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Is literally device that assigns human qualities to something not human a metaphor, or personification
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You mean “literary device,” not “literally device.” The device that gives human qualities to something non‑human is called personification (or, in some contexts, anthropomorphism).
Brief distinctions:
- Personification: specifically attributes human traits, feelings, or actions to nonhuman things. Example: “The wind whispered.”
- Anthropomorphism: more literal human behavior or thinking given to animals/objects (talking animals in fables).
- Metaphor: a broader figure of speech that implicitly compares two unlike things (“Time is a thief”). Personification can be treated as a type of metaphorical language when it uses human qualities figuratively, but it’s more precise to call the device “personification.”
So: use “personification” (or “anthropomorphism” for literal human behavior); it’s related to but not the same as a general metaphor.
Brief distinctions:
- Personification: specifically attributes human traits, feelings, or actions to nonhuman things. Example: “The wind whispered.”
- Anthropomorphism: more literal human behavior or thinking given to animals/objects (talking animals in fables).
- Metaphor: a broader figure of speech that implicitly compares two unlike things (“Time is a thief”). Personification can be treated as a type of metaphorical language when it uses human qualities figuratively, but it’s more precise to call the device “personification.”
So: use “personification” (or “anthropomorphism” for literal human behavior); it’s related to but not the same as a general metaphor.
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