Diction

Diction is very integral part of poetry and writing in general. The quality and meaning of the words one chooses ultimately determines the poems effectivity. Word choice is the core of a piece of writing and establishes the literal and to some extent figurative interpretations. Two very contrarily written poems: "The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot and "Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell enhance the variety of effects that diction has on poetry. While Eliot remains vivid and modernistic in his word choice, Marvell tends to use diction that is more traditionally striking in his writing.
"Coy Mistress" is a very conventional use of diction. Marvell tends to tell a story and reveal his deeper meaning through a simpler word choice. Since the syntax falls into a comprehensive pattern, the reader is able to understand each figurative reference and even literal mention throughout the poem. Rather than being a mixture of words and thus a muddle of thoughts, Marvell uses his diction to cohesively communicate a certain overlaying theme; in this case, the limitations of time. With such word choice, there is no way the reader can go wrong. The author begins his poem with an apostrophe, letting the reader know the intention of the narrator way before any interpretation takes place. "Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, Lady, were no crime..."(Marvell 2). This very phrase creates an understandable world for the reader in which the diction is merely a helping hand into the deep end of the poem. Marvell, with a traditional approach to poetry, uses a very classic diction to generate a simpler access to mind of the narrator.
On the other hand, T.S. Eliot adopts a very modern style of diction to his poetry. In “The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock” the narrator’s thoughts seem to be splashed onto a blank page. The diction shows no sense of organization or understandable quality. Eliot’s word choice seems to be more emotion based than logic based as he radically changes scenarios. The diction and syntax are very haphazard, which contributes to the ambiguous blanket thrown over the poem. The narrator does not seem to have any real opinion or issue to be dealt with but rather the words have no connection to one another. The words with harsh definitions follow those with soft meanings and thus the poem becomes a puzzle. “When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised upon a table;…” (Eliot 2-3). At first, words like “evening,” “spread,” and “sky” all give the reader a tranquil image, and then suddenly, words like “patient,” and “etherised” spark confusion. The diction is contradictory at many points in Eliot’s poetry and hence gives the poem its uniqueness.