Essentially, descriptive writing boils down to word choice and language manipulation that is designed to appeal to our five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. The writer recreates a sensory experience for the reader. Descriptive writing can include figurative language: language using figures of speech; in other words, language that cannot be taken literally (or should not be taken literally only). Simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, personification, apostrophe... are all forms of figurative language.
You will be reading the descriptive essay In the Trenches by Charles Yale Harrison. You can access the piece online by clicking on the image to the left, or you can read pages 119-124 in The Act of Writing.
Using post-it notes, or a high lighter if you print the story, find examples of powerful language, and identify to which of the five senses the writing most appeals.
In writing, Harrison exploits figures of speech. Point out at least one good metaphor and one good simile.
Many of the paragraphs are small, some only a word or two long. Examine paragraphs 25-30, 53-56, and 60-68. Why are these paragraphs so short? What impact does this have on the reader/story?
If this topic interests you, you might want to consider choosing All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque for your novel study.
