Diction In Shakespeare's Sister Virginia Woolf

According to recorded history and fact, there was never a woman who had the brilliance of Shakespeare during his time. This could be for several reasons; one being that women were not schooled as men were at the time, and another that even though they may have tried to follow the path to brilliance, they were forced into the stereotypical and traditional life of a housewife (at the time). A third is the fact that the frustration of not being able to engage in their genius drove them to madness and they took their own lives. In the excerpt Shakespeare’s Sister, Virginia Woolf, through complex analogies and language, makes the point that women during the Elizabethan age were prevented from exhibiting their own genius. As the excerpt states, Shakespeare went to school as a boy, and learned the basics that were taught at the time. He went on to be a successful and famous actor and play writer. In the anecdote that Woolf creates, however, Shakespeare’s fictional sister, Judith, is shunned from learning and is forced to …show more content…
Diction and syntax are quite similar; diction is the choice and use of words, while syntax is how they are arranged. Throughout her essay, Woolf’s diction is determined and strong sounding. She sounds sure of herself and well educated on the question at hand; if women during this time period were even capable of matching Shakespeare’s genius. Ethos is to convince the reader by character of the author. Woolf portrays this by referencing to outside sources, letting the reader know that she believes in her thesis well enough to find research to back up her claim. She speaks of a Professor Trevelyan, who spoke to Woolf on this matter, and a dead bishop, who had previously written several essays on the topic as well. With her background sources and personal knowledge, the reader trusts Woolf and begins to agree with her