A Multimodal Text Analysis of The Tempest Review
THE TEMPEST REVIEW (MULTIMODAL TEXT ANALYSIS)
The multimodal text I have chosen is taken from the Guardian online, its genre and mode is a review of a production of the Tempest performed in May at the Globe Theatre in London.
The online text is intended for Guardian readers because Tilden, the reviewer is a regular contributor to the newspaper. The prosodic feature of conversational rhythm is used and Tilden uses an easy informal tone that people enjoy to read as it is very inclusive ‘My Bengali’, ‘My understanding’. This is reflected in the punctuation of the article, use of the dash in ‘forgiveness – and they are stretched’ which replaces a potential complex sentence, brackets for useful facts ‘My Bengali (the world’s sixth most spoken language) is non existent’ and the slashes in ‘Stephano/Trinculo/Caliban’ reflect spontaneous speech. The address of the article also uses formal lexis and register with upper class conventions such as ‘apt’ and ‘alas’ which represents the readership and demographic of Guardian readers. The reviewer is critical ‘both here felt underplayed: Prospero lacked authority, while Ariel’s presence was so diminished that she seemed little more than a supporting player’ which would divide and unite readers as people have different opinions of who the most important characters are. However, the article is balanced as it concludes on a positive note with a triplet ‘stretching towards the infinite sky, poised to take flight, and laughs for joy’ which creates a feel of finality and emphasises the fact that The Tempest is Shakespeare’s final play. Tilden’s personality affects the focus of language as she points out scenic details that really grabbed her attention and evokes a reader reaction of wanting to be there watching the play ‘the final scene…was beautifully realised’.
The register of the review is appropriate for the audience because broadsheet newspaper readers tend to be middle class and
The multimodal text I have chosen is taken from the Guardian online, its genre and mode is a review of a production of the Tempest performed in May at the Globe Theatre in London.
The online text is intended for Guardian readers because Tilden, the reviewer is a regular contributor to the newspaper. The prosodic feature of conversational rhythm is used and Tilden uses an easy informal tone that people enjoy to read as it is very inclusive ‘My Bengali’, ‘My understanding’. This is reflected in the punctuation of the article, use of the dash in ‘forgiveness – and they are stretched’ which replaces a potential complex sentence, brackets for useful facts ‘My Bengali (the world’s sixth most spoken language) is non existent’ and the slashes in ‘Stephano/Trinculo/Caliban’ reflect spontaneous speech. The address of the article also uses formal lexis and register with upper class conventions such as ‘apt’ and ‘alas’ which represents the readership and demographic of Guardian readers. The reviewer is critical ‘both here felt underplayed: Prospero lacked authority, while Ariel’s presence was so diminished that she seemed little more than a supporting player’ which would divide and unite readers as people have different opinions of who the most important characters are. However, the article is balanced as it concludes on a positive note with a triplet ‘stretching towards the infinite sky, poised to take flight, and laughs for joy’ which creates a feel of finality and emphasises the fact that The Tempest is Shakespeare’s final play. Tilden’s personality affects the focus of language as she points out scenic details that really grabbed her attention and evokes a reader reaction of wanting to be there watching the play ‘the final scene…was beautifully realised’.
The register of the review is appropriate for the audience because broadsheet newspaper readers tend to be middle class and