Question

Identify personification in the given sentence:
As the wolf lay there, with a bullet plunged into his heart, the wind howled into the cold, dark night.
a) wolf lay there
 b) plunged into
c) the wind howled
d) cold, dark night

Answer 1

Hint: Personification is a literary device that refers to representing an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature. It is also known as prosopopoeia.

Complete answer:
In the given question, we have to find out the personification, find out where the act of attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas, etc. is carried out.
Let us thus analyze the options given to us in this question:
Option (a.), 'wolf lay there', refers to a phrase where nothing is personified, only the action of the wolf is described.
Therefore, option (a.) is incorrect.

Option (b.), ‘plunged into', refers to a phrase with a verb and a preposition. There is nothing abstract that is personified.
Therefore, option (b.) is incorrect.

Option (c.), ‘the wind howled', refers to an abstract noun ‘wind’ being described as ‘howling’, which is an act done by living beings.
Therefore, option (c.) is correct as the wind is personified in this sentence.

Option (d.), ‘cold, dark night', refers to a noun (night) being described by two adjectives (cold and dark).
Therefore, option (d.) is incorrect as nothing is being personified here.

Note:
In this question, it would be helpful for the student to recall the concept of a literary device. A literary device is (literature) an identifiable rule of thumb, convention, or structure that is employed in literature and storytelling.