Question

Define the word “personification.” Provide an example from one of the following poems:

“The Courage My Mother Had” by Edna St. Vincent Millay
“Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou
“The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe

Answer 1

A personification is a literary element used to give human attributes to non-human things. In "A Caged Bird" Maya Angelou writes, "The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees". Winds don't sigh actually, but a personification gives it the human ability to sigh.