prosopopoeia

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

prosopopoeia
    n 1: representing an abstract quality or idea as a person or
         creature [syn: {personification}, {prosopopoeia}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Prosopopoeia \Pros`o*po*p[oe]"ia\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?; pro`swpon
   a face, a person + ? to make.] (Rhet.)
   A figure by which things are represented as persons, or by
   which things inanimate are spoken of as animated beings;
   also, a figure by which an absent person is introduced as
   speaking, or a deceased person is represented as alive and
   present. It includes personification, but is more extensive
   in its signification.
   [1913 Webster]