Archaic diction, or archaism, uses old-fashioned words from a previous era, often found in poetry, books, and games. Poets may prefer archaic words for their descriptive and evocative qualities, fitting the poem’s sound and meter. However, using archaic words can also make a work less accessible to modern audiences.
Archaic diction is also known as archaism. When a person uses this way of speaking, he uses words that are old-fashioned and belong to an older era. Poetry is the main area where archaic words find uses, but games and books can also contain them. An example is the presence of the word steed instead of a more modern word like horse or stallion.
Language evolves and changes over time. The English that William Shakespeare spoke and wrote is very different from, for example, the English that Americans and Britons speak today. Even in Shakespeare’s time there were words that were out of fashion and belonged to an earlier age.
Poetry is an art form that requires the use of descriptive and evocative words. Therefore, a poet may prefer to use an archaic word instead of its modern counterpart. The sound of the older word may fit the poem better in terms of rhyme, assonance, or alliteration. It can fit the meter of the poem better than a newer word with a different number of syllables.
The intrinsic fact of an archaic, and therefore less common, term can lend the poem more mystery than a more easily recognizable word. In addition to poets, people who write plays and those who write books may use archaism for some of the same reasons. When a writer sets a story in a particular era, he may also use archaic diction to make the story more realistic.
The use of antiquated terminology is not limited to modern poetry. Certain historical epochs of poetry have characterized the use of archaism. Samuel Coleridge, John Keats and Alfred, Lord Tennyson all wrote poetry in languages older than the usual 19th century English. Most poets and writers, however, write in the language they speak, and contemporary audiences can understand all the words in the resulting works.
One problem with writing in archaic diction is that many people don’t understand the old phrasing for familiar concepts. While archaism is always present in old writings and poetry, they generally require translation into modern language to be understood by readers. A poet who deliberately adds archaism to his poetry might alienate a large part of the audience who do not wish to waste time interpreting unfamiliar words. However, many archaic words, such as steed, are commonly understood, even though people generally reserve the use of such words for special situations, such as humor.
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