What Is Personification in
Writing?
Personification
is a concept and taste of figurative language that assigns human traits such as
feelings, emotions, and behaviors, objects, animals, or ideas. For example,
we have a statement “the story jumped off the page” is an example of
personification.
But
what is a figurative language?
Basically,
when an author uses some words or phrases in an unusual or imaginative manner,
in order to elaborate his inner feelings about a specific situation. Where the reader senses the author’s emotions and co-relate his emotions with non-human
entities.
Authors
often use personification throughout their writing to make a story or statement
livelier. Figurative language is a storytelling technique that uses nonliteral
phrases to make text and information more interesting and attractive.
What
Is the Purpose of Personification in Writing?
Personification
elaborates and stretches the demarcations of reality to make literature and
poetry more attractive and vivid. Personification can also be used to:
·
Better
explain concepts and ideas.
Personification explains the concepts or ideas in a precise manner. Where a
reader enjoys and easily compares the meaning concepts. The non-human entities
are portrayed in such a way that a reader feels that they have the ability to
perform like human beings.
·
Forge
a deeper connection with the reader. Giving objects, ideas, and animals human qualities
makes them instantly relatable to readers. For example, Voiceless voices, the
noise of silence.
What
Are the Other Types of Figurative Language in Writing?
Figurative
language is a writing technique that uses a non-literal description to create a
more vivid image, important for writing rich, compelling prose. Here are some
of the most widely-used types of figurative language:
·
Simile. A simile is a direct comparison between two things
that usually uses the words “like” or “as.” For example, “Black like a crow.”
·
Metaphor. A metaphor is a non-literal hidden comparison that says
something is something else. For example, “Our cousin is the black sheep of the
family.”
·
Irony. The
irony is the contrast
expression that signifies the opposite of what appears to be real versus actual
reality, in a humorous effect. For example, the police station gets robbed.
·
Hyperbole. A hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration to make a
point. For example I have told you to clear the mess a thousand times! It was
so cold; I saw polar bears wearing blankets.
Examples
of Personification in Literature
:
An analogy is a statement that compares sets of words
that are alike in some way. In addition, the words are antonyms-words that have
opposite meanings. A test item may begin with a pair such as strong and weak.
You must then choose another pair of words with a similar relationship. Since
strong and weak are opposites, the second pair of words should also be
opposites.
For example, Scissors are to hair as a nail cutter is to nail.
Sometimes
colons are used to shorten analogies. A single colon separates the words in
each pair, and a double colon separates the two pairs.
For
example, “strong is to
weak, as young is to old” is
shown as;
Strong:
weak::young: old
An Allegory: is a figure
of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of
characters, figures, and events in a story, poem, or picture that can be
interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
For
example, the declaration of former U.S. President George W. Bush was
allegorical about a country when he used the term “Axis of Evil”.
Anthropomorphism is
the literal portrait of non-human things as having human traits. E.g. An ant
working as a doctor, artist, a police officer.
myth: it is also an example of
personification that assign human traits to gods, animals, or supernatural
entities. For example, chines assign human traits to dragons, Japanese folklore
portrays foxes as highly intellect beings.
