3.2.7 : Diction of Poetry
3.0 Objectives
3.1. Introduction
3.1.1. The Romantic Revival
3.1.2. Impact of French Revolution
Self Check Questions for 3.1.1. and 3.1.2.
3.2.1 The Genesis of Preface
3.2.2 Aims of the Preface
3.2.3 Definition of Poetry
Self Check Questions for 3.2.1., 3.2.2., 3.2.3.
3.2.4 Concept of Imagination
3.2.5 Themes and Subject Matter of Poetry
3.2.6 Function of Poetry
3.2.7 Diction of Poetry
Self Check Questions for 3.2.4., 3.2.5., 3.2.6., 3.2.7.
3.3 Summing up
3.4 Reading List
The term diction refers to the kinds of words, phrases and sentence structures, and sometimes figurative language that constitute any work of literature. In the theory of poetry, the issue of diction tends to become primary because the feelings of the poet are most readily conceived to overflow into words, unlike into plot or characters. The poets in all ages have used a distinctive language, a “poetic diction” which is not correct in ordinary discourse.
The neo-classical poetic diction was mainly derived from the classical poets such as Virgil, Spenser, Milton and was based on the principal of decorum. Moreover, prominent features of the eighteenth century poetic diction where archaism, preference for resounding words derived from Latin, a personification of inanimate objects and to avoid what were regarded as low, technical or common place terms by means of substitute phrase that was dignity and decorum.
In William Wordsworth’s famed attack on the neo-classical doctrine of a special language for poetry,in his preface to 1800 Lyrical Ballads, he claimed: “There is no difference between language of poetry and language of prose.” He states that the poetic diction of eighteenth century writers as artificial and unnatural.
Wordsworth’s prime concern is not only with the single word or the grammatical order of discourse, but with figurative departures from literary discourse. Wordsworth’s chief aim is to show that such deviations are reasonable in poetry only when they match with the imagery and idea which the poet wishes to universalize and that they have in the speech of everyday life. It is obvious that Wordsworth is contradicting Pope’s theory, who claims, “True wit is nature to advantage dressed and true expression consists in giving thoughts their just and appropriate ‘dress’ and ornament. To Wordsworth all such wit is fake, forced adjustment of words and phrase and rhetorical ornament to them stop ‘genuine’ poetry.
Wordsworth rejects the idea of language as artificial and metres and figures of speech as embellishments of the language. He justifies its use only when they are naturally suggested by passion unlike ‘supposed ornaments.’In a nutshell, so the natural expression of feeling can not be communicated with the help of a version of the upper class speech, but with the actual speech of “humble and rustic life.”