diction

It is helpful, for the purposes of understanding modern poetry, to think of diction as the attitude of the poet or speaker toward the subject matter conveyed through word choice and tone.

dic.tion \'dik-sh*n\ n [L diction-, dictio speaking, style, fr. dictus, pp. of di]cere to say; akin to OE te-on to accuse, L dicare to proclaim, dedicate, Gk deiknynai to show, dike- judgment, right obs 1: verbal description 2: choice of words esp. with regard to correctness, clearness, or effective ness 3a: vocal expression : ENUNCIATION 3b: pronunciation and enunciation of words in singing.

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Last modified: Wednesday, 18-Jul-2007 16:25:37 EDT