Style Analysis
Analyzing the Rhetorical Devices Used in Literature
STYLE ANALYSIS: LITERARY ANALYSIS
Rhetorical or Stylistic Devices or Techniques
 Diction
 Imagery
 Detail
 Language
 Syntax
 Point
of view
 Organization
 Structure
 Irony
 Tone/Attitude
Always think in terms of
CONTRARY IDEAS
Good writing almost always
embraces a CONTRARY
Good fiction presents the reader
with a DILEMMA
•Two ideas that create friction
TONE & ATTITUDE
1. What does the word “tone” mean?
2. What does the phrase “tone of voice”
mean?
3. List 5 words that could describe a
person’s tone of voice.
An example: ANGRY.
Authors convey feelings through the pieces they
write in the same way that people convey
feelings through tone of voice. Authors,
though, must rely only on the printed word and
cannot use inflection, volume, or gestures to
make their point!!
John surveyed his classmates, congratulating
himself for snatching the highest grade
without studying at all, unlike all the other
dolts in the class.
Without specifically saying John was __________,
the writer has conveyed this idea.
John surveyed his
classmates,
congratulating himself for
snatching the highest
grade without studying at
all, unlike all the other
dolts in the class.
John surveyed his
classmates,
congratulating himself for
snatching the highest
grade without studying at
all, unlike all the other
dolts in the class.
John surveyed his
classmates,
congratulating himself for
snatching the highest
grade without studying at
all, unlike all the other
dolts in the class.
John surveyed his
classmates,
congratulating himself for
snatching the highest
grade without studying at
all, unlike all the other
dolts in the class.
1. Choose one word from the tone/attitude list
we created. Write one sentence on any topic
that by itself (without using your word) gives the
feeling of the tone you chose.
Write the word here: ________________________
Write the sentence:
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
2. Now write commentary for the sentence.
What words were included that conveyed the
tone desired? How did the words do this?
DISCOVERING THEME
Fill in the blanks as many times as you have thoughts:
______________is a story about:
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
Reflecting upon the words or
phrases written, write a
statement that you believe best
conveys the one central
message or theme that the
author wants you to
understand.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
WRITING A THESIS STATEMENT

ANSWER THIS QUESTION:


What is the one central message or lesson
expressed in the work or works studied by this
author, and what element or elements of
fiction does the author use to convey this
message or lesson?
Your answer to this question can be your…..
THESIS STATEMENT!!!!!
INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS
SENTENCE #
AND WHAT IT DOES
SENTENCE
1
-- a theme sentence that
introduces one or more themes
from the story
-- all commentary
-- no CD from the story
2
--
says more stuff about 1st
sentence
3
-- thesis
-- names the book or title of
story or poem
-- shows what the essay will talk
about
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of
an Hour,” she uses various
literary devices to convey the
conflicting attitudes of freedom
and imprisonment.
DICTION:
The most powerful element of Style Analysis
This rhetorical device examines the author’s
•WORD CHOICE
•REASONS FOR CHOICE
Denotation
WORD
CHOICE
Connotation
Diction
Denotation: dictionary meaning of a word
Connotation: implied meaning of a word
plump = obese denotation is the same—FAT
plump
pleasantly fat is the connotation
obese
medically fat is the connotation
IMAGERY

Describes concrete words or phrases that include
information perceived through the five senses.

SIGHT: description of something that can be
visualized in the mind’s eye



Sparrows twittering in the eaves
Clouds piled one above the other
HEARING: description of the way something
sounds or something that can be heard


Josephine’s piercing cry
Notes of a distant song
IMAGERY

TASTE: description of the way something tastes or
something that can be tasted



SMELL: description of the way something smells or
something that can be smelled



the delicious breath of rain
she saw beyond that bitter moment
the delicious breath of rain
the dry, savory odors were sweet
TOUCH: description of the way something feels, its
texture, or something that can be touched

Pulses beat fast and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed
SAMPLE PARAGRAPH: LEVEL III 9-12
BASIC 5 SENTENCE PARAGRAPH
1) (TS) In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry is
champion and a savior to many of the more insecure students at
Hogwarts.
2) (CD) For example, when Malfoy takes Neville’s Rememberall, Harry
takes a broom and gets it back.
3) (CM) Because of his miserable life at the Dursleys, he cannot
stand someone who picks on others.
4) (CM) Harry has been mistreated and is now a hero to those less
fortunate.
5) (CS) He has found a place where he belongs and feels great
compassion for those who are not as lucky.
EMBEDDED QUOTATIONS IN CD’S
Embedded Quotations: 3-part formula

