A brief introduction to
PERSONIFICATION
A Day in the Life of a Pen!
Look at the pen you are using. Really examine it carefully.
Using your imagination, think about:
Where was your pen made?
How old is your pen?
What does your pen like
writing the most?
Is your pen happy or sad?
What does your pen
like writing the least?
If your pen had a voice,
what would it sound like?
Does your pen have any
friends? Who are they?
The questions
How old is your pen?
Where was your pen made?
Is your pen happy or sad?
What does your pen like writing the most?
What does your pen like writing the least?
If your pen had a voice, what would it sound like?
Does your pen have any friends? Who are they?
Your pen doesn’t have any thoughts or feelings, but writers will often
treat inanimate objects like they are alive. What do we call this?
Key Ter
Personification:
,
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When a writer gives something which is not
human, human characteristics. This could be
an object (a table, rock or cloud)
a place (New York, the classroom, a beach) or
an abstract noun (freedom, fear, happiness).
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Why?
• brings inanimate things to life to explain them better
• gurative language to make the writing more vivid
• to emphasise a point or convey a mood
• as a method of describing something so that
others can more easily visualise it
• to have the reader understand the object (or animal)
in a better way
PERSONIFICATION
?
ANTHROPOMORPHISM
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•Personi cation is when you give an object or
animal human traits. An example of
personi cation would be in the nursery rhyme
“Hey Diddle Diddle,” where “the little dog
laughed to see such fun.”
•Anthropomorphism is when you make an object
or animal dress and behave like a human. An
example of anthropomorphism is Peter Rabbit, a
bunny who wears a coat and talks.
How?
• literal description - The old oorboards creaked under my weight.
• personi cation - The old oorboards groaned irritably under my weight.
• literal description - The dog walked to the doghouse.
• personi cation - The dog miserably trudged to the doghouse.
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fi
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• literal description - The teapot whistled loudly.
• personi cation - The teapot screamed with indignation.
• anthropomorphism - "Don't ignore me!" hollered the teapot, stomping its foot.
What does it tell us?
• literal description - The stars twinkled in the sky
• personi cation - The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky
• literal description - The sun shone down on me
• personi cation - The sun glared down at me from the sky
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fi
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• How does this make you feel?
• Could you use personi cation to create a di erent sort of mood?
"I wandered lonely as a cloud
that oats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden da odils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
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William Wordsworth
“a great platform of pink granite thrust up
uncompromisingly through forest and terrace
and sand and lagoon to make a raised jetty
four feet high
”
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
“Earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she;
She’s the hopeful lady of my earth.”
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
But the house on Mango Street is not
the way they told it at all. It’s small and
red with tight steps in front and windows
so small you’d think they were holding
their breath.
The House on Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros
"You try to scream but terror takes
the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as horror looks
you right between the eyes
You're paralyzed
'Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one's gonna save you from
the beast about to strike."
"Thriller" by Michael Jackson
Select 2 sentences and identify where the personi cation is and what it is that
the personi cation does:
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1. The tired house seem depressed as it tried to hide from its neighbours
2. The rst rays of morning tiptoed through the meadow.
3. The snow swaddled the earth like a mother would her infant child.
4. The river swallowed the earth as the water continued to rise
5. The ocean waves lashed out at the boat, and the storm continued to brew.
6. My computer throws a t every time I try to use it.
7. At precisely 6:30 AM, my alarm clock sprang to life.
8. The ocean danced in the moonlight.
9. The words leapt o of the paper as she read the story.
10. The phone awakened with a mighty ring.
11.The car, painted lime green, raced by screaming for attention.
12.The door protested as it opened slowly.
A Pen personi ied
The pen was heavy in his hand and reluctantly scratched meaninglessly at
the paper. It remembered the good old days, when it was full of ideas and
would race excitedly across the crisp white sheet, scribbling sentences
and leaving ink blots in its haste. Now it was old, slow, ready to retire to the
pencil case and live out its days dreaming of when it had been inspired.
What does this paragraph tell you about the pen?
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What does it tell you about the person holding the pen?
Your Pen
?
Return to your ideas about
your pen from the starter.
Can you write a paragraph
personifying the pen, but
telling us about how you
feel
Look at the picture opposite
Bronze
Write a paragraph describing the scene,
personifying the mountains.
Silver
Write a paragraph describing mountaineers
reaching the summit of the mountain.
Personify at least one element of the
scenery.
:
:
:
:
Gold
Write a paragraph describing mountaineers
struggling to the top of the mountain.
Personify at least one abstract noun in your
description.