personification?

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Anonymous

#513463 Wed, 14 May 08 09:41 AM

Hi,

I don't know these are casesof personification but what I am trying to ask you is whether it is OK to use unnatural words or ones that dont' seem to fit based on my knowledge of the words usage in writing under different situations like business, academic, informal, etc.

1. Hi, I saw a bird chirping on the electrical pole and while listening to the melody, I sort of saw it burping, and somehow, what it burped out landed on my friend's hat -- whew, whew.

I am not so sure 'burping' can be used with birds. Burping can be used with humans.

2.I was walking my favourite road and saw a big willow tree streching its branches and one of its branches smacked right into my cane.

I am not sure about the use of 'stretching'. It seems natural with humans and what they do, but with an inanimate?? object?

Can those two sentences be used in academic, or business, or informal writing situations?

Anonymous

Mister Micawber

#513592 Wed, 14 May 08 02:15 PM

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This is a difficult area to tread, Anon. Sometimes you can do that, and sometimes not-- often it depends on your general facility with the language. Definitely save it for informal and literary writing.

Burp out is not what people do either, if you mean vomit or throw up. But in any case, birds and people can both do those things. And a tree stretching its limbs sounds a pleasant conception to me.

Mister Micawber

Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004

Yokohama

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'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.' . 'A fabis abstineto' - Anon