Samuel Pepys (W) Flashcards
Purpose
diary so it was not intended for a public audience, describes the circumstances and experience
Pragmatics
account ranges widely from immediate domestic circumstances to matters of state,
Lexis
period of Pepys’ writing shown through use of, to
the modern reader, archaic lexis (hath, above, whereof, loth). Some use of verbs to convey a particular atmosphere or effect (flinging, clambering), but lexical choices predominantly plain in order to convey facts (taken fire in the very top, and there it burned till it fell down)
Semantics
Pepys’ account, though rich and detailed, is more direct. There is little ‘literary’ language (simile: ‘cried like a fainting woman’, metaphor ‘creatures’); limited use of noun phrases, predominantly ‘poor’ (poor people, poor pigeons poor steeple) with slightly more variety to describe the fire (infinite great…; lamentable)
Grammar/syntax
The ‘eye-witness’ nature of Pepys’ account means
singular first person pronouns and possessive
determiners (I, my) predominate.
shift between tenses Pepys’ account moves
between past tense (saw the fire; it hath burned down) and present/present continuous (she hears; everybody endeavouring, Jane comes and tells me,) giving a sense of confusion and immediacy.
Sentence functions
a limited range of sentence functions, predominantly declarative, linked to purpose
Chronology
Pepys presents events as a chronological account
leading to extensive use of conjunction ‘so’. Some use
of reporting clauses to qualify viewpoint and
acknowledge the description as his interpretation (I
perceive; to my sight).
Context
Samuel Pepys was an administrator of the navy of England and a member of parliament. His diary is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period.
Juxtaposition of water and fire
‘down to the water side.. and there saw a lamentable fire’
