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Topic 8 - Discourse structure and point of view > Discourse structure and point of view > Task C |
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Discourse structure and point of viewTask C - Viewpoints in Comeclose and Sleepnow by Roger McGoughAlthough most poems have one level of discourse, some, like plays, have two, and a few may even have three. Consider the poem 'Comeclose and Sleepnow', which we have already examined in some detail in the 'analysing a whole poem' page of the poetry self assessment tool, and draw a discourse structure diagram for it. When you have done so, compare your diagram with ours.
Variations from the prototypical two-level discourse structure of dramaWe can see from the example in Task C that although poetry
is prototypically a genre involving one level of discourse, some poems
can actually have the 'doubled' discourse more typical of drama. Similarly,
drama can sometimes have an extra (in this case a third) level of discourse.
A famous play that has three discourse levels is A Man for All Seasons
by Robert Bolt
Although we need three levels of discourse structure to account for this play, it is also important to notice that the play's 'discourse architecture' changes from one point to another. When the Common Man is present we need to take account of the middle level, the narrator level. But when the Common Man narrator is not present the play reverts to the standard two-level discourse architecture prototypically associated with plays. On the next page, The discourse structure of the novel, we're going to look at the discourse architecture of several well-known novels, some of which are 1st person and some of which are 3rd person.
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