Anthropomorphism vs Personification vs Zoomorphism

[dermite]

3 big words, and i have absolutely no idea what is the difference between them.
If anyone knows, please let me know.


thanks in adv.

[prickles]

3 big words, and i have absolutely no idea what is the difference between them.
If anyone knows, please let me know.


thanks in adv.

Hey,
Yep these are 3 confusing ones, quite similar but still different.
Anthropomorphism and personification are PRETTY MUCH EXACTLY THE SAME!! They both applie humanistic qualities onto non-human things, such as animals, objects, weather, gods/deities.The major difference is their purpose.
Personification is used for imagery. If I said "the tree's leaves ever so slightly shook, and a few leaves fell off", it is nowhere near as powerful as "the tree hunched over and sobbed, letting go of a few precious leaves." Really bad example, but you get the picture. Personification is mostly used in a single sentence, describing a single object/animal fleetingly just to 'set the scene'.
Anthropomorphism is to make animals/objects seem exactly like humans. So, a family of cats could at day be a cute cuddly lil tribe but at night they have the ability to hold a professional meeting together in an underground bunker. Again, spur of the moment example, but hopefully you understand.This technique is usually used throughout an entire text when describing the same animal. Basically, it brings a non-human thing to life using human attributes, usually to serve as an extended metaphor/allegory (think Animal Farm where pigs represent political figures/social classes to demonstrate the allegorical meaning of communism Russia, Beauty and the Beast where all the cute lil teapots and clocks become human to be a companion for Belle)
I like to group the above two together, considering they are so similar.

Zoomorphism is basically the complete opposite!
It is mainly opposite of personification, because it is used as imagery, and not to dedicate an entire text to comparing a human to an animal (which is anthropomorphism). That would be...weird and slightly gross.
Zoomorphism means assigning a person, event, or deity with characteristics which are animalistic.
It is often used in the process of dehumanisation, and is quite a powerful technique.
For example: What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? (from the best poem ever <3)
For a made-up preschool like example: He charged like an angry rhino

In summary:
Personification is short, fleeting examples of applying humanistic qualities to a non-human thing to set the scene
Anthropomorphism is longer, more metaphorical/allegorical examples of applying humanistic qualities to a non-human things
Zoomorphism is basically the opposite of personification, applying animalistic qualities to a human being

PLEASE let me know if anything can be explained more clearly, and hopefully that helps!

[dermite]

thanks for the explanation!
but i didnt quite understand with personification, what you meant by "setting the scene".
Also, if i use personification as a metaphor in a creative, does that count as anthropomorphism?

[S200]

If i use personification as a metaphor in a creative, does that count as anthropomorphism?

Depends. How many times did you repeat that part of personification? As Prickles said, Anthropomorphism is almost a motif, in that it is recurring throughout the text (Animal Farm is the #1 example that I know of..)

what did you mean by "setting the scene".

What I got from his description was that Personification is semi-subsidiary, in that it just works in the background as a slight touch of imagery, to help the overall imaginary picture created.

[prickles]

thanks for the explanation!
but i didnt quite understand with personification, what you meant by "setting the scene".
Also, if i use personification as a metaphor in a creative, does that count as anthropomorphism?

S200 has pretty much covered it but just giving my opinion 
Personification is mostly used as imagery to give the responder an 'image' in their head of what the scene looks like. For example, before personification: "There was a scattered collection of objects on her desk, each one collected from some faraway location. The photo frame, clock and pencil were all grouped together, even though they had come from very different locations"
And after: "A scattered collection of objects huddled in the corner of her desk, a result of their extensive travels from faraway locations. The photo frame stared obnoxiously back at her, the clock and pencil whisper together in fear."
See what I mean? By applying human qualities to non-human things, such as whispering pencils, we can see that this pencil isn't exactly sure about whats going to happen next. It instantly provides the audience more information about the setting by showing, rather than telling.

If your personification is carried through as a motif (like S200 said) to present a dual meaning, or an underlying allegory, then yes I would class it as anthropomorphism. If it is only used once, in about 1-3 lines and never referred to again, I would still call it personification.