Periodic sentence structure examples

Your sentences must do the following:

Contain a context clue to demonstrate your full understanding of the word’s meaning

Follow the sentence pattern as indicated

Be free of comma splices, subject-verb agreement errors, and other serious grammatical errors

Be free of spelling and punctuation errors

Part 3 – Read the historical context below and answer the questions that follow to analyze Henry David Thoreau’s diction and syntax.

Henry David Thoreau is best known for his book Walden and his essay “Civil Disobedience.” He is considered a leader of the Transcendentalist movement, which valued individualism and self-reliance as opposed to societal institutions like organized religion and political parties. Thoreau’s writings influenced presidents, civil rights leaders, Supreme Court justices, artists, and authors. Thoreau’s book Walden is an account of the two years, two months, and two days he spent in a cabin he built near Walden Pond in Massachusetts. His works explore themes of independence, self-reliance, simple-living, and spiritual discovery.

Read the following excerpt from Chapter 5 “Solitude” of Walden and answer the question that follows:

“Some of my pleasantest hours were during the long rainstorms in the spring or fall, which confined me to the house for the afternoon as well as the forenoon, soothed by their ceaseless roar and pelting...”

Which type of sentence has Thoreau crafted in this example? How would the effect be different if Thoreau used a series of simple sentences?

Read the following sentence and answer the question that follows:

“After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once in the hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and for a long period continue, to rule is not because they are most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest.” — Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience”

Which type of sentence has Thoreau crafted in this example? Why has Thoreau expressed his ideas using this structure? What is the effect?

Read the following passage and consider Thoreau’s syntax and diction:

“Holding a microscope to the first-mentioned red ant, I saw that, though he was assiduously gnawing at the near fore leg of his enemy, having severed his remaining feeler, his own breast was all torn away, exposing what vitals he had there to the jaws of the black warrior, whose breastplate was apparently too thick for him to pierce; and the dark carbuncles of the sufferer's eyes shone with ferocity such as war only could excite.” — Henry David Thoreau, Walden

What is the effect of Thoreau’s syntactical choices in this passage? (Be sure to answer the implied component of this question—what choices does he make?)

Compare and contrast the diction in Passage 1 (original excerpt from Chapter 12 “Brute Neighbors” of Walden) and Passage 2 (rewrite). Explain how the diction affects the meaning, tone, and mood of the passages: