The document discusses the building blocks of narrative, including scenes and places, characters and characterization, time and sequence, voices in the story, and point of view. It questions whether some elements are more important than others and what the implications of this are. The document then provides an exercise where the reader uses post-it notes to identify how these narrative elements and 3 additional ideas are used in Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shalott" to tell the story. The reader is asked to consider which element is most significant in creating the story and which they find most interesting, then summarize the story using the post-it notes to order the information.
1. The Building Blocks of Narrative. What are they? What do they mean?
Scenes and places
Characters &
characterisation
Are any of these
Time and more important
than the others?
sequence
Why?
Voices in the story What are the
implications of this?
Point/s of view
Destination
2. The story in ‘The Lady of Shalott’
• You have 9 Post-it notes, 6 of them for the
‘building blocks’ of narrative and 3 ‘bonus’
ideas.
• From your section of the poem, identify how
the story is being told by Tennyson and write
the evidence on the corresponding Post-it
notes (at least one for each of the ‘blocks’ and 3
other things you consider important to the
story being told).
3. Concentrate on your section and
language, form, structure.
Scenes and places
Shalott = isolated, a
place of separation
Voices
Contrast with Camelot
= the rhyming
Omniscient narrator –
refrain, connecting
trochaic tetrameter
both.
creating a ‘tumbling’
rhythm, carrying the story
to its climax.
Characters &
Scenes and places
Lady is silent, while life
characterisation
carries on around her.
Voices in the story Time and sequence
+ 3 more
Point/s of view Destination
things
4. • Which element is the most significant in
creating and telling the story?
• Why?
• Which element do you find the most
interesting when considering the story?
• Why?
5. How does Tennyson tell the story in
part ____ of ‘The Lady of Shalott’
• Summarise the story being told – overall.
• Use the diamond 9 you have created to
order your information.
• Ensure that you are using quotations form
the poem to support and analyse – but
connect these to the way/s that the story is
being told.
6. Homework – due Tuesday 2nd October
• Log onto Tumblr
• Follow: tennysonlit.tumblr.com