Language
The language style is of course colloquial. Sentences are generally very short, even in the occasional more lengthy monologues. It jumps between soft and concerned, creating pauses and carefully placed verbal cues in the lines, to rather witty and harsh, with perfectly timed responses so as to create a quick volley of argument between the characters. This shift is especially noticeable as the play wears on, as situations intensify and emotions rise. It is "brilliantly paced both in the writing and in Eyre's moving, funny, and richly rewarding production."
One could also assess various strategies of the actual sound of the words – consonants versus vowels, dissonance and alliteration – but these components do not seem to play a large part in the overall sense of the play. It is much more about timing and content of the dialogue rather than the literal sound. Each character uses rather similar effects so that there is no noticeable variation in the sound of the speech in terms of individual use of language.
Read more about this topic: Amy's View
Famous quotes containing the word language:
“Language is a skin: I rub my language against the other. It is as if I had words instead of fingers, or fingers at the tip of my words. My language trembles with desire.”
—Roland Barthes (1915–1980)
“Poetry is the universal language which the heart holds with nature and itself. He who has a contempt for poetry, cannot have much respect for himself, or for anything else.”
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830)
“There’s a cool web of language winds us in,
Retreat from too much joy or too much fear.”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)