G.1: Write the phrase you misused and the rule.

Do not write just “G” or “Glossary.”

(the) deeper meaning

When you write about literature, avoid phrases like “deeper meaning” and “hidden meaning.” They sound like boasting, and they give the false impression that writers set out to deceive readers. Be more objective. Sometimes people who write “deeper” or “hidden meaning” are really talking about the difference between figurative and literal meanings.

BOASTFUL: Although Frost’s poem seems on the surface to be about two roads, by digging to a deeper level we discover that it is really about choices in life.

OBJECTIVE: The two roads in Frost’s poem are symbols of choices that everyone faces.

descriptive words/phrases/language

Too vague to be of use in analyzing the style of a work of literature. Often people who write “descriptive words” mean “imagery” or “concrete diction.” They should describe the imagery or diction and its effect on the reader:

VAGUE: The poet uses many descriptive words to describe the scene.

BETTER: The poet uses images of ripening fruit to evoke the quality of autumn.

diction

In analysis of literature, “diction” means choice of words. The most common error is treating it as if it were a literary device like imagery or irony.

WRONG: The poet uses diction to describe the scene.

The sentence above is like saying “The painter uses paint” or “The musician uses notes.” If there is no diction, there is no poem, because there are no words. “Diction” is a useful term when you describe the effect of particular kinds of words:

CORRECT: With archaic diction like “perilous,” “casements” and “forlorn” Keats evokes the world of medieval romance.

CORRECT: Thomas Hardy’s uneducated characters speak in colloquial diction.

CORRECT: Using diction with religious connotations, Lysander says that the lovestruck Helena “Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry” (1.1.109) on Demetrius, as if he were a god.

Writing may vary according to the level of diction: formal or informal. Diction can be monosyllabic or polysyllabic, concrete or abstract, specific or general. Words that derive from Anglo-Saxon (Old English) tend to be monosyllabic, simple, and familiar; words of Latin origin are often polysyllabic, formal, general and abstract, and they produce a different effect.

Anglo-Saxon: Cats eat meat.

Latinate: Felines are carnivorous mammals.

Other terms for diction include ornate, elevated, learned, technical, simple, colloquial, regional and archaic. Jargon is a derogatory term for the needless use of technical terms.

“Diction” has another meaning. Actors, speech teachers and choral directors use it to mean “enunciation.” Speakers and singers with bad diction slur their words.

dictionary

Avoid quoting the dictionary, especially as a formula to open essays. It is overused, and it insults the intelligence of readers, who can look up words if they wish.

different from, than

“Different from” is correct usage, but it must be followed by a noun or pronoun phrase (“different from the last one”). Although purists object to “different than,” it is commonly used to introduce a clause (“different than it used to be”) and is simpler than saying “different from what it used to be.”

disinterested

“Disinterested” means “unbiased, impartial.” It is different from “uninterested” (meaning “bored”).

disrespect

A noun. Still considered informal in standard English when used as a verb.

WRONG: They disrespected him.

RIGHT: They treated him with disrespect.

distrust, mistrust

Both are used as nouns and verbs.

drama, dramatic

Do not misuse “dramatic.” As a literary term, it means “pertaining to the theater.” A dramatic poem is called “dramatic” because it is written in dialogue. Influenced by clichés like “drama queen,” people misuse “dramatic” to mean something like “unnecessarily emotional.” If a writer exaggerates emotion, the term “melodramatic” may be correct. Melodrama is a form of popular drama with stock characters and sensational plots. Melodramas were popular on the nineteenth-century stage and in early twentieth-century films, like the Perils of Pauline series, with cliffhangers and damsels in distress. Many soap operas are melodramatic.

dubious, doubtful

“Doubtful” is better to describe a person feeling doubt. Both words can describe things (interpretations, conclusions, outcomes), but “doubtful” often implies worthlessness (“My chances of qualifying for the Olympics are doubtful”) while “dubious” suggests “uncertain” and even “worthy of suspicion” (“persons of dubious reputation”).

Their dubious qualifications made me feel doubtful of their success.