How to use this Page

by Renee Kirchner,Teaching Tips Contributing Editor

Personification is a type of figurative language in which a non-living object is given human qualities. The verb in the sentence involves a human action. Here are a few examples:

The ocean waves rocked me to sleep.
The wind sang a beautiful song.
The thunder clapped its hands together in perfect rhythm with the rain.
The roses tilted their faces towards the sun.

Personification can make your writing more fun. Your writing will be stronger and more interesting if you try this technique some of the time.

The swimming pool invited me in for a refreshing swim.
The poison ivy vines raced up the side of the tree.
The sunrise painted a beautiful picture in the sky.
The tall grass danced in the wind.

The person reading your writing will understand that wind cannot sing and waves cannot rock you to sleep, but your writing will be more like a poem.

Can you use personification in your writing? Give it a try.

An Exercise in Using Personification:

Fill in the blanks with a verb that gives human qualities to the non-living object in the sentence.

1. The flowers _______________ at me as I walked through the park.

2. The fall leaves ________________ to the ground.

3. The rain __________________ his cheeks as he ran home.

4. The train _________________ the family through the woods and over the mountain.

5. The soccer net _________________ the ball in mid air.

6. The rainbow __________________ the sky with brilliant colors.

7. The thorn bush ________________ at our ankles as we walked on the trail.

8. I watched the flower bulbs _________________ out of the soil after the light spring rain.

9. Spider webs ________________ in the moonlight from the trees in my front yard.

10. The basketball ________________ from my hand as I released my final shot of the game.