Name:_____________________________ Date:___________________________________

Lesson 5 - VoiceVoice

Voice is the author’s style, the quality that makes his or her writing unique, and which conveys the author’s attitude, personality, and character.

Speaker (or Persona)Speaker (or Persona) is the personage or persona responsible for the voice in a poem; like the persona, the speaker should not be confused with the poet, unless you know exactly what you’re doing, and even then, refer to the speaker.

ToneThe tone is the attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character. There are many words that can be used describe a work’s tone!

Expand your vocabulary of adjectives related to tone: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective.

Tone is similar to mood, and sometimes the two can even be used interchangeably. Yet another word that creeps in here is voice.

Diction

Diction is a writer’s choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning. Diction can be elevated, formal, informal, complex, lofty, idiomatic, etc.

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Name:_____________________________ Date:___________________________________

SlangA very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid, and ephemeral than ordinary language.

Examples:

Hit the road. / Awesome / What’s up?

Direct speechDirect or quoted speech is a sentence (or several sentences) that reports speech or thought in its original form, as phrased by the first speaker. It is usually enclosed in quotation marks.

Example:

“I can’t believe how tired I am,” yawned Jenny.

Colloquial expressionsA phrase that appears more often in spoken than in written language. Colloquial expressions are similar to slang, but tend to be more universal, whereas slang can often be limited to a particular social group. It is also characterized as more familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing.

Example:

“She’s out” for “She is not at home.”

IdiomIdioms are groups of words whose meaning is different from the ordinary meaning of the words. The context can help you understand what an idiom means.

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Name:_____________________________ Date:___________________________________

For example: "Put a lid on it." Our teacher tells us to put a lid on it. She's not really telling us to put a lid on something but to be quiet and pay attention.

Before Reading1. Describe about a time when you were extremely cold. Include similes, metaphors, and

exaggeration (hyperbole) to get your point across.

Read - “The Cremation of Sam McGee” by Robert Service

After ReadingWrite a synopsis of the poem in 25 words or less.

1. Who is the author? _____________________________________________________________

2. Who is the speaker? ____________________________________________________________

3. What is the format? a. stanza(s): ______________________________________________________________

b. Lines per stanza: ________________________________________________________

c. Rhyme scheme(s): _______________________________________________________

4. What type of poem is this? _______________________________________________________

5. What is the setting of the poem? __________________________________________________

6. Where was Sam McGee from? ____________________________________________________

7. What was Sam in search of? ______________________________________________________

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Name:_____________________________ Date:___________________________________

8. What did Sam despise the most? __________________________________________________

9. What lines support the extreme cold? ______________________________________________

10. Why did the speaker risk a lot to cremate Sam? ______________________________________

11. Where was Sam cremated? ______________________________________________________

12. “And the dogs were fed, and the stars o’erhead, were dancing heel and toe” is an example of

which sound device? ____________________________________________________________

13. The speaker regretted at times that he committed to cremating Sam. What lines support this? (you may put the number of the lines or write the lines)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

14. “…the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell” What two types of figurative language is this an example of?

___________________________ and _________________________________

15. What line supports the notion that Sam was hallucinating with fever?

______________________________________________________________________________

16. “And he wore a smile, you could see a mile” What is this an example of? (two types of figurative language and one example of sound device)

____________________ ___________________________ ___________________

17. “The Northern Lights have seen queer sights” is an example of which type of figurative language? ______________________________________________________________________

18. What is “And the stars came out, and they danced about..” an example of?

___________________________________ and _________________________________

19. What are the various names that the speaker called Sam or used to refer to him?

______________________________________________________________________________

20. What was the name of the derelict? ________________________________________________

21. What line supports that the speaker was going against the rules to carry Sam and cremate him?

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Name:_____________________________ Date:___________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

22. What is symbolic about the “cremation” in relation to Sam? _____________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

23. Describe the tone created by the rhythm and rhyme scheme of the poem and explain how the tone softens the grisly nature of the events being described.

24. Find examples of slang words and colloquial expressions in the direct speech portions of the poem and assess whether they exchange or undermine the literary merit of the poem.

Extra Activities:

1. Write a new stanza for the poem following the rhythm, rhyme scheme, and diction used by the poet.

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Name:_____________________________ Date:___________________________________

2. Rewrite the poem as a script. Create an illustrated version of one or two stanzas of the poem as an advertisement for your script. Keep in mind elements of Voice and Diction in both your script and illustrations.

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