Using DIDLS to Analyze Tone in
Fiction
Diction
Imagery
Details
Language
Syntax
Created by Spokane School District
Modifications Mrs. Hall
DIDLS
• Diction – word choice
• Images— vivid appeals to
understanding through the senses
• Details— facts that are included
or those omitted
• Language— the overall
characteristics of the body of
words used
• Syntax – sentence structure
Diction/Language
Levels of Diction [Language]
Diction=word choice
Language=entire body of words used in a text
Words can be monosyllabic (one syllable in length) or polysyllabic (more
than one syllable in length). The higher the ratio of polysyllabic words,
the more difficult the content.
•
•
•
High, Formal
Polysyllabic and elegant word choice
– "In the latter part of the last century there lived a man of science,
an eminent proficient in every branch of natural philosophy, who
not long before our story opens had made experience of a spiritual
affinity more attractive than any chemical one." Hawthorne "The
Birthmark"
Neutral: No elaborate words.
– "In the fall the war was always there, but we did not go to it
anymore. It was cold in the fall in Milan and the dark came very
early." Hemingway "In Another Country"
Informal, Low: Everyday language, common, simple
– "I know about Masenier because I was there. I seen him die. We
didn’t tell anybody the truth because it seemed so shameful, the
way he died. It was too awful to describe to other people. But I
was there, even though I didn’t want to be, and I seen it all." Gap
Creek, Morgan
Types of Diction
•
• Slang:
informal,
recently coined
words
"Block was firing
a greasegun from
the upper floor of
a building
designed by
Emery Roth &
Sons." "The Indian
Uprising" Barthelme
• A "greasegun" is
slang for a rapidfiring automatic
pistol.
Colloquial
Expressions:
Non-standard,
regional
"When getting my
nose in a book
Cured most things
short of school,
It was worth
ruining my eyes
To know I could
still keep cool,
And deal out the old
right hook
To dirty dogs twice
my size."
Larkin, "A Study of Reading
Habits"
Types of Diction
Jargon: characteristic of a trade,
profession or pursuit
E. E. Cummings uses automobile jargon in
his poem:
she being brand
-new;and you
know consequently a
little stiff i was
careful of her and(having
thoroughly oiled the universal
joint tested my gas felt of
her radiator made sure her springs
were O.
K.)i went to it flooded-thecarburetor cranked her
up,slipped the
clutch…."
Dialect: non-standard
subgroup with its own
vocabulary and
grammatical features
We Real Cool
We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon.
Gwendolyn Brooks
Types of Diction
• Words can be concrete (specific) or
abstract (general or conceptual).
• Words can be mainly denotative
(containing an exact meaning, e.g.,
dress) or connotative (containing a
suggested meaning, e.g., gown)
• Words can be euphonious
(pleasant sounding, e.g., languid,
murmur) or cacophonous (harsh
sounding, e.g., raucous, croak).
Tone – The speaker’s attitude toward the
subject, toward himself/herself, or toward the
audience.
admiring
curious
playful
affectionate
doubtful
praising
amused
encouraging respectful
angry
excited
self-pitying
ashamed
forgiving
serious
calming
frightened sorrowful
caring
grateful
sympathetic
cheerful
humorous threatening
conceited
insulting
tragic
Critical
joyous
warm
cruel
loving
worried
Mood
Mood is the general atmosphere created
by the author’s words. The overall feeling
of the work.
Writers use many devices to
create mood, including
images, dialogue, setting, and
plot. Often a writer creates a
mood at the beginning of the
story and continues it to the
end. However, sometimes the
mood changes because of the
plot or changes in characters.
Imagery
Writers use language to create sensory
impressions and to evoke specific
responses to characters, objects, events,
or situations in their works. The writer
"shows" rather than "tells," thus allowing
the reader to participate in the experience
more fully. Therefore, imagery helps to
produce mood and tone.
When reading a piece containing imagery,
you need to ask yourself two questions
What do I hear, taste, smell, or feel?
What effect is the author trying to convey
with these messages?
Figurative Language
• Simile a direct comparison of unlike things using like
or as. Her hair is like a rat’s nest.
