key term - Personification

Definition

Personification is a literary device where human qualities or attributes are given to non-human entities, such as animals, objects, or abstract concepts. This technique allows writers to create vivid imagery and emotional connections, enhancing the reader's experience by making the non-human more relatable and engaging. Through personification, authors can convey complex ideas and emotions in a more approachable manner.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Personification can help convey themes by giving voice to abstract concepts like love, death, or nature, making them more tangible for readers.
2. This device is commonly found in poetry, fables, and children’s literature, where it helps simplify complex ideas for understanding.
3. By attributing human emotions to objects, personification can elicit empathy from readers, allowing them to connect emotionally with the narrative.
4. Writers may use personification to emphasize particular traits of characters or settings by comparing them to human experiences.
5. In allegorical works, personification can serve as a tool to represent moral lessons, where characters embody virtues or vices.

Review Questions

• How does personification enhance the emotional impact of a narrative?
  • Personification enhances emotional impact by allowing readers to relate more personally to non-human entities. When an author gives human characteristics to objects or concepts, it creates a bridge for the reader's emotions. For example, describing the wind as 'whispering secrets' evokes feelings of intimacy and connection with nature, making the overall experience richer and more engaging.
• Discuss how personification is utilized in allegory to communicate moral lessons.
  • In allegorical narratives, personification serves as a powerful method for conveying moral lessons. Characters that embody abstract virtues or vices allow readers to reflect on their own lives and choices. For instance, in Aesop's Fables, animals represent human traits and moral dilemmas, teaching important life lessons through their interactions and outcomes. This approach makes complex ethical concepts accessible and relatable.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of personification compared to other literary devices like metaphor and imagery in creating meaning.
  • Personification is particularly effective because it merges emotional resonance with vivid imagery, making abstract ideas feel concrete. While metaphors create comparisons that can deepen understanding, they might not always evoke empathy as effectively as personification does. Imagery paints pictures in the reader’s mind but may lack the relational depth that personification offers by allowing non-human elements to express human-like experiences. Together, these devices complement each other but personification uniquely engages readers' emotions by breathing life into inanimate objects and concepts.

Related terms

Anthropomorphism: The attribution of human characteristics or behavior to animals or deities, often used in literature and art.

Metaphor:

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things by stating that one thing is another, often used to create deeper meanings.

Imagery: Descriptive language that creates sensory experiences for the reader, helping to visualize scenes or emotions in a text.