Transcript Diction & Tone

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 Style
Cultured
Learned
Pretentious
Archaic
Scholarly
Pedantic
Ornate
Elegant
Flowery
Middle, Neutral Style
Unadorned
Plain
Detached
Simple
Low, Informal Style
Abrupt
Terse
Laconic
Homespun
Colloquial
Vulgar
Slang
Jargon
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-verbobject 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.”
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
concerned despairing desperate disdainful
disgusted
ecstatic effusive elated
elegiac eloquent
embittered erudite exuberant foreboding gloomy harsh haughty
hopeful
humble
indignant
inflammatory irreverent
irritated ironic
joking joyful lightloving miserable
melancholic
nervous nostalgic optimistic outraged
paranoid passionate
patronizing pedantic peaceful pessimistic pitiful pleasant playful
proud pompous
pretentious questioning reflective reminiscent
resigned
romantic sad
sanctimonious
sarcastic
sardonic scornful sentimental
serene serious sharp shocked silly solemn somber soothing
snobbish
snooty sympathetic taunting turgid vexed
vibrant whimsical
angry anxious appreciative apologetic arrogant
audacious condemning darkcondescending contemptuous
dreamy mocking moralistic mournful persuasive
piquant cynical
compassionate 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!!!!!!