Diction and Tone and sample literature

2. MECHANICS :
*Row 1 will be GROUP 1 Row 2 will be GROUP 2
*DESCRIBE THE PICTURE SHOWN ON THE SCREEN
*write as many words as you can
*one member at a time
*time limit is 3 minutes
*The group which will be able to write more words will get the
score
• There will be 2 rounds in this game.

5. TONE and
DICTION
G R O U P 4#

6. TONE
Tone, in written composition, is
an attitude of a writer toward
a subject or an audience.

7. Tone is generally conveyed through
the choice of words or the viewpoint
of a writer on a particular subject.

8. 3. Preparation of
the table of
specification .(TOS)
The tone can be formal, informal,
serious, comic, sarcastic, sad, and
cheerful or it may be any other
existing attitudes.

9.  Example
 Robert Frost in the last stanza of his poem The Road Not
Taken gives us an insight into the effect of tone:
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
 Example
 Robert Frost in the last stanza of his poem The Road Not
Taken gives us an insight into the effect of tone:
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the
difference.”

10.  Frost tells us about his past with a “sigh”, this gives the
above lines an unhappy tone. This tone leads us into
thinking that the speaker in the poem had to make a
difficult choice.

11. 4. Selection of the
appropriate type/s
of the test.
DICTION
Diction can be defined as style of
speaking or writing determined by
the choice of words by a speaker
or a writer.
FORMAL OR INFORMAL

12. 5. Start writing the
test items.
Diction or choice of words separates
good writing from bad writing.
It depends on a number of factors.
Firstly, the word has to be right
and accurate.
SLANG COLLOQUIAL JARGONS

13. “Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil: for
thou art with me; thy rod and
thy staff, they comfort me.”
(Psalms 23:4)

14. “Is your writing as
transparent as a mixture
of comminuted particles
of rock with water of
varying consistency? Or
is it as clear as mud?”
(Graham Hopkins, The
Write Stuff)

15. Faithless is he that says
farewell when the road
darkens. (J.R.R.
Tolkien, The Lord of the
Rings)

16. Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt
that the sun doth move. Doubt truth to
be a liar, but never doubt I love.
(William Shakespeare, Hamlet)
Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt
that the sun doth move. Doubt
truth to be a liar, but never doubt I
love. (William
Shakespeare, Hamlet)

17. “Because I could not stop for Death,”
Emily Dickinson
Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.
We passed the school where children played,
Their lessons scarcely done;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.

18.  This poem uses simple vocabulary and a
combination of usual and unusual syntax.
 For example, she uses the standard dictionary
definitions of words like “kindly” and
“stopped” instead of more complex terms.
 The effect of this vocabulary is that the poem
has a colloquial, or casual and everyday,
diction rather than formal diction, giving it
an approachable and comforting tone.
 This tone, in turn, contributes to the effective
personification of Death, one that makes him
seem like an average person.

19.  The class will be divided into four groups
 Each group will pick up a piece of paper containing the different
tones ( humorous, serious, sarcastic , cheerful ) .
 They will construct a short play (2 min.) depicting these different
tones and diction
 Serious – formal diction
 Humorous - informal diction
 Sarcastic –slang diction
 Cheerful - colloquial
CRITERIA :
Clarity :10
Originality :10
Teamwork :5
Audience Impact:5
Total : 30pts.
Relevance : This activity can give the students opportunity to have
their own diction in their chosen scenario on a given tone.

20. REFERENCES :
http://penandthepad.com/discussing-diction-poem-
2055.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Because_I_could_not_stop_
for_Death
https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=G5c_WciED9
GA1AS9v7rQBQ#q=definition+of+diction+in+literature
https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=G5c_WciED9
GA1AS9v7rQBQ#q=definition+of+tone+in+literature
http://www.dummies.com/education/literature/understa
nding-diction-and-tone-in-literature/

21. Gracias..