Unit 3: Interpretations of Prose and Poetry Analysis Skills: Diction/ Vocabulary – why this word rather than that? Miss McClue

Starter: ‘The Eagle’ – Alfred Tennyson What is your first response? He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ringed with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls. Then consider: How the words combine to create meanings How they create pictures in your mind How they work upon your feelings How they are organised to give the poem shape

Learning Objective To explore the impact and significance of diction within a poem. Key Words: Rhythms Consonance Assonance Connotation Denote

Words and the wonderfully illustrious and illuminating imagination WORDS CAN: [Literal] [Figurative] Vs. DENOTE CONNOTE

These words denote similar things/ideas, but what do they Connote? Town / City Clever / Wise Jester / Clown Light / Glow blue pink

DICTION and CONNOTATION THE WORDS CHOSEN BY THE AUTHOR FOR SPECIFIC EFFECT THE FEELINGS, EMOTIONS AND CULTURAL IDEAS ASSOCIATED WITH WORDS LET’S APPLY THIS TO A QUICK STUDY OF TWO POEMS:

i am so glad and very merely my fourth will cure the laziest self of weary the hugest sea of shore so far your nearness reaches a lucky fifth of you turns people into eachs and cowards into grow our can'ts were born to happen our mosts have died in more our twentieth will open wide a wide open door we are so both and oneful night cannot be so sky sky cannot be so sunful i am through you so i ee cummings

W. B. Yeats When you are old When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face; And bending down beside the glowing bars, Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

When you are old W. B. Yeats When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face; And bending down beside the glowing bars, Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars. i am so glad and very ee cummings merely my fourth will cure the laziest self of weary the hugest sea of shore so far your nearness reaches a lucky fifth of you turns people into eachs and cowards into grow our can'ts were born to happen our mosts have died in more our twentieth will open wide a wide open door we are so both and oneful night cannot be so sky sky cannot be so sunful i am through you so i

How do you feel about words? Associations 1 Snarl  negative Vicious; Angry; fangs; wolf; dark thoughts 2 Clap   3 Hearth 4 Pillow 5 Omen 6 Slimy 7 Feather 8 Glue 9 Pub 10 Brothel 11 Divine 12 Owl 13 Flamingo 14 Illuminate 15 Descend How important is the CONTEXT of words? Find your own words from the poems

What are we learning here? DICTION (word choice) is a poet’s most obvious yet most subtle form of expression. The CONNOTATIONS of words (diction) are partly from the Culture around us, and partly from your experiences and imagination. HOWEVER: Can we decide upon the TONE/MOOD based upon the DICTION a poet uses? What other evidence is there but the words!!?

Activity Write a short analysis of the way in which either poet creates meaning in their respective poem. Include comments on how the connotations and the sounds of the words help to convey the poem’s theme.

Plenary Reflect on the ‘sound of words’, the reason, perhaps, why we have some word associations. SHARP sounds and soft SOUNDS of phonetics, letter combinations and the importance of tone. REMEMBER that TONE is linked to the DICTION.