• Metaphor a direct comparison of unlike things
without using the word like or as. The man’s suit is a
rainbow.
• Personification attributing human qualities to
inhuman objects. The teapot cried for water.
• Symbol Representation of something complex or
abstract. American Flag
• Metonymy is a type of metaphor in which something
closely associated with a subject is substituted for it.
In this way, we speak of the "silver screen" to mean
motion pictures, "the crown" to stand for the king, "the
White House" to stand for the activities of the
president.
• Synecdoche is a kind of metaphor in which a part of
something is used to signify the whole, as when a
gossip is called a "wagging tongue," or when ten
ships are called "ten sails.“
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_l.htm
Figurative Language
• Alliteration repetition of consonant sounds at
the start of a word. The giggling girl gave
gum.
• Hyperbole a deliberate exaggeration for
effect. I’d die for a piece of candy.
• Oxymoron Use or words seemingly in
contradiction to each other. jumbo shrimp
• Onomatopoeia use of a word that resembles
the sound it denotes. The clock went tick
tock.
• Pun play on words – Uses words with multiple
meanings. “Ask for me tomorrow and you will
find me a grave man”(Shakespeare III.1.101).
• Assonance repetition of vowel sounds in the
middle of a word. Moths cough and drop
wings.
• Consonance repetition of consonant sounds
in the middle of a word. The man has kin in
Spain.
Take a look at the
opening of the
novel Pearl.
Examine the
excerpt for
examples of
imagery and
think about how
these images and
sensory details
contribute to
meaning and
effect. Why do
you think
Steinbeck chose
to open his novel
with these
images and
details? What
kind of
information do
the images and
details provide to
the reader about
the characters
and the society?
Kino awakened in the near dark. The stars
still shone and the day had drawn only a
pale wash of light in the lower sky to the
east. The roosters had been crowing for
some time, and the early pigs were already
beginning their ceaseless turning of twigs
and bits of wood to see whether anything
to eat had been overlooked. Outside the
brush house in the tuna clump, a covey of
little birds chattered and flurried with
their wings.
Kino's eyes opened, and he looked first at
the lightening square which was the door
and then he looked at the hanging box
where Coyotito slept. And last he turned
his head to Juana, his wife, who lay beside
him on the mat, her blue shawl over her
nose and over her breasts and around the
small of her back. Juana's eyes were open
too. Kino could never remember seeing
them closed when he awakened. Her dark
eyes made little reflected stars. She was
looking at him as she was always looking
at him when he awakened.
Kino heard the little splash of morning
waves on the beach. It was very good-Kino closed his eyes again to listen to the
music.
Imagery
Details
• What details has the author
specifically included?
• What details has the author
apparently left out? (NOTE: This
is only for analysis. Do not write
about these omitted details in an
essay unless it is determined as
part of the author’s purpose.)
• What effect do these included and
excluded details have on your
mood as a reader?
• What do these included and
excluded details seem to indicate
about the author’s tone?
Details: The
speaker's
perspective
shapes what
details are
given. Look at
the following
passage from
Tolkien's The
Hobbit. Notice
that the
speaker's
attitude toward
the hobbits is
revealed in
whimsical and
complimentary
details.
"I suppose hobbits need some
description nowadays, since they have
become rare and shy of the Big People,
as they call us. They are (or were) a
little people, about half our height, and
smaller than the bearded Dwarves.
Hobbits have no beards. There is little
or no magic about them, except the
ordinary everyday sort which allows
them to disappear quietly and quickly
when large stupid folk like you and me
come blundering along, making a noise
like elephants which they can hear a
mile off. They are inclined to be fat in
the stomach; they dress in bright
colours (chiefly green and yellow); wear
no shoes, because their feet grow
naturally leathery soles and thick warm
brown hair like the stuff on their heads
(which is curly); have long clever brown
fingers, good-natured faces, and laugh
deep fruity laughs (especially after
dinner, which they have twice a day
when they can get it). Now you know
enough to go on with."
J.R.R. Tolkein. The Hobbit. Ballantine Books, New York. Copyright
1937, 1938, 1966, p. 16.
