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📜british literature i review

key term - Personification

Citation:

Definition

Personification is a literary device where human qualities or characteristics are attributed to non-human entities, animals, or abstract concepts. This technique allows writers to create vivid imagery and emotional connections, making their descriptions more relatable and impactful for the audience. By bringing inanimate objects or abstract ideas to life, personification enhances the thematic depth and engages readers on a personal level.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

  1. In Shakespeare's works, personification is often used to imbue nature with human emotions, reflecting the characters' feelings and the overall atmosphere of the play.
  2. Renaissance poetry frequently employs personification to express complex themes such as love and death, making these concepts more tangible and relatable.
  3. Milton uses personification in his epic poetry to give life to abstract ideas like Sin and Death, creating a dramatic effect that enhances the narrative.
  4. Chaucer masterfully utilizes personification in 'The Canterbury Tales', attributing human traits to allegorical figures that critique societal norms and behaviors.
  5. Personification can evoke empathy from the audience by making them see the world through the eyes of the non-human entities being portrayed.

Review Questions

  • How does Shakespeare utilize personification to enhance character emotions in his plays?
    • Shakespeare often uses personification to reflect the inner thoughts and emotions of his characters through natural elements. For instance, in 'Macbeth', he personifies sleep as a gentle figure that is disturbed by guilt and ambition. This not only deepens the audience's understanding of Macbeth's psychological turmoil but also enriches the thematic exploration of guilt and its consequences.
  • Discuss how personification contributes to the exploration of themes in Renaissance poetry.
    • In Renaissance poetry, personification serves as a powerful tool to explore themes like love, mortality, and nature. Poets often give human attributes to abstract concepts, such as Love being portrayed as a capricious deity or Time depicted as a relentless force. This technique allows poets to create relatable scenarios that invite readers to reflect on their own experiences with these universal themes.
  • Evaluate Milton's use of personification in 'Paradise Lost' and its impact on the reader's understanding of moral conflict.
    • In 'Paradise Lost', Milton's use of personification gives shape to abstract concepts like Sin and Death, allowing them to embody the moral conflicts faced by humanity. By presenting these ideas as distinct characters with their own motives and actions, Milton invites readers to engage with complex theological dilemmas regarding free will and temptation. This not only enhances the epic’s dramatic tension but also prompts deeper contemplation about the nature of good and evil in human existence.

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