Tension and Suspense in Walter de la Mare's poem The Listeners and Charles Dickens' The Signalman "The Listeners" is a mysterious story in the form of a poem written by Walter de la Mare. The poem opens with direct speech "Is there anybody there" asked by the traveller which straight away grabs an audiences attention because we also want to know if there is anybody there, this opening also creates tension and suspense as it gives the impression that the traveller is isolated, however we do not find out, it is left unexplained. Regarding the setting and location the poem is set in a forest this can be seen in the forth line 'Of the forests ferny floor' this is most likely to be because a forest is a mysterious place, especially at night, the time of which the poem is set in, this is also seen early on in the poem when it says 'Knocking on the moonlit door' another quote to support this is 'stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight' the poet Walter de la Mare has used the time of night to add to the mystery of the poem. Also this poem only has one character as far as we know and the only thing we know about this character is that he/she is a traveller we do not even know why the traveller is there as again the writer leaves it unexplained. The language and text the writer uses also adds to the tension and suspense like in line 13 when it says 'But only a host of phantom listeners' which gives the sense of an imagined or unreal ghost of some sort. Also a few lines down when it says 'Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken by the lonely Traveller's call.' This gives the impression that the traveller broke the silence and that th... ... middle of paper ... ...an's troubles were. The language in which Dickens uses in 'The Signalman' also crates tension and suspense in the story like in lines 18-21 where it says "is there any path by which I can come down and speak to you?" "he looked up at me without replying, and I looked down at him without pressing him too soon with a repetition of my idle question" this shows us that the narrator was speaking to the signalman and got no reply but the narrator did not want to repeat his question and pressure the signalman into replying. The one I liked most was 'The Signal man' I enjoyed this more because it was much more interesting and a lot more detailed than ' The Listeners' also in the poem nothing was explained and it was a little confusing where as in the story most things were described well and some explanation was given.
Imagery uses five senses such as visual, sound, olfactory, taste and tactile to create a sense of picture in the readers’ mind. In this poem, the speaker uses visual imagination when he wrote, “I took my time in old darkness,” making the reader visualize the past memory of the speaker in “old darkness.” The speaker tries to show the time period he chose to write the poem. The speaker is trying to illustrate one of the imagery tools, which can be used to write a poem and tries to suggest one time period which can be used to write a poem. Imagery becomes important for the reader to imagine the same picture the speaker is trying to convey. Imagery should be speculated too when writing a poem to express the big
Dickens used his great talent by describing the city London were he mostly spent his time. By doing this Dickens permits readers to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the aged city, London. This ability to show the readers how it was then, how ...
How W.W. Jacobs, H.G. Wells and Charles Dickens Create Suspense in their Gothic Horror Stories
In John Irving's novel titled, A Prayer for Owen Meany, suspenseful events are of abundance, and there are multiple ways the author creates this suspense. Among these methods of creating suspense, four that stand out are the use of setting, the pace of the story, the involvement of mysteries to be solved, and the ability of the reader to easily identify and sympathize with the protagonist. By placing a character in a gloomy or solitary place, uncomfortable feelings are created, which append to the suspense. Pace and structure of the story also play into the foundation of suspense, as shorter sentences and stronger, more cutting verbs and adjectives are often used to keep the reader highly interested and reading at a rapid speed. Of course, suspense could not be considered what it is if there were no mystery involved. The element of not knowing what is in store for the future and having the urge to find out is the essence of suspense. Also, if the reader cannot easily relate to and sympathize with the character in the suspenseful situation, a loss of interest can arise, and therefore spoil the spirit of the tension. Uncomfortable settings, pace and structure, use of mysteries, and capability to relate to the main character are four techniques that John Irving uses to create suspense.
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print
The sense of time is apparent to allow for an understanding of the time that passes in his life. In the poem, he points out the "sunlight between two pines," leading to the idea that it is early in the day while the sun is still shining until he decides to lean back and watch “as
The range of poets featured in “Lines to Time” use a variety of poetic devices and writer’s techniques such as symbolism, imagery, alliteration, onomatopoeia, tone, metaphors and humour, to effectively construct an evocative poem.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1c. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print. The.
“In this poem, the night represents his destination — the poet’s own inner life, possibly self-knowledge. The poet, then, feels at least partially alienated from himself in much the same way that the night promotes a feeling of alienation from other people” (Kidd 2). Therefore, the reader can assume this rest of the poem is going to be about the narrator getting to know his place in this world while he is on a night stroll. The second line of stanza one states “I have walked out in rain –and back in rain” (Frost 157). His repetition of going in the rain twice emphasizes his miserable condition on this dark, rainy night. Nonetheless, he embraces nature and continues on with his walk past “the furthest city light” which tells the reader that he is now in complete darkness. Stanza two focuses primarily on his relationship with society. The narrator is casually walking in the city at night and sees the “saddest city lane” and
Throughout A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens repeats a number of symbols and motifs. By employing these two literary devices throughout the duration of the story, Dickens is working to emphasize the importance of these specific components of the story. Motifs and symbols represent repeating ideas that help the reader to understand, as well as highlight the author’s central idea. Dickens employs the usage of symbols and motifs, such that by using both he adds a layer of significance and deeper meaning to actions, people, as well as objects. Additionally, by using symbols and motifs, Dickens is able to create a story in which both the characters, and the plot are interwoven.
Atmosphere in Charles Dickens' The Signalman 'The Signal-man' is a ghostly thriller by Charles Dickens. Based on an apparently hallucinating signal-man and the tales of his hallucinations, the story is seen through the eyes of the narrator, a man told of the signal-mans troubles during conversations with the signal-man himself. From the beginning of the story, the atmosphere is both eerie and gloomy. To produce this type of atmosphere, Dickens had to draw on several different aspects of English literature-mostly through description and use of language. The setting is described meticulously, producing vivid images in the mind of the reader.
113- The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. of the book. Vol.
mind and it did not exist. We are told by the narrator that he thought
A mystery or ghost story is a story that contains a ghost or a supernatural element. Like in ‘The Signalman’ ghosts often appear as prophets of things to come.
Longman. The Longman Anthology of British Literature, vol. B. Damrosch, D. (ed.). NY, LA: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. 2000.