Personification is a figure of speech in which the poet describes an abstraction, a thing, or a nonhuman form as if it were a person. The term "personification" may apply to:
- A description of an object as being a living person or animal as in: "The sun shone brightly down on me as if she were shining for me alone". In this example the sun is depicted as if it were capable of intent, and is referenced with the pronoun "she" rather than "it".
- An outstanding example of a quality or idea: "He's invisible, a walking personification of the Negative." (Ralph Ellison)
- An artistic representation of an abstract quality or idea as a person, for example the four cardinal virtues or nine Muses.
Personification is often used in symbolic or allegorical poetry. William Blake’s “O Rose, thou art sick!” is one example:
The Sick Rose by William Blake
O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
Personification
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