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Paradox
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Prologue
Explanation and Analysis—Other Voices:
In describing his own feelings while listening to jazz recordings by Louis Armstrong, the narrator uses personification and makes an allusion to the late-medieval poet Dante Alighieri:
The unheard sounds came through, and each melodic line existed of itself, stood out clearly from all the rest, said its piece, and waited patiently for the other voices to speak. That night I found myself hearing not only in time, but in space as well. I not only entered the music but descended, like Dante, into its depths. And beneath the swiftness of the hot tempo there was a slower tempo and a cave and I entered it and looked around and heard an old woman singing a spiritual as full of Weltschmerz as flamenco [...]
First, he personifies the sounds made by Armstrong. Each “melodic line,” he claims, “existed of itself [...] said its piece, and waited patiently for the other voices to speak.” Under the influence of drugs, he perceives the musical notes of Armstrong’s trumpet as if in isolation, attributing distinctly human qualities and actions to these notes.
Further, he writes that he feels that he is “like Dante” after having “descended” into the “depths” of the music. Here, he alludes to Dante, poet of The Divine Comedy, the most celebrated work of Italian literature. In the “Inferno” section of the poem, Dante descends into hell in the company of the ancient Roman poet Virgil. Just as Dante, in the poem, enters another world, so too does the narrator feel transported while listening to Armstrong’s music, ultimately having various dark and confusing visions while in this state.
Related Themes:
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Hostile Lawns:
The narrator employs personification when recounting his return to the college campus after a chaotic and violent scene in a local bar known for illicit activities:
I headed the car through the red-brick campus gateposts with a sense of cold apprehension. Now even the rows of neat dormitories seemed to threaten me, the rolling lawns appearing as hostile as the gray highway with its white dividing line. As of its own compulsion, the car slowed as we passed the chapel with its low, sweeping eaves. The sun shone coolly through the avenue of trees, dappling the curving drive. Students strolled through the shade, down a hill of tender grass toward the brick-red stretch of tennis courts.
Having inadvertently exposed Mr. Norton, a wealthy white patron of the university, to danger by taking him to the Golden Day bar, the narrator fears that he will be punished or even expelled by the university officials. His anxieties are mirrored in his description of the campus. Using personification, he imagines that the “rows of neat dormitories” are threatening him and that the “rolling lawns” are now “hostile” to him. He also personifies the university-owned car he is driving, stating that it “slowed” as they passed the college chapel as if operating on “its own compulsion.” This personification highlights the narrator’s anxieties as he imagines the campus itself as turning against him.
