A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens A look into the diction and imagery used by Dickens and the effect he creates.

What is diction?

What is diction? According to Dr. L. Kip Wheeler, diction is “The choice of a particular word as opposed to others. A writer could call a rock formation by many words--a stone, a boulder, an outcropping, a pile of rocks, a cairn, a mound, or even an ‘anomalous geological feature.’” A reader must ask himself, “Why that particular choice of words? What is the effect of that diction? The word choice a writer makes determines the reader's reaction to the object of description, and contributes to the author's style and tone. Compare with concrete diction and abstract diction, above.”

What is imagery? “A common term of variable meaning, imagery includes the ‘mental pictures’ that readers experience with a passage of literature.” “It signifies all the sensory perceptions referred to in a poem, whether by literal description, allusion, simile, or metaphor. Imagery is not limited to visual imagery; it also includes auditory (sound), tactile (touch), thermal (heat and cold), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), and kinesthetic sensation (movement)” (Wheeler).

Target Now we will see examples from Dickens’s text to try to identify the effect he is trying to achieve. The next slide will present you with a portion of the text from page 6. Please locate that page and prepare to practice annotating for purpose of diction in A Christmas Carol

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Charles Dickens’s Word Choice First we will look at a passage from page six of A Christmas Carol. While reading this first portion, be sure to think about any words that stand out and seem to have a lasting effect on us. Meanwhile the fog and darkness thickened so, that people ran about with flaring links, proffering their services to go before horses in carriages, and conduct them on their way. The ancient tower of a church, whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at Scrooge out of a Gothic window in the wall, became invisible, and struck the hours and quarters in the clouds, with tremulous vibrations afterwards as if its teeth were chattering in its frozen head up there.

Charles Dickens’s Word Choice Identify any words that jump out at you to help see Dickens’s clever usage. Once you make a selection, identify your reason and the effect it has on the text. Then continue to look for more examples to help improve our close reading skills. Meanwhile the fog and darkness thickened so, that people ran about with flaring links, proffering their services to go before horses in carriages, and conduct them on their way. The ancient tower of a church, whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down at Scrooge out of a Gothic window in the wall, became invisible, and struck the hours and quarters in the clouds, with tremulous vibrations afterwards as if its teeth were chattering in its frozen head up there. The gloominess of the fog is intensified with the usage of thickened. The personification given to the old bell adds to its suspicious nature and treats it as a spy-like creature

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References http://youtu.be/KQJoIvlONqs http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_D.html http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_I.html