Essay About Use Language And Insightful Close Examination Of Passage

Guide to Ib English Essays
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Objective of commentary: – Coherent, engaged, insightful close examination of passage/poem – Make salient comments on the deliberate craftsmanship of the writer – Discuss the literary effects achieved (what is used) – Explain how such effects are accomplished and how they contribute to the passage as a whole (how/ why it’s used) – Use language and writing style appropriate to essay – Appreciate the way in which language/structure/techniques/style/musicality (these are the stylistic/literary techniques = Body Paragraphs) shape the meaning/tone/themes/atmosphere (are often times interchangeable/intrinsically tied) of the passage General Questions/Areas to Answer/Explore:                 −  How does diction influence tone/atmosphere?                  −  How does the voice change the direction/feel of the passage?                  −  How is tone developed/established?                  −  How is atmosphere set/created/amplified?                  −  What are the key themes?                  −  How does author/poet develop the work/plot/theme/atmosphere/character by using a particular literary device?                  −  How do the literary devices help draw the piece together as a whole?                  −  WHY?  Introduction: – What is this about? – Immediate impressions + reference to progression of the text – What does the overall passage allude to? Cite the effective stylistic techniques employed and suggest what the author/poet’s intentions are  Body Paragraphs: Language/Sounds how do these affect tone/atmosphere/setting?                  −  Connotations? Denotations?                  −  Overall style – Simple? Decorated? Sarcastic? Formal?                  −  Deliberate uses of:   Irony/Contrast(Situational?Self-revealing?)AlliterationRepetitionMetaphors– similes, personification–though perhaps better to talk about in imagery paragraph)UnderstatementEuphemismPersonificationIambic PentameterHyperboleRhythmOxymoronAllusionAssonanceAllegory StressesRhymeCacophony/EuphonyOnomatopoeia                 −  How do they enhance rhythm/musicality?                  −  Are the sounds created harsh? Mellifluous? Guttural? How does that contribute  to the tone/atmosphere/setting?              -Voice/Chronology how is this established through diction?                  −  Internal/External conflict? Tension?                  −  Perspective – 1st/3rd? Limited? Omniscient?                  −  Role of the narrator – significance?                  −  How is tone developed?                  −  How does diction influence tone?                  −  Significance of deliberate voice/chronology?  Imagery what is its impact on themes/tone/atmosphere/setting?                  −  How are they created? For what purpose?                  −  Do they allude to anything else? Are they an allegory for something else?                  −  How do they contribute to the tone/themes?  Key words to describe imagery:                  −  What types of imagery? Visual? Auditory? Olfactory? Gustatory? Tactile?                  −  Are the images figurative? Abstract? Concrete? Repeated? Literal? Vivid?  Metaphorical? Subtle? Symbolic? Motifs?                  −  How is the characterization done? Are characters dynamic? Static? Round? Flat?  Manipulative? Sinister? Cynical? Conscientious? Direct/Indirect?                  −  What’s the impact of it? Aesthetic/Emotional/Sensual?  Structure/Syntax how does the author/poet use these tools to emphasize the progression of the passage? (poems more often than prose)                  −  Why is it structured in a particular way? Impact on pace? Why?                  −  Does this add to the flow?                  −  Does it emphasis a climax/change?                  −  Does it contribute to suspense? Create foreshadowing? Deja-vu?                  −  Completion/Incompletion of ideas – why?                  −  Is duality in meaning created?                  −  E.g. use of fragments/punctuation/enjambment/caesura/run-on  sentences/tempo                  −  How does this connect to the tone/atmosphere/themes?  Conclusion:                  −  Reiterate first impressions and how that relates/contrasts with the overall  passage’s themes/tone/atmosphere                  −  Emphasis on how author/poet uses stylistic techniques to encapsulate ___ using                  −  Piece is an artistic expression (in what way) that appeals to (certain) feelings  (etc.) that allows audience to ultimately (something)                  −  So what? (Persuasive element of the final intention/significance of the  achievement of this intention)  [pic 1] Useful verbs/adjectives/phrases:                 −  Appears to reflect                  −  Expresses                  −  Reiterates                  −  Begs emotions of ___                  −  Appeals to                  −  Lack of ___ sentiment creates                  −  Elegiac tone compounds a sense of ___ (melancholy?)                  −  Mood of ___                  −  Imprints                  −  Provides a profound expression                  −  (Emotion) transcends                  −  Indulges in deliberate ___                  −  Transmits thoughts of ___                  −  Slow, robotic                  −  Stark, forthright                  −  Supports                  −  Ambivalence, suspension                  −  Softer, euphemistic                  −  Refers to                  −  Reinforces an image of                  −  Illustrates                  −  Draws                  −  Develops                  −  Employs sounds                  −  Fricative sounds                  −  Harder, plosive sounds                  −  Feelings that the poem/poet culminates                  −  Powerfully captured                  −  Progressive structure                  −  Staccato agitation                  −  Exploitation of hard, alliterative sounds                  −  Aspires, moves [the reader], attempts                  −  Dominates                  −  Coincides                  −  Expands                  −  Shapes                  −  Envelops                  −  Insinuates                  −  Convey                  −  Impart                  −  Confident/hubristic quality                  −  Alludes                  −  Criticizes                  −  Alienates                  −  Evoke                  −  Allowing ___ to confront                  −  Artistic expression                  −  Encapsulates  [pic 2]                 −  Inflated concept                  −  Intensifies                  −  Symbolizes                  −  Conveys                  −  Dehumanizes/ personifies by/in order to                  −  Animate/Inanimate qualities                  −  Imposes                  −  Posits                  −  Subtly hints that                  −  Insightfully depicts                  −  Undermined a sense of                  −  Questioning                  −  Implying                  −  ___is striking in its simplicity                  −  Reminisces                  −  Drags us back from illusion/into reality                  −  Parallels                  −  Represents                  −  Suggests                  −  Draws attention to                  −  Ingrained                  −  Effectiveness in maintaining a ___mood                  −  Utterance                  −  Myriad of feelings