Personification is a metaphor or figure of speech that is used to give human attributes, qualities, or traits to objects, animals, or ideas.
An example, when Shakespeare (in Romeo and Juliet) was describing the morning as grey eyed and smiling at the night. He was using personification, attributing human characteristics to something non-human, in this case the concept of ‘morning.’
This differs from anthropomorphism in that personification is typically used to create an image while anthropomorphizing attempts to make an object or animal appear to behave like a human being.