diction, syntax, and tone
DESCRIPTION
Diction, Syntax, and Tone. Diction refers to the author’s choice of words . Syntax refers to word order and sentence structure. Tone is the attitude or feeling that the writer’s words express. When analyzing DICTION, consider such questions as:. Is the language concrete or abstract? - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Diction,Syntax,and Tone
Diction refers to the author’s choice of words.
Syntax refers to word order and sentence structure.
Tone is the attitude or feeling that the writer’s words express.
When analyzing DICTION, consider such questions as:
• Is the language concrete or abstract?• Are the words monosyllabic or
polysyllabic?• Do the words have interesting
connotations?• Is the diction formal or colloquial?• Is there any change in the level of diction
in the passage?• What can the reader infer about the
speaker or the speaker’s attitude from the word choice?
• Is there a change in diction in the poem?
The term “diction” covers a lot of ground, but here is a somewhat simplified way to approach. Consider
analyzing the diction according to where it falls on any of the two main axes:
(1) Levels of formality, and (2) Connotation
Diction can usually be described as one of three different “levels” of style:
High or Formal: Dignified, elevated, and often impersonal. Elaborate, or sophisticated vocabulary. In some cases, “high style” can refer to grammar, or syntax, that has been manipulated for an artistic effect—that is, the grammar calls attention to itself. Polysyllabic.
Middle or Neutral: Follows rules of grammar and uses common, unexceptional vocabulary. Grammar and vocabulary is meant to be transparent, easily understood.
Low or Informal: Plain language of everyday use, including slang, jargon, vulgarity, and dialect. Monosyllabic.
Talking about diction:
High, Formal StyleCulturedLearned
PretentiousArchaic
ScholarlyPedanticOrnateElegantFlowery
Middle, Neutral Style
UnadornedPlain
DetachedSimple
Low, Informal Style
AbruptTerse
LaconicHomespunColloquial
VulgarSlangJargon
Why Syntax is so important in poetry:
In many cases the poet will use diction and syntax in unexpected or deviant ways. This
is popularly called “poetic license,” but poets don't bend the “rules” of language
just because they can; in a good poem, there is always a reason for unusual uses of
language. Look for the hidden relation or significance that compensates for the break
in the reader's expectations.
Language can also fall somewhere on the following scale. Few works of literature are purely denotative, of course, but they are connotative to varying degrees. Speak of a passage as being “highly connotative” or Learn to use
these words to discuss connotation.
Denotative language
Literal
Exact
Journalistic
Straightforward
Connotative language
Poetic
Lyrical
Figurative
Symbolic
Metaphoric
Obscure
Sensuous
Grotesque
Picturesque
Syntax
Syntax refers to word order and sentence structure. Normal word order in English
sentences is firmly fixed in subject-verb-object sequence or subject-verb-complement. In
poetry, word order may be shifted around to meet emphasis, to heighten the connection between two words, or to pick up on specific
implications.
The order of the poems words, or syntax, conveys an emotional, psychological and
spiritual impact
Deviant Syntax!Semantic deviation: phrase containing a word whose meaning violates the expectations created by the surrounding words:
“a grief ago”
(expect a temporal noun);
“in the room so loud to my own”
(expect a spatial adjective)
- Dylan Thomas
Grammatical deviation: phrase containing a word whose grammatical class violates the expectations created by the surrounding words:
“the little / lame balloonman / whistles far and wee”
(an adjective instead of a spatial adverb)
“Anyone lived in a pretty how town”
(an interrogative indefinite pronoun instead of a declarative indefinite pronoun [“someone”]; an adverb instead of an adjective).
- e.e. cummings
In the English language, figures of speech can be classified into two types:
schemes and tropes.
Schemes deal with syntax; they change the traditional pattern of words, as in the use of alliteration:
The serpent slithered on the shifting sands.
In addition to alliteration, some other examples of schemes include anastrophe, apostrophe, hyperbole, parallelism, and pun.
Tropes deal with connotation; they include allegory, allusion, innuendo, irony, metaphor, oxymoron, onomatopoeia, metonymy, and synecdoche.
ALWAYS use an adjective when describing
diction, syntax, and tone.
“____ diction contributes to the ____ tone.”
