What is Personification?
Assigning human qualities or characteristics to nonhuman things or ideas.
Giving Life to Non-Living Things: Exploring Personification in Creative Writing
Personification is a literary device that brings life to the inanimate objects around us. Through personification, we can describe non-living things as if they were alive, thinking, and feeling. It is a powerful tool that writers use to make their writing more vivid, relatable, and engaging.
Personification is a form of metaphor in which we assign human qualities to non-human things. By doing so, we create a connection between the reader and the thing being personified. We make it easier for the reader to relate and empathize with the thing, making our writing more effective. Through personification, we can breathe life into anything from the wind to a rock to a pancake.
Personification can be seen in all types of writing, from poetry to fiction to advertising. For example, in advertising, companies often use personification to make their products seem more appealing. They might use a smiling sun to sell orange juice, or a talking gecko to sell car insurance. In poetry, personification is a way to make the inanimate appear animate and describe emotions and sensations in a more vivid way. Fiction writers use personification to bring life to their scenery, objects, and even ideas.
Personification is a playful and creative tool that can be used to add depth and color to almost any writing genre. Whether you use it to describe a mountain or a pencil, personification helps bring the world around us to life.
Personification is a powerful tool in the hands of skilled writers, and is used in a variety of ways to bring richness and depth to their writing. Here are two examples of personification in literature:
'And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting…'
Poe's famous poem, The Raven, uses personification to bring life to a bird that is known for its foreboding nature. By making the bird 'never flitting' and 'still sitting', Poe gives us a sense of its brooding presence in the room, making it a powerful piece of literature that sticks with the reader long after they've put the book down.
'The sun would go on shining, and the water would go on running, and the wood would go on being bright and green…'
A.A. Milne's timeless classic, Winnie the Pooh, is full of examples of personification, from the 'chuckling stream' to the 'blustery day'. Milne's use of personification helps to create a world that is not only rich and imaginative but also full of life, making it beloved by readers of all ages.