Literary Technique: Personification
Poem Example:
A Shropshire Lad II: Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
By A. E. Housman
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.
Biographical Information: At first glance nothing seems more unlikely than that the poet of the enormously popular A Shropshire Lad should be the classical scholar A. E. Housman. This Cambridge University professor of Latin left no doubt as to his priorities: the emendation of classical texts was both an intellectual search for the truth and his life's work; poetry was an emotional and physiological experience that began with a sensation in the pit of the stomach. The apparent discrepancies in this man who became both a first-rate scholar and a celebrated poet should be a reminder that, whatever else poetry does, it also records the interior life, a life that has its roots well beneath the academic gown or the business suit. Furthermore, in Housman's case, though he did aspire to be a great scholar first, scrutiny of his life and work reveals that he valued poetry more highly than he often admitted and that many of the presumed conflicts between the classical scholar and the romantic poet dissolve in the personality of the man.
Explanation of Technique: Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings.This poem uses personification by giving a cherry tree human characteristics. The line 'Wearing white for Eastertide,' is one example of personification. A cherry tree cannot litterally wear white, but it grows white flowers in spring, or around Easter. 'Wearing' is a verb used for humans, but in this case was used for a cherry tree.
Interpretation of Poem: The first stanza of this poem is used to praise the cherry tree's aesthetics. The narrator claims that it is the loveliest of all trees. The narrator counts upon his many years and realizes he does not have many springs left to see the beautiful cherry tree in bloom. He decides not to just gaze upon the tree in spring, but to also admire in the winter, when its branches are 'hung with snow'. The poem's message to the reader is that they shouldn't just admire nature in its bloom, but also in its quiet and calm. If we really take the time to enjoy nature, we could see its beauty in all seasons.
Visual Representation:
Explanation of Visual: I selected this image because it depicts a cherry tree in winter, like the tree in the last line of the poem. Despite the fact that it's blossoms are gone and snow covers it branhes, the tree still looks exceedingly beautiful. The poem's message is to appreaciate nature in all its seasons, and this image helps convey that message.
poetryfoundation.org
literarydevices.net