What is the Difference Between Metaphor and Personification?

Metaphor and personification are both literary devices that writers use to add depth and richness to their writing, but they serve different purposes and have distinct characteristics.

Metaphor:

• A metaphor is a comparison of two things that are not the same.
• It is a word or phrase that takes on the meaning of something else.
• Metaphors often involve a statement that is not literally true, such as saying that a job is a dream.

Personification:

• Personification is the process of imbuing non-living objects, animals, and ideas with human characteristics.
• It is a figure of speech that attributes human nature and characteristics to something non-human.
• Personification can be found in fiction and poetry, and sometimes even in daily conversations.

In summary, a metaphor compares two things that are not the same, while personification gives human qualities or traits to a nonliving object. Personification can be considered a type of metaphor, as it involves comparing human qualities to non-human entities. However, the key difference between the two lies in their focus: metaphors compare two distinct things, while personification assigns human traits or qualities to non-human entities.

Comparative Table: Metaphor vs Personification

Here is a table comparing metaphor and personification:

Metaphor is a figure of speech that directly states a comparison by saying one thing is another, while personification gives human qualities to non-living things, animals, or ideas. Both metaphor and personification are used in literature to create more vivid and imaginative descriptions.