Beginning with the end in mind...
DICTION ESSAY EXAMPLE:
Diction in "Mother to Son
In "Mother to Son,” Langston Hughes reveals through his
diction how progressing through life can be compared to a simple task like
climbing an ordinary staircase. Hughes gives a clear account of how a mother
encourages her son to not give up on striving for success in life simply
because things are not always easy.
In his choice of words, Hughes describes a conversation in
which a mother explains to her son that even though life can be unpleasant at
times, a person should not give up on his dreams. Langston Hughes uses images
of "stairs to symbolize different stages of
human growth. While reading this poem, one can see the mother's attempts to
explain life by vividly describing each stage or "stair “of life as it
really is, rather than how it may appear to her son.
In the line, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair,”
The mother is simply telling her son that she has not enjoyed an easy, carefree
existence. In other words, life was not always pretty for her. When one thinks
of "crystal, they can imagine clear glass; meticulously sculptured
(sometimes resembling a fine diamond), of superior quality, smooth to the touch
and pleasing to the eye. It is clear to that the mother is saying that life for
her has been quite the opposite. She tells her son that instead of being smooth
and attractive like "crystal”, and that most of the stairs in her life
presented challenges. Some stairs had tacks and splinters in them; some with
boards torn up; some even had places where carpet was missing. In spite of
these obstacles she continued to climb, she refused to give up.
We are studying the perspectives of various minority groups
in America through poetry and Spoken Word. Today our focus will be on analyzing
the diction or word choice used in each poem. It is important that we
understand that authors always choose their words carefully and have a purpose
behind everything they say. Follow the steps below to help you with your
analysis.
STEP 1
Answer the following:
a.
What is connotation?
b.
What is denotation?
c.
Copy the triangle.
d.
What is the difference between fame and
publicity?
e.
Why “noise” in the poem?
f.
Copy the thesis!!!!
g.
What’s the meaning or theme?
2. STEP 2
Define poetry and spoken word, and then discuss
the difference. Which is most appealing to youth and why?
STEP 3
3.
As a group, read the poem! After every few lines
compose a sentence summarizing the part that you just read.
STEP 4
4.
Determine the THEME and jot it down! Then find
three pieces of evidence from your text to support your theme. Write those
down.
STEP 5
5.
Determine the TONE (research tone words) and jot
it down. In your own words, write down why you decided upon this tone.
STEP 6
6.
Now go through the poem and pick out all of the
words that stand out, create a pattern (have similar meaning, or are repeated. How would the poem be different if other words were used? How do the words used by the poet help you better understand what he/she is saying? How? Why?
STEP 7
7.
Now categorize those words. If they have similar
meaning put them together. If they make a pattern of some sort (repetition of
initial consonant sounds=alliteration) jot that down. If they show progression,
note that.
STEP 8
Compose one sentence that talks about the type
of diction within your poem. (Look up diction descriptive words)
STEP 9
9.
Finally, looking at your words, determine how
they impact the tone and theme. As a
group, you will compose a paragraph discussing what you found.
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