Personification gives human traits and qualities, such as emotions, desires, sensations, gestures and speech, often by way of a metaphor. Personification is much used in visual arts. Examples in writing are "the leaves waved in the wind", "the ocean heaved a sigh" or "the Sun smiled at us".
Personification is when you give an object or animal human behaviors. An example of personification would be in the nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle,” where “the little dog laughed to see such fun.” Anthropomorphism is when you make an object or animal dress and behave like a human.
Examples of Personification in Speech or Writing
- My heart danced when he walked in the room.
- The hair on my arms stood after the performance.
- Why is your plant pouting in the corner?
- The wind is whispering outside.
- Additionally, that picture says a lot.
- Her eyes are not smiling at us.
Definition of personification
1 : attribution of personal qualities especially : representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by the human form. 2 : a divinity or imaginary being representing a thing or abstraction.
Examples of Personification for Kids
- Lightning danced across the sky.
- The wind howled in the night.
- The car complained as the key was roughly turned in its ignition.
- Rita heard the last piece of pie calling her name.
- My alarm clock yells at me to get out of bed every morning.
Personification is a poetic device where animals, plants or even inanimate objects, are given human qualities – resulting in a poem full of imagery and description.
An example of personification is, “The sun greeted me when I woke up in the morning.” The sun is a non-human object but has been given human characteristics since greetings can only be performed by living creatures.
Personification is a literary device that uses the non-literal use of language to convey concepts in a relatable way. Writers use personification to give human characteristics, such as emotions and behaviors, to non-human things, animals, and ideas.
Greek mythology
Helios, god and personification of the Sun who drove across the sky in a chariot.
Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words. Personification: An object or abstract idea given human qualities or human form. Figurative Language: Language that cannot be taken literally because it was written to create a special effect or feeling.
A simile is a phrase that uses a comparison to describe.
For example, “life” can be described as similar to “a box of chocolates.” You know you've spotted one when you see the words like or as in a comparison.
Similes use the words like or as to compare things—“Life is like a box of chocolates.” In contrast, metaphors directly state a comparison—“Love is a battlefield.” Here are some examples of similes and metaphors: Life is like a box of chocolates. ( Simile) My life is an open book. (
Personification sentence example. He was the personification of evil. She is the personification of the earth suffering from drought, on which the fertilizing rain descends from heaven. Her bright and airy living room decor is the personification of spring.
Personification is a figure of speech in which an object, an idea or an animal is given human qualities. If you can imagine an object doing actions or behaving like a person, that's personification. Activity.
Is birds singing a personification? The following examples of personification are found in literature: From “Blackbird” by The Beatles: “Blackbird singing in the dead of night…” The blackbird is given the human power of song and is described as singing.
The snowstorm, with its menacing presence , was about to gobble up the house like a mere rock. The house rocked back and forth during the snowstorm. The house was completely unharmed, and stood still after the snowstorm, even though it was made of rocks.
How to teach personification to KS2. A great way to get pupils to start thinking about personification is by asking them to look at a specific object. Then get them to see if they can think of ways to compare it to a person. Pick a plant, for example.
1. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse. 2. She's as old as the hills.
It suggests what something is like by comparing it with something else with similar characteristics. For example: 'My brother' is a piglet is a metaphor. This statement isn't literally true – a child cannot be a pig – but the brother can share a pig's characteristics, like eating lots or liking to play in the mud!