Language features in prose And the effect they have on the reader!

The writer’s craft “Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.” George Orwell

“Always be a poet, even in prose.” Charles Baudelaire Remember: A writer does nothing by accident. When studying prose (e.g. a novel) you must look at how the writer crafted his novel. Ask yourself: What features of language has he/she used? What effect do these features have on the reader? How do these features help to convey meaning?

We look for the following: adverbs adjectives use of colour to describe metaphor and simile dialogue and dialect verbs imagery

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” Stephen King An adverb describes the action taken (verb). Examples: The seamstress quickly made the mourning clothes. The boldly spoken words would return to haunt the rebel. The midwives waited patiently through a long labour. Can you highlight the adverbs?

Adjectives An adjective is a word that describes a noun. Example: ‘A little stocky man’ ‘a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code.’ Can you highlight the adjectives? Task

Use of colour The use of colour in descriptions adds more depth. It helps you to picture what the writer is talking about. Example: ‘Red and blue and green rabbits, Lennie.’ ‘rouged cheeks and reddened lips’ How does the use of colour add to your understanding of the text? ?????

Alliteration Like in poetry, alliteration means the repetition of the initial letter. Why does a writer do this? makes it more poetic, catches your attention, adds interesting description Examples: ‘sharp, strong features’ ‘heavy hands’ ‘sloping shoulders were bent forward’

Verb A verb is a ‘doing’ word; it is an action taken by a character. The author chooses variations of a word to create meaning. Example: Instead of ‘said’: whispered, yelled, exclaimed, cried Instead of ‘pointed to’: motioned towards, indicated Instead of ‘had’ (belonging): possessed, owned Why are these words better? Why does the author choose these instead? What effect do they have on the reader? Ask yourself

Dialogue and dialect An author uses dialogue to give the character a voice. Dialect is a way of speaking that is unique to a particular region. Dialect is not just the pronunciation of words (that is accent) but it is the structure of their sentences and the words they use. Example: ‘I shouldn’t have did that’ Helluva nice fella, but he ain’t bright’

Comparisons – simile and metaphor A writer uses comparisons to give you a clearer picture of what they mean. Examples: ‘dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws’ simile ‘The heavy hands were a pendula’ metaphor

A writer chooses words Word choice “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” Mark Twain “One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” Jack Kerouac “Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” Anton Chekhov “Writers fish for the right words like fishermen fish for, um, whatever those aquatic creatures with fins and gills are called. 
” Jarod Kintz