on water filters. How to use personification in a sentence. Not my land, but ours. The people are driven, intimidated, hurt by both. In this poem, the sunflowers are talking to the famous poet William Blake. The sentence, \"The rain mocked the wedding guests' plans,\" qualifies as personification just as much as the sentence, \"The rain was indifferent,\" does. We must think "Personification, with allegory, was the literary rage in the 18th century, but it goes against the modern grain and today is the feeblest of metaphorical devices," (Rene Cappon, Associated Press Guide to News Writing, 2000). The wise owl said to the confused frog, “I know why you are suffering and I can help you find your way.”. Personification provides personality, energy, will, and emotion to an otherwise lifeless scene. It is used to create more interesting and engaging scenes or characters. Another word for personification. The sun smiled at us. Anthropomorphism is also still very popular, especially in stories for children and the fable genre. In this excerpt from Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen writes about a heart that feels concern and resentment. A more interesting description could be, “The sun stretched its golden arms, climbed above the mountains, and smiled down on us.” Giving the sun “golden arms” creates a vivid image of the sun’s rays and “climbed” makes the sun more like a person getting out of bed. Personification usually expresses characters’ feelings, and gives more life to a scene. Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall” contains the famous line “Good fences make good neighbors.” This excerpt is from the beginning of the poem, and sets up a contrast between the neighbors who keep fixing the wall between them and the “something” that doesn’t love this wall. After all, how can death be a person, let alone a mother? 2. But what is it?. It is defined as the means through which you assign qualities and actions of a human being to things like inanimate objects, plants, and even animals. C. A literary device which gives human qualities to nonhuman things. Pale in her anger, washes all the air, like the hungry bear in autumn; A person or thing typifying a certain quality or idea; an embodiment or exemplification: "He's invisible, a walking personification of the Negative" (Ralph Ellison). 3. This may apply to animals, inanimate objects, or even intangible ideas. In this guide, we’ll discuss what personification is, what it does, and why so many writers use it, as well as a whole bunch of examples to help you get accustomed to identifying personification when you see it. Like personification, anthropomorphism is the giving of human characteristics to objects or animals. Choose the correct personification definition: A. What is personification? The writer portrays these non-human objects in a way that makes them seem to act like humans. Personification: a visible representation of something abstract (as a quality). The act of personifying. 2. In this example of personification, Shakespeare uses the concept of the moon as a character. 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