prosopopoeial
- adjective
- /ˌprɒsəˈpoʊpiəl/
- Literature
- Made popular by Victorian writers like Robert Browning and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the dramatic monologue stages a prosopopoeial moment, drawing on the literary device.
Examples
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Using a prosopopoeial approach, the artist allows the old tree to convey its memories of the forest.
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Rhetorically speaking, his was a prosopopoeial figure.
Academic text (2007) -
In her poem, the author employs a prosopopoeial style, giving the voice of the wind a distinct personality.
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The play features a prosopopoeial speech where the river talks about its journey through the valley.
Synonyms
85
7.3
Using showy language to persuade people instead of giving real facts
How Personified
Surface Forms
Morphology
prosopopoeial = prosopopoeia (semi-transparent) = prosopopoeia + al
The adjective is formed regularly from the noun 'prosopopoeia' with '-al', but the base is a specialized learned term, so the connection is clear only if the base word is already known.
Etymology
Prosopopoeial comes from Greek parts prosopon meaning 'face' or 'person' and poiein meaning 'to make', so it is like 'making a person'. That's why something prosopopoeial lets a statue, animal, or object speak like a person — it is the same idea as personify.