Personification Worksheet

Personification Worksheet

Directions: In each sentence, an object or idea is personified. Identify the object or idea that is being personified and
explain which human trait or action is applied to the object or idea.

Personification: a figurative language technique where an object or idea is given human traits or characteristics.

1. The wind whispered through the dark and gloomy forest.

What is being personified? ___________________________________________________________

Which human trait or quality is given? ____________________________________________________

2. The gardener lovingly added the manure to his crops believing he was making happy flowers.



3. As we walked through the scorching desert, the sun beat down on us.



4. Time crawled as Tim sat in the hot detention room painfully watching the clock tic.



5. The lumberjack leveled the many trees into a clearing and his chainsaw sang its deadly song.



6. When Monica walked through the shoe store, each shiny pair of high heels called out to her.



7. When the patriots defeated the redcoat army, freedom rang across the fruited plains.

What is being personified? _____________________________________________________________

Which human trait or quality is given?______________________________________________________

8. As Alice searched for her missing pencil, she said sarcastically, “Well, I guess it just walked off of my desk.” She
looked at her classmates accusingly.



9. Kelly was so happy that Tom and she were moving in together, but when she walked into her new residence, she
dropped her suitcase. She had never seen the inside of the house which Tom’s grandmother had given them, and
though she was grateful to receive such a nice gift, the ugly yellow wallpaper in the kitchen screamed at her. She knew
she would have a lot of work to do to make her new house livable.



10. William knew that he shouldn’t have eaten the last cookie out of the cookie jar. He knew that his father loved to eat
chocolate chip cookies after work, but William ate the last one anyway. Now as he waited for his father to come home,
guilt poked and chewed at William. As delicious as the cookie was, William now wished that he had never opened that
cookie jar.

What is being personified? _____________________________________________________________

Which human trait or quality is given?______________________________________________________

Personification Worksheet 2



1. The sad waters of the icy wasteland streamed through barren landscape.

What is being personified? __________________________________________________________

Which human trait or quality is given? __________________________________________________

2. As Shelia walked home from school, the wind gripped her in its frigid fingertips.



3. Alan found that his wife had left him, and he felt that joy would never visit his home again.



4. The engine hacked and coughed as Kevin turned the key, but the old car wouldn’t start.



5. Though Dante tried to live a pious life and be a good father, the streets called to him at night.



6. The night was calm and still as crickets chirped and owls hooted under the light of the moon.



7. Though it’s been said that “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” some girls prefer chocolate.



8. Little Vito was attempting to sneak out of his parent’s house to cause trouble late at night. He was tiptoeing across
the kitchen floor toward the backdoor the creaky floor boards and his squeaky shoes told his parents he was leaving. Big
Vito was none too pleased with little Vito.



9. Gina was the most beautiful girl in the whole town. Her eyes were a blanket of stars. Her teeth shined like fresh
porcelain tiles. Her long vivacious hair enjoyed many beautiful adventures as it traveled down the course of her
shoulder blades. But the true source of her beauty was her personality: Gina made the world a better place by being a
good person.



10. Victor was walking home from his friend Paco’s house late at night when he heard a tree branch breaking deep in
the forest. His heart beat rapidly as he wondered what could have made that noise. Was it an animal? Was it a
man? Was it something else? Victor knew that the forest would keep its many secrets as he would not be investigating
tonight. Victor ran all the way home.



Personification Worksheet 3



1. As Vince attempted to park in the crowded lot, his truck kissed the bumper of an Impala.



2. The crops begged for water but the drought continued long into the summer months.



3. The moon shone on the still waters of the lake and the lonely peer rotted in the seaweed.



4. When Michael made a shot without hitting the rim, the net shushed his rivals.



5. Bobby couldn’t take his mind off of chess; the game spoke to him night and day.



6. He pounded his fist against the cruel bricks of the cell and hopelessly tugged on the cold steel bars until he exhausted
himself.



7. It seemed like Bob was married to his job and that dealing with his wife, Anne, was just a tiresome chore.



8. All of her life, Margaret wanted to be rich. She longed to know the comfort of having others wait on her. When she
grew up and got married, greed came knocking on the door of her new home. Margaret always wanted more, always
looked elsewhere.



9. Terry the bricklayer was as big as an ox. His arms were as large around as barrels of beer, and Terry was always in a
good mood. Why wouldn’t he be? Terry was a master of his craft and he lived in a time that needed bricklayers.



10. The darkness of the night taunted Veronica as she walked home late from soccer practice. She heard a dog barking
and a flock of crows flew from a bramble of bushes. A man coughed in the distance. Her heart beat faster as she saw
headlights in the far distance.



Exploring Personification— A Poetry Lesson Plan
This lesson plan uses descriptive examples to explain what personification means and how it is used in poetry. Students
will read poem excerpts in which examples of personification are identified. Then, they will create their own poetic
sentences and short poems using personification.
Personification means using human qualities or actions to describe an object or an animal. The word “personification”
actually contains the word “person,” and to personifyan object means to describe it as if it were a person. Instead of
saying that the sun is shining, we might say that the sun is smiling down at us. Instead of describing a flag as moving in
the wind, we could say that the flag is dancing.
Using a human word to describe an object can make a poetic image seem more vivid. It can also give us an idea about
how the narrator (the person describing the object) is feeling toward the object. For example, “The sun was smiling
down at me” seems to indicate that the narrator has positive feelings about the sunshine. On the other hand, a narrator
who says “The sun was glaring down” seems to have negative feelings about it.
Here are some examples of personification in excerpts from famous poems. In these examples, the object is in italics
(like this) and the human-like action or quality is underlined (like this).
The Sky is Low

by Emily Dickinson
The sky is low, the clouds are mean…
Trees
by Joyce Kilmer
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair…
April Rain Song
by Langston Hughes
The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof at night…
Exercise 1
First, make a list of 10 action verbs that describe things that humans do.
Now, take a look around the room and write down 10 objects that you see.
Look at your two lists and find funny or interesting ways to combine the objects with the verbs. For example, you might
come up with “pencil laughing” or “sandwich whispers.” Use these word combinations to create poetic sentences about
each object. For example: “My ham sandwich whispers loudly that it hates being wrapped in plastic.”
Exercise 2
Using one of the personification sentences you wrote in Exercise 1, create an entire poem about the object. Your poem
does not have to rhyme, but it should be at least 4 lines long.
1. TYPES OF IRONY
2. Situational Irony: When the opposite of what is expected to happen, happens. ie. You wash your car and then it rains.
3. Verbal Irony: In conversation, the speaker intends to be understood as meaning something that contrasts with the
literal or usual meaning of what he says. ie. "My, you've certainly made a mess of things!" could be said to a
hostess who presents a spectacular dish prepared with obvious care and skill.
4. Dramatic Irony: When the reader or audience are aware of something that the characters in the story are not. The
reader/audience waits anxiously to find out what will happen when the characters discover what we already know. ie. In
Act II while Romeo & Juliet make plans for a happy future the audience already knows of their fate since they’ve been
told by the chorus in the Prologue.
5. Dramatic Irony con’t: Dramatic Irony makes the reader/audience feel suspense.
6. THE END

Personification Worksheet

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Personification Worksheet

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Personification Worksheet

Exploring Personification— A Poetry Lesson Plan

The Sky is Low

You might also like