Student Question
How does "A Blessing" use personification to characterize the two ponies?
Quick answer:
In "A Blessing," James Wright personifies the two ponies, describing their eyes as darkening with kindness, remarking how they bow in happiness to their human visitors, explaining that the two animals love each other, and comparing the female pony to a girl. Wright's use of personification helps readers better picture the ponies and relate to the scene.
In his poem "A Blessing," James Wright uses personification to characterize the two ponies. When the speaker and his friend go into the pasture, the eyes of the two ponies "darken with kindness." This is personification, attributing a human emotion to animals. The ponies come to welcome the two humans, another example of personification (although animals can actually exhibit many humanlike qualities).
The ponies can "hardly contain their happiness," the speaker remarks. They are glad the humans have come, and they bow shyly to them. These ponies, the speaker continues, "love each other," yet they are lonely without their human companions. All of this, too, is personification.
As the poem goes on, the speaker focuses on the female pony. He would like to hold her in his arms, he says, as she nuzzles his hand. Her ear is "delicate as the skin over a girl's wrist." As he pets the pony, he feels that he is about to step out of his own body and blossom as a flower.
The poet's use of personification in this poem gives readers a more vivid description of the two ponies and helps readers see their actions and responses clearly. We may even say that the personification helps readers relate to the ponies in a way they may not have otherwise. The scene comes alive, and readers feel some of the same blessing as the speaker as he interacts with nature in such an intimate way.
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