Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyPersonification and Anthropomorphism

Read the following lines from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem 'The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls' (1880):

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Which of the following best describes the function of the personification in the line 'The little waves, with their soft, white hands'?

  1. A
    It provides a literal, scientific description of how high tides wash away debris on the shore.
  2. It portrays the waves as active, gentle agents that erase the physical traces of human passage.Answer
  3. C
    It expresses the poet's personal desire to forget his past travels and start his life over.
  4. D
    It is used primarily to identify the waves as a figure of speech, without adding any thematic meaning to the poem.
  5. E
    It introduces a terrifying and hostile force of nature that actively seeks to harm the traveler.

Answer

The personification portrays the waves as active, gentle agents that erase the physical traces of human passage.
The correct option identifies the function of the personification, which is to depict the waves as active, gentle forces that wash away the physical evidence of human presence (the footprints). The personification gives the waves agency ('hands') to perform this action ('efface').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the personification in the specified line.
The waves are described as having 'soft, white hands,' which attributes human anatomy to a natural phenomenon.
This establishes the presence of personification and identifies the specific imagery being used.
2
Analyze the action performed by the personified waves.
The waves use their 'hands' to 'efface' (erase) the traveler's footprints in the sand.
This determines how the human trait is functioning in the context of the narrative action of the stanza.
3
Evaluate the thematic effect and tone of the personification.
The adjectives 'soft' and 'white' indicate gentleness, meaning nature is not depicted as hostile, but rather as an active, indifferent force that quietly erases human history.
This explains the function of the device in relation to the poem's larger theme of the transience of human life compared to the cycles of nature.

Key Concept

The function of personification in poetry
Rate this question

Topics

Personification and Anthropomorphism

More questions from this topic