Metaphorical personification is a type of figurative language that involves assigning human qualities to non-human objects or abstract concepts. It is used to create vivid imagery and engage the reader’s imagination. Metaphorical personification can be classified into several types based on how it is used in the text:
Anthropomorphism: This type of personification assigns human-like characteristics to animals or inanimate objects. For example, “the wind howled through the trees” gives the wind a human-like quality of howling.
Zoomorphism: In this type of personification, animal traits are assigned to humans or inanimate objects. For example, “she was as sly as a fox” attributes the fox’s clever trait to a human.
Pathetic fallacy: This type of personification involves attributing emotions and feelings to nature or inanimate objects. For example, “angry clouds gathered overhead” gives the clouds an emotional (anger) characteristic.
Idiomatic expressions: This type of personification involves assigning voice and character to abstract concepts such as death, time, or love for metaphorical purposes only rather than literal meaning. For example, “Death knocked at my door” gives Death a personality trait of knocking on someone’s door.
Metaphorical personification: In this type of personification, non-human things are given human characteristics solely for metaphorical purposes without intending them to be taken literally. For example, “time flies when you’re having fun.”
In conclusion, metaphoric personification is a powerful tool in literature and other forms of writing that helps authors create engaging content by giving non-human things human qualities and creating relatable characters that readers can connect with emotionally.




