Word choice used in a piece of writing makes the writer’s ideas run smoothly, or in D.C.
Berry’s case, flow. Diction is used to promote feeling of the speaker as well as the writer’s meaning. In D.C. Berry’s “On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High”, the speaker, a high school teacher, teaches poems to a senior class. In the poem, Berry uses aquatic diction to exemplify the speakers feeling of engagement.
Aware of the presence of the senior class, the speaker uses the diction of the poem to promote the feeling of engagement they have in the classroom. The speaker notes the students sitting “as orderly as frozen fish in a package” (Berry 4). The use of the simile in this line compares the students to frozen fish which suggests the students …show more content…
Then the speaker states that “slowly water began to fill the room though [they] did not notice till it till it reached [their] ears” (Berry 5-9). The “water” (Berry 5) the speaker mentions represents the chatter and murmur beginning to flood the classroom in which the teacher then begins to hear as it gets louder, thus promoting an engaging feeling they have with everything around them. The sounds of the classroom are more prominent when the speaker says that “[They] heard sounds of fish in an aquarium” (Berry 10-11), the fish’s sounds in an aquarium representing the students’ noise in the classroom. The engaging feeling of the speaker is conveyed through this part of the poem
Sanker 2 through its diction for the extended metaphor to the classroom as an aquarium promotes the speaker’s awareness and shows engagement in his students’ presence.
The awareness felt by the speaker then turns into an indulging feeling in the classroom towards the poems, shown by the use of aquatic diction and the promotion of engagement of the speaker. As the teacher begins to hear the chatter and murmur around them, they note that …show more content…
The speaker then becomes fully aware of the students becoming indulged in the lesson and “together [they swim] around the room’ (Berry 18). The speaker notes the engagingness of the classroom as they “swim” (Berry 18), read, and learn about the poems in an educated discussion.
Unfortunately, after the indulging lesson comes the heartbreaking end of the class and the speaker’s engaging classroom. The feeling of sadness overcomes and ends the exciting and fun lesson created through the word choice of Berry. The speaker notes that as the bell rings, it
“punctur[es] a hole in the door where [the students] all leak out” (Berry 15-18). The use of the word “puncturing” (Berry 15) and “leak” (Berry 18) exemplifies the saddening pain of when the school bell stops the lesson. The speaker, being immersed in the classroom and lesson is hurt to see the school of fish (the students) and their engaging conversation leak out of the room and leave. The saddening feeling of the speaker is only a short part of the poem and the many feelings acquired by the speaker are creatively emulated through the aquatic diction Berry uses.
The flow of the knowledge in the classroom is thus conveyed smoothly throughout the
Berry’s case, flow. Diction is used to promote feeling of the speaker as well as the writer’s meaning. In D.C. Berry’s “On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High”, the speaker, a high school teacher, teaches poems to a senior class. In the poem, Berry uses aquatic diction to exemplify the speakers feeling of engagement.
Aware of the presence of the senior class, the speaker uses the diction of the poem to promote the feeling of engagement they have in the classroom. The speaker notes the students sitting “as orderly as frozen fish in a package” (Berry 4). The use of the simile in this line compares the students to frozen fish which suggests the students …show more content…
Then the speaker states that “slowly water began to fill the room though [they] did not notice till it till it reached [their] ears” (Berry 5-9). The “water” (Berry 5) the speaker mentions represents the chatter and murmur beginning to flood the classroom in which the teacher then begins to hear as it gets louder, thus promoting an engaging feeling they have with everything around them. The sounds of the classroom are more prominent when the speaker says that “[They] heard sounds of fish in an aquarium” (Berry 10-11), the fish’s sounds in an aquarium representing the students’ noise in the classroom. The engaging feeling of the speaker is conveyed through this part of the poem
Sanker 2 through its diction for the extended metaphor to the classroom as an aquarium promotes the speaker’s awareness and shows engagement in his students’ presence.
The awareness felt by the speaker then turns into an indulging feeling in the classroom towards the poems, shown by the use of aquatic diction and the promotion of engagement of the speaker. As the teacher begins to hear the chatter and murmur around them, they note that …show more content…
The speaker then becomes fully aware of the students becoming indulged in the lesson and “together [they swim] around the room’ (Berry 18). The speaker notes the engagingness of the classroom as they “swim” (Berry 18), read, and learn about the poems in an educated discussion.
Unfortunately, after the indulging lesson comes the heartbreaking end of the class and the speaker’s engaging classroom. The feeling of sadness overcomes and ends the exciting and fun lesson created through the word choice of Berry. The speaker notes that as the bell rings, it
“punctur[es] a hole in the door where [the students] all leak out” (Berry 15-18). The use of the word “puncturing” (Berry 15) and “leak” (Berry 18) exemplifies the saddening pain of when the school bell stops the lesson. The speaker, being immersed in the classroom and lesson is hurt to see the school of fish (the students) and their engaging conversation leak out of the room and leave. The saddening feeling of the speaker is only a short part of the poem and the many feelings acquired by the speaker are creatively emulated through the aquatic diction Berry uses.
The flow of the knowledge in the classroom is thus conveyed smoothly throughout the