10 Honors - Writer's voice

pedestrian (in terms of writing)

dull, common-place

tragic hero

A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction.

voice

A voice in literature is the form or a format through which narrators tell their stories. It is prominent when a writer places himself / herself into words and provides a sense the character is real person conveying a specific message the writer intends to convey. In simple words, it is an author's individual writing style or point of view. When a writer engages personally with a topic, in fact, he imparts his personality to that piece of literature. This individual personality is different from other individual personalities, other writers put into their own works. Thus, voice is a unique personality of a literary work. Depending upon the type of work, authors may use a single voice, or multiple voices. A writer's unique use of language that allows a reader to perceive a human personality in his or her writing.

connotation

An idea or feeling that a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

tone

Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character

dead verbs

Dead verbs are the bane of English teachers. The typical list includes 23 verbs -- "is," "are," "was," "were," "am," "has," "have," "had," "be," "been," "look," "take," "took," "make," "run," "ran," "go," "went," "gone," "do," "did," "came," "come" -- and "ing" verbs. All add little to explain the action. Some teachers ban their use; others encourage students to rephrase sentences where possible. Many teachers hold mock funerals to remind students which verbs should be dead and buried.

diction (word choice)

Diction can be defined as style of speaking or writing determined by the choice of words by a speaker or a writer. 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. Secondly, words should be appropriate to the context in which they are used. Lastly, the choice of words should be such that the listener or readers understand easily. Besides, proper diction or proper choice of words is important to get the message across. On the contrary, the wrong choice of words can easily divert listeners or readers which results in misinterpretation of the message intended to be conveyed.

passive voice

One of the two "voices" of verbs (see also active voice). A verb is in the passive voice when the subject of the sentence is acted on by the verb. For example, in "The ball was thrown by the pitcher," the ball (the subject) receives the action of the verb, and was thrown is in the passive voice. The same sentence cast in the active voice would be, "The pitcher threw the ball." Note: It is usually preferable to use the active voice wherever possible, because it gives a sense of immediacy to the sentence.

active voice

One of the two "voices" of verbs (see also passive voice ). When the verb of a sentence is in the active voice, the subject is doing the acting, as in the sentence "Kevin hit the ball." Kevin (the subject of the sentence) acts in relation to the ball.

parallel structure

Parallel structure is a stylistic device, and a grammatical construction having two or more clauses, phrases or words, with similar grammatical form and length. It is similar to parallelism. In parallel structure, sentences have a series of phrases or clauses, which start and end in almost a similar fashion, by keeping the rhythm of the lines. These structures are repetitions that offer an enjoyable time for the readers to absorb and understand ideas, facts, and concepts.

style

The author's choices regarding language, sentence structure, voice, and tone in order to communicate with the reader.

Literary Present

The basic rule is: You should use the past tense when discussing historical events, while you should use the literary present when discussing fictional events. Literary works, paintings, films, and other artistic creations are assumed to exist in an eternal present. When you are writing about writers or artists as they express themselves in their work, stay in present tense. Here are some examples: Aeschylus' drama is concerned with what happens to Orestes after he has killed his mother. In Michelangelo's painting, Christ judges the world. Johnson's characters journey to Cairo. Plato argues without much conviction. Paul writes about the hardships he has endured. But when you are writing about a certain historical event (even the creation of a literary or artistic work), use the past tense. Some examples: Paul wrote in the first century. Picasso then produced a series of sculptures. Sometimes a sentence must employ both present and past tense. For example: The first part of the poem, which she completed in 1804, describes the effects of isolation from society. Examine your changes of tense very carefully, however, and see if there is a logical reason for them.

denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

tragic flaw

Tragic flaw is a literary device that can be defined as a trait in a character leading to his downfall and the character is often the hero of the literary piece. This trait could be the lack of self-knowledge, lack of judgment and often it is hubris (pride).

apathy

absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.

empathy

he ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

harmatia

is a personal error in a protagonist's personality that brings about his tragic downfall in a tragedy.

hubris

is extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character that ultimately brings about his downfall

syntax

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

catharsis

the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.