A prosopopoeia ( grc-gre, προσωποποιία, ) is a rhetorical device in which a speaker or writer communicates to the audience by speaking as another person or object. The term literally derives from the Greek roots "face, person", and "to make, to do;" it is also called personification. Prosopopoeiae are used mostly to give another perspective on the action being described. For example, in Cicero's Pro Caelio, Cicero speaks as Appius Claudius Caecus, a stern old man. This serves to give the "ancient" perspective on the actions of the plaintiff. Prosopopoeiae can also be used to take some of the load off the communicator by placing an unfavorable point of view on the shoulders of an imaginary stereotype. The audience's reactions are predisposed to go towards this figment rather than the communicator himself. Hey

This term also refers to a figure of speech in which an animal or inanimate object is ascribed human characteristics or is spoken of in anthropomorphic language.

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilian ...

writes of the power of this figure of speech to "bring down the gods from heaven, evoke the dead, and give voices to cities and states" (''Institutes of Oratory'' ee ref..

Examples

Speaking with another's voice

A classic example of this usage can be found in the deuterocanonical book of

Sirach The Book of Sirach () or Ecclesiasticus (; abbreviated Ecclus.) is a Jewish work, originally in Hebrew, of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 BC, written by the Judahite scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his fa ...

in the Bible, where Wisdom is personified and made to speak to the people and to the reader: Another example occurs in the second section of the Cooper Union speech by

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

, who creates a mock debate between Republicans and the South, a debate in which he becomes spokesman for the party.

Ascribing human characteristics to a non-person

In Jeremiah 47, there is a dialogue between the sword of the Lord and the prophet:Adam Clarke, 1831, volume IV, page 121 In court a prosecutor may suggest to

jurors A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England duri ...

that a homicide victim is "speaking to us through the evidence". Before becoming a Senator,

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents Geor ...

was reputed to have made such an argument in one of his most famous tort cases, representing the family of a girl who had been killed by a defective pool drain.

Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New ...

, in his book ''The Year of Dreaming Dangerously'' (Verso Books 2012, p. 14), wrote:

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but t ...

, speaking of a former

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

manager, said: "If Miller Huggins was alive today, he'd be turning over in his grave". William Shakespeare, Sonnet 129 reads, in part:

References

Literary Encyclopedia page on Prosopopoeia
{{reflist Rhetoric Figures of speech eu:Prosopopeia

Examples

Speaking with another's voice

Ascribing human characteristics to a non-person

See also

References