1. L3: How does Dickens use language and structure to emphasise the death of Marley at the start of ‘A Christmas Carol’?

2. Recap questions:
Why might Dickens have titled the novel ‘A Christmas Carol’?
What is the significance of the preface to ‘A Christmas Carol’?
Who is Marley?
Why is it important that the reader is clear Marley is dead?
How does Dickens use allusion (where a brief reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance is mentioned within a literary text) in the opening of the novel?
Do it now

3. How does Dickens emphasise the death of Marley at the start of the novel?
Last lesson we learnt that Marley was dead at the start of the novel. Dickens needed to emphasise Marley’s death at the start of Stave 1 if we, as readers, are to make sense of events that happen later on in the novel. In order to emphasise his death, Dickens draws upon a range of language and structural techniques. He uses
similes
lexical repetition
lists
short sentences
repetition and
allusion
to help him do this.
New knowledge

4. What methods does Dickens employ to emphasise the death of Marley at the start of the novel?
Simile to emphasise how dead Marley is.
Lexical repetition to emphasise how in death Marley had no-one but Scrooge.
List to emphasise the finality of Marley’s death.
Short sentence to shock the reader with the information that Marley is dead.
Repetition to confirm Marley’s death.
Allusion to help the reader understand that Marley is dead and that this needs to be understood.
Pen to paper

5. What methods does Dickens employ to emphasise the death of Marley at the start of the novel?
Simile to emphasise how dead Marley is.
Old Marley was as dead as a door nail.
Lexical repetition to emphasise how in death Marley had no-one but Scrooge.
Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner.
List to emphasise the finality of Marley’s death.
The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner.
Short sentence to shock the reader with the information that Marley is dead.
Marley was dead: to begin with.
Repetition to confirm Marley’s death.
Marley was dead.
Marley was as dead as a door nail.
Allusion to help the reader understand that Marley is dead and that this needs to be understood.
If we were not perfectly convinced that Hamlet’s Father died before the play began, there would be nothing more remarkable in his taking a stroll at night, in an easterly wind…
Pen to paper

6. WHAT do we learn about Marley? HOW?
How does Dickens use language and structure to emphasise the death of Marley at the start of ‘A Christmas Carol’?
We are now going to write a response to the question above. In order to do this, we need to follow a very basic structure of analysis:
WHAT?
WHAT do we learn about Marley?
HOW?
HOW has Dickens used language or structure to support his point about Marley?
WHY?
WHY is the use of language or structure to present Marley in this way particularly effective?
New knowledge

7. How does Dickens use language and structure to emphasise the death of Marley at the start of ‘A Christmas Carol’?
My exemplar response using WHAT? HOW? WHY? At the start of ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens we learn that Marley is dead. His death is emphasised by Dickens when he uses the short sentence ‘Marley was dead to begin with.’ The use of this short sentence to begin the novel creates a dramatic start to the narrative through the announcement of a death so early on. As a result, many questions will be raised in the reader’s mind as to how and why the character of Marley has died and why it is significant to the story but the message that he is dead has been clearly communicated to the reader right from the outset. Can you identify each section of my paragraph response? Where is my WHAT response? Where is my HOW response? Where is my WHY response?
Pen to paper

8. Section of the paragraph What question are we answering?
How does Dickens use language and structure to emphasise the death of Marley at the start of ‘A Christmas Carol’?
In your exercise book, write the following title: How does Dickens use language and structure to emphasise the death of Marley at the start of ‘A Christmas Carol’?
Section of the paragraph
What question are we answering?
Things to consider
WHAT?
WHAT do we learn about Marley?
You can use the opening sentence from the exemplar response.
HOW?
HOW has Dickens used language or structure to support his point about Marley?
What technique has Dickens used? Where is the text has this technique been used?
WHY?
WHY is the use of language or structure to present Marley in this way particularly effective?
Why has Dickens used this particular technique?
How does it help to emphasise his death?
How does it help to create an engaging opening?
Pen to paper

9. PEER ASSESSMENT Reflection Have I Yes or No?
Swap your paragraph with the person sitting next to you. Ask them to read your work and, using three colours, identify where you have answered the WHAT? Where you have answered the HOW? And where you have answered the WHY?
Look at the following success criteria and ask them to check it off in your booklet:
Have I
Yes or No?
identified that we learn that Marley is dead in the opening of the story?
identified a technique Dickens has used to present Marley as dead?
used the correct terminology?
chosen an appropriate textual reference that uses my chosen technique?
explained how the use of the technique emphasises Marley’s death?
explained how the use of the technique engages the reader in the narrative?
Reflection