Comprehension

Language Use for Impact Question

Personification
Puns
 Personification
When a writer uses personification, he attributes
human qualities to a non-human thing. You must learn
to identify which words used by the author suggest
that the subject (the thing being personified) is a
person. You must also ask yourself why the author
describes the subject in that way- what effect he is
trying to create, or what he is suggesting about the
subject by personifying it this way.
 Personification
Can you identify the personification in text below?

The moon smiled gently at me as she played hide-and-seek

among the clouds, the stars winking cheerfully at me ever so
often. And as I pondered my bleak future, the gentle breeze
took me in its loving arms, whispering comforting words, and
the branches of the apple tree patted my back gently in
commiseration. Slowly, here in my favourite place in the
world, I felt my sorrow ebb away.

Why do you think the author personified these elements in

this paragraph?
 Vocabulary
*pondered means to think carefully about something especially for
a length of time
*bleak means without hope
*commiseration means an expression of sympathy for someone
*sorrow means a feeling of great sadness or regret, or something
that causes this feeling
*ebb means if a physical or emotional feeling ebbs, it becomes less
strong or disappears
* I felt my sorrow ebb away can also mean my feeling of great
sadness becomes less strong or disappears
 Answers to Personification
(1) Can you identify the personification in the text below?
(i)The moon – smiled gently + played hide-and-seek
(ii) The stars – winking cheerfully at me
(iii) The gentle breeze – took me in its loving arms + whispering
comforting words
(iv) The branches of the apple tree – patted my back gently in
commiseration
(2) Why do you think the author personified these elements in this
paragraph?
It was to suggest that she took comfort/ found refuge in nature in this
time of sorrow.
 Puns

A pun is a play on words

(usually humorous) based on:

(1) one word have two or more meanings

OR
(2) the difference in meaning between two words with the
pronunciation but are spelled somewhat differently.
 Puns
You might have heard the following riddle before:
Question: What has two wheels and flies?

Answer: A garbage truck

Many people find this answer quite baffling, until they realize that the
question makes use of a pun on the word 'flies'.

By virtue of word association, once people hear the word ''wheels'', they
think of “flies” and “moves through the air”, and therefore are stumped
for an answer. However, when the answer is finally revealed, they realize
that it is the other meaning of “flies” (that is, small, two-winged insect)
that is being used to come up with the answer!
 Answers to Pun
What are the two possible meanings of the word “filing” here?

(i) Filing documents

(ii)Filing the snake's fangs

What are the two possible meanings of “ontray” here?

(i) The food they serve will be placed on trays

(ii) It could also mean “entree”.

*An entree is a modern French table service

*Entree also means main course of a meal