Thursday 11 June 2020

POVs In Chapters i And ii

A Midsummer Tempest.

Prince Rupert is the viewpoint character of i. We are told that he waited and was aware, what he thought and that:

"An inner pain touched him." (p. 1)

We are told that he recognized Will and what he saw during the Battle of Marston Moor.

At the end of i, Rupert is captured by Roundheads led by an as yet unnamed knight.

In ii, Rupert and that knight, identified as Sir Malachi Shelgrave, converse in blank verse disguised as prose - except that we notice its singsong rhythm. And, as if this were a play or a film, neither man is the viewpoint character. Both are described as if by a third party observer. When Rupert is annoyed, his fists knot but we are not told how it feels to him. When they walk in silence, we are told that both control their tempers.

After they have entered a railway shed, there is a change of scene which should have been marked by a double space between paragraphs:

"A moment later, a coach and four rattled up a drive which curved to meet the Bradford road." (p.14)

"A moment later..." makes us think that we are still outside the railway shed but the rest of the sentence locates the scene elsewhere. Jennifer Alayne alights from the coach and, on p. 17, sees and recognizes Shelgrave but not his large companion whom we know to be Rupert. Thus, the narrative has acquired a viewpoint character but it is Jennifer.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I think you could have mentioned how fascinated and delighted Prince Rupert was by his apparently first chance to examine a railroad locomotive. And, just for a moment he and Sir Malachi felt some kinship of spirit. We know from real history that our Rupert was genuinely interested in the sciences.

Ad astra! Sean