How to Write a Personification Poem

A personification poem is a poem written in which the subject of the poem is a plant, animal or some other non-human given human characteristics, such as speech or thought. Personification has been popular for decades, featured in children's books, cartoons, novels and poetry. Personification is fun and easy to write. Whether you use it seriously to make a statement or write it to entertain young minds, you can create poems that give human traits to almost anything.

Things You'll Need

• Pen
• Paper

Instructions

1. Consider the subject of your poem. Think of the narration. Decide on the object of your personification. Decide how giving that thing, whether it's an animate or inanimate object, the power to speak will benefit your poem. Start with something simple. Give human characteristics to a shoe, for instance. Think of what you could do with a personification poem about a pair of shoes that have traveled through the decades.

2. Write an opening stanza something like this:

   We saw the sixties, a time of peace,
   Where everyone loved and lived
   in happiness,
   Until the decade was gone.
   She locked us away in the dark
   Until we were brought out again
   In the seventies, when turmoil
   Was on the rise.

   You can choose any rhyme scheme or meter for your poem. The key is telling a story from the viewpoint of an object (in this case a pair of shoes) using human voice and thought.

3. Write your personification poem using some of the traditional language devices. Metaphors, word plays and irony are all effective devices you can employ. Consider this verse:

   We were separated for a while,
   My mate and I . . .
   Felt like a heel;
   My other half somewhere,
   Cast aside.

   Heel is a play on words that emphasizes the shoe theme. It's fun to write these types of poems. Once you get the hang of it, you can personify anything in a poem to help tell your story.

References

• Personification
• Using Peersonification Effectively in Your Poetry