Transcript
The teacher uses interrogatives such as 'so what is the main point of the poem?' to set the agenda of the class discussion and make the class think. The lexical choice of 'so' focuses the students and adds to the fact that she wants them to come to a conclusion. Interrogatives are also used in latched talk: 'it's a kind of, of amorous play, isn't it?' 'Amorous?' 'Yes, amorous play' which shows the asymmetrical power between the student and the teacher. The teacher has more airtime which shows her expertise and makes her sound more knowledgeable. The interrogatives are also used to apply constraints to the discussion: 'is that a threat?' to remind the student, Alex, that they're in a classroom and she as the teacher has control over him. This asymmetrical power is then challenged using another interrogative 'what if I don't answer?' which shows sarcasm and a certain amount of disrespect for the teacher's authority.
The Drummer Hodge scene
The techniques used during this scene show how Hector and Posner are both very isolated and lonely characters. The use of latched talk makes Posner sound eager: 'How old was he?' 'If he's a drummer...' 'No. Hardy.' and shows that the poem has made an impact on him. As well as this, the adjacency pair of 'not being in the swim. Can you see that?' 'Yes, sir. I felt that a bit.' shows that Posner feels comfortable with Hector and this is also a co-operative overlap. However, Hector quickly puts constraints on this situation as he says 'shall we just have the last verse again and I'll let you go.' which reminds both the characters and the audience that they're in a professional, classroom setting and that there is an asymmetrical power between the two characters. Hector shows his expertise through utterances like 'it's a turn of phrase he has bequeathed to Larkin, who liked Hardy apparently' which Bennett uses to show how knowledgeable, fluent and passionate he is. This is also shown in the longer airtime Hector has compared to Posner: the audience can tell that this is an important scene between the characters and that Posner is learning something from Hector who is shown as being wise but vulnerable,
A good range of ideas on the transcript. It is much better to pick a few linked examples e.g. the use of interrogatives and how they suggest power asymmetry, focussing on the techniques within each interrogative rather than range over so many points and not discuss any in depth e.g. you mention that the talk is latched but not the possible reasons or effects (you do so much better in the Drummer Hodge analysis) - you need to go consistently into depth on every point to do well or you are not being 'systematic'.
ReplyDeleteSame on the Drummer Hodge episode - work on a disciplined PEE structure that is planned to make points in depth and link to the next paragraph but such good ideas!