It was, I believe, the painter John Ruskin who originally used the phrase. In his paper 'Modern Painters' (to the R.A. if I remember rightly) he stated that the meaning of pathetic fallacy was ''to signify any description of inanimate natural objects that ascribes to them human capabilities, sensations and emotions.'' He saw the pathetic fallacy as a scientific failing as he argued that art should be a truthful representation of the world as it appears to our senses, not as it appears to our imaginative or fanciful responses to it.

Hope this helps,

Kind regards,

Mike. drinks.gif

P.S. Sorry, PP, but I think it's a point worth pursuing. I'll say no more!

Kind regards,

Mike.