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Personification is a figure of speech, a poetic device in which human attributes are given to animals, non-living things or ideas. The objects speak/behave like humans, with human emotions in such cases.
Example:
Personifying animals:
- The cat asked the mouse for a dinner treat.
- The dog asked his master to let him inside.
Personifying ideas:
- Love is blind.
- His anger oozed out in his words.
Personifying non-living things:
- The popcorn popped out of the bowl immediately in the oven.
- The sun shined and smiled upon us, early in the morning.
- When human qualities are given to objects, the writer/poet can convey the meaning easily.
- The understanding of the idea is made easier when objects are personified.
- It helps to build a character around the object.
- Makes the text/poetry more interesting and fun to read.
- Literal meanings are to be ignored in such cases.
Personification used in the poem "The Secret of the Machines":
- The entire poem is a personification, as the machines are personified, and they speak their perspective. They communicate to the readers about their story. In reality, machines cannot talk or express themselves, which is also mentioned in the poem. The machines are given human attributes to make them more relatable.
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