Diction Lesson #5
Consider the following quote:
A rowan* like a lipsticked girl._________________________________
- Seamus Heaney, "Song," Field Work
* a small deciduous tree native to Europe, having white flowers clusters and orange berries
Then, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper in the Voice Lessons section of your binder:
1. Other than color, what comes to mind when you think of lipsticked girl?
2. How would it change the meaning and feeling of the line if, instead of lipsticked girl, the author wrote girl with the lipstick on?
3. Write a simile comparing a tree with a domesticated animal. In your simile, use a word that is normally used as a noun (like lipstick) as an adjective (like lipsticked).
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from Dean, Nancy. Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax, and Tone. Maupin House. Gainesville FL, 2000.
