The Depressives Society

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im writing an analysis titled

'How does Woolf use language to make her descriptions striking in the extract from 'the Waves'?'


want to see what i have so far?

i have finished it already now...

but here is half of it (im not gonna give the whole thing away, dont want to be accused of plagerism if someone hands a similar one in ....

How does Woolf use language to make her descriptions striking in the extract from ‘The Waves’?

I shall start by placing this extract in context, so as to better understand the piece. This extract is from a novel of experimental nature called ‘The Waves’ by Virginia Woolf that was written in 1931. The novel was an experiment in using a pose or poetical form to explore the concept known as ‘Stream-of-consciousness’, but is has been said that the description of ‘prose’ or ‘poem’ or even ‘novel’ are inaccurate for this unusual piece of literature; it is called by experts in the field a ‘Playpoem’.

This ‘Playpoem’ is a series of several soliloquies from a set of characters separated by interludes of third person descriptive scenes of a coastal view; with each interlude chronicling a specific time of day from sunrise to sunset. It is suggested that these characters are not separate entities at all, but facets of a common ‘gestalt’ entity representing a deeper unifying consciousness. The extract we are examining however, is not from any of the soliloquies, but is from one of the Interlude coastal scenes.

So without further ado, I will now answer the question of how Woolf uses language to make the descriptions striking in this extract. It reads like an experience seen though the ‘eyes’ and is pure description, without any bias or apparent human interaction, this lends the extract a purity of thought and form and allows for minute detail of all that the ‘eye’ falls upon. It is this that makes the extract striking, if you read a paragraph and then close your eyes it is very easy to picture the moment, this was intentional and is done by utilising aspects of personification.

I like I like

no...can't say I have

oh.... i take it then, you mean you like my writing style?

yes...that's right

I'm so depressed, I am going to listen to some Leonard Cohen music to cheer myself up.

listen to Phil Collins

Listen to Evenescence.......umm, wait....

did you say depressed? erm scrap that.....

try the Monkees

Styx! Styx heals all wounds

Rammstein. Listen to Rammstein. Du hast!

I don't suppose now's a good time to mention that I was making a joke. (You see, Leonard Cohen music is depressing, and... never mind. I'm just blowing off steam after working all week.)