Diction

Diction Defines Style / Character: Diction is an author’s choice of words modified by his own unique style also called the author’s “voice”.

Like a good closet of clothes, a skillful author selects the appropriate “verbal wardrobe”: to fit the occasion or situation to reach his audience to achieve his purpose.

Some writers, like Sue Monk-Kidd in The Secret Life of Bees, use diction that is conversational and blunt.

Lily directly addresses the reader at several points, giving you the sense that she is telling you a story. Her blunt, straightforward style contributes a lot to the wryness of her tone. You can see both at work in her description of her father's attitude toward her reading: Whenever I opened [a book], T. Ray said, 'Who do you think you are, Julius Shakespeare?' The man sincerely thought that was Shakespeare's first name, and if you think I should have corrected him, you are ignorant about the art of survival. (1.103)

She says a lot without using a lot of words; you can practically see the eye-roll she was giving when she had these thoughts.

Again, as with the wryness of her tone, you get a great sense of Lily's personality from her writing style. First of all, she's clearly got a good sense of humor. Second, her bluntness and conversational style suggest a general interest in cutting right to the chase and calling things as they are. She wants to tell us a story, simply and without a lot of bells and whistles, and her storytelling style reflects that desire.

Denotation and Connotation are Cultural Nuances of Diction:

In analysis, the dictionary definition of the word “birthday” is simply the day one is born, or the annual celebration of the date of birth. We call the dictionary definition, “denotation”.

Authors, and especially poets, use “loaded words” we call “connotation” that are packed with extra meaning from their cultural experience.

For instance, what American 16 year-old doesn’t know that “birthday” means driver’s license, and if he is lucky, maybe even a car.

But those definitions are NOT to be found in the denotation of the word, “birthday”.

People of any culture know additional meanings or “connotations” that are implied or “come with” many words.

In American culture, the word, “birthday” has other connotations, such as: cake, ice-cream, party, friends, and presents, but they may not be universal in other cultures that have their own associations for “birthday”.

When analyzing poetry or prose passages, you will notice many “loaded words” where the author is counting on your cultural understanding of connotation to fill in the details from your own experience.