Personification is a literary technique that gives human characteristics to nonliving things. It helps readers relate to the object and evoke emotions. It is used to convey mood or image without saying it directly and make the story more engaging. It can also make the reader think differently and is used in advocacy campaigns.
Personification is a literary technique that bestows human characteristics on inanimate objects or nonliving things that otherwise would not experience emotions or other human responses to events. The purpose is to increase the reader’s interest in the story and keep her attention. Also, providing human characteristics to anything, be it a tree or a piece of machinery, immediately encourages the reader to relate to the thing being described and can evoke emotions such as concern or sympathy. As with many other literary techniques, personification helps make the text more alive and vibrant, like all the details of everyday life.
It might be better to explain the concept of personification with an example. If an author says that the grasses in a field dance in the wind, for example, this is an example of plant personification. The grasses are clearly not dancing, they are simply moving in response to wind currents, but to say they are dancing conjures up an image of nature that is easier to imagine and relate to. Saying an alarm clock goes off in anger is another example of this. The alarm clock is not angry, but the person listening to it perceives it that way, and this helps set the tone for the story. The author is indicating that the person is probably not too happy to wake up in the morning, for example.
These are just a few basic examples of personification, but they help illustrate why an author might use this technique. One of the cardinal rules of good writing is “show, don’t tell” and personification is one of the best ways to convey a mood or an image without saying it directly. Describing the grass as a dance on the field, for example, can convey an image of a beautiful and peaceful field without having to describe the field as beautiful or peaceful.
Another reason authors use personification is to make the story more interesting and engaging for the reader, making them more likely to continue. Describing something like this forces the reader to visualize it, which brings it deeper into the story. In some cases, personification can also make the reader think about things differently or gain a new perspective. This technique is often used in advocacy campaigns, for example, because people are more likely to want to care about something they experience an emotional response to.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
