pathetic fallacy

The attribution of human emotions or qualities to nature or inanimate objects, especially in literature — such as "angry skies" or "weeping willows." Not a logical fallacy but a literary device.

• (compound critical term)

• pathetic fallacy in poetry
• use of pathetic fallacy
• example of pathetic fallacy
• pathetic fallacy and personification

1. 1.In "King Lear," the storm on the heath mirrors Lear's psychological turmoil — nature itself seems to rage alongside the maddened king. This is pathetic fallacy at its most powerful. (nature reflecting emotion)
2. 2."The sun smiled down on the wedding" — this is pathetic fallacy: the sun has no emotions, but we project human joy onto the weather to match the scene's mood. (emotional projection onto nature)

• personification/pərˌsɒnɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/— giving human qualities to non-human things — broader
• anthropomorphism/ˌænθrəpəˈmɔːrfɪzəm/— attributing human form or personality to non-human entities

"pathetic" from Greek "pathetikos" (emotional, sensitive) + "fallacy" from Latin "fallacia" (deception) — the emotional deception of seeing feelings in nature