Audible voice | Is there a spoken sound tangled up in the words that fastens to the page for the ear of the imagination? |
Dramatic voice | What kind of person do we hear in the text? This is a completely orthodox concept in literary criticism: not the real author but the "speaker" or "implied author." |
Distinctive, recognizable voice | Does the writer have a kind of trademark voice? The concept of distinctive voice does not imply that the writing sounds like a person's actual biographical self. Just that a writer has a distinctive, trademark voice. |
Authoritative voice |
Does the text show an ability or willingness to speak out? -- be heard? A writer can speak out with vigorous authority without giving any kind of picture of his "real identity." |
Resonant voice |
This involves the relation between the language and the identity of the actual writer. This is the voice with implications of "true self" or "real self." |
(Elbow Lightning 3)