Which figure of speech involves giving human qualities to non-living things?

Which figure of speech involves giving human qualities to non-living things?

• A. Simile
• B. Personification
• C. Metaphor
• D. Hyperbole

Answer: (B)

Giving human qualities to things that aren’t alive is personification. It makes objects or natural forces act, feel, or think like people. For example, “the wind whispered through the trees” treats the wind as if it can speak, which is exactly what personification does. A simile uses like or as to compare, so it’s describing similarities rather than endowing the non-human thing with human traits. A metaphor makes a direct comparison by saying something is something else, which can imply human traits but isn’t defined specifically as giving human qualities. Hyperbole is all about exaggeration for emphasis, not about making non-living things act like people.

Giving human qualities to things that aren’t alive is personification. It makes objects or natural forces act, feel, or think like people. For example, “the wind whispered through the trees” treats the wind as if it can speak, which is exactly what personification does.

A simile uses like or as to compare, so it’s describing similarities rather than endowing the non-human thing with human traits. A metaphor makes a direct comparison by saying something is something else, which can imply human traits but isn’t defined specifically as giving human qualities. Hyperbole is all about exaggeration for emphasis, not about making non-living things act like people.