Download The Big Three of Literary Analysis Diction, Syntax and Imagery

The Big Three of Literary
Analysis
Diction, Syntax and
Imagery
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DICTION
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Diction Defines Style / Character:
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Diction is an author’s choice of words
modified by his own unique style also
called the author’s “voice”.

Like a good closet of clothes, a skillful
author selects the appropriate “verbal
wardrobe”:

to fit the occasion or situation
to reach his audience
to achieve his purpose.
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DICTION

Some writers, like John Steinbeck in The
Grapes of Wrath and Cannery Row, use a
very wide range of diction to make their
characters distinctive.

For instance, the used car salesman speaks in
repeated clichés and slang such as, “It’s a
real bargain”, or “The deal’s a steal”;

Some characters speak in more formal
language when they are repeating the edict
from the bank, “You must vacate the
premises immediately”.

Other characters speak in colloquial
language showing their lack of “proper”
education. “Shucks”, pa, “Ain’t no use
fightin’ ‘em…”. Many authors use various
sorts of diction to distinguish their characters
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one from the other.
DICTION
Type of
Diction
Audience
Purpose
Example
Sophisticated Highly
educated or
refined
To impress The meal was
exquisite
Formal
Strangers,
notables;
professional
To show
good
manners
My stomach is
full
Informal
Friends and
Colleagues
To share
feelings
My belly is
stuffed with food
Colloquial
Family and
close friends
To share
feelings
without
pretense
That there finger
lickin’ grub
stuffed my gut.
Slang
Close friends
To be cool
and “in”
That belly4
buster filled me
up.
DICTION

Denotation and Connotation are
Cultural Nuances of Diction:

In analysis, the dictionary definition of the word
“birthday” is simply the day one is born, or the
annual celebration of the date of birth. We call
the dictionary definition, “denotation”.

Authors, and especially poets, use “loaded
words” we call “connotation” that are packed
with extra meaning from their cultural
experience.

For instance, what American 16 year-old
doesn’t know that “birthday” means driver’s
license, and if he is lucky, maybe even a car.

But those definitions are NOT to be found in
the denotation of the word, “birthday”.
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SYNTAX

Syntax Defines Style Through
Variety of Sentence Structure:

Syntax refers to sentence structure
and the variation of phrases and
clauses within, which the author
manipulates:
to fit the occasion or situation
to reach his audience
to achieve his purpose.
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SYNTAX

A Sentence is a Clause:

All clauses have a subject (S), a verb
(V), and sometimes a direct object (DO)
and an indirect object (IO).

A sentence with only one subject (S) +
verb (V) combination is called a simple
sentence. Adding phrases to a simple
sentence can make it very long, but it is
still simple.

Sometimes a sentence has two or more
clauses (S+V) + (S+V), joined by a
coordinating conjunction such as: and,
but, or, and the result is a compound
sentence.
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SYNTAX

Sometimes, long sentences are
complex, with two or more subjectverb-object combinations (S+V) + (S+V)
joined by a subordinating conjunction
such as: however, although, which, that,
nonetheless, and many of the personal
pronouns that can sometimes be used
as subordinating conjunctions.

So the terms, simple, compound and
complex refer to the type of sentence
structure used by the author.
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SYNTAX

Another way to distinguish sentences is
by their function: declarative,
interrogatory, exclamatory or imperative.
Their end punctuation provides the biggest
clue to the sentence type.

The declarative sentence makes a
statement and ends with a period (.). The
interrogative sentence ends with a question
mark (?), and the exclamatory sentence
ends with and exclamation point (!).

The imperative sentence ends with a period
(.), but it is distinguished because it starts
with a verb and the subject is understood.
The imperative is easiest to remember by
associating it with authority figures giving 9
orders: “Clean up”, “Be quiet”, “Sit down”.
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SYNTAX

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Phrases do NOT have a Subject and a Verb:
Phrases are important to enrich the detail of the
sentence. Their function is to describe or modify
either the subject or the verb, or to replace a
noun.
Prepositional phrases add description and
work like adjectives modifying nouns or adverbs
modifying verbs. For instance, the prepositional
phrase can be used as an adjective as in, “The
road (to school) ended.” or as an adverb, “The
road ended (beyond the bridge).”
Appositive phrases are set off by commas
and simply restate the noun such as: Bob, my
friend, lives next door.
The Verbal phrases are actually verb words
with the “en” “ing” or “ed” ending working as
nouns, adjectives or adverbs. They are:
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participles, gerunds and infinitives.
SYNTAX

Participles do the work of adjectives (to modify
nouns or pronouns) or adverbs (to modify
verbs). For example the participle phrase can be
used as an adjective as in, “The speeding car
crashed.”, or as an adverb in, “The car crashed
speedily.”

Gerunds are verb forms that replace nouns or
pronouns as in, “Running is my best sport.”

