A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT OF PERSONIFICATION
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CONCEPT OF PERSONIFICATION

Summary/Abstract: Personification has always been an underrated trope, despite the wealth of metaliterary information it is able to offer. This article aims to note a short history of the concept of personification, as well as to investigate the reasons why this artistic device cannot be found at the same level of appreciation as other literary devices. Even though personification is a common, widespread trope, being especially present in poetry, surprisingly, its status within literary theory has always been imprecise and volatile, the prevailing critical attitude towards personification being, in all moments of history, one of indifference. The banality generally attributed to this trope led on the one hand to the current scarcity of theoretical texts on the topic, and on the other hand to the contradictions and uncertainties dominating the few texts which do exist.

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