prosopopoeia

See also: prosopopœia

English

Alternative forms

• prosopopeia
• prosopopœia

Etymology

From Ancient Greek προσωποποιία (prosōpopoiía, “dramatization, the putting of speeches into the mouths of characters”).

Noun

prosopopoeia (plural prosopopoeias or prosopopoeiae)

1. (rhetoric) Personifying a person or object when communicating to an audience.
   • 1872, Thomas Hartwell Horne, An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, Volume 2‎ - Page 334:

     Of the prosopopoeia, or personification, there are two kinds; one, when actions and character are attributed to irrational, or even inanimate objects; the other, when a probable but fictitious speech is assigned to a real character.

   • 2013, Graham Harvey, Animism: Respecting the Living World, page 4:

     Hence the frequency and beauty of the prosopopoeia in poetry, where trees, mountains, and streams are personified, and the inanimate parts of nature acquire sentiment and passion.

2. Personification of an abstraction.

See also

• anthropomorphism

Translations

Personifying a person or object.

• French: prosopopée (fr) f
• Italian: prosopopea (it) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: prosopopéia (pt) f

Personification of an abstraction.

• French: prosopopée (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: prosopopea (it) f