Diction & Tone Diction refers to the author’s choice of words. - PowerPoint Presentation

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Diction & Tone

Diction refers to the author’s choice of words.

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 or neutral?

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?

Formal, neutral, or informal (incl., colloquial)?

You don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that

ain’t

no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. I never seen anybody but lied one time or another…

Formal, neutral, or informal (incl., colloquial)?

A throng of bearded men, in sad-

coloured

garments and gray steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes.

Formal, neutral, or informal (incl., colloquial)?

All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, “Oh, why can’t you remain like this for ever!” …You always know after you

ae

two. Two is the beginning of the end.

Denotation means the literal, dictionary definition of the word – plump and obese both mean

caloricly

challenged

Connotation means the implied or suggested meaning attached to a word, or the emotional “tag” that goes along with the word.

Corpulent, plump, obese, heavy set, fleshy, fat, paunchy, burly, over-weight,

roly-poly

, bulky, portly, weighty, pudgy

Which

word do we use to insult someone?

Which one do we use to describe someone we like?

Which one do we use to describe a cute little baby?

The choice of diction contributes 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?

ALWAYS use an adjective when describing diction and

tone (use your Yellow Pages).

____ diction contributes to the ____ tone.

Now --- let’s try it

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.

Drawing the attention of his classmates, as well as his teacher, the student

dared

to

experiment

with his

professor’s

intelligence

by

interrogating

him about the

Bible

.

____ diction contributes to the ____ tone.

challenging diction contributes to the confrontational tone.

He furtively

glanced behind him, for

fear

of his

imagined

pursuers

, then

hurriedly

walked on,

jumping

at the slightest sound, even of a leaf

crackling

under his own foot.

____ diction contributes to the ____ tone.

threatening diction contributes to the frantic tone.

Remember…

What

kind of words are there?

And how do they make you feel

?

Remember to use your Yellow Pages for appropriate adjectives to describe style, tone, diction, etc.

See…………

The better, more detailed words

you

use to describe rhetorical strategies or devices,

the more sophisticated your

essays 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?

Well, duh

!

Always say:

the author uses ______(what kind of) diction

indignant? dark? euphoric?

Describe it

!