Defining "Distinctive Voice"
The module asks you how language can be manipulated to generate distinctive voices within texts. You will need to be able to identify various techniques including rhetoric and examine how their use can shape or position an audience's perception, emotions and interpretation.
But before any of that, you've got to understand what "voice" is and how it can be "distinctive". It's more than the sound that comes out of human mouths. It's more than a random collection of words strung together to create meaning. BUT WHAT IS IT?! How can we define it? Let's start by first reading what other people have said about "voice". | 
|
One way we can glean understanding from what others have to say about the notion of "voice" is to deconstruct their own language choice. I will analyse Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's quote so you can see what I mean.
| He says that "the human voice is the organ of the soul". The most important word used in this quote is organ, mainly because it has two distinct and poignant meanings that illuminate what Wadsworth believed "voice" was.
You see, "organ" can refer to a musical instrument, something that can
arouse, stimulate, and entertain. By playing an instrument a certain way
we can change the sounds we create; they can be subtle and used to
create nuance or can be strident, inspiring even challenging. Music is
often used to evoke emotional responses also. And if we take the idea of
"instrument" outside of the world of music
we can also interpret it to mean the tool through which something can
be manipulated or changed. And yet, "organ" can also refer to something
that is vital to survival; like a heart or liver. It is something that
not only sustains life but helps it to prosper also.
By taking this into account we can see that Wadsworth would lead us to believe that the human voice (something distinct and unique for our species) is not only necessary to keep the soul of a human being alive and prosperous but the instrument through which we can entertain, arouse and stimulate those around us. |
ACTIVITY
Deconstruct both Maya Angelou and Margaret Atwood's quotes about "voice" to assist you in defining what "voice" means and how it can be "distinctive". To help you, important words have been identified below and you can use an online dictionary to help you define them before writing a paragraph explaining what both quotes tell us about voice.
Deconstruct both Maya Angelou and Margaret Atwood's quotes about "voice" to assist you in defining what "voice" means and how it can be "distinctive". To help you, important words have been identified below and you can use an online dictionary to help you define them before writing a paragraph explaining what both quotes tell us about voice.
words
human infuse | shades
deeper meaning gift | cherished
used utter | human speech
powerlessness silence |
ACTIVITY
Access the collection of quotes about "voice" from the website BrainyQuote. Read through a few pages, choose THREE quotes that you think best sum up your current understanding about what "voice" is OR quotes that you are particularly drawn to/speak to you.
Deconstruct each quote as you have for the two above and create a quote image similar to the ones above, putting emphasis (using size and colour) on the important words and phrases. Try to visually represent notions of "voice" and how it can be distinctive (for example: in Margaret Atwood's quote above, the phrase "and silence" is marginalised through size and bleaching of colour whereas "organ" is illuminated in red and large print for Wadsworth's quote).
Access the collection of quotes about "voice" from the website BrainyQuote. Read through a few pages, choose THREE quotes that you think best sum up your current understanding about what "voice" is OR quotes that you are particularly drawn to/speak to you.
Deconstruct each quote as you have for the two above and create a quote image similar to the ones above, putting emphasis (using size and colour) on the important words and phrases. Try to visually represent notions of "voice" and how it can be distinctive (for example: in Margaret Atwood's quote above, the phrase "and silence" is marginalised through size and bleaching of colour whereas "organ" is illuminated in red and large print for Wadsworth's quote).