WRITING ABOUT DICTION

Required Elements Of Literary Analysis  When writing for literary analysis, your finished composition will have three required elements, regardless if it’s a paragraph or a full-length essay:  A claim about a specific literary device  Examples that support your claim  Analysis of why your example is appropriate. This is often called the COMMENTARY. The commentary is your own thinking and is the most important part of the writing, and when done correctly, most of your paragraph or essay will be commentary.

Thesis statements  When writing about literature, the author and title of the work must be identified.  Thesis statements are required for all writings. The thesis will clearly define for the reader what you are trying to prove. A literary analysis thesis will have two portions that we will call the concrete and the abstract.  The concrete portion will typically revolve around a literary element (characterization, diction, symbolism, etc.) that exists in the piece.  The abstract will be the writer’s attempt to explain the EFFECT the concrete element has on the piece.

Sample Thesis  What portion would be the concrete in the thesis below? What would be the abstract?  Sample thesis: In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” Washington Irving uses figurative language to create a story with a spooky mood.  Sample thesis:  In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” Washington Irving uses figurative language to create a story with a spooky mood.

Our Thesis Today  Today you will write a brief literary analysis on the diction Edgar Allan Poe uses in “The Masque of the Red Death.” We will all begin with the same thesis:  In “The Masque of the Red Death” written by Edgar Allan Poe, the author uses diction to establish a _____________ mood.  You may choose to expand your thesis to focus on a specific aspect of diction (connotative diction, abstract word choices, etc) or you may leave it more open- ended by just saying diction.

Writing the Analysis  Yesterday, you analyzed a passage for mood, and the diction that impacted it. Today you will use those graphics to help build your paragraphs.  Your paragraph must contain a thorough discussion of at least two choices in diction that helped establish the mood. The two words that you discuss should be the ones listed in the outer ring.

Structure of the Paragraph  Begin with a topic sentence that identifies the paragraph and its mood.  In Paragraph four on page three has a mood of ____________.  Identify the two words that have the strongest effect on the paragraph’s mood. Briefly describe how those words are used and why the diction is significant. You will pull information from the third ring of your graphic.  End the paragraph with your COMMENTARY. Explain WHY the connotative meaning impacts the mood of the paragraph. This is the most difficult part to write, but it’s the most important! It probably can not be explained in just one sentence. Use what you have in your fourth ring to guide your thinking.

Structure of the Paragraph  Thesis statement  Example #1 of Diction—enclose the word in quotation marks  Commentary—What is significant about the diction? How does that word have an effect on the mood—This is your own words. The commentary will be several sentences.  Example #2 of Diction—enclose the word in quotation marks  Commentary repeats for the second example  Concluding Sentence

Sample Diction Analysis  Edgar Allen Poe’s use of diction in “The Masque of the Red Death” helps establish a fearful mood. As he introduces the problem the characters are dealing with, he describes a disease that is “so fatal.” This choice of word to describe the illness that is affecting so many has a powerful negative connotation. The meaning of fatal lets the reader understand that this disease wasn’t just “serious” or “severe,” but rather one in which death can’t be avoided. This reinforces the mood of fear in the opening lines.  This sample must now give a second example of the diction used, and then comment on it.