Personification is the attribution of human characteristics to things that are non-human. In this sonnet, we see the personification of natural forces.
The use of the adjective 'darling' to describe the plants in May is an example of personification. This kind of adjective is more usually applied to people. Even the image of the 'rough winds' that shake the plants could be regarded as personification to a degree, as it comes across rather as though the winds are deliberately shaking the plants, as a person might.
An obvious example of personification is that of the sun, referred to obliquely as 'the eye of heaven' and said to have a 'gold complexion'. Also, personification here is evident with the use of the word 'his', instead of 'its'.
Death, an abstract noun, is also personified here with the use of 'his', and the image of death 'bragging' about claiming the life of the beloved.
The sonnet itself 'lives', according to the poet, as though it were a person.
Overall, we may observe that the season of summer is also being personified in a way, as it is invoked as a point of comparison with the poet's beloved.
No comments:
Post a Comment