1. Personification
A Human Touch

2. What Do These Phrases Have in Common?
love is blind
stubborn cough
the pot calling the kettle black
curiosity killed the cat

3. What Is Personification?
Personification is a figure of speech in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human.
Writers may personify
animals
objects
ideas
emotions
nature

4. Examples of Personification
Animals: Our dog, Pepper, spitefully ignored my calls.
Objects: The house greeted us warmly.
Ideas: Belief slowly crept over her.
Emotions: Fear began to tap dance in my heart.
Nature: The angry clouds blew the birds from the sky.
© clipart.com

5. Why Use Personification?
makes your writing more interesting
allows you to describe things vividly and originally
captures a reader’s imagination

6. Too Much Personification
Like other figures of speech, personification requires care and moderation when you use it.
Don’t overuse personification.
Avoid clichés.

7. What Have You Learned? Are the following statements true or false?
1. ____________— Personification cannot be used to describe objects.
2. ____________— Personification is a figure of speech.
3. ____________— “The cup jumped from her hand” is an example of personification.
False
True
True

8. The End