Diction

1. Diction Exercises

2. 1 • As I watched, the sun broke weakly through, brightened the rich red of the fawns, and kindled their white spots. - E.B. White, “Twins”, Poems and Sketches of E.B. White

3. As I watched, the sun broke weakly through, brightened the rich red of the fawns, and kindled their white spots. • E.B. White, “Twins”, Poems and Sketches of E.B. White • What kind of flame does kindled imply? How does the verb suit the purpose of the sentence? • Would the sentence be strengthened or weakened by changing the sun broke weakly through, to the sun burst through? Explain the effect this change would have on the use of the verb kindled. • Brainstorm a list of action verbs that demonstrate the effects sunlight. • Compose a compound / complex sentence using one or more of these words.

4. 2 • Art is the antidote that can call us back from the edge of numbness, restoring the ability to feel for another. - Barbara Kingsolver, High Tide in Tucson

5. Art is the antidote that can call us back from the edge of numbness, restoring the ability to feel for another. - Barbara Kingsolver, High Tide in Tucson • By using the word antidote, what does the author imply about the inability to feel for another? • If we changed the word antidote to gift, what effect would it have on the meaning of the sentence? • Brainstorm with your class to develop a list of medical terms. • Write your own sentence using a medical term to characterize art. Share some of these sentences, and discuss the effect that certain terms have on the meanings of the sentences.

6. 3 • The man sighed hugely. - E. Annie Prouix, The Shipping News

7. The man sighed hugely. - E. Annie Prouix, The Shipping News • 1. What does it mean to sigh “hugely”? • How would the meaning of the sentence change if we rewrote it as: • The man sighed loudly. • 3. Complete this sentence with an adverb: • The man coughed _________________. • Your adverb should make the cough express an attitude. For example, the cough could express contempt, desperation, or propriety. Do not state the attitude. Instead, let the adverb imply it.

8. 4 • Her face was white and sharp and slightly gleaming in the candlelight, like bone. No hint of pink. And the hair. So fine, so pale, so much, crimped by its plaiting into springy zigag tresses, clouding neck and shoulders, shining metallic in the candlelight, catching a hint, there it was. of green again, from the reflection of a large glazed cache-pot containing a vigorous sword-leafed fern. - A.S. Byatt, Possession: A Romance

9. When the author describes a face “like bone” what feelings are suggested? • How can hair be “clouding neck and shoulders”? • Substitute another noun for “bone” in the Byatt’s sentence one. • Your substitution should change the meaning and feeling of the sentence. Consider how your noun changes the connotation and impact of the sentence. • Her face was white and sharp and slightly gleaming in the candlelight, like bone.

10. 5 • Newts are the most common of salamanders. Their skin is a lighted green, like water in a sunlit pond, and rows of bright red dots line their backs. They have gills as larvae; as they grow they turn a luminescent red, lose their gills, and walk out of the water to spend a few years padding around in damp places on the forest floor. Their feet look like fingered baby hands, and they walk in the same leg patterns as all four-footed creatures – dogs, mules, and for that matter, lesser pandas. - Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

11. What is the difference between a lighted green and a light green? Which phrase do you think creates a more vivid image? • What is the effect of saying fingered baby hands instead of simply baby hands? • Compare the neck of each of the animals below to something familiar. Use Dillard’s comparison as a model (Their feet look like fingered baby hands). • The elephant’s neck looks like ______________________________________ • The seal’s neck looks like __________________________________________ • The flamingo’s neck looks like ______________________________________ • (Consider the attitude your comparison conveys about the animal.)