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.