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Q&A Metaphor or Personification

It is personification. Simile and metaphor are both comparing X to Y, but in different ways. A simile always uses "like" or "as": "The rustling of the branches was like trees whispering to each ...

posted 10y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:27Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/14732
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T03:56:17Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/14732
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T03:56:17Z (almost 5 years ago)
It is personification.

Simile and metaphor are both comparing X to Y, but in different ways.

A _simile_ always uses "like" or "as": "The rustling of the branches was like trees whispering to each other."

A _metaphor_ uses symbolism. It's something which can't be literal: "Their hissing gossip was the rustle of tree branches: indistinct, indecipherable, far above my head."

_Personification_ (sometimes known as _anthropomorphism_) is ascribing human actions and/or motivations to non-human actors or objects: "The trees whispered." (Trees have no mouths or ears, so they can't whisper.)

_Onomatopoeia_ is when a word sounds like the sound it's describing: _bark, boing, whoosh, hiss._ [edited to fix ridiculous error]

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2014-12-28T19:11:24Z (almost 10 years ago)
Original score: 10