Personification & pathetic fallacy
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All 10 Flashcards — Personification & pathetic fallacy
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Question
What is personification?
Answer
Giving human qualities to a thing, animal or idea — ‘the wind screamed.’
Question
What is pathetic fallacy?
Answer
Using weather or nature to mirror a mood — ‘the sky wept as she left.’
Question
How do they differ?
Answer
Personification = any human quality on anything; pathetic fallacy = weather/nature matching a mood.
Question
How do you spot personification?
Answer
Look for a human action or feeling given to a non-human thing — ‘the fog crept’.
Question
How do you spot pathetic fallacy?
Answer
Weather or nature changes to match a character's feelings.
Question
Why do writers use these?
Answer
To make the setting carry a feeling and pull the reader into the mood.
Question
‘The trees danced in the wind’ — what?
Answer
Personification — dancing is a human action given to trees.
Question
‘Thunder rolled as the villain arrived’ — what?
Answer
Pathetic fallacy — the storm mirrors the menace.
Question
How do you analyse them?
Answer
Name the human quality or matched mood + the feeling it builds.
Question
Commonest mistake with these?
Answer
Naming the technique without the feeling it creates.
Read the notes
Full study notes for Personification & pathetic fallacy
Topic 1.4 hub
Imagery & comparison
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English A Lang & Lit exam skills
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