Syntax is perhaps the most difficult characteristic of a work to analyze, and thus it deserves its own blog post. Furthermore, many of the vocab words that we were given have to do with syntax (and comprised much of our final exam). Among the important points from several articles on syntax:
- · Short sentences convey action and ideas more forcefully than longer sentences.
- Present tense conveys action and ideas more forcefully than past tense.
- Verbs can be inactive (more calm) or active (intense).
· Important tenses:
o Imperative: Making a command
o Declarative: Forming a statement
o Interrogative: Asking a question
· The –ing form of a verbs (for any tense) contribute to a particularly active and forceful construction.
· The passive voice is used to obscure a subject or create an impersonal tone.
o Can also be used to emphasize the last element in a sentence (since readers naturally tend to focus on the close of a sentence)
· Asyndeton (lack of conjunctions) creates a casual, hurried, and sometimes poetic tone.
· When verbals (verbs functioning as other parts of speech) are used to open a sentence, the effect is suspenseful, because the reader is waiting to find out what is going on
o e.g. “It was probably because of the strength of his emotions that he missed the sound of the door closing behind him, because Harris was usually an observant man.”
· Elements of a sentence can be shifted out of their usual order to provide emphasis.
· Common Sentence Forms:
o Subject – Verb – Complement
o Subject – Verb – Object
This is a very thorough explanation of syntax, so much so that it could serve as a study guide. Personally i wouldn't have picked Syntax as one of only four summaries of all that we learned this year, but you make a convincing case for it. I feel you could have also mentioned Plain Style or incorporated some of the vocab words that we spent several weeks memorizing, as both would have fit in to the category of syntax well. Great job champ!
ReplyDeleteSyntax is, in my opinion, the most difficult literary technique in DIDLS to understand and use properly. The information is very clear and organized in a way that makes it very simple to study. I feel like it is not really one of the key parts of the class, since you already talked about syntax in your summery about DIDLS.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your peers, here--this is a great summary, but I would have rolled it into the DIDLS section. There's a lot of course to be covered, and only so many posts.
ReplyDelete