Technique
Pathetic Fallacy
Coined by John Ruskin in Modern Painters (1856) as a term of criticism — he considered it a failure of perception. Romantic poets embraced it as emotional truth.
Definition
The attribution of human emotions to inanimate nature, especially weather that mirrors a character's inner state.
Example
Stormy seas during shipwreck scenes; rain at funerals; sunlit meadows at moments of joy.