Could anyone please help me with this question?

Is the phrase below a smilie, metaphor, or personification.
The sky lit up with a huge web of lightning.
I know what a smile, a metaphor, and what a personification is, but I can't seem to be able to answer this question.

There is no occurrence of "as" or "like" -- so it's not a simile (<~~note the spelling!).

http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/simile.html

Are there human characteristics in this comparison?
http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/personification.html

What do you think?
http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/metaphor.html

Um.... Is it a personification? I can't explain why though.

Do humans have webs and lightning??

No?But lightning does happen in the human world.

Certainly! Let's break down the elements of the phrase to determine what literary device it is using.

"The sky lit up with a huge web of lightning."

In this phrase, we can identify two key components: the sky and the lightning.

A smilie is a figure of speech that uses comparisons using "like" or "as." In this phrase, there are no direct comparisons using "like" or "as," so it is not a smilie.

A metaphor, on the other hand, is a figure of speech that suggests a resemblance or an implied comparison. It does not use the words "like" or "as." In this phrase, the sky is being compared to a web of lightning. The comparison suggests that the sky is being described as intricate, interconnected, and filled with lightning. Therefore, this phrase can be considered a metaphor.

Personification is a figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstract concepts are given human characteristics or qualities. In this phrase, the sky is not being given any human characteristics or qualities, so it is not personification.

To summarize, the phrase "The sky lit up with a huge web of lightning" is a metaphor since it suggests a comparison between the sky and a web of lightning.