NYSTCE 221 – Childhood Literacy Practice Test

Personification is a figure of speech that gives human qualities to something nonhuman. The statement that assigns human traits to nonhuman things is the best definition because that exactly captures what personification does—treating objects or ideas as if they could think, feel, or act like people. This device helps readers visualize and connect with the nonhuman world by making it seem animate, as in phrases where the wind seems to whisper or the clock seems to hurry time. The other descriptions point to different concepts: a causal relationship is about cause and effect, quoting someone is direct quotation, and describing a setting is simply painting the scene—none of these describe making nonhuman things behave like humans.