Figurative language makes a comparison that is not meant to be read literally; instead, figures of speech are intended to create a connection or highlight a significant part of a discussion. Certain literary devices—such as similes, metaphors, and personification—can help create word pictures for the reader.

What is Figurative Language? Figurative language refers to the use of words in a way that deviates from the conventional order and meaning in order to convey a complicated meaning, colorful writing, clarity, or evocative comparison.

Answer: The figurative language used is: Personification.

Nature Metaphors

• The snow is a white blanket.
• He is a shining star.
• Her long hair was a flowing golden river.
• Tom’s eyes were ice as he stared at her.
• The children were flowers grown in concrete gardens.
• Kisses are the flowers of affection.
• The falling snowflakes are dancers.
• The calm lake was a mirror.

You can identify personification by noticing any moments where the author describes something non-human with human characteristics. Personification examples could include a writer comparing the sun’s warmth to the arms of a loving mother.

Writers use personification to give human characteristics, such as emotions and behaviors, to non-human things, animals, and ideas. The statement “the story jumped off the page” is a good example of personification.

Personification is a literary device where a nonhuman object or idea is assigned human characteristics. An example of personification is saying a hyena laughed. Hyenas don’t laugh–laughing is a human characteristic–but that description paints a clear picture of the sound a hyena makes.

Personification connects readers with the object that is personified. Personification can make descriptions of non-human entities more vivid, or can help readers understand, sympathize with, or react emotionally to non-human characters.

Personification is a figure of speech that attributes human nature and characteristics to something that is not human—whether living or nonliving. When the wind howls, when pastries tempt, when the sun smiles, and when stars wink; these are all personifications.

Common Personification Examples

• Lightning danced across the sky.
• The wind howled in the night.
• The car complained as the key was roughly turned in its ignition.
• Rita heard the last piece of pie calling her name.
• My alarm clock yells at me to get out of bed every morning.

the act of personifying; the attributing of human qualities to an animal, object, or abstraction: The author’s personification of the farm animals made for an enchanting children’s book. a character portrayal or representation in a dramatic or literary work.

PERSONIFICATION refers to the process wherein human qualities are attributed to plants, animals, objects, ideas or concepts. Ancient cultures imbued natural elements such as the wind, water, sun and moon with supernatural qualities and personified them, depicting them through human forms.

Anthropomorphism is when human characteristics or qualities are applied to animals or deities, not inanimate objects or abstract ideas. Personification allows writers to attribute human characteristics to nonhuman things without turning those things into human-like characters, as is done with anthropomorphism.