Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
A figure of speech is a word or phrase used in a non-literal sense to add rhetorical force, vividness, or emotional depth. Personification is a specific type of metaphor where human qualities, emotions, actions, or physical traits are attributed to inanimate objects, abstract concepts, or animals. By assigning human characteristics to non-human things, authors can create more evocative imagery that the reader can easily visualize and empathize with.
Step 2: Analyzing the Statement:
The sentence in question is: "The house was crouching on its elbows then."
• Subject: "The house" (an inanimate, stationary structure).
• Action: "Crouching" (a physical action typically performed by humans or animals to lower the body).
• Object/Attribute: "Elbows" (a specific human anatomical joint).
Step 3: Detailed Reasoning:
An inanimate object like a house possesses no biological body, no joints (elbows), and no ability to perform conscious movements (crouching). By describing the structure as having elbows and actively crouching, the author is using personification to paint a picture of the house's physical shape or posture—perhaps making it seem small, huddled, or protective—by borrowing terms from human physiology. This goes beyond simple description and transfers the "living" quality of human movement to the building.
Step 4: Final Answer:
Since the line assigns human physical traits and actions to a non-human entity (a house), the figure of speech is Personification.