Style Mapping

In the excerpt from Neil Gaiman's Stardust, the narrator's diction is literal, direct, and ordinary. In the style map, the excerpt would fall into the third quadrant. The speaker describes the houses of Wall with casual, blunt language such as "square" and "old." Also, the speaker repeats conventional adjectives. For instance, another wall built of "square lumps" is described as "old." Dissimilare to Stardust, Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian demonstrates a thorough understanding of classy, picturesque language. Expressive adjectives such as "pinewood," "endless," "gnashing," "bitter," "hobbled," and "oblique" create an ornate description and illustrate the dark mood of the passage. Therefore, the first quadrant is where the excerpt would fit. Lastly, the diction in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is archaic, sophisticated, and imagistic. In the style map, the passage would fall in the third quadrant as well. Dramatic adjectives like "tranquillity," "implored," "peculiarly," "gambols," and "rustic" describe and exemplify the ominous mood the excerpt.