Technique
Diction
From Latin dictio: word choice. Wordsworth argued in 1800 for 'real language of men'; Keats sought sensuous richness; each major poet develops a signature diction.
Definition
The selection and arrangement of words in a poem — the level of vocabulary (formal, colloquial, archaic, technical) that shapes voice and tone.
Example
Milton's Latinate diction elevates Paradise Lost: 'Invoke thy aid to my advent'rous song / That with no middle flight intends to soar.'