Personification

• Personification • representing an animal or inanimate object as having human attributeshuman attributes

Personification at its simplest is describing non-humans with human qualities

Personification

• Personification, Continued

• These can be attributes of form, character, feelings, behavior, and so on.

Do chess pieces literally attack each other? Or do we use personification to describe these actions?

Personification

• Personification, Continued

• Even Ideas and abstractions can also be personified.

Purpose

• Primary Purpose • Primarily used as a vivid descriptive device

• Ideas can be brought to life through personification and objects can be given greater interest.

Purpose

• Secondary Purpose • Can also serve to make an abstraction clearer by explaining a concept in terms of everyday human action

• In other words it allows writers to arrange the world on their own terms, so that the reader can further comprehend it

Clichés and Overuse

• Pitfalls and Problems: – Clichés

– Overuse

– “Winking stars” is a tired and overdone use of personification

– The angry clouds in the hateful sky cruelly spat down on the poor man who had forgotten his umbrella.

– This sentence has so much personification that it is distracting

Examples

• The ship began to creak and protest as it struggled against the rising sea.

• Where is the personification in the above sentence?

Examples

• The ship began to creak and protest as it struggled against the rising sea.

Examples

• We bought this house instead of the one on Maple because this one is more friendly.

• Where is the personification in the above sentence?

Examples

• We bought this house instead of the one on Maple because this one is more friendly.

Examples

• This coffee is strong enough to get up and walk away.

• Where is the personification in the above sentence?

Examples

• This coffee is strong enough to get up and walk away.

Examples

• I can't get the fuel pump back on because this bolt is being uncooperative.

• Where is the personification in the above sentence?

Examples

• I can't get the fuel pump back on because this bolt is being uncooperative.

Examples

• After two hours of political platitudes, everyone grew bored. Even the chairs were bored.

• Where is the personification in the above sentence?

Examples

• After two hours of political platitudes, everyone grew bored. Even the chairs were bored.

Your Turn

• Replace or add words to make the sentence use personification.

• 1.My bedroom door (opened). 

• Example Answer: My bedroom door crawled slowly away from me.

Your Turn

• 2.The puppy (barked) when I left for school. 

Your Turn

• 3.The leaf (fell) from the tree. 

Your Turn

• 4.The flashlight (went on). 

Your Turn

• 5.Hair (is) on my head. 

Your Turn

• 6.The CD player (made a noise). 

Your Turn

• 7.The net (moves) when the basketball goes through. 

Your Turn

• 8.The player piano keys (moved up and down). 

Your Turn

• 9.The space shuttle (took off).  

Your Turn

• 10.The little arrow (moves) across the computer screen.