Summary Of The Legend Of Qu Appelle Valley

In the poem “The Legend of Qu’Appelle Valley,” E. Pauline Johnson uses despairing diction to tell the story of how Qu’Appelle Valley got its name. In contrast, David Bouchard uses passionate diction in his poem “Qu’Appelle”, which recounts the same story. In the case of the story told by these poems, the diction used in Johnson’s “The Legend of Qu’Appelle Valley” is more effective. “The Legend of Qu’Appelle Valley” uses diction that conveys the emotions felt by the speaker and created by the environment. It does this through the use of words such as “melancholy” (Johnson 43), “shuddered” (54), and “sorrow” (69), helping the reader to understand exactly what the speaker is feeling. As a result, the reader feels more connected to the story and

In order to aid the reader in achieving a deeper understanding of the bond between the two, Bouchard used context clues and the connotation of words such as “prospered” (Bouchard 45) and “betrothed” (71). This differentiates the way “Qu’Appelle” and “The Legend of Qu’Appelle Valley” ultimately use diction: “Qu’Appelle” tends to focus on describing the relationship dynamics between Ikciv and Witonia, which helps the reader to understand why Ikciv is in such sorrow when he receives the news of his love’s death, but helps less in feeling connected to the characters themselves. Conversely, “The Legend of Qu’Appelle Valley” utilises diction in order to help the reader feel the emotions that the speaker is feeling, but provides you with a much better sense of why the speaker has such a connection to their partner. On the whole, Johnson’s “The Legend of Qu’Appelle Valley” utilises a more significant amount of compelling and impactful diction than Bouchard’s “Qu’Appelle” does, but both have downsides that—if addressed—would lead to a significantly more effective and powerful rendition of the