TeacherofLiteracy com Poetry Resources Personification Personification Todays Objectives

Teacher-of-Literacy. com Poetry Resources Personification

Personification Today’s Objectives: • To recognise and understand the purpose of a poet’ use of personification.

Where does the word come from? Answer The root word in personification is person (human). Definition Personification is the use of human traits to represent animals, objects, events, and ideas.

How does this work? What are some human traits and activities? Where have you seen animals (real or imaginary) exhibiting these traits and taking part in these activities?

Where have you seen animals that exhibit human traits? • Television – Cartoons – Commercials • Movies • Stories – Fables – Fairy Tales – Novels

EXAMPLES The flowers danced in the wind. The friendly gates welcomed us. The Earth coughed and choked in all of the pollution.

More Personification examples The headlights winked in the gathering dusk. Gentle breezes stroked our faces. Fire walked across the hill. The headlights, breeze and fire have taken on human qualities.

THE FROWNING CLIFF by Herbert Asquith The sea has a laugh And the cliff a frown; For the laugh of the sea Is wearing him down. Lipping and lapping Frown as he may, The laughing sea Will eat him away; Knees and body, And tawny head, He’ll smile at last On a golden bed. • What is the poem about? • You will be covering this in Geography • What human qualities is the sea given in this poem? • What human qualities is the cliff given? • Why does the sea have a laugh? • Why is the poem called the frowning cliff? • What is the last stanza suggesting will happen?