Pathetic Fallacy

A phrase invented by John Ruskin in 1856 to signify any representation of inanimate natural objects that ascribes to them human capabilities, sensations, and emotions.

The attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, especially in art and literature.

“Pathetic fallacy” is now used mainly as a neutral name for a procedure in which human traits are
ascribed to natural objects in a way that is less formal and more indirect than in the figure called personification.

Abrams, M., Harpham, G. (2012) A Glossary of Literary Terms. Boston: Wadsworth