Personification

What is the definition of personification?

• An extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.

• A comparison between two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'.

• Giving human qualities or actions to animals, objects, or ideas.

• A word that imitates the sound it represents.

Answer explanation

Personification is a type of figurative language where non-human things are described as if they have human characteristics. The other options describe hyperbole, a simile, and onomatopoeia.

Which sentence is an example of personification?

• The sun was a golden coin in the sky.

• Her smile was as bright as the sun.

• The sun smiled down on the children playing in the park.

• The sun is a star at the center of our solar system.

Answer explanation

This sentence gives the sun the human ability to 'smile.' The other options are a metaphor ('was a golden coin'), a simile ('as bright as'), and a literal fact.

Match the personified object to the human quality or action it is given in the sentence.

• Begging

• My computer stubbornly refused to turn on this morning.

• Being angry and marching

• The flowers begged for water after a week without rain.

• Being stubborn and refusing

• The angry storm clouds marched across the sky.

Answer explanation

Each sentence is matched with the specific human action or emotion (marching, being stubborn, begging) that is used to personify the non-human object.

Which of the following sentences does NOT use personification?

• The tall grass danced in the gentle breeze.

• The old house groaned under the weight of the snow.

• The cat stretched lazily in the warm patch of sun.

• Opportunity knocked on his door, but he was too afraid to answer.

Answer explanation

A cat stretching is a normal, literal animal behavior. The other sentences give human actions (danced, groaned, knocked) to non-human things (grass, house, opportunity).

Read the sentence: "The lonely lighthouse stared out at the stormy sea." What feeling does this use of personification create?

• Anger and frustration

• Excitement and energy

• Isolation and sadness

• Joy and celebration

Answer explanation

The words 'lonely' and 'stared' give the lighthouse a sense of being alone and watching over the rough sea, which creates a feeling of isolation.

Which sentence best uses personification to show that a house is old and creepy?

• The house was built over a hundred years ago.

• The house was dark and had many cobwebs.

• The house was like a tomb.

• The house groaned and its windows watched me as I walked by.

Answer explanation

Giving the house the human actions of 'groaning' and 'watching' creates a creepy, unsettling feeling, effectively showing it is old and spooky. The other options are literal or a simile.

Match the non-human thing to the human action it is described as doing in the sentence.

• Peaked over the mountain.

• The chocolate cake

• Groaned under my weight.

• The moon

• Was calling my name from the kitchen.

• The old stairs

• Played hide-and-seek with the clouds.

• The sun

Answer explanation

Each non-human item is correctly paired with the sentence that gives it a human-like action (playing, groaning, peaking, calling).

Sort these sentences into the correct figurative language category: 'Personification', 'Simile', or 'Metaphor'.

Groups:

(a) Personification

,

(b) Simile

,

(c) Metaphor

• The city is a concrete jungle.

• My backpack groaned under the weight of my books.

• She runs as fast as the wind.

• The clouds are like fluffy cotton balls.

• His words were a sharp knife.

• The stars winked at me from the night sky.

Answer explanation

Personification gives human qualities (winked, groaned) to objects. Similes compare things using 'like' or 'as.' Metaphors state that one thing *is* another.

After a long winter, the first flowers of spring lifted their faces to the warm sun. What is being personified?

• The winter

• The sun

• The faces

• The flowers

Answer explanation

The flowers are given the human-like ability to 'lift their faces,' which is an example of personification. The sun is acting literally, and 'faces' is part of the personification, not the object being personified.

Personification is a literary device used by authors primarily to...

• make a story longer and more detailed.

• make non-human things more vivid and relatable.

• prove a scientific fact about an object.

• state a direct comparison between two things.

Answer explanation

By giving human qualities to objects or ideas, authors help readers connect with them and imagine them more clearly. It's a tool for creating imagery and emotion.