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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 There Will Come Soft Rains
Personification
Explanation and Analysis—Fire:
If the McClellans’ house is the story’s main character, then fire is its central antagonist. After a falling tree bough crashes through the window and sends cleaning solvent over the stove, the kitchen immediately catches flame. The night fire is untamed and uncontrollable—it tears through the house despite the technological devices’ most desperate attempts to contain it.
Related Themes:
Personification
Explanation and Analysis—Cleaning Mice:
“There Will Come Soft Rains” often trades in personification to create the impression of life. Clocks sing the time, kitchen stoves sigh, and the house quivers at the touch of sparrows. Of the many personified appliances in the McClellans' house, the cleaning mice receive the most attention:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The rooms were acrawl with the small cleaning animals, all rubber and metal. They thudded against chairs, whirling their mustached runners, kneading the rug nap, sucking gently at hidden dust.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Elephants and Snakes:
The story features an instance of simile, metaphor, and personification in describing the house’s combat with the fire. As the fire sweeps across the kitchen, the ranks of vacuum mice scuttle out to contain the flames and the attic trapdoors deploy a “gushing green chemical”:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The fire backed off, as even an elephant must at the sight of a dead snake. Now there were twenty snakes whipping over the floor, killing the fire with a clear cold venom of green froth.
Related Themes:
