Language and power

In the leaflet wrtitten by Bishops Waltham Action Group there are various lexical choices made by the writer in order to assert power.Firstly i can tell the purpose is to persuade and inform because it is a peice of text that is written as a leaflet and nearly all leaflets are written to persuade , wether it is a product , a service , a campain and in this case it is a leaflet written by a  local protest group and it is also written with the purpose to inform.The text is encouraging the people of Bishops Waltham to write a letter of complaint by a deadline date in the hope that it will encourage the council to not go ahead with tehir intended plans.The context of the text is about a local protest group being infuriated about the plans of a sainsburys superstore being built due to a number of reasons such as it will , cause traffic , it will 'destroy the vitality and viability of Bishops Waltham town centre. The audience of the leaflet is to the local people of Bishops Waltham and the writer tries to make the peoople of Bishops Waltham seem like they are all as one by using personal pronouns such as "we all now" and "our community" , this is done to really entise the reader into joining the protest , i see this as a way of trying to asssert power because it is like as if the writer is trying to indocrinate the reader into thinking they really do need to help in this protest.A graphalogical feature that is apparent to me is the use of colour, there is a lot of the use of red , red is usually a colour assosiated with danger and urgency , just by using this colour it is like as if it is crucial the reader does what the leaflet is telling the reader to do.I see this as a way of asserting power because it is really alarming readers in the hope that readers will act upon the wishes made by Bishops Waltham Action Group. Another graphalogical feature is the use of a alarm clock next to the title that says "times running out...write a letter today". This text is written in a bold font to entise and the words , "write a letter today" , seems very much like a imperative in order to make it seem crucial that the reader must take action as soon as possible , because of the use of the word "today".It is like as if the writer is saying if the reader does not take action there will be consequences . The image of the alarm clock (in red) , is like a indication to the reader that it is really important a letter is wrtitten soon as it is like as if the clock is ticking.There is also a use of rhetorical questions such as "is this a chance worth taking?" and this is written in bold to make it clear to the reader that it is crucial the reader takes action from this leaflet.In the bottom left corner of the leaflet it says "Love Bishops Waltham" with a heart around Bishops and in small font underneath this text it says "A high street dating back to 1832" . The small font gives me the implied message that if this sainsurys superstore is built it will ruin the tradtional old town of Bishops Waltham and having this superstore built , it will jeprodise the history of this town.Also there is  a small red box that says , "if you are about to go on your summer holiday  , prlease write before you go ... every letter counts" the word "please" is a polite marker of really encouaging people to write a letter.Obviously it is crucial that when the readers of this letter actually want to write this letter , they will need an adress the person can write this to.In the text an adress is listed but above the adress it says the imperative , "you must quote both" , this is an imperative to assert power.The register of the text is spoken english as this is a way of the text being able to appeal to most people so that way it gets the message out to most people.Also there is another text box saying "remember:" and this is like a declative and the use of a colon shows it is like a list .

commentary of article

Commentary on article.

While writing the my article for the metro, there was a number of things I had to do to make it seem very realistic and believable that I was a 50 year old man had wrote this .Firstly I wrote in a standard English register to appeal to my audience and as I this is what my dad would normally speak in with the odd bit of taboo language. I picked to do this article in the metro as I believe that it was the most fitting for this type of restaurant as the restaurant was in London and the metro is for the readers of London. I used grapholgical features such as pictures of the food served and pictures of the actual restaurant to entice readers. The purpose of my text was to inform as well as advice and entertain due to comical features in my text. In the first few paragraphs it was quite off the subject of reviewing the restaurant, it was more around the subject of turning 50 and the associations with being 50 and I decided to talk about this as the reason why we were going out for a meal was for my dad’s 50^th birthday. I decided to waffle for the first few paragraphs to set the scene and comfort readers in to the article, also to entertain. I started off by using a quotation of what my dad said to really make it seem that he said it.

asymmetrical conversations

1) Someone with equal power as me
Louise: Hey lul ,
Lauren: Wassapening G
Louise: (Laughs) Whats up homie
Lauren: Ok stop talking gangster , have you done the work for art girl ?
Louise: Shit.. i aint done it!
Lauren: Manz is gonna get slapped up by miss!
Louise: Shutup

2) Someone with less power than me
Lauren: Move out my way!
Year 7: Okay miss
Lauren: No its mam'
Year 7: Okay mam'
Lauren: Thats what i thought weasel , now give me your lunch money , NOW!
Year 7: Okay mam'
Lauren: Mwhahahah
Year 7: (runs away crying)

3) Someone with more power than me
Miss Beckett:Lauren you are very behind on your work
Lauren: I know
Miss Beckett :So you know you are?
Lauren: Well , erm
Miss Beckett: Enough nonsence , you need to get it together girl
Lauren: Okay Miss
Miss Beckett: Okay Miss Beckett
Lauren: Okay Miss Beckett
Miss Beckett: Thats enough now , get on with it!

Grouping task

My first grouping of texts is A and C , i have put these two texts in a group as i beleive there are liguistic reasons for their similarities.Graphalogically they are similar because both texts use coulour to entise the reader because both texts are seen physically , text A is seen in a magazine and text C is seen in a flyer sent by post so it is crucial they look synthetically pleasing.Also these texts both show that they are aimed at the same audience , adults , as text A say 'your kids' and text C is obviously aimed at adults because it is a flyer sent to home owners and the text talks about improving the home.Also it is similar for the fact they are both informative texts , although text A is more the purpose of warning readers and text C the purpose is more for the advertising to readers.Text A is in somewhat ways horrific as the word 'road' is like as if it is written in blood by a child to scare parents also it is evident that this is a warning text as the word 'if' is used at the begining of the text to show that it is conditional , so its saying 'if you do this ... this will happen' , this is done to really concern the readers in the hope they will take action.In text C imperatives are used to really convince customers to want to use ikea's services with words such as sit,lay,roll ... these are all used to make ikeas services sound more appealing.The register of both texts is standard english as these are texts that are presented on flyers and advertisements it needs to be understandable to succesefully inform readers.

My second grouping of texts is text B and text F , i have picked these two texts becaus i beleive there are a range of similiar linguistic methods used which i can identify.Simiarly the grammar is very a-like because both texts use short sentences , also the discourse structure is very similar because they are conversations with not much purpose but text B involves more questions.The register of both of the texts is spoken english because both texts are converations but text B is more formal due to the characters within the text , text F is between a mother and son so it is more personal and a very casual chat where as text B is quite formal due to words such as 'sir' which gives the impression that Balwick has a higher level of higherarchy as he is called 'sir' by Blackladder.Both texts are also similar because neither texts have much purpose other than to entertain.There are many similarities but there are some differences , text B is a actual script from a television series and text F is just a transcript with a conversation between a mother and her son. Both texts use phonology but use it in different ways , text F would say (laughs)  where as text B would use stage directions such as "thats the scratching noise".

   

Wilfred owen

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, 
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, 
Till on the haunting flares(2) we turned our backs 
And towards our distant rest(3) began to trudge. 
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots 
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; 
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots(4)  
Of tired, outstripped(5) Five-Nines(6) that dropped behind.
Gas!(7) Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling, 
Fitting the clumsy helmets(8) just in time; 
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, 
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime(9) . . . 
Dim, through the misty panes(10) and thick green light, 
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. 
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, 
He plunges at me, guttering,(11) choking, drowning. 
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace 
Behind the wagon that we flung him in, 
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, 
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; 
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood 
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, 
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud(12)  
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, 
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest(13)  
To children ardent(14) for some desperate glory, 
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est 
Pro patria mori.(15)

Wilfred Owen
8 October 1917 - March, 1918

Wilfred Owen uses careful chosen words to convey the pain and suffering of the weary soldiers.

There is not a clearly defined structure to the poem, although Owen does make use of rhyme, mostly on alternate line endings.

The poem opens with a description of trench life and the conditions faced by the soldiers. Then comes the gas attack, and the poem offers a graphic description of the effects of such an attack.The opening stanza is characterised by language about 'fatigue': the soldiers 'marched asleep', they 'trudge', and 'limped on'. They are 'deaf', 'lame' and 'blind'; all rather pitiful language intended to reveal the reality of war and its effects.

The speaker describes a vision in a dream of a gas victim 'guttering, choking, drowning'. The listed verbs are associated with a lack of air and death.

The language used in the sections depicting the gas attack is strong, representing both the anguish of the victims of the gas attack as well as the effect on those haunted by what they have seen: 'watch the white eyes writhing in his face, / His hanging face'. The repetition of the word 'face' makes it clear which element disturbs the speaker most: the transformation in the face of the victim. The use of alliteration on the 'w' sound reflects the agonised twisting of the gas victim.

The opening of the poem suggests Owen pities the state to which the soldiers have fallen. Instead of youthful, strong fighters they are 'Bent double', 'Knock-kneed, coughing like hags'. Owen's imagery presents the men as prematurely old and weakened. War has broken these men, and they are described in the most unglamorous, inglorious manner. Owen's bitterness at this transformation is obvious.

Owen's disillusionment with war is also clear from the closing lines of the poem. After describing the horrifying effects of the gas attack he addresses the reader:

'My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie'

He is rejecting the accepted attitude back at home that serving your country in war is glorious. He is critical of the 'high zest', or great enthusiasm, used to convince men to go to war. He sees war as brutal and wasteful of young lives. His choice of the word 'children' is also significant; impressionable young men are almost lured to war by the promise of 'desperate glory'.

Futility

Move him into the sun—
Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields unsown.
Always it awoke him, even in France,
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.
Think how it wakes the seeds—
Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.
Are limbs so dear-achieved, are sides
Full-nerved,—still warm,—too hard to stir?
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
—O what made fatuous sunbeams toil
To break earth's sleep at all?

Futility is written in 14 lines like a sonnet. It is not structured like one though. This poem has two seven-line stanzas.

The two-stanza structure reflects the poem's change in tone, from hope and confidence to despair.

The poem begins with a statement that suggests an action happening now. The sun is seen as something positive. The second stanza begins with a different statement. The narrator is no longer thinking of the man who is dying but life and death generally. We can therefore work out that the man has died and the sun has made no difference. The sun then becomes the object of the poet's anger.

The title of the poem is blunt, simple and strong. The poem is going to be very clear and straightforward. We can call this 'bleak realism' – he is being direct about his grief and anger.

Imagery

The key image is the sun. In the first stanza this is a positive force and the imagery is all about waking up. Words such as "move him", "gently", "whispering","rouse" all suggest a soft, motherly force. The sun is "kind" and "old".

In the second stanza the image of the sun becomes negative. This is expressed in the expression "cold star". The contradiction between the star, which is hot, and the description "cold" is called an oxymoron. This shows that the sun may be literally warm but it has no feelings. It does not care that it creates life only to watch it die. The image also reminds us that people, when dead, go cold. Instead of the "kind old sun", all the poet can now see is "fatuous sunbeams" working away. "Fatuous" means 'stupid but thinking you are clever'.

Sounds

The half-rhymes bring the poem together. For example in stanza one sun-sown, once-France.

There are full rhymes (snow-know and tall-all) at the ends of the stanzas. By creating a pattern of rhymes that are not exact, however, he is expressing a sense of broken harmony beneath a seemingly strong surface.

Attitudes, themes and ideas

The poem is an elegy – something written to remember someone who has died. Traditionally these are long poems that list the great deeds of the dead person. In contrast, Owen's poem is short and compact. There is no reason to celebrate a life. There is no hope anywhere. Life is 'futile'. The poem about his friend becomes an elegy for all mankind.

The anger comes through personal knowledge of the dead man's peaceful past. It is made much stronger by the way Owen uses metaphors to apply this to all life. For example "fields half-sown" which refers both to the farm the dead man grew up on and the soldiers being cut down in battle like corn at harvest-time.

