Descriptive Writing: Forms, Structure, and Linguistic Elements
Classified in Arts and Humanities
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Description: Definition and Types
Description is a form of discourse used to present objects, people, places, and feelings, identifying specific details as much as possible. It is customary to distinguish between objective description (of practical interest) and subjective description (in which the author tries to demonstrate their point of view or opinion).
Structure and Phases of Descriptive Texts
Descriptive texts often use a deductive structure, displaying information from the general to the specific details, data, or characteristics. The process typically involves:
- Observation
- Selection
- Organization
- Expression
Linguistic Features of Description
- Nouns and Adjectives: Descriptive texts focus on things and their properties or characteristics.
- Verb Forms: Imperfect aspects abound, especially the past tense and present. This lends a timeless quality to the described characters, even when their past is confined to a specific period.
- Syntactic Structures: There is a predominance of attributive and coordinated structures.
- Literary Procedures: In subjective descriptions, to communicate the personal vision of the reality being described, creative literary figures are used, such as: comparison, metaphor, personification.
Literary Description: Forms and Elements
Literary description appears in stories to describe characters, items, locations, atmosphere, feelings, etc.
The Portrait: Describing People
The description of people is done by paying attention to specific aspects:
- Prosopography: Focuses on physical features and dress (external appearance).
- Etopeya: Focuses on moral traits, feelings, and way of life (character and personality).
- Portrait: The joint description of both external appearance and personality.
- Caricature: When features are exaggerated with humorous or derogatory intent.
The Landscape: Setting the Scene
The landscape is described in a story to depict the setting in which the action unfolds. The author can introduce elements statically, as if frozen, or dynamically, offering a lively and vibrant vision of landscape components.
Depicting Feelings in Description
The author may reflect the feeling that the observation of the described object produces.