3.3.4 Personification
A personification is the presentation of an object or idea as a person with human qualities or feelings.
Example:
When I put her out, once, by the garbage pail,
She looked so limp and bedraggled,
So foolish and trusting, like a sick poodle,
Or a wizened aster in late September,
I brought her back in again
For a new routine -
Vitamins, water, and whatever
Sustenence seemed sensible
At the time:
Reading the above extract without knowing the subject, one would suppose that the "she" in question was a person, or at least an animal. Roethke, in fact, is talking about his potted geranium. Note how the geranium is feminine, "limp and bedraggled/ so foolish and trusting", all attributes that we give to people. Also, the relationship between the speaker and the subject seems so close, just as in a human situation. The geranium is a person in this context.