Anthropomorphism vs. Personification: What’s the Difference?

Anthropomorphism is a literary device that attributes human characteristics to non-human entities, like animals and plants, or inanimate objects, like stars or machines. Writers commonly use anthropomorphism in fairy tales, fables, and other types of stories.

Personification is the attribution of human characteristics to abstract ideas, natural phenomena, or inanimate objects in a figurative manner. Personification is a common literary device in poetry and literature. Giving natural phenomena human traits can add emotional depth to the reading experience.

A writer could employ personification by describing a faulty engine as being “temperamental,” or a harsh wind as being “cruel.” Of course, readers are not meant to believe that either of these things are capable of human emotions, but rather to see these descriptors as metaphorical.

Personification and anthropomorphism are similar literary devices with a few key distinctions. Personification is the use of figurative language to give inanimate objects or natural phenomena humanlike characteristics in a metaphorical and representative way. Anthropomorphism, on the other hand, involves non-human things displaying literal human traits and being capable of human behavior.

Anthropomorphism frequently appears in literature, from children’s books to novels. Below are some examples:

1. 1. Animal Farm: In George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, the farm animal characters possess human traits, like language, human emotions, and social formations.
2. 2. Winnie the Pooh: A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh series features Christopher Robin, a human character who interacts with Winnie, a silly, honey-loving talking bear and other anthropomorphic animals in the fictional Hundred Acre Wood.
   
3. 3. The Railway Series: Wilbert Aldrey’s children’s book series features Thomas the tank engine, a blue steam engine with a human-like face that talks.
4. 4. Beauty and the Beast: Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve’s novel, the inspiration for the classic Disney film, features inanimate objects with human qualities. In the story, a clock, candelabra, and a teapot are among the live things that can communicate with human characters.

Personification is an ancient literary technique that is common in poems, short stories, and novels:

1. 1. Greek mythology: In ancient Greek religion and literature, many deities embody abstract concepts, such as war or love, while taking on the form and emotions of human beings.
2. 2. The Haunting of Hill House: In Shirley Jackson’s acclaimed horror novel, she uses personification to turn a house into a living entity. Jackson describes the house as maniacal, arrogant, with a face that seems “awake,” applying figurative language to escalate fear and tension.
3. 3. E.E. Cummings’ poetry: Cummings’ 1931 poem “somewhere I have never travelled, gladly beyond” features personification to compare a lover to flowers, spring, and rain. One line of the poem reads “nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands.”

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