The format in which words and phrases are arranged to create sentences is called syntax. By rearranging just one word in the sentence, a varied syntax is formed. Each is grammatically correct and acceptable English language form. A writer will vary sentence syntax to make writing more interesting or to emphasize a particular point. The following examples have similar syntax but different diction. Each of these sentences has the same syntax. Each sentence follows the structure of subject-verb-adverb.
However, each sentence uses different diction word choice. Each of these sentences has the same diction. Each sentence uses the same four words. Let us consider the following examples of syntax:. Similarly, John Milton shifts words in his poems frequently. Let us analyze lines from his poem Lycidas :. Syntax affects the nature of a prose text as well. It enhances its meanings, and contributes toward its tone.
Quickness, decisiveness, and speed are added to a text by using short phrases , clauses , and sentences. Whereas, in a text where the subject matter is serious, requiring contemplation, long, convoluted sentences are used to slow down the pace of a prose text.
Does the main character use a lot of sentence fragments when they speak? Is their language stiff and formal? In line with sentence variety, consider again the inversion used by Shakespeare and Star Wars. It changed how we reacted to the line. These alterations can change how an audience reacts to the sentiments being shared.
Yoda turned a statement into a question, creating a more thought-provoking and memorable line. Make a Splash with Syntax. And there you have it. Literary giants like to play around with word order and sentence arrangement, or syntax, and so can you. Make a splash with syntax. The more excitement you add, the more you'll develop your author voice.
If you're looking to create thoughtful syntax in any of your creative writing, check out Get Creative: How to Write a Short Story. It'll help you pull everything together, from setting the scene, to developing memorable characters. Until then, happy writing! All rights reserved. Romeo and Juliet as syntax in literature examples. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for. The Princess Bride by William Goldman Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world, except for a nice MLT: mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville It is the easiest thing in the world for a man to look as if he had a great secret in him.
Animal Farm by George Orwell The pigs begin living in the farmhouse, and rumor has it that they even sleep in beds, a violation of one of the Seven Commandments. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Wouldn't it be fun if all the castles in the air which we make could come true and we could live in them? Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Is it really possible to tell someone else what one feels? Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare What light from yonder window breaks?
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain What's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and it ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same? Star Wars by George Lucas When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not, hmm? How to Use Syntax Sometimes, authors play with syntax to evoke imagery, make the audience question what's happening, or even create a rhythmic pattern.
Make a Splash with Syntax And there you have it.
0コメント