What is Personification?
Personification is a literary device where human qualities, actions, or emotions are attributed to inanimate objects or abstract concepts. This helps poets bring these non-human entities to life and create a deeper connection with the reader.
Two Personifications from "The Casualties"
1. "The sun is cold": This is a direct example of personification. The sun, a celestial body, is typically associated with warmth and heat. By describing it as "cold," Clark evokes a chilling and unsettling feeling, suggesting a sense of loss and absence of vitality.
2. "The moon is full, yet pale and weak": The moon, often associated with beauty and light, is here described as "pale and weak." This suggests that even natural forces are affected by the war's devastation, creating a sense of vulnerability and a loss of natural order.
How these Personifications Enhance the Poem
These personifications emphasize the pervasive impact of war. The natural world, normally seen as a source of comfort and beauty, is distorted and diminished by the conflict. This underscores the poem's central theme: the dehumanizing and destructive nature of war.