Poetry Group

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ebi
ebi
Student
College - Sophomore

How does level of diction characterize the speaker in a poem?

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Posted by ebi on Saturday November 7, 2009 at 9:16 PM and tagged with characterize, level of diction, poetry, speaker.

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  1. kc4u Teacher
    College - Senior

    eNotes Editor

    Socio-linguistics is a developing field today. From the diction of a character, it is not very difficult to understand his class-identity. Remember G.B.Shaw's play Pygmalion? Add to it the pronunciation and tonality of speech and the process becomes simpler. Language is something that we learn through our social (micro or macro) experience and it is the social atmosphere in which a particular person is brought up that determines his diction. This is often called 'Register' in linguistic terms.

    An uneducated man, a professor, a marketting executive, a poet and a pimp for example, would all have different kinds of diction and from the diction, we can guess his/her social standing.

    Diction of a character in a poem may also give us psychological insights into his mind's workings. One must understand that diction does reflect in a way his language of psyche. The 'Freudian slip' is a great example here. One may also get a feeling about the essential features of a man from his diction and speaking style.

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    Posted by kc4u on Sunday November 8, 2009 at 2:58 AM