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Pathos
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
Key Examples in Far From the Madding Crowd
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—A Summer Face:
Hardy uses personification to describe the day that Gabriel chooses to propose to Bathsheba:
On a day which had a summer face and a winter constitution—a fine January morning when there was just enough blue sky visible to make cheerfully disposed people wish for more, and an occasional sunshiny gleam of silvery whiteness, Oak put the lamb into a respectable Sunday basket, and stalked across the fields to the home of Mrs Hurst the aunt [...]
Related Themes:
Chapter 22
Explanation and Analysis—The Ewe:
In this scene, Gabriel shears a sheep while Bathsheba watches. As she does so, Bathsheba personifies the ewe:
Unlock with LitCharts A+He lopped off the tresses about its head, and opened up the neck and collar, his mistress quietly looking on.
“She blushes at the insult,” murmured Bathsheba, watching the pink flush which arose and overspread the neck and shoulders of the ewe where they were left bare by the clicking shears—a flush which was enviable, for its delicacy, by many queens of coteries, and would have been creditable, for its promptness, to any woman in the world.
