My purpose was to imitate, and, as far as is possible, to adopt the very language of men; and assuredly such personifications do not make any natural or regular part of that language.

Or,

I  have wished to keep the Reader in company of flesh and blood, persuaded that by so doing I shall interest him.

Exp. These lines have been extracted from Preface to Lyrical Ballads composed by William Wordsworth. Here Wordsworth tells us about his avoidance of personifications of abstract ideas.

 

Personification is giving concrete and visible shape to some human characteristics. Wordsworth has avoided the use of personifications of abstract ideas in his poems. Personifications were salient features of the eighteenth century poetry. But Wordsworth has not used them to elevate the style or to raise his writings above prose. He has avoided personifications in order to imitate and as far as possible to adopt the language really used by men. Personifications of abstract ideas are certainly not a natural or regular part of that language. They are used in the course of ordinary speech only when the speaker is emotionally excited, and Wordsworth too has used them on such occasions. But he has never used personifications as a merely mechanical, stylistic device. In his poems, Wordsworth brings the language nearer to the language of men. He has used a natural style in his poems. He has expressed his ideas in a language fitted to their respective importance. Thus, his use of language is more correct and sensible, though this has compelled him to avoid the use of phrases and figures of speech that have been traditionally used by the poets.