Style TermsFrom literarydevices.net

Syntax and DictionSyntax and diction are closely related. Diction refers to the choice of words in a particular situation while syntax determines how the chosen words are used to form a sentence. Most often than not, adopting a complex diction means a complex syntactic structure of sentences and vice versa. In combination, syntax and diction help writers develop tone, mood and atmosphere in a text along with evoking interest of the readers.

Syntax Examples

Syntax enhances it meaning and contributes to tone. Quickness, decisiveness, and speed are added to a text by using short phrases, clauses, and sentences. Whereas, in a text where the subject matter is serious and requires contemplation, long, convoluted sentences are used to slow down the pace of a text.

Example #1

“That night I sat on Tyan-yu’s bed and waited for him to touch me. But he didn’t. I was relieved.”

(The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan)

Example #2

“They left me alone and I lay in bed and read the papers awhile, the news from the front, and the list of dead officers with their decorations and then reached down and brought up the bottle of Cinzano and held it straight up on my stomach, the cool glass against my stomach, and took little drinks making rings on my stomach from holding the bottle there between drinks, and watched it get dark outside over the roofs of the town.”

(A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway)

The two syntax examples above show a distinct use of syntax. Amy Tan uses short sentences to communicate in a powerful and concise manner. Ernest Hemingway, on the other hand, uses long and complex structures to emphasize the laziness of his character.

Diction Definition

Diction can be defined as style of speaking or writing determined by the choice of words by a speaker or a writer.

Diction or choice of words separates good writing from bad writing. It depends on a number of factors. Firstly, the word has to be right and accurate. Secondly, words should be appropriate to the context in which they are used. Lastly, the choice of words should be such that the listener or readers understand easily. Besides, proper diction or proper choice of words is important to get the message across. On the contrary, the wrong choice of words can easily divert listeners or readers which results in misinterpretation of the message intended to be conveyed.

Types of Diction

Individuals vary their diction depending on different contexts and settings. Therefore, we come across various types of diction. It may be “formal” where formal words are used in formal situations e.g. press conferences, presentations etc. Similarly, we use “informal” diction in informal situations like writing or talking to our friends. Moreover, a “colloquial” diction uses words common in everyday speech. “Slang” is the use of words that are impolite or newly coined.

Diction Examples in Literature

Depending on the topics at hand, writers tend to vary their diction. Let us see some examples of diction in literature:

Example #1

Keats in his “Ode to the Grecian Urn” uses formal diction to achieve a certain effect. He says:

“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheardAre sweeter: therefore, ye soft pipes, play on”

Notice the use of formal “ye” instead of informal “you”. The formality here is due to the respect the urn inspires in Keats. In the same poem he says:

“Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shedYour leaves, nor ever bid the spring adieu.”

It is more formal to use “adieu” than to say “goodbye”.

Example #2

In sharp contrast to Keats, John Donne uses colloquialism in his poem “The Sun Rising”:

“Busy old fool, unruly Sun,Why dost thou thus,Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run?Saucy pedantic wretch,”

Treating the sun as a real human being, the poet speaks to the sun in an informal way using colloquial expressions. He rebukes the sun because the sun has appeared to spoil the good time he is having with his beloved. Further, he orders the “saucy pedantic sun” to go away.

Example #3

Writers skillfully choose words to develop a certain tone and atmosphere in their works. Read the following excerpt from a short story “The School” by Donald Barthelme:

“And the trees all died. They were orange trees. I don’t know why they died, they just died. Something wrong with the soil possibly or maybe the stuff we got from the nursery wasn’t the best. We complained about it. So we’ve got thirty kids there, each kid had his or her own little tree to plant and we’ve got these thirty dead trees. All these kids looking at these little brown sticks, it was depressing.”

The use of the words “died”, “dead”, “brown sticks” and “depressing” gives a gloomy tone to the passage.

Example #4

Sometimes writers repeat their chosen words or phrases to achieve an artistic effect. Read the following example from “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

By repeating the phrase “It was…” throughout the passage, the writer ensures that the readers will give more consideration to the characteristics of the “age” they are going to read about in the novel.

Function of Diction

In literature, writers choose words to create and convey a typical mood, tone, and atmosphere to their readers. A writer’s choice of words and his selection of graphic words not only affects the reader’s attitude but also conveys the writer’s feelings toward the literary work. Moreover, poetry is known for its unique diction that separates it from prose. Usually, a poetic diction is marked by the use of figures of speech, rhyming words, etc.

Simile and MetaphorSimile Definition

A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things. Unlike a metaphor, a simile draws resemblance with the help of the words “like” or “as”. Therefore, it is a direct comparison.

We can find simile examples in our daily speech. We often hear comments like “John is as slow as a snail.” Snails are notorious for their slow pace and here the slowness of John is compared to that of a snail. The use of “as” in the example helps to draw the resemblance. Some more examples of common similes are given below.

Common Examples of Simile

Our soldiers are as brave as lions. Her cheeks are red like a rose. He is as funny as a monkey. The water well was as dry as a bone. He is as cunning as a fox.

Simile inputs vividness into what we say. Authors and poets utilize comparisons to convey their sentiments and thoughts through vivid word pictures like a simile.

