3.1 Alan Bennett: What I did in 2013 Flashcards
Genre
mix of comedy and cynicism, personal reflection
Mode
diary, printed copy
Audience
Bennett himself, fans and those interested in published diaries
Purpose
to reflect on events in his life and make readers aware of his thoughts
“This year kicks off with a small trespass”
personification and oxymoron
- informal and colloquial voice
- pre modifier ‘small’
- breaking and entering isn’t a small act, humorous litotes
“English heritages way of turning a blind eye”
personification
- suggests they can turn a blind eye
- cultural ref
- idiom
- conversational and humorous voice
“What the famous corpse looked like”
pre modifying adjective
- dehumanising litotes
- downplaying historical figure
“No different from the fanciful portrait”
pre modifying adjective
- sarcastic
- mocking and cynical
- suggests the portrait was bad
“the ‘bacon is Shakespeare’ lot”
colloquialism
- lack intelligence
“So cold this week that I do what I haven’t done since I was in the army”
reverse syntax
- reflecting on cold weather
- sensory and thermal imagery
- small entry, suggests his time in national service is hard to talk about. can only allude
“Richard Griffiths dies”
short sentence
- hard hitting
- cant process it
- abrupt
“Spared the unctuous telephone calls”
pre modifying noun phrase
- disingenuous
“‘We hope we’re not intruding on your grief’”
abstract noun
- cynical and angry tone with media
- harassed for news
- imagined speech
“Logistic difficulties caused by his bulk”
euphemistic
- mocking his weight
- humorous
“‘A slight hiccup in the atypical journey from grave to cradle’”
actual speech
- admiration and respect
- idiom
- remembers him being sarcastic and funny
