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What is Diction?

Diction refers to the speaking or writing style or the choice of words that a speaker or writer
uses. The choice of words has a significant effect on the quality of a speech or writing. Well-
chosen words help a writer or a speaker to pass a message clearly and easily. On the other hand,
poor word choice can cause message misinterpretation by the readers or listeners.
All forms of communication, whether written or oral, are made up of words. They are
considered the basic kernel of transmitting ideas and information. Knowing how to properly use
the right words in any form of creative writing is an advantage. The words you employ in your
writing ultimately reveal your tone and attitude in your work.

Qualities of Good Diction

The words a writer or speaker chooses must be accurate and right. This is vital since it
helps to prevent message misinterpretation. Secondly, the words must go in line with the context
within which the writer or speaker uses them. Thirdly, the words should be easy to understand in
order to help the reader/listener understand the message being conveyed clearly. Using complex
words might put off your listeners and readers.

Types of Diction
A. Formal diction
This diction entails the use of formal language which is used to address formal
situations. In this type of diction, sophisticated language is used and it also
follows grammatical rules. People use this diction to write articles, address audiences, make
formal presentations, or even address a press conference. Additionally, you can also find
formal diction in legal papers, business documents, and professional texts. Generally,
formal diction is typically used in formal settings.
Other characteristics of formal diction are:
 It involves choosing words that are polite and proper.
 Often filled with descriptive words that are quite precise and sentences may be
longer.

Example:
Formal: The man spoke to his father in a low voice so others could not hear.
Informal: That guy told his dad secrets in a low voice.

Going to the extremes of formal diction, jargon is a highly technical language or specialized
terms that only people in a certain group understands.

Example: The candidate must be adept at both the latest communications technology and
heritage voice systems to keep all stakeholders informed of developing trends in the
workplace.
B. Informal diction
Informal diction refers to the use of informal, casual, and conversational words while
speaking or writing. Unlike formal diction, it is more relaxed, and it is what people use in
real life to interact with their colleagues and friends. In writing, you can use informal diction
to write personal letters and emails to friends and relatives. Some writers also use informal
diction when writing poems, short stories, and novels.
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In addition, informal diction uses shorter words and sentences may be shorter.

Going to the extremes of informal diction, colloquialism is a language which is

highly informal and may include regional expressions and spelling that reflect dialect and
non-standard pronunciation.
Example: I am gonna become the best player in the world. (‘gonna’ is a colloquial word that
means I am going to)

What are Figures of Speech?

It is a word or phrase that has a different meaning other than its literal meaning.
The most commonly used figures of speech in creative writing are the following:
1. Simile – a comparison between two objects using the words “like”, “as”
Example: a. She was as brave as a lion.
b. His voice was like music to her ears.
2. Metaphor – a comparison between two unlike things or ideas, but without using “like” or
“as”
Example; a. Her laughter was a melody that filled the room.
The world is a stage, and we are all actors playing our parts.
3. Personification – giving human qualities to non-living things
Example: a. The stars danced in the sky on a clear night.
b. The flowers whispered secrets to each other in the breeze.
4. Hyperbole – the use of exaggeration to express strong emotion or create a comical effect
Example: a. I've told you a million times not to do that!
b. He's so hungry, he could eat a horse.
5. Assonance – the repetition of vowel sounds in a series of words, phrases and/or
syllables
Example: a. The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.
b. The cat sat on the mat, feeling sad.
6. Consonance – the repetition of consonant sounds that can be anywhere in the phrase or
sentence
Example: a. Mike likes his bike.
b. The wind whipped wildly around the house.
7. Onomatopoeia – naming a thing or an action by imitating the sound associated with it
Example: a. The clock went tick-tock, tick-tock all night.
b. The bees buzzed as they flew from flower to flower.
8. Irony - is when there is a contrast between what is said and what is meant
Example: a. The fire station burned down.
b. The doctor got sick from eating too much candy.
9. Alliteration – repetition of consonant sounds occurring at the beginning of wordsp
Example: a. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
b. Sally sells seashells by the seashore.
10. Anaphora – repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic
effect
Example: a. I came, I saw, I conquered.
b. Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, love does not boast.
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What is Poetry?
Poetry is a type of literature wherein words are placed together to form sounds and images
and follows strictly the rules of meter and rhyme. Poetry is believed as the oldest form of literature.
The oldest written manuscripts we have are poems, mostly epic poems telling the stories of
ancient mythology such as the sacred texts of Hinduism - Epic of Gilgamesh and the Vedas.
Poems convey thoughts and tell stories in a lyrical arrangement of words. These are
indulged with lots of imagery and metaphors that are made up of fragments rather than
grammatically correct sentences.
Six Most Important Elements of Poetry
1. Form – the way a poem looks, its physical structure or its arrangement on the page.
A poem may have any number of lines or verse, rhyme scheme, stanza (lines that are
grouped together), and/or metrical pattern (which imposes specific length and emphasis
on a given line of poetry), but it can still be classified according to its form or style. A poem
may be free verse (lacks a consistent rhyme scheme, metrical pattern, or musical form),
blank verse (written with a precise meter—almost always iambic pentameter—that does
not rhyme), and rhymed poetry (rhymes by definition but the scheme varies)

Here are the three most common types of poems according to form:
o Lyric Poetry: This is the usual type of the modern poems. It is any poem with a
speaker who expresses strong thoughts and feelings.