Take the first tercet of "Neck" by Sarah Arvio, recently published in The New Yorker:
That isn’t done Grabbing your girlfriend’s neck
isn’t done I mean it is done by god
often enough but not when I’m the girl
The subject is obscure at first as she contradicts herself and omits natural, vocal pauses through enjambment. Enjambment comes from the French word "to straddle," and occurs when a phrase ends not at a natural line break, but in the next line, as if to "straddle" the two lines. The effect is that we pause at the end of the line without finishing a complete phrase, sounding as if we are short of breath or being "strangled," just as the girlfriend is. So the meaning is confusing syntactically, but lucid sonically.
Anaphora is a term used to describe repetition, deriving from the Greek word "to bring back." The Latin poet Catullus used it in line 63 poem
#63:
Ego mulier, ego adulescens, ego ephebus, ego puer,
Without even knowing Latin, we are struck by the word "Ego," showing the significance of sound even before comprehension in poetry
("Ego," is "I" in Latin, and as you have rightly assumed, ancestral to the English word "ego").
NOW we can talk about TONE:
Tone is the poet’s attitude toward his subject or subjects. A poem might have a tone that implies humor, sarcasm, loss, sadness, joy, acceptance, wonder, confusion, etc. It’s also important to note that a poem can embrace more than one tone.
If you’re having trouble deciding a poem’s tone, look carefully at the poet’s choice of individual words, as well as the overall poem.
The choice of diction and syntax contribute to the tone.
When discussing tone, consider such questions as:
• What seems to be the speaker’s attitude in the passage?
• Is more than one attitude or point of view expressed?
• Does the passage have a noticeable emotional mood or atmosphere?
• Can anything in the passage be described as irony?
“Bouncing into the room, she lit up the vicinity with a joyous glow on her face as she told about her fiancé and their wedding plans.”
What are the specific words that create the feeling of the
sentence? What words did the author use to create the feeling
of the sentence?
“Bouncing into the room, she lit up the vicinity with a joyous
glow on her face as she told about her fiancé and their
wedding plans.”
Bouncing – lit – joyous – glow – fiancé - wedding
What kind of words are these?
Bouncing into the room, she lit up the vicinity with a joyous glow on her face as
she told about her fiancé and their wedding plans.
____ diction contributes to the ____ tone.
Cheerful diction contributes to the euphoric tone.
Or uplifting diction contributes to the joyful tone.
“She huddled in the corner, clutching her tattered blanket and shaking
convulsively, as she feverishly searched the room for the unknown dangers that
awaited her.”
____ diction contributes to the ____ tone.
frightening diction contributes to the alarming tone.
“She lay on the couch in a white evening dress, whispering softly in
the ear of her fiancé, running her fingers through his hair and gently
nibbling his earlobe.”
____ diction contributes to the ____ tone.
suggestive diction contributes to the seductive tone.
“Harvard accepted her, allowing this child the opportunity to study in the
same halls as the many famous scholars before her, giving her the
chance to excel in her field in the best college in the United States.”
____ diction contributes to the ____ tone.
lofty diction contributes to the
elevated tone.
Abhorrent abrupt accusing accusatory admonitory bantering bitter boring brash bucolic calm cautious childish coarse cold colloquial concerneddespairing desperate disdainful disgusted ecstatic effusive elated
elegiac eloquent embittered eruditeexuberant foreboding gloomy harsh haughty
hopeful humbleindignant inflammatory irreverent irritated ironicjoking joyful light loving miserable melancholic
nervous nostalgic optimistic outraged paranoid passionate patronizing pedantic peaceful
pessimistic pitiful pleasant playfulproud pompouspretentious questioning reflective reminiscent
resigned romantic sadsanctimonious sarcastic sardonic scornful
sentimentalserene serious sharp shocked silly solemn
somber soothing snobbish snooty sympathetictaunting turgid vexed
vibrant whimsical angry anxious appreciativeapologetic arrogant audacious condemning darkcondescending contemptuous dreamy mocking
moralistic mournful persuasive piquant cynicalcompassionate confidant
See…………
The more words you know to describe passages, the more sophisticated your descriptions will be when you analyze authors’ writing.
And one last tip………..Never, never, never, never, never
say:“The author uses diction . . .”
Do you mean – the author chooses words??
Always say:“The author uses ______(what kind of)
diction.”Indignant? Dark? Euphoric?
Describe it!!!!!!