The Big Three of Literary Analysis Diction, Syntax and Imagery

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The Big Three of Literary AnalysisDiction,
Syntax and Imagery

• By Carol A. Tebbs, MA

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INTRODUCTION

• Students must learn some basic analysis
  vocabulary and how to apply it to what they read,
  so they may generate meaningful commentary.
• The Big Three of analysis
• diction, syntax and imagery.
• Rhetorical terms (vocabulary) is necessary to
  accurately convey style (The Big Three).

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DICTION

• Diction Defines Style / Character
• Diction is an authors choice of words modified
  by his own unique style also called the authors
  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, Its a real
  bargain, or The deals 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, Aint no use fightin em. Many
  authors use various sorts of diction to
  distinguish their characters one from the other.

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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 belly-buster filled me up.
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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 doesnt
  know that birthday means drivers 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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DICTION

• People of any culture know additional meanings
  or connotations that are implied or come with
  many words.
• In American culture, the word, birthday has
  other connotations, such as cake, ice-cream,
  party, friends, and presents, but they may not be
  universal in other cultures that have their own
  associations for birthday.
• When analyzing poetry or prose passages, you will
  notice many loaded words where the author is
  counting on your cultural understanding of
  connotation to fill in the details from your own
  experience.

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DICTION
Word Denotation (dictionary definition) Connotation (cultural definition)
Birthday The date of ones birth, or the annual celebration of the event of ones birth Party, presents, friends, cake, candles, ice-cream, relatives
Wedding The ceremony where vows of marriage are exchanged between two people Friends, presents, reception, bachelor party, showers, tuxedo, wedding dress, photos, cake, relatives
War Armed combat between adversaries on a large scale Guns, bullets, killing, blood, tears, fear, hatred, loneliness, tanks, mortars, violence, bombs, devastation
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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
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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
  (SV) (SV), 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 subject-verb-object combinations (SV)
  (SV) 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
  orders Clean up, Be quiet, Sit down.

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SYNTAX

• Beginning students, without sophisticated
  vocabulary, can spot long sentences or short
  sentences. To notice and comment on such simple
  observations is helpful in discussing the
  authors style.
• Upper level students, should expand their
  vocabulary to properly name the long and short
  sentences and also noting the placement of the
  main clause or subject and verb (SV) of
  important sentences.
• The subject and verb (SV) at the beginning of
  the sentence is called a loose or cumulative
  sentence.
• If the sentence starts with subordinate clauses
  and a chain of descriptive phrases with the main
  subject-verb (SV) combination at the end, it is
  called a periodic sentence.

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SYNTAX

• Periodic sentences are usually very long.
• Example Periodic sentence
• Down the hill near the old swimming hole by
  the railroad tracks, not far from the schoolhouse
  and near the old watermill, the children (S)
  raced (V) to the barn.
• The more common Cumulative sentences vary in
  length and tend to be shorter.
• Example Cumulative sentence
• The children (S) raced (V) to the barn by way
  of the old schoolhouse next to the swimming hole
  down by the railroad tracks and near the old
  watermill.

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SYNTAX

• 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 participles,
  gerunds and infinitives.

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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

• Students wont often need to identify or
  distinguish between verbal phrases, but it is
  helpful to understand the clear distinction
  between phrases and clauses and the different
  jobs they perform in the sentence.
• The major syntax features of any literary work
  distinguishes the authors style, much like a
  finger print identifies a person.

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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 SV Compound Two equal SVs joined by and, but or yet Complex One main SV and one or more subordinate SV Compound/ Complex Two equal SVs, 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 SV last Cumulative more common with SV 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 or adjectives 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 authors variations of
  sentence components as an element of style used
  to emphasize his message.
• 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

• For example, when poet Stephen Crane says
• Do not weep, maiden for war is kind, we
  should immediately recognize the extreme
  disparity between the words, war and kind.
• The denotation of the two words is opposite in
  meaning, and
• The connotation of the two words is opposite in
  meaning, which should signal the reader that
  something is very wrong, and the author is using
  juxtaposition to show it.

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SYNTAX
Syntax 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 could not see to see. Here, the dash is used to signal an extended pause for dramatic effect.
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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

• He J. Henry Fabre describes a bee-eating wasp,
  the Philanthus, who has killed a honey-bee.
• 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.
• Let us hasten to cast a veil over these horrors.

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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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IMAGERY

• Students who can recognize the nuances of
  diction, syntax and imagery in what they read are
  well along the way toward using those same tools
  to write an effective analysis of prose or
  poetry fiction or non-fiction.
• Argumentation is a more advanced skill for later
  mastery.