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Paradox
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
Chapter 7: Idyll on a Terrace
Explanation and Analysis—Dull Folly:
After their first meeting in Chapter 7, Ibarra and María Clara talk together on the porch. The narrator, apparently, has no ability to hear what they say. Or, perhaps, out of coyness, the narrator will not report to the reader what the couple is saying. Instead, the scene draws on personification:
Later, when the loving couple, fleeing the dust raised by Aunt Isabel's feather duster, went out to the terrace to chat freely amid the small grape arbors, what stories did they tell each other that made them tremble among their quiet whispers, little red flowers of angel hair? Tell them, you of fragrant breath and colorful lips, you, zephyr, who learned rare harmonies in the secret of the dark night and the mystery of our virgin forests, tell them, rays of sun, Eternity's shining embodiment on earth, sole unmatter in the world of matter, tell them, for I can offer but dull folly!
Chapter 19: Adventures of a Schoolmaster
Explanation and Analysis—Phosphorescent Genies:
In Chapter 19, Ibarra and the schoolmaster look over the lake, the site of multiple climactic scenes in the book, while discussing the new school Ibarra plans to build. The narrator personifies the lake as the men gaze upon it:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The lake, surrounded by mountains, sleeps in that calm hypocrisy of the elements, as if the previous night and the storm had not somehow acted in concert. At the first reflections of light, which awaken phosphorescent genies in the water, from far off, almost at the edge of the horizon, grayish silhouettes become outlines: fishing boats and the fishermen who gather their nets.
Related Themes:
Chapter 61: Pursuit on the Lake
Explanation and Analysis—Malapad-na-bató:
Elías and Ibarra have a dispute, in Chapter 60, over whether Ibarra will escape and whether Elías will come with him. Elías makes the fraught decision to remain in the Philippines, and the men stop talking for the first time in a while. Rizal describes their friendly silence in metaphorical terms, personifying the night around them:
Unlock with LitCharts A+They remained silent until they arrived at Malapad-na-bató. People who have at one time cruised the Pasig at night, on one of those magic nights the Philippines offers, when the moon spills a melancholy poetry from a limpid blue, when shadows hide the misery of men and silence snuffs the rotten timbre of their voices, when nature alone speaks, they will understand what was going through the minds of those two young men.
