Function of
Personification
Learn how poets breathe human life into abstract ideas, natural forces, and objects to create emotional depth and vivid meaning.
AP English Literature
What Is Personification?
Personification is a figure of speech in which a non-human subject—an object, an animal, an abstract concept, or a force of nature—is given human qualities, actions, or emotions. It is one of the most common and powerful devices in poetry.
Personification in Action
"Because I could not stop for Death —
He kindly stopped for me —"
— Emily Dickinson, "Because I could not stop for Death"
Why Poets Use Personification
Emotional Connection
Readers empathize with human qualities. When "the wind whispers," we feel intimacy rather than mere weather.
Vivid Imagery
Human actions create concrete pictures. "The sun smiled" is more visual than "it was sunny."
Thematic Depth
Assigning intention to non-human forces reveals the speaker's worldview, fears, or desires.
Anatomy of Personification
Types of Human Qualities Assigned
1
Physical actions: "The trees danced in the wind" — giving bodily movement to stationary objects.
2
Emotions and feelings: "The stars wept" — attributing inner emotional states to non-sentient things.
3
Speech and thought: "Time whispers its secrets" — granting language or consciousness.
4
Social roles: "Death, the gentleman caller" — assigning a recognizable identity or relationship.
Personification vs. Related Devices
| Personification | Simile / Metaphor | Apostrophe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gives human traits to non-human subjects | Compares two unlike things (using "like/as" or direct equation) | Directly addresses an absent or non-human entity |
| Example | "The wind howled" | "The wind was a wolf" | "O Wind, where have you been?" |
| Key Signal | Human verb or emotion applied to non-human | "like," "as," or "is/was" + comparison | "O" + direct address to non-human |
| Overlap? | These often overlap: apostrophe frequently uses personification, and metaphors can personify. | ||
Five Key Functions in Poetry
1
Creates emotional resonance: Makes the reader feel sympathy, dread, or wonder toward non-human entities.
2
Makes abstract ideas concrete: Turns concepts like Justice, Time, or Love into characters we can visualize.
3
Reveals the speaker's perspective: How a speaker personifies nature reflects their psychological or moral state.
4
Establishes tone and atmosphere: A "weeping sky" sets a sorrowful mood; a "laughing brook" sets joy.
5
Advances theme: Personification of death, nature, or time often embodies the poem's central argument.
How to Analyze Personification
1
Identify the non-human subject. What object, concept, or force is being personified?
2
Name the human quality. What specific verb, emotion, or role is attributed? Quote the exact words.
3
Determine the function. Which of the five functions does this serve: emotion, concreteness, perspective, tone, or theme?
4
Connect to the whole poem. How does the personification reinforce the poem's broader meaning, argument, or arc?
5
Write the claim. Use this formula: "By personifying [subject] as [quality], the speaker [effect], which [connection to theme]."
Example 1: Keats
"Autumn, close bosom-friend of the maturing sun,
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines..."
— John Keats, "To Autumn"
Example 2: Shelley
"O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing..."
— Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Ode to the West Wind"
Example 3: Plath
"The moon is no door. It is a face in its own right,
White as a knuckle and terribly upset."
— Sylvia Plath, "The Moon and the Yew Tree"
Mapping Function to Effect
The AP Analysis Formula
Weak Example
"Dickinson uses personification when she calls Death 'He.' This makes the poem interesting."
Strong Example
"By personifying Death as a courteous gentleman who 'kindly stopped,' Dickinson transforms mortality into a civil social encounter, reinforcing the poem's unsettling argument that death is not violent but seductively inevitable."
Common Mistakes to Avoid
✕ Identifying Without Explaining
Simply saying "the poet uses personification" earns no credit. You must explain what human quality is assigned and why it matters.
✕ Confusing with Metaphor
Not every comparison is personification. "The road was a ribbon" is a metaphor. "The road beckoned me forward" is personification because beckoning is a human action.
✕ Ignoring Context
The same personification can function differently in different poems. Always connect your analysis to the specific poem's tone, speaker, and theme.
Question 1 of 5
"The sea was angry that morning, my friends—like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli."
— adapted from a famous comedic line, but imagine it in a poem about a storm.
▼ Tap to read passage
In the line "The sea was angry that morning," which human quality is attributed to the sea?
"Angry" is an emotion—a feeling that only humans (and some animals) experience. Attributing anger to the sea transforms a natural phenomenon into something that feels intentional and threatening.
Question 2 of 5
"Because I could not stop for Death —
He kindly stopped for me —
The Carriage held but just Ourselves —
And Immortality."
— Emily Dickinson
▼ Tap to read passage
What is the primary function of personifying Death as a gentleman caller in Dickinson's poem?
By casting Death as polite and courteous, Dickinson creates an unsettling contrast between civility and finality. The personification advances the theme that death is not violent but inescapably, seductively inevitable.
Question 3 of 5
Which of the following lines contains personification?
Options A, B, and C are similes or metaphors comparing one thing to another. Only option D gives a human action (whispering secrets) to a non-human entity (the wind). That is personification.
Question 4 of 5
"The moon is no door. It is a face in its own right,
White as a knuckle and terribly upset."
— Sylvia Plath, "The Moon and the Yew Tree"
▼ Tap to read passage
In Plath's poem, the personification of the moon as "terribly upset" primarily functions to:
Plath's speaker projects her own anguish onto the moon. The moon's being "terribly upset" is not about the moon at all—it reveals the speaker's isolation and despair, making the natural world a mirror for inner turmoil.
Question 5 of 5
A student writes: "Shelley uses personification in 'Ode to the West Wind.'" According to the AP analysis formula, what is the biggest weakness of this claim?
Simply naming the device earns minimal credit. A strong AP claim must specify what human quality is assigned, what effect it creates, and how it connects to the poem's theme. The formula: "By personifying [subject] as [quality], the speaker [effect], which [connection]."