Infinitives always start with the word, “to” and
end with a verb, as in “to work”. They replace
nouns or pronouns as either the subject or
object of a sentence; as adverbs that modify
verbs, or as adjectives that modify nouns.
Infinitives are easy to spot because “to” followed
by a noun in the prepositional phase (to +
noun) is very different than the “to” followed by
a verb of the infinitive phrase (to + verb).
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Syntax
Sentences =
Clauses:
Subject +
Verb +
Direct Object
+
Indirect
Object
Must have,
unless sentence
is a command
Must have
Optional
Must first have a
direct object
Sentence Types
Simple =
One S+V
Compound =
Two equal S+V’s
joined by and, but
or yet
Complex = One
main S+V and
one or more
subordinate S+V
Compound/
Complex = Two
equal S+V’s, +
one or more
subordinate SV
Sentence
Patterns
Declarative =
makes a
statement
Interrogative =
asks a question
Exclamatory =
makes a strong
or sudden
statement
Imperative = a
command with
a verb and “you”
understood
Sentence Length
Periodic – less
common with
S+V last
Cumulative –
more common
with S+V first
Phrases:
No Subject
No Verb
Phrase Types
Prepositions –
work as
adjectives or
adverbs
Appositives –
work as a repeat
or clarification of
a noun
Verbals – verb
words that work
as nouns, adjects
or adverbs
Types of Verbal
Phrases
Participles –
verb words
ending in “en”,
“ed” or “ing” that
work as adverbs
Infinitives – verb
words with “to” in
front that work as
nouns adjectives
or adverbs
Gerunds – verb
words ending in
“ed” or “ing” that
work as nouns
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SYNTAX

Syntax also includes the author’s
variations of sentence components as an
element of style used to emphasize his
message.
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Some common variations of emphasis
are:
word order (inversion)
juxtaposition of opposites (oxymoron)
repetition of words, phrases or clauses
rhetorical questions to explore ideas
(not expecting and answer)
variations of punctuation

The careful reader will spot them easily.

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SYNTAX
Synatx variations
Examples of syntax variations for emphasis
Inversion
Carried (V), she (S) was, by others in her study group.
The verb of the sentence is placed before the subject.
Juxtaposition
Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind. The italicized
words are opposite in meaning giving a sudden
contrast of ideas that signals something is wrong.
Repetition
I have a dream that all men are equal; I have a dream
that my sons can aspire to the highest positions; I have
a dream… is a clause that is repeated 17 times in the
famous Martin Luther King speech for dramatic effect.
Rhetorical
Question
Shall we not rise up and be counted, make our cause
be known? If we do not, we are fool-hardy in that
choice. A question posed, and then answered. The
function is to prod the listener to thought.
Parallel Structure
Marlene enjoyed the outdoor sports of skiing, hiking
and riding horses, but much preferred the indoor sport
of ice-skating. Items or ideas in a series must appear in
the same grammatical form.
Punctuation
I heard a fly buzz when I died – He landed – Where I
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could not see to see. Here, the dash is used to signal
an extended pause for dramatic effect.
IMAGERY

Imagery refers to words that
appeal to the five senses:
sight, sound, taste, feel, smell;
or create a mental picture for
the reader.

The figurative language of
imagery also includes simile
(“like” or “as” comparisons) and
metaphor (direct comparisons
with “is”).
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IMAGERY


Imagery is Description and a Function of
Style:
All great writers paint “word pictures” with
their descriptive imagery. They show us
about settings and characters rather than
tell us.

Many authors are especially notable for their
skill at complex and detailed imagery such
as the non-fiction essay writer, Annie
Dillard, author of A Pilgrim at Tinker
Creek, and fiction writer, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Dillard describes the gory detail of a praying
mantis chewing the innards out of a live
wasp at the same time that he (the wasp)
was squeezing a honey bee to death to lick
her disgorged honey.
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IMAGERY
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“He [J. Henry Fabre] describes a bee-eating
wasp, the Philanthus, who has killed a honeybee.
If the bee is heavy with honey, the wasp
squeezes its crop ‘so as to make her disgorge
the delicious syrup, which she drinks by licking
the tongue which her unfortunate victim, in her
death agony, sticks out of her mouth at full
length….(visual) (gustatory) (tactile)
At the moment of some such horrible banquet, I
have seen the Wasp, with her prey, seized by
the Mantis: the bandit was rifled by another
bandit.
And here is an awful detail: while the Mantis
held her transfixed under the points of the
double saw and was already munching her
belly, the Wasp continued to lick the honey of
her Bee, unable to relinquish the delicious food
even amid the terrors of death.
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Let us hasten to cast a veil over these horrors.’”
IMAGERY
Imagery
Figurative language
Visual words: red, blue, all colors,
shapely, ugly, pretty, handsome, tall,
short, barren, wooded
Simile: She is nothing like the
Sun…
Auditory words: (onomatopoeia)
cracked, clang, snap, loud, whisper,
discordant, harmonious, cacophony,
blare, trumpet, melodious, raspy,
croaking
Her eyes were as big as saucers
when she saw the horror movie.
Gustatory words: delicious, sweet,
sour, tart, tangy, scrumptious, hot,
cold, spicy, creamy, warm, crunchy
Metaphor: The window darkened
upon my soul and none could
discern me hiding within.
Tactile words: soft, scratchy, silky,
rough, hard, dented, knobby, satiny,
weathered, pliable, flexible
There are many, many variations
of metaphors, but all function as
direct comparisons.
Olfactory words: stinky, perfumed,
odorous, reeking, stench, putrid,
steamy, sweaty, pungent
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