Which figure of speech gives human qualities to non-human things?

• A. Personification
• B. Metaphor
• C. Simile
• D. Allegory

Answer: (A)

Giving human qualities to non-human things is called personification. It brings objects or animals to life by describing them as if they could think, feel, or act like people, which helps readers connect emotionally and visualize scenes more vividly. For example, “the wind whispered through the trees” or “the sun smiled down on the meadow” uses human traits to describe nature. This differs from a metaphor, which claims one thing is another (Time is a thief) without using like or as, and from a simile, which makes a comparison using like or as (as brave as a lion). Allegory uses characters and events to convey a deeper moral or political meaning, not primarily to attribute human traits to non-human things. So the concept here is personification.