Voice Lessons by Nancy Dean
Jan 01, 2016
Voice Lessonsby
Nancy Dean
Voice
• The unique expression of the author’s personality
• The fingerprint of a person’s language
• The color and texture of communication
Understanding voiceGives an appreciation for the richness of language and a
deeper understanding of writing, especially difficult literature
One goal of this course: to help you develop a personal voice, a
distinctive writing style.To do so, you must first learn to recognize voice and analyze its
elements.
Through voice we come to know authors.
By exploring voice we learn to wield language.
Five elements of voice: diction, detail, imagery, syntax and tone
Diction (word choice) is the foundation of voice and
contributes to all of its elements.
Detail (facts, observations, and incidents) is used to develop a topic, shaping and seasoning
voice.
Imagery (verbal representation of sense experience) brings the
immediacy of sensory experience to writing and gives
voice a distinctive quality.
Syntax (grammatical sentence structure) controls verbal pacing
and focus.
Tone (expression of attitude) gives voice its distinctive
personality.
Diction
Refers to the author’s choice of words; the basic tools used to create the color and texture of
written work.They reflect and determine
the level of formalityThey shape the reader’s
perceptions.
Diction reflects the writer’s vision and steers the reader’s
thought.
When reading serious literature, don’t skip words you don’t
know.It’s like wearing earplugs at
a symphonyTo understand voice you
must “hear” and “feel” their effects.
Effective voice is shaped by words that are clear, concrete
and exact.
Good writers avoid words like pretty, nice and bad. Instead they use words that create a
specific effect. A coat isn’t torn, it’s tattered. The U.S. Army doesn’t want
revenge, it is thirsting for revenge.
Specific diction brings the reader into the scene, enabling full
participation in the writer’s world.
Diction depends on topic, purpose and occasion. Topic
often determines specificity and sophistication of diction.
For example, in a computer article: web interface, quaternary
code.In a magazine for Irish
musicians: slip jig, hornpipe, mazurka.
The writer’s purpose partly determines diction
Words chosen to impart a particular effect on the reader reflect and sustain the writer’s
purpose.
Example: if the purpose is to inform, straightforward diction
is used.If the purpose is to entertain, a reader expects words used in ironic, playful or unexpected
ways.
Diction also depends on the occasion
As with clothes, the level of formality influences appropriate
choices.Formal diction (for
scholarly writing, serious prose, poetry)
Informal diction: the norm in expository essays, newspaper
writing, fiction.Colloquial diction and slang: create a mood or capture a
particular historic or regional dialect
Appropriateness of diction is determined by the norms of
society.
Connotation (the meaning suggested by a word and
Denotation (the literal meaning of a word)
When a writer calls a character slender, the word evokes a
different feeling from calling the character gaunt.
A word’s power to produce a strong reaction in the reader lies mainly in its connotative
meaning.
Finally, diction can impart freshness and originality to
writing.Words used in surprising or unusual ways make us rethink what is known and re-examine
meaning.
Good writers often opt for complexity rather than
simplicity, multiple meanings rather than precision.
Thus, diction, the foundation of voice, shapes a reader’s
thinking while guiding reader insight into the author’s
idiosyncratic expression of thought: the writer’s voice.
“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?
Activity: Write a sentence using a medical term to characterize
art.
“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 this
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.
What are some action verbs that demonstrate the effects of
sunlight?
“An aged man is but a paltry thing
A tattered coat upon a stick…”- W.B. Yeats, “Sailing to
Byzantium”
What picture is created by the use of the word tattered?
By understanding the connotations of the word
tattered, what do we understand about the persona’s attitude
toward an aged man?
List three adjectives that can be used to describe a pair of
shoes. Each adjective should connote a different feeling about
the shoes.
Dean, Nancy. Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to
Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, and Tone. Gainesville, Florida: Maupin House, 2000.