Personification and Hyperbole

Interpret human qualities given to things and deliberate exaggeration for effect.

Personification gives human actions or feelings to something that is not human. 'The old house groaned in the storm' does not mean the house can speak; it suggests creaking sounds and strain, and it makes the house feel alive and troubled. Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration that no one is meant to take literally. 'I have told you a million times' means many times, said with frustration. Both devices create effects you should name when analyzing writing.

Personification often builds mood: 'Shadows crept across the floor' feels more menacing than 'Shadows moved'. Hyperbole often reveals a character's emotions or adds humor: 'This backpack weighs a ton' shows how tired the speaker is. To analyze either device, first translate it into literal language, then ask what the figurative version adds that the literal one lacks. That difference, a mood, an emotion, an attitude, is the author's purpose for using it.

• 1Personification gives human traits to non-human things.
• 2Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration.
• 3Translate to literal language, then name what the device adds.