Analysing texts, Year 8: sentences, structure and Shakespeare

It jolts the reader with sudden tension

提示Set its length beside that of the sentence before it.

为什么The long sentence lulls the reader into the rhythm of the corridor. The three-word sentence breaks that rhythm, just as the sound breaks the silence.

A breathless, building pace

提示Try reading such a sentence aloud without stopping.

为什么With no full stop to rest on, the reader is hurried along just as the character is. The shape of the sentence copies the action.

Long, flowing sentences

提示Read each kind aloud and listen to its speed.

为什么Long sentences can hurry or soothe: piled-up actions rush, while gentle description drifts. Here the unhurried rhythm matches the river.

Tension

提示Each full stop makes the reader pause and hold on.

为什么The repeated stops make the reader wait alongside the character. Even the one-word sentence 'Nothing.' is a held breath.

What happened to Gran

提示Look for the question the sentence leaves unanswered.

为什么The opening gives a mystery and one odd, homely clue. An opening that plants a question pulls the reader on to find the answer.

A circular (or cyclical) structure

提示Think of the shape you draw by finishing where you started.

为什么Coming back to the start invites the reader to compare: the place is the same, so what has changed?

A cliffhanger

提示Serials and soap operas end episodes this way.

为什么It refuses to give the reader the answer the opening promised. Chapter endings use it to make you turn the page; some whole books end this way.

How much he has changed

提示Set the first picture beside the last and spot the difference.

为什么The ending answers the opening. The fear in the first scene is what gives the final swim its meaning.

You

提示It was used when speaking to one person you knew well.

为什么'Thou' was the familiar, singular form, used for friends, family and people of lower rank. 'Thee' is the same word used as the object.

Why are you Romeo?

提示'Wherefore' does not ask about a place.

为什么Juliet is not looking for him. She is asking why the boy she loves has to be a Montague, the son of her family's enemies.

The king is gone

提示Find who the sentence is about and put them first.

为什么Shakespeare often moves words around to fit the rhythm or to stress one of them. Putting the subject back first usually makes the sense clear. 'The king has gone' is just as good.

Read on to the end of the sentence

提示The words around it often unlock the meaning.

为什么The rest of the speech, and what is happening in the scene, usually make the meaning clear enough. Stopping at every hard word loses the thread.

Stage directions

提示They are never spoken aloud in a performance.

为什么They cover entrances and exits, movement, tone of voice, props, lighting and silence. Each one is a choice by the playwright.

There is tension between them

提示Ask what people avoid doing when things are awkward.

为什么Nothing is said, yet the audience learns a great deal. On stage, a pause and a turned head are as much the playwright's writing as any line.

Leave the stage

提示The same word is on signs above doors.

为什么Entrances and exits control who hears what. A character who exits just before a secret is told is being kept in the dark on purpose.

The same line can be performed with different meanings

提示The words on the page are only the starting point.

为什么A script is a set of instructions for a performance. Directors and actors make choices about tone, movement and timing, and those choices change the meaning.