What you'll learn
How the shape of a text contributes to its meaning.
Structure and form
- Narrative structure: order of events, flashbacks, foreshadowing, climax and resolution.
- Dramatic structure: acts and scenes, rising action, turning points.
- Poetic form: stanza pattern, line length, rhyme scheme, sonnet/ballad forms, enjambment and caesura.
Analysing effect
- Ask how the ordering or shaping guides the reader's response.
Exam tips
- Comment on structure/form as well as language.
- Link a structural choice to its effect on meaning.
Common mistakes
- Analysing only language and ignoring structure.
- Describing form without explaining its purpose.