Distinctive Voices

Distinctive voices

This elective requires you to think differently about what the word voice means. It's easy to understand that speeches and plays are spoken texts but for this elective you need to understand that written texts such as poems and novels also create a sense of voice.

We all know what a voice is - it is something you hear with your ears - but when we are discussing voices in English literature we are referring to something different. When we listen, we get to know something about the person speaking - the speaker's personality and the things that are valued emerge from the way he/she talks. When the person emphasises something by using a different tone, then we know that the word stands out. When that person whispers, we realise we are being told a secret. So the tone and style that we hear are important indicators of the personality and what matters to the speaker/narrator.

Studying voice in texts is a bit the same: we read rather than listen, but we search for the tone and personality of the person or people through the words in the text. The voice of the composer is also revealed through the tone and language. We search for those features that tell us what is valued, but to locate those features we listen in a different way. We make meaning from words, so we need to imagine the way those words are expressed and we also need to find what is valued through the hints that come through the choice of words. For examples, in the prose of Marele Day, the voice of harry lavender is heard in your mind - you can see who he is and hear what he values through a close examination of the words.

So the voice of a text is not just something you hear with your ears. It can be created by way words are put together. We can imagine the feelings that are conveyed and how the composer is speaking to us. The words a composer chooses therefore create a sense of voice. The composer may try to capture many voices in a text so as to show the different character traits. We need to ask:

* What is the composer trying to say? (Subject matter)

* How is the composer speaking to me? (Techniques)

* How does the composer want me to feel through the voice that is used? (Positioning the audience to a point of view)

* How do I feel (personal feelings - this must be linked to all the above questions)

There are many ways composers can use voice to create ideas and effects. These are some techniques that can be used for a range of purposes:

* Nouns: to emphasise what is valued

* Adjective: can give us insight to the voice being used - the author may directly refer to the tone used by the character (soft, angry, annoyed). Adjectives can create a sense of mood in setting or in the event that is happening. This can also affect the voice of the text.

* Verbs: can indicate the person's voice (shouted, exclaimed). It can also indicate what actions are valued.

* Pronouns: First, second or third person all position the audience differently

First person singular (I/me/my) emphasises that we are hearing an individual who is speaking with his/her own voice about his/her own feeling. This might isolate the audience and seem introspective and excluding. It can also indicate a subjective or unreliable point of view. First person plural (we/us/our) is inclusive, as if we are acting as one. This is often used in speeches to make the audience feel involved and part of the same feelings as the speaker.

Second person (you/your/yours) directs the audience about what to do - it is often challenging. It can also be seen as rhetorical questions which make us examine our own beliefs. The 'you' is implied in imperatives, which are orders or instructions. Occasionally, texts are composed using the 2nd person perspective, as a way of making the audience feel involved and included in the action.

Third person texts often create a sense of distance between characters, events and audience. Third person perspective can also lend an air of authority to ideas in the text. The 3rd person pronouns are: he/she/it/they/them/him/her/his/hers/their/theirs.

* Dialogue: alerts us to the values of individual characters. Each character has a voice, created by using words in different ways - this reflects the character, beliefs and attitudes of the person.

* Repetition: alerts us to what is important and can also show us the type of person who is speaking - he/she might be obsessed with the point being made.

* Punctuation: changes the rhythm of speech. It can add emphasis through exclamation marks. Lack of punctuation may suggest breaking the rules. Commas break up ideas, provide a space for pauses and may indication a thoughtful tone and the voice of someone who takes time to consider the impact of what he/she does.

* Capitalisation: emphasises what is felt to be important.

* Metaphors and similes: can be used in many types of writing and speaking, not just poetry. They create strong feelings in our minds through the images and therefore we can gain a strong sense of voice.

* Hyperbole: exaggeration, to stress and highlight ideas.

* Irony: the difference between what appears to be the case and the reality of the situation. This gap between appearance and reality creates a sense of 'mismatch' and draws our attention to the idea.

* Setting: the setting of any text can add to the mood and should give us clues about the characters or the ideas that are valued, adding to the sense of voice.

* Accomplice: someone who willingly helps a law - breaker.

* Anti-hero: an important character who does typically heroic things, but has obvious weaknesses; does not always do things 'by the book'.

* Arch-villain: the most evil character.

* Autopsy: an operation to determine the cause of someone's death.

* Black humour: making jokes about things which are not usually treated lightly.

* Cardiac arrest: a heart attack.

* Caricature: an exaggerated description, like a cartoon drawing which exaggerates someone's most obvious features.

* Cliff-hanger: actions which leave the reader hungry to know what is