Style & Tone in Literature

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STYLE Style refers to the writer’s choice of diction, sentence structure, literary techniques, and use of rhythm. For example, Hemingway wrote very short sentences and he used simple words. George Orwell, on the other hand, used long sentences, including periodic and cumulative sentence types, and more complex diction. Cormac McCarthy, in The Road, used many sentence fragments and everyday language. He also referred to the main characters as “the boy” and “the man”. They were never addressed by name. In fiction writing, the writer’s style is also created by the choice of literary devices that are used to create the story, such as imagery, symbolism, allegory, personification, and other figurative language. ALLITERATION What is it? Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound appears at the beginning of two or more words. Alliterative words are consecutive or close to each other in the text. Why is it important? Alliteration focuses readers' attention on a particular section of text. Alliterative sounds create rhythm and mood and can have particular connotations. For example, repetition of the "s" sound often suggests a snake-like quality, implying slyness and danger. How do I do it? Use repeated sounds at the beginning of words to focus attention or convey an idea or emotion. Example 1: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Note: The repeated "p" sound punctuates each word of this well-known tongue-twister. Example 2: "Heavenly Hillsboro, the buckle on the bible belt." —Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, Inherit the Wind Note: The authors repeat the "h" sound and then the "b" sound. Notice the soft, soothing effect of the "h" sounds and the sharp, percussive effect of the "b" sounds. ALLUSION What is it? Allusion is a literary device in which the writer or speaker refers either directly or indirectly to a person, event,

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