Owen does not reach any conclusions in the poem (this too would be futile). Instead he expresses his anger in a series of rhetorical questions at the end (lines 11, 12 and 13/14). He is angry not just at war or the sun but at the whole of Creation as well.

connoatives

The word RED in this advertisment really stands out to me as it connotes that this product is very seductive and i can imagine it attracts alot of readers due to the fact it has kate moss , a very famous model , advertising this product for rimmel. In the top left corner of this page it has the effect that  kate moss has actually wrote her name with lipstick.


The word DELICIOUS in this advertisment connotates that this fragrance smells "delicious" like the taste of the "delicious" apple in her hand. The designer DKNY (Donna Karan New York) is associating  the "big apple" (associated with newyork) into this product . There is a reflection of the famous empire state building in the product and this advertisment shows that it is aimed at glamourous women who want to smell "delicious".

The pronouns "I" connotates that all this woman needs is her levis. This photo is set up in a very natural scenery to show that the jeans may be made from natural materials. A woman with a very slender body is used for this photo to entise readers and she is topless to make it seductive which draws readers in.

The words "super glossy" connates that this product will make your hair shiny. The word glossy gives the impression that this product is good for your hair. Also Cheryl Cole , a icon for women , is used for this advert to entise readers to make people think they can have hair like hers if they use this product.

Grammar and syntax

Morbidly obese boy aged TWO becomes youngest in world to have weight loss surgery.

This is a newspaper article headline published by the Mirror informing middle class people (their target audience) about this extreme story with the intention to shock readers. Firstly I recognise that there is a pre modifier which is the word 'morbidly' , this is used before the word 'obese' , this is used to really exaggerate the story and make it very clear just how large this young boy is. It is also apparent to me that the writer of this article is really trying to indicate just how extreme this story is by writing 'boy aged TWO'  in capital letters to really emphasise just how young this person is and make it clear that this is what makes it most shocking for the fact that he is so young. Also where this headline says 'youngest in the world' shows how extreme this case is and the word , youngest is used as a pre modifier and the words , in the world , are the the post modifier. These are all features used for a dramatic effect.

Tesco 'Back to School' aisle pictured filled with bottles of ALCOHOL.

This is a headline used by the Mirror and it serves the purpose to entertain readers by shocking them.This is obviously a article about a misplaced sign and it is clearly a joke as this would not normally happen. The word Tesco is a proper noun to show that this is a big company and in a way it is used at the beginning of the sentence to humiliate Tesco as a huge company like this should not be slipping up and make mistakes like this. The words 'filled with bottles' really indicates just how many bottles there were and bottles is a collective noun.At the end on the sentence it says 'ALCOHOL' and this is a concrete noun to indicate how bad that alcohol is associated with the children's 'back to school' area and it is like it is a joke implying that most children break the law by drinking so the back to school area should now be swapping their pens and pencils for bottles.

iPhone 5S and 5C: Japanese fans queue outside Apple store in deadly TYPHOON to be first in line.

This headline is used by the daily mirror informing people about the certain extent people go to get the lastest technology. The word 'fans' is a collective noun to show how many people are really interested in the release of this new phone that there are numbers of people literally queuing to get this new technology. The word deadly is adjective used to explain just how bad the weather was , this is a exaggeration to attract readers. Also the word 'TYPHOON'  is a comparison because it was not literally a typhoon but using this word draws attention to the reader as it sounds more dramatic and it is in capital letters to make it bold and clear that there was a down pour of a lot of rain and fans still waiting in line to be one of the first to get this new technology.

Beyonce and Jay Z are rolling in it, named richest celebrity couple.

First of all in this headline proper nouns are used to show names of people and this is female magazine , OK and it indicates that there is no need for a description of as to who Beyoncé and Jay Z are , it is like as if the reader is expected to know. Then the words 'rolling in it' are used and this is a in direct , slang way of saying that they are very wealthy , because this is a magazine it is not very formal and rather chatty to connect with the audience. Also at the end of this headline it says celebrity couple which is the use of alliteration and this attracts the trader. Also the fact they have been 'named' the richest celebrity couple proves that they are really wealthy.