Why poets use personification

Personification in poetry is the process of giving human traits or characteristics to a non-human object or idea. The form of poetry generally involves using figurative language — that is, words and phrases with a meaning other than the standard definition — to convey an idea or emotion. Using personification in poems helps the reader develop a connection between a distant object or idea and feel empathy or sympathy for that idea or object.

Poets often use personification to help the reader relate to the concept being presented, and to give a more complete understanding of a difficult concept to comprehend. An example of personification may involve giving human traits to a tree, which is inanimate. This personification in poetry may read something like this:. Take a look at these poems that use personification to add to the overall meaning in the poems:.

Hey, Diddle, Diddle , The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon; The little dog laughed To see such sport, And the dish ran away with the spoon. This nursery rhyme is filled with personification — the dog cannot laugh nor can the dish and spoon run away. Instead, the personification highlights the dreamlike world that children are about to enter. Can you give us a room with a view? The sunflowers in this poem are talking to William Blake, telling him that they want to be moved because they are tired of being outside in the weather.

She sweeps with many-colored brooms, And leaves the shreds behind; Oh, housewife in the evening west, Come back, and dust the pond! 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. These are just a few basic examples of personification, but they do help to illustrate the reason an author might use this technique.

One of the cardinal rules of good writing is to "show, not tell," and personification is one of the best ways to convey a mood or image without directly saying it. Describing the grass as dancing across the field, for instance, may convey an image of a beautiful, peaceful field without actually having to describe the field as being beautiful or peaceful.

Another reason authors use personification is to make the story more interesting and engaging to the reader, making it more likely they will keep going. Describing something this way forces the reader to visualize it, which brings him or her deeper into the story. In some instances, personification may also make the reader think about things differently, or gain a new perspective.