Lesson 1: What is Personification? (The Basics)

Personification is a fascinating literary device that breathes life into the non-human world. At its core, personification involves attributing human qualities, characteristics, or actions to inanimate objects, animals, or even abstract ideas. Think of it as giving a voice or human-like behavior to something that doesn’t naturally possess them. For example, instead of merely stating, “The sun was shining,” we might use personification to say, “The sun smiled down on the picnic.” While the sun obviously can’t genuinely smile, this human action makes the description far more vivid and evokes a sense of warmth and friendliness.

The primary purpose of using personification in writing is to make descriptions more engaging, relatable, and to imbue them with deeper meaning or emotion. By making non-human elements act or feel like people, authors can create powerful imagery and connect with readers on a more profound level. This concept is deeply rooted in many ancient cultures and mythologies, where natural forces and elements, like plants, winds, rivers, and even the earth itself, were often understood as having human-like wills, emotions, and intentions. For instance, in Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of the harvest and fertility, embodying the life-giving force of plants, while Zeus, the king of the gods, personifies the powerful and often volatile force of the sky and thunder. These mythological figures are prime examples of how early civilizations used personification to explain and connect with the natural world around them. When you’re trying to identify personification, the key is to look for verbs and adjectives that would typically describe a person, but are being applied to something that is clearly not human. This clever linguistic trick allows writers to paint more vibrant pictures and add layers of personality to their subjects.

Questions for Reflection and Study:

• What is the core definition of personification in your own words?
• Can you think of a reason why a writer might choose to use personification instead of a more literal description?
• If a tree is described as “dancing in the wind,” which part of that phrase demonstrates personification, and why?
• How can identifying human actions or qualities help you spot personification in a sentence?
• Consider a powerful natural force like a thunderstorm. How might you personify it to give it human qualities or intentions?
• Think about a plant, like a wise old oak tree or a delicate flower. What human characteristics might ancient storytellers have given to it in a myth?
• In the examples of Demeter and Zeus, what human-like roles or qualities are given to the natural forces they represent (plants and the sky/thunder)?
• Can you think of another example from a myth or story where a natural element (a plant, a river, a mountain, etc.) acts like a person? If not, try to imagine one.