Dids Worksheet- Poetry

Diction, Imagery, Detail, and Syntax (DIDS) in Poetry—Worksheet

Instructions: Analyze the text you selected and fill out the following worksheet in detail. Provide specific examples from the text that support your analysis.

1. Write the title of the text you have analyzed here:

Since Hanna Moved Away.

2. List at least three examples of diction in the text that add to the overall tone. Explain how each word contributes to the emotional power of the piece.

Grouchy: “The sky is grouchy gray”. This word contributes to the emotional power of the piece because the poem is sad. The speaker suggests that the sky is grumpy and irritable because Hanna moved away.

Halibut: “Flowers smell like halibut”. The speaker states that flowers smell fishy and gross, because Hanna moved away.

December: “December’s come to stay”. The speaker states in this phrase that since Hanna left, there won’t be any summer months, and the dark and gloomy winter will stay forever.

List at least three examples of imagery in the text that add to the overall tone. Explain how each description contributes to the emotional power of the piece.

“Chocolate ice cream tastes like prunes” – Gustatory imagery (taste)

“Velvet feels like hay” – Kinesthetic imagery (feel)

“They call me, but I won’t come out” – Auditory (hear)

Each of these phrases in the poem indicates a sad and hopeless mood and tone, because the speaker insists that the things the speaker used to enjoy, he/she cannot enjoy anymore because Hanna moved away.

3. List the examples of important details the author chose to include. Explain how these details contribute to the emotional power of the piece.

In the third line in the poem, the author states “at least it sure feels that way since Hannah moved away”. This phrase helps the reader understand that all the examples that the author presents in the poem such as “flowers smell like halibut, and chocolate ice cream tastes like prunes” is not actually literal. It just...