Examples:
 Ode - is a tribute to its subject, although the subject need not be dead, and
has elaborated stanza pattern
 Elegy - has no set metric pattern and is written to mourn and reminisce the
dead
 Sonnet - is a 14-line poem which focuses on the topic of love. Its two types
are the Italian or Petrarchan which consists of an octave (eight lines) and a
sestet (six lines) and Shakespearean/ Elizabethan which consists of three
quatrains (four lines each) and a concluding couplet (two lines).

o Narrative Poem: It is a poem that tells or narrates a story; its structure resembles
the plot line of a story [i.e. the introduction of conflict and characters, rising action,
climax and the denouement].
Examples:
 Ballad - is a poem that is either poetic or musical which tells the tales of
ordinary people. It usually follows a rhymed quatrains or cinquains.
 Epic - is lengthy and deals with the founding of a nation or any heroic themes
by a certain figure or character from a distant past.

o Descriptive Poem: It is a poem that describes the world that surrounds the
speaker which uses elaborate imagery and adjectives and more personal and
introspective than the lyric poetry.
Example:
 Pastoral Poetry – concerns the relationship between human and the natural
world.
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2. Imagery – is believed to be the only thing that will make your poetry powerful and enticing.
These are mental pictures the poet creates through language.

3. Rhyme – is the repetition of similar sounds; the most common kind of rhyme is the end
rhyme which occurs at the end of two or more lines.

Example:
The mountain is high
But you can’t take me higher.
The leaves are dry
And your hands are colder.

The rhyme scheme of the poem is abab.

4. Sound – reinforces the meaning of the poem and the rhythm goes along with it.
o Two Sound Patterns
 Euphony - words are chosen for their soft consonant sounds and melodious
quality (L, O, S, SH, M, N, Y, W, U, PH, A)

She loves swimming and snorkeling.

 Cacophony - words are chosen for their hard sounds and general
obnoxiousness (K, J, T, Q, V, C, X, G, Z, CH)

The King and Queen are chill.

Common types of sound play emphasize individual sounds between and within
words:

Alliteration: the repetition of initial sounds on the same line or stanza

Example: Catherine’s cute colorful collar
Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds (anywhere in the middle or end of a line
or stanza)
Example: Chilling while having chitchats
Consonance: the repetition of consonant sounds (anywhere in the middle or end of
a line or stanza)
Example: She is prettier and better with Peter
Onomatopoeia: words that sound like that which they describe
Example: Boom! Clap! Hiss! Roar!
Repetition: the repetition of entire lines or phrases to emphasize key thematic ideas
and feelings.
Parallel Structure: a form of repetition where the order of verbs and nouns is
repeated; it may involve exact words, but it more importantly repeats sentence
structure
Example: I can, I do, I will.

5. Line – is a very important part of a poetry for it is like one sentence. It is not necessary to
put a period at the end of each line since poetry does not conform to grammar rules.
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Examples of poems classified in the number of lines:

1. Sonnet – 14 lines
2. Haiku – 3 line
3. Limerick – 5 lines

 Verse - A name for a line of poetry written in meter. Named according to the
number of “Feet” per line.
Example:
Monometer – one foot
Dimeter – two feet
Trimester – three feet
Tetrameter – four feet
Pentameter – five feet
Hexameter – six feet
Heptameter – seven meter
Octometer – eight meter

6. Stanzas – are a series of lines grouped together and separated by an empty line from other
stanzas. It is a division in a poem named for the number of lines it contains and are the
equivalent of a paragraph in an essay.
Examples:
Couplet – two - line stanza
Triplet – three - line stanza
Quatrain – four - line stanza
Sestet – six - line stanza
Septet – seven - line stanza
Octave – eight - line stanza

Literary Devices Used in Poetry

 Simile. Comparison of two things using the words “like” or “as.”

Example:
Friends are like sunflowers in the garden.

 Anaphora: The repeated use of word at the start of two or more consecutive lines.
Example:
Class 10 poem- The Frog and the nightingale

Said the frog: I tried to teach her, But she was a stupid creature
Far too nervous, far too tense.
Far too prone to influence.

 Antithesis: Use of opposite words in close placement

Example:
Class 10 poem- The Frog and the nightingale

“Every night from dusk to dawn”

 Hyperbole: It is a Greek word meaning “overcasting”. The use of exaggeration to lay
emphasis.
Example:
Class 10 poem- Ozymandias
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“My name is Ozymandias, King of kings”

 Metaphor: It is indirect comparison by highlighting a particular quality of two things.
Example:

Poem- The Frog and the nightingale

“You are Mozart in disguise”

Here the nightingale compares frog’s singing ability with that of great musician
Mozart
 Onomatopoeia: It is the usage of sound words to create a dramatic effect.
Example:

Poem- The frog and the nightingale

“Once upon a time a frog

Croaked away in Bingle bog”
So, here the poet used the word ‘croaked’ which is a sound made by the frog

 Personification: It means to give human quality to an object or a non-living thing.

Example:

Poem- Mirror

“I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.

Whatever I see I swallow immediately”
Here the poet has personified a mirror because the mirror is describing itself.
 Synecdoche: It is a word or phrase in which a part of something is used to refer to the
whole of it.
Example:
Poem- Ozymandias
“The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed”
Here the word hand is used to refer to the sculptor who made the statue of
Ozymandias and heart is used to refer to King Ozymandias who gave the
right expression for the statue.
 Transferred epithet: It is an adjective used with a noun refers to another noun.
Example:
Poem- The snake trying
“Pursuing stick”
Here it is not the stick that pursues, rather the person who carries it is
pursuing

 Oxymoron: Two words together that are opposites but together mean something.

Examples:
 Mud bath
 Awfully pretty
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 Cold sweat