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Mood
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 3
Explanation and Analysis—The Wind:
In the following passage from Chapter 3, Wilde employs a wide range of figurative language, including imagery, personification, and simile, to evoke aspects of the Gothic for the reader. Each instance of figurative language in this sentence emphasizes the agency of the natural world, at times above or in contrast to the agency of human actors:
The owl beat against the window panes, the raven croaked from the old yew-tree, and the wind wandered moaning round the house like a lost soul; but the Otis family slept unconscious of their doom, and high above the rain and the storm [the ghost] could hear the steady snoring of the Minister for the United States.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Moon:
In Gothic fiction, nature often has agency not only as a biological or physical phenomenon, but as a literal humanoid figure enabled to act through imagery and personification. Wilde evokes this element of Gothic style throughout the text by personifying the moon, who in the below passage from Chapter 3 “hides her face” behind a cloud, darkening the scene around her:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The moon hid her face in a cloud as [the ghost] stole past the great oriel window.
Explanation and Analysis—Chanticleer:
In the following passage from Chapter 3, Wilde writes his ghost as alluding to Chanticleer, a fictional rooster who features prominently in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, specifically in the Nun’s Priest’s Tale:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[The ghost] ground his toothless gums together; and, raising his withered hands above his head, swore, according to the picturesque phraseology of the antique school, that when Chanticleer had sounded twice his merry horn, deeds of blood would be wrought, and Murder walk abroad with silent feet.
