A Christmas carol Flashcards
(7 cards)
“Bah! Humbug!”
Theme: Miserliness & Coldness
Technique: Exclamation / Repetition / Alliteration
Explanation: Emphasises Scrooge’s rejection of Christmas spirit; the phrase becomes symbolic of his cynical worldview.
Every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’… should be boiled with his own pudding…”
Theme: Miserliness & Coldness
Technique: Hyperbole / Violent Imagery
Explanation: Ridiculous exaggeration reveals the extent of Scrooge’s bitterness and hostility.
“What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.”
Theme: Miserliness & Coldness
Technique: Rhetorical Questions / Irony
Explanation: Shows Scrooge’s belief that happiness must be tied to wealth; ironic, given his own misery.
“Spirit! Show me no more! Conduct me home. Why do you delight to torture me?”
Theme: Reflection & Regret
Technique: Emotive Language / Repetition
Explanation: Reveals Scrooge’s emotional pain and the beginning of his internal transformation.
“I should like to have given him something: that’s all.”
Theme: Reflection & Regret
Technique: Short Sentence / Tone Shift
Explanation: Subtle but meaningful sign of regret; simplicity reflects how unused he is to kindness.
“Have they no refuge or resource?”
Theme: Reflection & Regret
Technique: Irony / Echo
Explanation: Scrooge echoes his own words from earlier—now in horror, showing his moral awakening.
“I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future! The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.”
Theme: Redemption & Joy
Technique: Anaphora / Tricolon
Explanation: His repetition emphasises commitment to change; the structure shows a resolved tone.
