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intended to explain or describe something. (Expository writing: presenting reasons, explanations, or steps in a process. Logical order should be used with appropriate sequencing of ideas or steps in a process.)

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the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own.

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the attribution of a personal nature of human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

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Everyone knows what a person is, but do you know what personification is? Personification is a type of metaphor and a common literary tool. It is when you assign the qualities of a person to something that isn't human or that isn't even alive, like nature or emotions. There are many reasons for using personification. It can be used as a method of describing something so that others can more easily understand it. It can be used to emphasize a point. It can be used to help paint a picture in your mind. You may in fact use personification without even knowing it.

There is often confusion between personification and anthropomorphism. While personification means giving an object or animal human characteristics to create interesting imagery - as in nursery rhymes like "Hey Diddle Diddle," where "the little dog laughed to see such fun" - anthropomorphism means making an object or animal act and look like they are human, as in Peter Rabbit.

Personification Examples in Literature

Personification is often found in literature and poetry. Some examples include:

"Two Sunflowers Move into the Yellow Room" by Nancy Willard

"Ah, William, we're weary of weather,"
said the sunflowers, shining with dew.
"Our traveling habits have tired us.
Can you give us a room with a view?"
They arranged themselves at the window
and counted the steps of the sun,
and they both took root in the carpet
where the topaz tortoises run.

In this poem, the sunflowers are talking to the poet William Blake. They are tired of being outside and tell him that they want to be moved. We know that sunflowers cannot be tired or talk so Willard uses personification to give them these attributes.

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

This poem brings the beauty and tranquility of nature to life. The daffodils are personified as a crowd of people dancing, while Wordsworth floats like a cloud enjoying the show.

Personification can also be found in literature. William Shakespeare uses it throughout Romeo and Juliet. One example is in Act 2 when Friar Lawrence is picking flowers for his various potions. He says:

"The grey-ey'd morn smiles on the frowning night, Check'ring the Eastern clouds with streaks of light."

In describing the morning as smiling at the night he is personifying the morning and establishing a romantic setting for Romeo and Juliet's love to unfold.

50 Ways to Use Personification

The following sentences use the personification technique. See if you can identify which part of the word or phrase is the personification. The answers are below:

1. The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.

26. While making my way to my car, it appeared to smile at me mischievously.

2. The run-down house appeared depressed.

27. The car, painted lime green, raced by screaming for attention.

3. The first rays of morning tiptoed through the meadow.

28. The butterflies in the meadow seemed to two-step with one another.

4. She did not realize that opportunity was knocking at her door.

29. The waffle jumped up out of the toaster.

5. He did not realize that his last chance was walking out the door.

30.The popcorn leapt out of the bowl.

6. The bees played hide and seek with the flowers as they buzzed from one to another.

31. When the DVD went on sale, it flew off the shelves.

7. The wind howled its mighty objection.

32. I tripped because the curb jumped out in front of me.

8. The snow swaddled the earth like a mother would her infant child.

33. Time creeps up on you.

9. The river swallowed the earth as the water continued to rise higher and higher.

34. The news took me by surprise.

10. Time flew and before we knew it, it was time for me to go home.

35. The fire ran wild.

11. The ocean waves lashed out at the boat and the storm continued to brew.

36. The thunder clapped angrily in the distance.

12. My computer throws a fit every time I try to use it.

37. The tornado ran through town without a care.

13. The thunder grumbled like an old man.

38. The door protested as it opened slowly.

14. The flowers waltzed in the gentle breeze.

39. The evil tree was lurking in the shadows.

15. Her life passed her by.

40. The tree branch moaned as I swung from it.

16. The sun glared down at me from the sky.

41. Time marches to the beat of its own drum.

17. The moon winked at me through the clouds above.

42. The storm attacked the town with great rage.

18. The wind sang through the meadow.

43. My life came screeching to a halt.

19. The car was suffering and was in need of some TLC.

44. The baseball screamed all the way into the outfield.

20. At precisely 6:30 am my alarm clock sprang to life.

45. The blizzard swallowed the town.

21. The window panes were talking as the wind blew through them.

46. The tsunami raced towards the coastline.

22. The ocean danced in the moonlight.

47. The avalanche devoured everything in its path.

23. The words appeared to leap off of the paper as she read the story.

48. The pistol glared at me from its holster.

24. The phone awakened with a mighty ring.

49. The car beckoned me from across the showroom.

25. The funeral raced by me in a blur.

50. I could hear Hawaii calling my name.

Did you identify the personification in the examples above? The human trait assigned to the subject is in bold here. The subject being personified is underlined.

Purpose of Personification

As seen by the examples above, personification is used to assign human qualities to things that are not human, but it does not make them behave like a human. The purpose of this figurative language is to bring inanimate things to life to better explain them. Writers often use personification to make their writing more vivid and to have the reader understand the object or animal in a better way.

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Everyone knows what a person is, but do you know what personification is? Personification is a type of metaphor and a common literary tool. It is when you assign the qualities of a person to something that isn't human or that isn't even alive, like nature or emotions.

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express the meaning of (the writer or speaker or something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity.

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How satisfying is it when you accurately and coherently tell someone a new and impressive piece

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departing from a literal use of words; metaphorical.

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ax^2+bx+c, where a, b, and c are numbers.

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Use the distributive property to express the product of a binomial and a polynomial as a single polynomial.

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a+b = b+a or a*b = b*a, where a and b are numbers.

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Commutative property of multiplication review

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Review the basics of the commutative property of multiplication, and try some practice problems.

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F: A --> B
F(a*b) = F(a)*F(b), for all a,b in the Universe.

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A homomorphism is a function between two groups. Its a way to compare two groups for structural similarities. Homomorphisms are a powerful tool for studying and cataloging groups. If​ ​you​'d​ ​like​ ​to​ ​help​ ​us​ ​make​ ​videos more quickly,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​support​ ​us​ on ​Patreon​ at https://www.patreon.com/socratica We​ ​also​ ​welcome​ ​Bitcoin​ ​donations!​ ​​ ​Our​ ​Bitcoin​ ​address​ ​is: 1EttYyGwJmpy9bLY2UcmEqMJuBfaZ1HdG9 Thank​ ​you!!

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F: A --> B
Where F is a bijective function and possesses the homomorphism property.

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Our mission is to further the interests of mathematical research, scholarship and education.

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(a+b)+c = a+(b+c) or (a*b)*c = a*(b*c), where a, b, and c are numbers.