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Dialogue

The manipulation of dialogue within a text can impact greatly on the audiences

perception of character and situation. The module Experience through language has

revealed the way in which dialogue can be used to portray characters and situations ina variety of contexts. The three poems Enter without so much as knocking,

eapons training and !ig "im by !rice Daw support the idea in which dialogue

can be used to show values and beliefs. #ne additional text that further exemplifies

dialogue is a short story, The test by $ngelica %ibbs.

Dialogue is conversation between people in which language is used to show the

interaction of characters in a social context. &ometimes language can involve a

dramatic monologue in which one person may represent their inner most feelings and

desires. $ composer can use dialogue to highlight feelings and emotions in a more

dramatic way than simply describing them.

!ruce Dawe is a social satirist who deals with contemporary problems. 'e brings his

poems to life by giving them a realistic vernacular voice that allows him to highlight

peoples attitudes in certain situations.

Enter without so much as knocking is a sarcastic look at the negative features of

modern life, particularly materialism. Dawe explores such themes as dehumanisation

and social conformity and uses a range of language and structural techni(ues to help

support these themes.

Daw makes use of techni(ues such as exaggeration, sarcasm and caricature to ridicule

the materialism that infects modern society) *+# !E$T'-+% E/E0T !1

#DE2, this deliberate exaggeration and the use of capitol letters convey the

congestion and stress that is present in our society. Dawe also uses an irregular

structure to emphasise the chaotic environment, which is present day society. The use

of dialogue helps set the scene of this situation.

3aterialism is expressed through a ceaseless literary of advertising slogans, rules,

instructions and clich4s. $dvertising 5argon, for example, *one economy si6ed mum2

and, *$nthony &(uires coolstream summerweight dad2 is deliberately used to

characterise the people as having no individuality or identity.

7igurative language such as similes, *like kids at the circus2 and alliteration, *faces

snarled screamed2 is manipulated so that the responders get a vivid picture of what is

being described, which impacts strongly on the audiences perception of character and

situation.

eapons Training is a poem written in the form of an address being given to a group

of raw recruits by an experienced, roughly spoken, gruff mannered sergeant. 'is

manner is intimidating and derogatory and his authoritative tone emphasises his

control over them. /ontrol, debasement and danger are all themes that are present in

this poem.

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Daw uses stereotypes to help depict the image of a ranting army sergeant. The

emotive language creates techni(ues of fear, anger and frustration and personalised

attacks such as *are you (ueer82 increases the sense of menace and vulgarity. These

techni(ues are effective in characterising the sergeant and making the audience feel

uneasy.

ord choice is a particularly valuable techni(ue in this poem. The terminology while

simple is packed with double meaning that helps develop a pervading negative

atmosphere. 3onosyllabic words such as *click2, *(ueer2 and *tit2 give the poem a

blunt and direct feel while polysyllabic words including *bloody2 add layers of

meaning.

9arious language techni(ues are further expressed in eapons Training. :imited

punctuation, instructional and collo(uial language along with an imperious tone gives

the poem a forceful, authoritative resonance. The collo(uial tone and language is

evident with idiomatic expressions such as *copped the bloody lot2 and slang terms

such as *(ueer2 and *nit2. Thus, a range of techni(ues has helped set the scene anddialogue has revealed the character and has altered the audiences perception.

-n the poem !ig "im, a picture is painted of a working class man who is proud of his

origins and achievements. 'e appears gregarious and full of self;confidence and the

simple 5oy of life. The main themes of !ig "im are individualism and working class

hero, which are shown clearly through a range of linguistic and imagery techni(ues.

The irregular stan6a length enhances the collo(uial, conversational tone of the poem.

The combination of formal terms such as *vendetta2 and *intoning2 with slang terms

including *guts2 and *belly2 demonstrate the stature of the man.

-magery is used to portray "ims character as overwhelming and somewhat

intimidating. Dawe captures his sense of si6e by reference to his *freckled paw2 as he

reaches for *fosters2. -magery is further used when the beer is being categorised by

colour imagery as *chilled

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3rs Erickson, 3arians employer genuinely likes 3arian, but language is used to

show the ine(uality between them. 7or example 3arian calls her employer *3rs

Erickson2 and *3aam2.

Dialogue has been used vastly in this story to reveal certain characters in given

circumstances) it reveals the pre5udices and ine(ualities between each of the three

characters.

!oth composers discussed above have manipulated dialogue and used a range of

techni(ues in their texts. These paint a certain picture in the audiences mind and can

alter their perception of character and situation