Which term involves giving human qualities to nonhuman things?

Which term involves giving human qualities to nonhuman things?

• A. Metaphor
• B. Pathos
• C. Ethos
• D. Personification

Answer: (D)

Giving human qualities to something that isn’t human is personification. This device makes nonhuman things feel relatable by treating them as if they had thoughts, feelings, or actions typical of people. For example, saying “the wind whispered through the trees” assigns a human action to the wind, helping the scene come alive and inviting readers to imagine it more vividly. Metaphor, while related, is a broader figure of speech that describes one thing as another to highlight a trait or idea, not specifically by attributing human traits to the nonhuman. Pathos and ethos are about emotional and ethical appeals in rhetoric, not about giving human characteristics to nonhuman things. So the term that best fits the description is personification.

Giving human qualities to something that isn’t human is personification. This device makes nonhuman things feel relatable by treating them as if they had thoughts, feelings, or actions typical of people. For example, saying “the wind whispered through the trees” assigns a human action to the wind, helping the scene come alive and inviting readers to imagine it more vividly.

Metaphor, while related, is a broader figure of speech that describes one thing as another to highlight a trait or idea, not specifically by attributing human traits to the nonhuman. Pathos and ethos are about emotional and ethical appeals in rhetoric, not about giving human characteristics to nonhuman things. So the term that best fits the description is personification.