DIDLS - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

DIDLS

R.I.9-10.4

I

can determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative and technical meanings, analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and

tone.Slide2

Using DIDLS

An acronym to help remember the basic elements of tone when analyzing prose or

poetry.

Diction

, images, details, language, and sentence structure all help to create the author's or speaker's attitude toward the subject and audience.

Diction:

the connotation of the word choice.

Imagery:

vivid appeals to understanding through the senses

Details:

facts that are included or those omitted

Language:

the overall use of language, such as formal, clinical, or jargon

Sentence structure:

how structure affects the readerSlide3

TONE

to misinterpret tone is to misinterpret meaning

A brief scene with a simple dialogue between two students

using differing tones to fit different characters and contexts emphasizes how tone changes

meaning. For example:

A. You're late!

B. I know. I couldn't help it.

A. I understand.

B. I knew you would.

A. I have something for you.

B. Really? What?

A. This!

How might this scene be played by two lovers who are meeting at a restaurant where

one lover is about to propose marriage?

How would two spies speak the same words?

How would a parent and a child who has come home late do so?

In each scenario, the tone controls audience understanding and interpretation.Slide4

Diction

(shapes our perceptions)

Diction – the connotation of the word choice.

Good writers ditch words

like pretty, nice, and bad.

Instead they

employ words that invoke a

specific effect

:

A

coat isn’t

torn

; it is

tattered

.

The United

States Army does not

want

revenge;

it is

thirsting

for revenge. A door does not

shut

; it

thuds

. Specific diction brings the reader

into the

scene, enabling full participation in

the writer’s

world.Slide5

Types of diction…

Diction

depends

on the occasion

.

Ex. Clothes - level

of formality influences

appropriate choices

.

Formal diction - scholarly writing and serious prose or poetryInformal/casual diction - expository essays, newspaper editorials, and works of fictionColloquial/slang diction - reflect informal speech and are typically used to create a mood or capture a particular historic or regional dialect.

Formal Diction

Casual Diction

Slang (very informal)

are not angry

aren't mad

ain't

ticked Slide6

Diction and connotation/denotation

When

studying diction,

it’s imperative that you understand

both connotation (the

meaning suggested

by a word) and denotation (

literal meaning

).

When a writer calls a character slender, the word evokes a different feeling from calling the character gaunt. A word’s power to produce a strong reaction in the reader lies mainly in its connotative meaning.Slide7

Imagery – vivid appeals to understanding through the five senses

Imagery

– language that appeals to the five senses

The use of vivid descriptions or figures of speech that appeal to sensory experiences helps to create the author's tone

.

For

example, if a narrator visiting a farm describes the awful smells rather than the beautiful countryside, her description would tell us something about her attitude.Slide8

Details

Details consist of words or phrases that are less appealing to the senses – facts or information- than imagery. They can help reveal the tone or attitude of an author.

When analyzing details, look for patterns and contrasts. What does the author keep mentioning? Ex. Flowers, trees, birds, - nature imagery. Or what details are complete opposites? Ex. the shiny new shoes of the teacher and the tattered coats of the students

ex. An author describing a

battlefield

might include details about the

stench of

rotting bodies

or

he might not. Slide9

Language

Like word choice,

the language

of a passage has control over

tone.

Language is

the

entire body of

words

used in a text, not just isolated bits of diction. It is important to develop a vocabulary that describes language. Different from tone, these words describe the force or quality of the diction, images, and details. These words qualify how the work is written, not the attitude or tone. Slide10

Words to describe language

academic

colorless

esoteric

informal

offensive

provincial

concrete

euphemistic

ordinaryscholarlyartificialconnotativeexactjargonsensuousblandcrypticfigurativelearnedpicturesquesimple

bombastic

cultured

formal

literal

plain

slang

casual

detached

grotesque

moralistic

poetic

symbolic

Cerebral

appeal to intellect rather than intuition

emotional

Homespun -

unpolished

obscure

precise

trite

colloquial

pretentious

vulgarSlide11

Sentence structure

We look for the types of sentences, and how they are organized.

We look

for the way in which the structure reflects attitude, purpose, and meaning.Slide12

Elements of Sentence Structure

Sentence Length

(short

, medium, or long

?)

Sentence beginnings

(variety

or repetitive pattern

?)

Arrangement of ideas in a sentence (most to least important, etc.)Type of sentence ( declarative, imperative, interrogative, exclamatory)Type of sentence (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex )Loose sentence (Ex: We ate dinner that evening after the thunderstorm.)Periodic sentence (Ex: That evening,

after

the thunderstorm, we ate dinner.)

Balanced sentence

(phrases/clauses balance each

other

in likeness of structure, meaning,

or length

: e.g., He

maketh

me

to lie

down in green pastures; he

leadeth

me beside the

still waters

.)

Natural order sentence

(subject first, predicate second

)

Inverted order sentence

(predicate first, subject second

)

Split order

sentence

(Ex: In

California

oranges grow.)

Juxtaposition

(normally

unassociated ideas, words,

phrases

are placed next to one another)

Parallel structure

(structural

similarity between

sentences

or parts of a sentence)

Repetition

(words

, sounds, ideas are repeated to create emphasis)

Rhetorical question

(expects

no

answer)Slide13

How a sentence is constructed affects what the audience understands

Parallel syntax (similarly styled phrases and sentences) creates interconnected emotions, feelings and ideas.

Short sentences are punchy and intense. Long sentences are distancing, reflective and more abstract.

Loose sentences point at the end. Periodic sentences point at the beginning, followed by modifiers and phrases.

The inverted order of an interrogative sentence cues the reader to a question and creates tension between speaker and listener.

Short sentences are often emphatic, passionate or flippant, whereas longer sentences suggest greater thought.

Sentence structure affects tone.Slide14

Analyzing short passages for discussion

Today we will practice

the analysis of tone by

using

Passages from

The Glass Castle

by Jeanette Wall.Slide15

The Glass Castle

This memoir is a look

into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette’s brilliant and charismatic father captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn’t want the responsibility of raising a family

. Walls

spent decades hiding an excruciating childhood filled with poverty and shocking neglect.Slide16

B1 Small groups

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

Sameer Eric Michael Keegan

Elizabeth B Olivia Grace Ireland

Elizabeth H Vicki Chandler

Dameon

Katie

Bradley

Group 5 Group 6 Group 7 Group 8

Brady Mandy Emma KendallJ.R. Will Elliott HannahSierra Megan Bailey KimberlyIsabella MadisonSlide17

A4 Small groups

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

Arya Zach Bryson Gloria

Kate

Chanler

Oscar Tess

Richelle Matthew Abigail Natalie

Kadasia

Mickey Hope Chase LauraGroup 5 Group 6 Group 7 Group 8Ethan Nathan Noah BrandonGillian Kionte Aliya CameronTrey Cody Alivia Charlotte Jimmy