Personification

"A depilated dog would not look well. Dress up!" -"Pink Dog" by Elizabeth Bishop

     At the beginning of chaper 5, personification, a specific type of figure of speech, is highlighted and discussed. It shows up in several of the poems to add depth and meaning to the theme. In poems like "Bright Star" and "Pink Dog" the metaphor is carried out throughout the entire poem and the effect of the speaker being or longing to be the object personified is built upon through descriptions of its characteristics. The book suggests that there are varying degrees of personification. Sometimes we are asked to compare an object in every aspect to a human and other times only part of the object is emphasized. For most of the poems, especially ones like "Bright Star," only part of the star is emphasized. When I think of personification, I often think it is used to give life and interest to something simple, like a flower or worm. However, "Bright Star" showed me that the opposite can also be true. Keats uses the immortal and eternal aspects of a star in an attempt to explain his own longing for superhuman qualities. We wants to be sleepless and omniscient while also being able to love and feel emotion. He wants intimacy and distance and illustrates it through personification.