Metaphor Definition

Metaphor is a figure of speech which makes an implicit, implied or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated but share some common characteristics. In other words, a resemblance of two contradictory or different objects is made based on a single or some common characteristics.

In simple English, when you portray a person, place, thing, or an action as being something else, even though it is not actually that “something else,” you are speaking metaphorically. “He is the black sheep of the family” is a metaphor because he is not a sheep. However, we can use this comparison to describe an association of a black sheep with that person. A black sheep is an unusual animal and typically stays away from the herd, and the person you are describing shares similar characteristics.

Furthermore, a metaphor develops a comparison which is different from a simile i.e. we do not use “like” or “as” to develop a comparison in a metaphor. It actually makes an implicit or hidden comparison and not an explicit one.

Common Speech Examples of Metaphors

Most of us think of a metaphor as a device used in songs or poems only, and that it has nothing to do with our everyday life. In fact, all of us in our routine life speak, write, and think in metaphors. We cannot avoid them. Metaphors are sometimes constructed through our common language. They are called conventional metaphors. Calling a person a “night owl” or an “early bird” or saying “life is a journey” are common conventional metaphor examples commonly heard and understood by most of us. Below are some more conventional metaphors we often hear in our daily life:

The assignment was a breeze. (This implies that the assignment was not difficult.) Life is going to be clear skies from now on. (This implies that clear skies are not a threat and life is

going to be without hardships) Her voice is music to his ears. (This implies that her voice makes him feel happy)

Hyperbole Hyperbole, derived from a Greek word meaning “over-casting” is a figure of speech, which involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis. It is a device that we employ in our day-to-day speech. For instance, when you meet a friend after a long time, you say, “Ages have passed since I last saw you.” You may not have met him for three or four hours or a day, but the use of the word “ages” exaggerates this statement to add emphasis to your wait. Therefore, hyperbole is an unreal exaggeration to emphasize the real situation.

Common Examples of Hyperbole

My grandmother is as old as the hills. Your suitcase weighs a ton! She is as heavy as an elephant! I am dying of shame. I am trying to solve a million issues these days.

It is important not to confuse hyperbole with simile and metaphor. It does often make a comparison but unlike simile and metaphor, hyperbole has a humorous effect created by an overstatement.

Hyperbole Examples from Literature

Example #1

From W.H Auden’s poem “As I Walked One Evening”,

I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love youTill China and Africa meet,And the river jumps over the mountainAnd the salmon sing in the street,I’ll love you till the oceanIs folded and hung up to dry

The use of hyperbole can be noticed in the above lines. The meeting of China and Africa, the jumping of the river over the mountain, singing of salmon in the street, and the ocean being folded and hung up to be dried are exaggerations not possible in real life.

Example #2

From Joseph Conrad’s novel “The Heart of Darkness”,

“I had to wait in the station for ten days - an eternity.”

The wait of ten days seemed to last forever and never end.

Function of Hyperbole

The above arguments make clear the use of hyperbole. In our daily conversation, we use hyperbole to emphasize for an amusing effect. However, in literature it has very serious implications. By using hyperbole, a writer or a poet makes common human feelings remarkable and intense to such an extent that they do not remain ordinary. In literature, usage of hyperbole develops contrasts. When one thing is described with an over-statement and the other thing is presented normally, a striking contrast is developed. This technique is employed to catch the reader’s attention.

Oxymoron Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect. The common oxymoron phrase is a combination of an adjective proceeded by a noun with contrasting meanings, e.g. “cruel kindness” or “living death”. However, the contrasting words/phrases are not always glued together. The contrasting ideas may be spaced out in a sentence, e.g. “In order to lead, you must walk behind.”

Common Examples of Oxymoron

Open secret Tragic comedy Seriously funny Awfully pretty

Foolish wisdom Original copies Liquid gas

Oxymoron Examples in Literature

Example #1

Below is an extract from the play “Romeo and Juliet”, Act I, Scene I, written by William Shakespeare.

“Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate!O anything, of nothing first create!O heavy lightness! Serious vanity!Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms!Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!This love feel I, that feel no love in this.Dost thou not laugh?”

We notice a series of oxymoron being employed when Romeo confronts the love of an inaccessible woman. An intense emotional effect is produced to highlight his mental conflict by the use of contradictory pairs of words such as “hating love”, “heavy lightness”, “bright smoke”, “cold fire”, and “sick health”.

Example #2

In Sir Thomas Wyatt’s Petrarch’s 134th sonnet,

“I find no peace, and all my war is doneI fear and hope, I burn and freeze like ice,I flee above the wind, yet can I not arise;”

The contradicting ideas of “war…peace”, “burn ….freeze”, and “flee above…not rise” produce a dramatic effect in the above-mentioned lines.

Function of Oxymoron

Oxymoron produces a dramatic effect in both prose as well as poetry. For instance, when we read or hear the famous oxymoron, “sweet sorrow”, crafted by Shakespeare, it appeals to us instantly. It provokes our thoughts and makes us ponder on the meaning of contradicting ideas. This apparently confusing phrase expresses a complex nature of love that could never be expressed through any other simple expression.

In everyday conversation, however, people do not use oxymoron to make some deep statement like the one mentioned above. Instead, they do it to show wit. The use of oxymoron adds flavor to their speech.