Analyzing Style

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Analyzing Style

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Literature

        The style of a piece is a function of the writer’s craft or the techniques used by the writer to communicate his ideas.  To discuss the style of work of literature, consider the diction (vocabulary choices), the syntax (sentence construction) and the tone (author’s attitude toward the subject and the reader).

  1. DICTION:  When analyzing diction, consider the following:

  • figurative language (use of simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, allusion, irony, metonymy, symbolism)
  • abstract or concrete words
  • denotative or connotative words
  • monosyllabic or polysyllabic words
  • archaic diction
  • formal or colloquial English
  • slang, clichés, idioms, foreign phrases
  • sound effects:  onomatopoeia, alliteration, euphony, cacophy
  • jargon, technical language

  1. SYNTAX:  Sentence structure and Rhetorical Devices
  • long or short sentences
  • loose or periodic sentences
  • balanced sentences
  • parallel sentences
  • rhetorical questions
  • syntactic inversion
  • epigram
  • paradox
  • climactic sentences
  • Methods of achieving emphasis:
  1. Repetition
  2. Climactic order
  3. Periodic sentences
  4. Short sentences
  5. Active rather than passive verbs
  6. Parallel structures and balanced sentences
  7. Antithesis
  8. Chiasmus

  1. TONE – analysis of the author’s attitude toward the subject and the reader

  • sincere, genuine, honest
  • satirical, ironic, sarcastic, sardonic
  • whimsical, light, humourous, wry, mock-serious
  • nostalgic
  • didactic
  • objective, reporting, detached, scientific
  • morose, sad, pensive, melancholy
  • sentimental, gentle, tender, maudlin
  • impassioned, angry, indignant, vehement
  • colloquial, folksy, hearty, conversational, friendly, chummy, chatty, intimate
  • serious, formal, dignified, lofty
  • polite, courteous, deferential, reverent
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Onomatopoeia – (imitative harmony):  The sound of the word resembles the sound of what is being expressed.  Eg.  The murmuring of the innumerable bees, or words such as bark, snap and squeak.

Alliteration – repetition of first letters or consonant sounds.  E.g.  ghostly galleons, long languid ladies, five meandering miles.

Euphony – certain words are combines to give a pleasing effect.  Eg. And moveless fish in the water gleam, cool blue umbrellas

Cacophony – harsh sounding words. Eg. Stark black crabs scrape barnacles.

Archaic – words no longer used, or words used with ...

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