Cupid and Psyche

Personification is one of the chief literary devices that contributes to meaning in “Cupid and Psyche.” Personification can work in two ways: by assigning a person to exemplify a quality or idea, or by attributing human qualities to inanimate objects. Zephyr, the West Wind, is an example of personification. He possesses a human consciousness and obeys orders to carry people about on a breeze. The reed, the ant, the eagle, and the speaking tower, all of which help Psyche with her tasks, are examples of personification in that they possess the power of speech and the ability to comprehend the human world.

Venus’s household is staffed by maidservants who represent various qualities, among them Habit, who greets Psyche at the door, along with Melancholy and Sorrow, who obey Venus’s instructions to torture Psyche. Animals like the speaking sea bird keep the gods informed of doings in the human world but also represent the system of Roman belief, which assigned a divine spirit to all manner of objects and elements. Cupid and Psyche’s daughter is, as signaled by her name, a personification of the pleasure that is to be found in mutual, devoted love.