CSEC English

Hello there—especially all of you going into 4th or 5th form come September. We want to invite you to follow our CSEC ENGLISH page every Sunday starting NOW! (Some students cut out the pages and file them away for reference.) We want to help you get that splendid grade when it’s your turn to take the exam! Read on now, and enjoy your CSEC English page!

LITERARY DEVICES—IN DRAMA

We’ve talked about setting (scenery), costumes, props, lighting and the movements of characters—all of which make for SPECTACLE in drama.

We’ve talked about sound effects (such as dogs barking, a telephone ringing, thunder-claps, and so on), and especially the use of music and song to create a specific mood. You feel very different if an organ is playing funeral music to the way you feel when you hear steel bands at Mashramani, don’t you?

I hear from this year’s exam candidates that the question on The Tempest on Shakespeare’s use of symbolism, so let’s talk about that. focused

What is a symbol? The story called “The Boy Who Loved Ice Cream”, in A World of Prose, focuses on a little boy living in a rural community, who longs to taste ice cream—something he’s never had in his life! In the story, Benjy is taken to an annual fair, and has been promised an ice cream. The day goes by, and finally his father puts the longed-for cone in Benjy’s hand. The boy is thrilled.

But sadly, Benjy’s father is very suspicious of Benjy’s mother, and has been watching her movements at the fair. He sees her talking to one of the smart town fellows, and suspicion rises up in him. He grabs Benjy’s hand and drags him across the fairground, causing the boy to drop his untasted ice cream.

That’s what happens LITERALLY. Benjy is deprived of the ice cream he so longs to taste.

But that ice cream has a deeper meaning—a symbolic meaning. You see, Benjy’s father is so suspicious of his wife that he believes Benjy is not his child, and you can imagine how miserable life is for poor Benjy. To add to this feeling of rejection by his father, Benjy has to deal with the arrival of a new baby and the fact that his mother now has less time for Benjy. Benjy, like all children longs for love and acceptance, but he is deprived of that love and acceptance just as he is deprived of the ice cream.

A symbol, then, is something that is LITERALLY there in the story or play, but which also POINTS TO or SUGGESTS a deeper meaning.

Symbols in

The Tempest.

Playwrights make use of symbols sometimes too, and there are many symbols in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

The storm. The play opens with a storm at sea, with sailors shouting commands to nobility. It’s a topsy-turvy world where low-class people are in charge, and aristocrats have to obey. The storm symbolizes the fear and confusion and danger that take hold in a society when the rightful rulers are ignored and pushed aside. Prospero himself has been pushed aside (usurped) by his brother, and on the island we will see plans to kill King Alonzo and Prospero. In Shakespeare’s time, people believed that kings had a ‘divine right’ to rule, and that any attack on their power would lead to civil disorder. The storm symbolises that disorder. Prospero will use his magic on the island to bring about order once again.

The visit of the goddesses. The presence on earth of the goddesses Juno, Iris and Ceres is another symbol. Prospero uses his magic to cause Miranda and Ferdinand to fall in love. Their marriage will bring unity between Naples and Milan and reconciliation between Prospero and Alonzo, his former enemy. We know that Miranda and Ferdinand have been guided by Prospero to love and respect and cherish each other, so the visit of the goddesses also symbolizes the happy life that they will enjoy together. The visit of those goddesses is a symbol. In the play, they are LITERALLY there for us to see. But the deeper meaning is that Prospero has restored ORDER and UNITY at the political level AND he has guided the young couple to have ORDER and HARMONY in their marriage. It will be ‘heaven on earth’.

Music as symbol. There’s a good deal of music and singing in the play and different styles of music create different moods. But there’s also a symbolic nature to the music. When Caliban and the two drunken sailors are raucously singing their bawdy rum-shop songs, we laugh, but deep down inside we know that we don’t want to live in a world run by people like them! When the goddesses appear, singing melodiously to the accompaniment of stately music, we have a sense of order and decorum, and we know that we want to live in a world of beauty, dignity, harmony and order. The music, then, symbolizes TWO different ways that society can be governed—either by the worst of us, or by the best.

For you to do. We’ve just given you a couple of examples of symbols. Think about these too: the game of chess, the sumptuous banquet that is whisked away before the nobles can eat, Prospero’s book and magic wand, Ariel and Caliban (could they symbolise the better, creative part of us and the lesser, self-indulgent part of us?). You may find yet more!! Remember, though, that for it to be a symbol, it must be LITERALLY THERE, but also have a DEEPER MEANING. GIVING TESTIMONY! When you are a witness, you may have to report what you saw and what you heard. Let’s look at a sentence pattern that sometimes gives problems. Look at this statement, for instance:

I saw the old man went into the shop. (Incorrect) What is wrong with that sentence? Well, it should be one of the following:

I saw the old man I saw the old man

go into the shop going into the shop

In both examples, you saw the old man and the old man went into the shop. In the second sentence there’s the idea of a continuous action/or a process (going).

Here are two sentences:

I saw the doctor. He was walking towards his car. When we combine them into one sentence, we get towards his car.

Here are another two sentences: I heard your father. He told you to stop shouting. I saw the doctor walking

When we combine them into one sentence, we get I stop shouting. heard your father tell you to

The rule, then, is that in this construction we need to use either the present participle (I saw the doctor walking) or the simple form of the verb (I heard your father tell you).

Your turn now! Let’s imagine that you are giving testimony on what you saw and heard Tom doing. Make 10 sentences using the list below. Begin each sentence with I heard Tom… or I saw Tom… Check the bottom of the page for our answers.

1. Tom took a mango. 2. He was eating the mango. 3. He threw away the seed. 4. He was walking out of the yard. 5. He left his school bag on the bench. 6. He shouted out to a friend. 7. He sneezed twice. 8. He rode off with the friend. 9. He was waving to a girl at the corner. 10. He called her a fond name.

SINGULAR OR PLURAL?

Here’s a question asked by a reader: “Why do you sometimes see a singular verb after the noun NUMBER, and sometimes a plural verb?” Good question! Now let’s see if we can find a good answer!

Look at these two sentences: A.

The number of accidents caused by stray cows alarmingly. (Singular verb: has) has increased

A number of cows were impounded last week during the road safety campaign. (Plural verb: were)

It all depends on whether your focus is on the idea of NUMBER or on the idea of COWS. In A, the focus is on NUMBER: The number…has increased. In B, the focus is on the cows: …cows were impounded.

And if that explanation does not help, then follow this rule:

A number of cows + plural verb. The number of cows + singular verb.

Easy, isn’t it?

ANSWERS

Giving testimony: Your turn now I saw Tom take a mango. I saw him eating the mango. I saw him throw away the seed. I saw him walking out of the yard. I noticed that he left his school bag on the bench. I heard him shout out to a friend. I heard him sneeze twice. I saw him ride off with a friend. I saw him waving to a girl at the corner. I heard him call her a fond name.

Do you see now that we use the –ing form only when we are describing a CON TINUOUS action.