T + LI + Q = CD
T
= Transition word(s)
 For
example,
 For instance,
 In addition,
 Furthermore,
 Moreover,
 Therefore,
 However, (used in place of “but”)
 LI
= Lead-in
Commentary—your words
 Sets up circumstances surrounding
the quotation being used

Q

= Quotation
Sentence, phrase, or words copied
from the text & placed in
quotation marks
T
LI
CD = For example, as Louise
looks out the window, she sees
“the tops of trees that were all
aquiver with new spring life”
(474).
1ST BODY PARAGRAPH—DICTION
1) (TS) Chopin’s use of diction heightens the senses of
opportunity and restriction for Louise Mallard.
2) (CD1) For example, Louise notices in the “open square” all
of the “new spring life” as well as “patches of blue sky” in
between the clouds (474).
3) (CM1) These words suggest opportunity because . . .
4) (CM2) This implication is important because. . .
Diction Paragraph con’t.
5) (CD2) However,
6) (CM1) These words suggest restriction because. . .
7) (CM2) This implication is important because. . .
8) (CS) As a result,
2ND BODY PARAGRAPH—IMAGERY
1) (TS) Chopin’s imagery supplies the reader with a welldefined picture of the opposing concepts of independence
and oppression.
2) (CD1) For instance, as Louise sits in her room alone, she
feels something “reaching toward her through the sounds,
the scents, [and] the color” which causes “her pulses [to]
beat fast, and the coursing blood [to warm] and [relax]
every inch of her body” (474-76).
3) (CM1) These images exemplify independence because. . .
4) (CM2) This exemplification is important because. . .
Imagery Paragraph con’t.
5) (CD2) Moreover, . . .
6) (CM1) These images exemplify oppression because. . .
7) (CM2) This exemplification is important because. . .
8) (CS) As a result. . .
LANGUAGE

METAPHOR: Comparison between two objects usually
unlike without the use of special words to show
comparison.


SIMILE: The most common--an expressed similarity
between two objects essentially unlike. The comparison is
usually made by using like or as.


Their lives glide on like waters that water the woodland.
PERSONIFICATION: The attribution of human life or
characteristics to inanimate objects.


And if I should live to be / The last leaf upon the tree / In the spring.
The sea waves sobbed with sorrow.
OXYMORON: An especially compact paradox in which two
successive words seemingly contradict each other, yet
convey a truth.

The pleasing plague stole on me.
LANGUAGE

ONOMATOPOEIA: The adaptation of the sounds of words to
the meaning conveyed by them.



ALLITERATION: A repetition of letters or sounds in a
series of words. More often the alliteration occurs in the
initial letters.


The horn of the hunter was heard on the hillside.
ASSONANCE: the repetition of vowel sounds often in the
middle of words, though sometimes at the beginning or
end.


Buzz, roar, hiss, splash, murmur, cackle
The sails did sigh like a sedge.
The mystery of history is crystal clear.
CONSONANCE: the repetition of consonant sounds at the
end of words, though sometimes in the middle.

The band sends musical strains around the land.
SYMBOLISM

A person, place, thing, or event that has
meaning in itself and that also stands
for something more than itself.
 Universal
symbols:
dove—peace
 skull/crossbones—death
 red—anger,
passion
 Personal symbols:
 white whale—obsession
 raven—mental collapse
 journey—search for truth
3rd BODY PARAGRAPH—LANGUAGE
1) (TS) The language Chopin incorporates into her story
creates connections that highlight the dilemma between
the ideas of autonomy and subjugation.
2) (CD1) For example, Louise exits her room after her sister’s
persistence with “a feverish triumph….like a goddess of
Victory” (474).
3) (CM1) These words suggest autonomy because . . .
4) (CM2) This implication is important because. . .
Language Paragraph con’t.
5) (CD2) However,
6) (CM1) These words suggest subjugation because. . .
7) (CM2) This implication is important because. . .
8) (CS) As a result,
3RD BODY PARAGRAPH—SYMBOLISM
1)
(TS) The contrary ideas of free will and confinement are
evident through the juxtaposition of Chopin’s symbols.
2) (CD1) For instance, Louise sits in her room for a time
“facing the open window” looking out into “the open
square” and drinking in life “through that open window”
(474-76).
3) (CM1) This symbol of the open window represents free
will because. . .
4) (CM2) This representation is important because. . .
Symbolism Paragraph con’t.
5) (CD2) In contrast,
6) (CM1) This symbol of the closed door represents
confinement because. . .
7) (CM2) This representation is important because. . .
8) (CS) As a result,
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPHS
SENTENCE #
AND WHAT IT DOES
1
In this story, the author
wants the reader to realize
that. . .
2
She wants the reader to
understand this because. . .
3
In the final analysis. . .
SENTENCE