Diction
a writer's or speaker's choice of words
Connotation
emotional sense of a word or the cultural meaning associated with a word
Denotation
The dictionary definition of a word
Style
voice of the writer: Authoratative; emotive, didactic, objective, ornate, plain, scholarly, scientific
authoritative
the voice is commanding and knowing
emotive
the voice evokes emotion
didactic
the voice is preachy, insistent
objective
the voice is uncommitted, without judgment
ornate
the voice is perhaps pretentious, floery, or ostentatious
plain
the voice is simple, straightforward, to the point
scholarly
the voice is learned and authoritative, erudite
scientific
the voice is precise and relies on the language of science (Latinate words)
Imagery
language that engages the senses and evokes emotions
visual imagery
what we can see
auditory imagery
what we can hear
tactile imagery
what we can touch
olfactory imagery
what we can smell
gustatory imagery
what we can taste
kinesthetic imagery
sense of movement
organic imagery
internal sense of being (well or ill)
Effects of Imagery
Helps establish tone; creates realistic settings; creates empathy in readers for characters; helps readers imagine themselves as part of a narrative
Tone
the attitude of the speaker toward another character, a place, or an idea or a thing
Mood
emotional quality of the setting
Syntax
order of words in a sentnece
Importance of syntax
impacts narrative pace; emphasizes ideas
Periodic (sentence type)
most important idea comes at the end of a sentence
Loose (sentence type)
most important idea is revealed early and the sentence unflods loosely after that
Parallel (sentence type) a.k.a Balanced sentence
contains equal grammatical structure
parallel structure
structure in which similar forms of nouns, verbs, phrases, or thoughts. Maintains balance. e.g. "Lilly likes reading, writing, and skiing" instead of "Lilly likes to read, write, and go skiing
Repetition (sentence type)
Types of repetition: anaphora; Antistrophe; Asyndeton; Chiasmus; Polysyndeton
Anaphora (repetition)
repetition of same word at the beginning of a series of phrases, clauses or sentences
Example: "I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."
(Raymond Chan
Antistrophe (repetition)
repetition of same word at the end of successive phrases or clauses
Example: "I told you do to it, again. Like last time, I had to repeat myself again. Why do I have to always have to say things again and again?
Asyndeton (repetition)
conjunctions are omitted between words, phrases, clauses
Example: "I came, I saw, I conquered." (Julius Caesar)
Chiasmus (repetition)
two corresponding pairs ordered a/b/b/a
Example: "She gave me hope and hopefully I gave my loyalty.
Polysyndeton (repetition)
use of conjunctions between each word, phrase, or clause
Example: "She is so rich and so beautiful and so very stupid.
More aspects of Syntax
1. Climax: the main idea or most important sentence. The position of the climax may be varied for effect.
2. Cadence: the rythm or "music" of a sentence that comes through parallel elements and repetition
#. Narrative pace: the pace or speed of a passage
The 3 P's of Syntax
Prominence (importance given an idea in a sentence); Position (where the key idea islocated); Pace (speed of the text)
First Person Point of view
the narrator tells his/her own story using first person pronouns (I, me, we, us). The point of view is limited by what the narrator can know, see, or understand. First person narrators cannot always be trusted to assess the situation honestly. They may be
Second person
the nartrator uses second person pronouns (you) to make immmediate connections with readers (very rare point of view in fiction)
Third person-limited
a third person narrator tells the story from one charactyer's point of view using thirds person prounouns (she, her, him, it, they, them); limited by the same constraints as first person narrators
Third person-omniscient
this thir person narrator is god-like, seeing and knowing all without constraints of time or spce, seeing even beyound earthly existance. Third person narrators often digress into contemplative or philosophical forays
Objective
an objective narrator tells a story like a camcorder would, simply revealing the sights and sounds it percieves (though not, of course, as strictly as that). You can recognize an objective narrayor by that person's lack of emotion or personal interets in
Figuarative Language
langauge not meant to be taken literally
allegory
A narrative or description having a second meaning beneath the surface one
character allegory
characters represent various ideal qualities, human virtues or vices
Apostrophe (related to personification)
adressing something (or someone) non-living or incapable of responses as if it could hear and respond
irony
a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs
verbal irony
occurs when what is said contradicts what is meant or thought
dramatic irony
when a reader is aware of something that a character isn't
situational irony
an outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected
metaphor
a comparison of two issimilar things in order to see one in a new way
Metonymy (see also synecdoche)
symbolism; one thing is used as a substitute for another with which it is closely identified (the White House to refer to the president)
Overstatement
Exaggeration in the service of truth; sometimes called hyperbole.
paradox
a statement that seems to contradict itself but that turns out to have a rational meaning, as in this quotation from Henry David Thoreau; "I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.
personification
assigning human qualities to inanimate objects or concepts. Wordsworth's "the sea that bares her bosom to the moon.
Simile
comparison using "like" or "as
Epic or Homeric simile
a simile developed over several lines of verse, esp. one used in an epic poem.
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the m
Symbol
a thing, person, or idea that stands for something else. Ex. water is a symbol of purity and or rebirth
Understatement
the opposite of hyperbole. It Is a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less that it really is. Ex. "I think I can manage to survive on a salary of 2 million a year".