How do i use personification

Personification is a literary device where a nonhuman object or idea is assigned human characteristics. An example of personification is saying a hyena laughed. Personification pretties up a sentence. It adds layers of vividness and human perspective. Bringing an object to life by comparing it to human behavior makes it easier for human readers to connect with the object and immerse deeper into your story.

You could say personification helps your words to jump from the page. One of my favorite books, Anne of Green Gables by L. Rachel was sitting at her window, keeping a sharp eye on everything that passed, from brooks and children up, and that if she noticed anything odd or out of place she would never rest until she had ferreted out the whys and wherefores thereof. Montgomery describes the brook quietly sneaking past Mrs. Personification is pretty cool! You can see how it brings life to description by bringing life to the object being described.

So how do we use personification in our own writing? It would be difficult to find a song that did not use personification, especially a love song.

Personification should not be used in technical writing or scientific papers. While personification is a way to express yourself and describe your surroundings, assigning emotion to inanimate objects and other things that do not have emotions is frowned upon in these circles. In technical and scientific writing, facts are best presented as facts; the objective in this type of writing is not to bring about an emotional response from the reader but rather to present facts in a straightforward manner.

Avoid personification in these contexts. Michael Green graduated from one of the top journalism schools in the country, the University of Missouri, where he also received his master's degree in education.

Regardless of how old we are, we never stop learning. Editing and support for this article have been provided by the literacyideas team. Skip to content. Complete guide to figurative language for students and teachers.

We find it in use in everything from fiction and folk music to drama and our daily speech. The term…. They cover every aspect of the…. Characters and setting are two key ingredients that form the…. What Are Story Elements? Developing a solid understanding of the elements of a story is essential for our students to follow and fully comprehend the stories they read. However, before students can understand how these elements contribute to the overall meaning and effect of a story, they must first be able to identify the component….

Why are they important? Writing Expand child menu Expand. The Foundations of Writing Expand child menu Expand. Writing to Entertain Expand child menu Expand. The ocean waves lashed out at the boat, and the storm continued to brew.

My computer throws a fit every time I try to use it. The thunder grumbled like an old man. The flowers waltzed in the gentle breeze. Her life wandered past.

The sun glared down at me from the sky. The car was suffering and was in need of some TLC. At precisely AM, my alarm clock sprang to life. The window panes were talking as the wind blew through them.

The ocean danced in the moonlight. The words leapt off of the paper as she read the story. The phone awakened with a mighty ring. The funeral raced by me in a blur.

Find the Personification Examples Do you think that you understand what personification is? The car, painted lime green, raced by screaming for attention. The butterflies in the meadow seemed to two-step with one another. The thunder yelled angrily in the distance. The tornado ran through town without a care. The door protested as it opened slowly. The evil tree was lurking in the shadows. The tree branch moaned as I swung from it. Time marches to the beat of its own drum.

The storm attacked the town with great rage. My life came screeching to a halt. The blizzard swallowed the town. The tsunami raced towards the coastline. The avalanche devoured everything in its path. The pistol glared at me from its holster.