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Motifs
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
Act 1
Explanation and Analysis—Blind Rages:
At the end of Act I, Pegeen uses personification to describe what she perceives as Christy's rage:
PEGEEN. she puts sack on settle and beats it up.—I never killed my father. I’d be afeard to do that, except I was the like of yourself with blind rages tearing me within, for I’m thinking you should have had great tussling when the end was come.
Personification appears in the phrase "blind rages tearing me within." This creates a violent image of a feeling "tearing" Christy apart. It also gives the "rages" a certain agency and power over Christy. In other words, Pegeen believes that big emotional forces must be at work within Christy to make him kill his father. She almost cannot believe he has done it. By personifying the feelings that drove him to murder, Pegeen removes much of the responsibility from Christy and instead blames the uncontrollable, "blind" emotions inside of him for his violent actions. She likes him a lot and does not want to believe he is totally responsible—and she'd like to believe his actions were justified. In order to valorize him and declare him a hero, she must first absolve him of guilt or blame for killing his father (despite the fact that she knows nothing of his father's side of the story).
Related Themes:
