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Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Personification
Explanation and Analysis—People-like Weapons:
Near the beginning of the story, when capturing the terrifying battle scene taking place, Crane personifies the weapons of war, as seen in the following passage:
The battery on the hill presently engaged in a frightful duel. The white legs of the gunners scampered this way and that way, and the officers redoubled their shouts. The guns, with their demeanors of stolidity and courage, were typical of something infinitely self-possessed in this clamor of death that swirled around the hill.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis:
Crane’s writing style in “A Mystery of Heroism” is lyrical and poetic. The following passage, in which the narrator sets the scene near the beginning of the story, demonstrates how Crane uses rich figurative language to capture the brutality of war:
Unlock with LitCharts A+For the little meadow which intervened was now suffering a terrible onslaught of shells. Its green and beautiful calm had vanished utterly. Brown earth was being flung in monstrous handfuls. And there was a massacre of the young blades of grass. They were being torn, burned, obliterated. Some curious fortune of the battle had made this gentle little meadow the object of the red hate of the shells, and each one as it exploded seemed like an imprecation in the face of a maiden.
Related Themes:
