Gender of Personified Things

Gender of Personified Things :



Inanimate objects or qualities are sometimes spoken of as if they were persons. Nouns of either masculine or feminine are used to denote those things when they are personified. They are then said to be personified. Such things are regarded as male or female and hence the nouns expressing them can be Masculine or Feminine. A noun thus made to denote a person is commenced with a capital letter as if it were a Proper Noun.

As a general rule things remarkable for strength, greatness, vitality, Manlihood and superiority are regarded as males such as the Sun, Summer, Winter, Ocean, Thunder, Wind, Death, War, Time.

The Sun sheds his bright light on all alike.

Death lays his icy hand on kings. (Shirley)

On the other hand, states or qualities expressed by Abstract Nouns and whatever is supposed to possess beauty, fertility, grace, prettiness and inferiority are regarded as females such as the Earth, Spring, Hope, Virtue, Truth, Justice, Pride, Mercy, Charity, Peace, Humility, Jealousy, Fame, Modesty, Liberty, Flattery, etc.

The Moon is regarded as Feminine, because she is an inferior luminary to her supposed brother, the Sun, from whom her rays are borrowed.

The moon doth with delight look round her. (Wordsworth)

Love virtue, she alone is free. (Milton)

Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war. (Milton)

The Sun is scorching in June and July. He is not showing mercy upon us.

In this sentence, The Sun is treated as a MALE.


Liberty is what we all love to have. But she is evading many.

In this sentence, LIBERTY is treated as a FEAMLE.


The Earth gives birth to all creatures. But, do we protect her?

In this sentence, EARTH is treated as a FEAMLE.


The Truth is there in all the holy books. But she is not understood by us.

In this sentence, TRUTH is treated as a FEAMLE.


The Atlantic Ocean contains all the myth in this world. He is the container of our knowledge.

In this sentence, THE ATLANTIC OCEAN is treated as a MALE.


A ship, though the noun is not commenced with a capital, is always spoken of as she. The same is often said of a railway train, a motor-car and other machines.

The ship lost all her crew.
The Rani will begin her first journey on the 15th August.

There are many such instances in which the inanimate objects will be treated either with masculine or with feminine nouns.

RELATED PAGES :

1. The Noun
   
2. Kinds of Nouns
   
3. Kinds of Nouns in English
   
4. Types of Nouns in English
   
5. Correct Usage of Nouns
   
6. Classification of Nouns
   
7. Proper Nouns
   
8. Common Nouns
   
9. Abstract Nouns
   
10. Collective Nouns
    
11. Nouns of Multitude
    
12. Material Nouns
    
13. Compound Nouns
    
14. Concrete Nouns
    
15. Countable Nouns
    
16. Uncountable Nouns
    
17. Count Nouns
    
18. Mass Nouns
    
19. Pronouns
20. Abstract Nouns formed from Adjectives
    
21. Abstract Nouns formed from Common Nouns
    
22. Abstract Nouns formed from Verbs
    
23. Abstract Nouns of the same form as Verbs
    
24. Absolute Phrases
    
25. Noun and Gender
    
26. Nouns and Gender
    
27. Masculine Nouns and Feminine Nouns
    
28. Masculine Nouns
    
29. Feminine Nouns
    
30. Ways of forming the feminine of nouns
    
31. Exceptional Masculine Nouns and Feminine Nouns
    
32. Exceptional Feminine Nouns
    
33. Foreign Feminine Nouns
    
34. Nouns in Common Gender
    
35. Common Gender Nouns
    
36. Neuter Pronouns
    
37. Neuter Gender Nouns
    
38. Gender of Personified Things
    
39. Noun and Case
    
40. Kinds of Cases in English
    
41. Noun and Number
    
42. Singular and Plural
    
43. Singular Nouns and Plural Nouns
    
44. Ways of forming plurals
    
45. Formation of Plurals
    
46. Compound Nouns and Plurals
    
47. Noun Infinitive
    
48. Noun to Verb
    
49. The Noun
    

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