Details
Language - Words that describe the entire
body of words in a text – not isolated bits of
diction
• How could the language
be described?
• How does the language
affect your mood as a
reader?
• What does the language
seem to indicate about
the author’s tone?
Rhetorical Devices - The use of
language that creates a literary effect
• A rhetorical question is a question that
expects no answer. It is used to draw
attention to a point and is generally
stronger than a direct statement: e.g., If
Mr. Farchaff is always fair, as you have
said, why did he refuse to listen to Mrs.
Baldwin’s arguments?
• Repetition is a device in which words,
sound and ideas are used more than once
to enhance rhythm and create emphasis:
e.g., …….government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish
from the earth.
• Irony is literary device that uses contradictory
statements or situations to reveal a reality different
from what appears to be true. It is ironic for a
firehouse to burn down, or for a police station to be
burglarized.
• Paradox A is a statement that initially appears to
be contradictory but then, on closer inspection,
turns out to make sense. For example, John Donne
ends his sonnet "Death, Be Not Proud" with the
paradoxical statement "Death, thou shalt die." To
solve the paradox, it is necessary to discover the
sense that underlies the statement. Paradox is
useful in poetry because it arrests a reader’s
attention by its seemingly stubborn refusal to make
sense.
• Satire is the literary art of ridiculing a folly or vice
in order to expose or correct it. The object of satire
is usually some human frailty; people, institutions,
ideas, and things are all fair game for satirists.
Satire evokes attitudes of amusement, contempt,
scorn, or indignation toward its faulty subject in the
hope of somehow improving it.
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_p.htm
Syntax -- Sentence Structure
To Analyze and Describe the sentence structure
consider the following:
1.
Examine the sentence length. Are the sentences
telegraphic (shorter than 5 words in length),
medium (approximately 18 words in length), or
long and involved (30 words or more in length)?
Does the sentence length fit the subject matter?
What variety of lengths is present? Why is the
sentence length effective?
2.
Examine sentence beginnings. Is there a good
variety or does a pattern emerge?
3.
Examine the arrangement of ideas in a sentence.
Are they set out in a special way for a purpose?
4.
Examine the arrangement of ideas in a
paragraph. Is there evidence of any pattern or
structure?
Examine Sentence Patterns.
• A declarative (assertive) sentence
makes a statement: e.g., The king
is sick.
• An imperative sentence gives a
command: e.g., Stand up.
• An interrogative sentence asks a
question: e.g., Is the king sick?
• An exclamatory sentence makes an
exclamation: e.g., The king is
dead!
Examine Sentence Patterns.
• A simple sentence contains one subject
and one verb: e.g., The singer bowed to
her adoring audience.
• A compound sentence contains two
independent clauses joined by a
coordinate conjunction (and, but, or) or
by a semicolon: e.g., The singer bowed to
the audience, but she sang no encores.
• A complex sentence contains an
independent clause and one or more
subordinate clauses: e.g., You said that
you would tell the truth.
• A compound-complex sentence contains
two or more principal clauses and one or
more subordinate clauses: e.g., The singer
bowed while the audience applauded, but
she sang no encores.
Examine Sentence Patterns.
•
Juxtaposition is a poetic and rhetorical device in which naturally
unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to each
other, creating an effect of surprise and wit: e.g., “The apparition
of these faces in the crowd/Petals on the wet, black bough”
(Pound).
•
Parallel structure (parallelism refers to a grammatical or
structural similarity between sentences or parts of a sentence. It
involves an arrangement of words, phrases, sentences and
paragraphs so that elements of equal importance are equally
developed and similarly phrased: e.g., He was walking, running
and jumping for joy.
•
Repetition is a device in which words, sound and ideas are used
more than once to enhance rhythm and create emphasis: e.g.,
…….government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall
not perish from the earth.
•
A rhetorical question is a question that expects no answer. It is
used to draw attention to a point and is generally stronger than a
direct statement: e.g., If Mr. Farchaff is always fair, as you have
said, why did he refuse to listen to Mrs. Baldwin’s arguments?