Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

60%
+1 −0
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 9y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:27Z (over 4 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 (over 4 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 (over 4 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 (over 9 years ago)
Original score: 10