Geoffrey Dramatic Monologue

The name's GEOFFREY

Geoffrey kneels at the front of the church as if in prayer. The lights surrounding him brighten as if he is some sort of greater being. He turns around and sits on the steps with his elbows resting on his knees.

GEOFFREY: I know what you're thinking. You think I was praying for some sort of peace and harmony to be brought to the world. But no. As much as I would like there to be peace and harmony, that is not what I was praying for. I was praying to lose this stupid title as 'The Vicar'. Most of the people I come across and acquaintance myself with don't even know my name by the end of our conversation. They can't comprehend that to me, being a vicar is just a job. I don't want to commit my life to God. I like the idea of helping people enabling people to get through dark times, but why is it so hard for people to comprehend my name is not actually The Vicar? IT'S GEOFFREY! 

I can see Susan hates the fact she’s known as the ‘Vicar’s wife’ too. And I can see she resents me for it. I don’t know what she expects me to do, I always introduce her as Susan and not just simply ‘my wife’, but whenever she comes to any of my services, I can tell she longs to be somewhere else, maybe with someone who she doesn't resent so much. I’d be silly to think that she wasn't seeing someone behind my back. If I was in her position I’d probably do the same. If I’m truthful, I probably haven’t been the best husband these past few years, but I refuse to throw it all away so she can run off with some other man. Maybe if I help her overcome this problem she’s been having at the moment (her being an alcoholic), she’ll realise that I really do love and care about her and I just want to help her. If she still feels the same, I’m going to have no other option but to resign as The Vicar. As much as I do love parts of my job, such as helping people and bring joy to their lives, my wife and I’s relationship is more important to me.

We met when I was 27 years old. She was 3 years younger than me and I fell deeply in love with her as soon as I saw her. How could I just throw all that away after all these years? Whoever she’s seeing surely can’t replace all the good memories we have made in our lifetime together. But if what it takes for me to win Susan back is for me to stop being The Vicar that’s what I’ll do. Of course I’ll miss the positive sides of being the Vicar, but I’ll quite enjoy being called Geoffrey again. After all, that is what my mother named me and I’m sure she’d be quite glad that it’s finally going to be my name again. I just hope Susan will take me back.  I just hope she hasn't forgotten everything. 

Travel Writing - Trip to New York

NEW YORK CITY

Sighs of both relief and excitement could be heard throughout the airport. After nearly a whole 24 hours of travelling, no one ceased to be amazed by every single thing that vaguely reminded them of the fact that we were actually in New York, even down to the tiny souvenirs such as a coffee from the Starbucks store in JFK airport. Although we were all struggling to maintain keeping our eyes from closing, these small things thrilled us to our cores knowing we were finally here after all the time we had spent travelling.

As we stepped out of the air-fogged, automatic doors of the airport, the iciness and bitterness of the air sank into our lungs, causing us all take a prolonged, deep breath to restore normality to our usually warm bodies which were now full with icy cold air. It was winter time in New York so it was like this like this for the majority of the time we there. We did not get used to it, we just simply learnt to wear more layers to protect ourselves from the fierce cold. Later, arrived a blue taxi (not the stereotypical yellow taxi you normally associate with New York) with only enough seats for half of us. Some people fought to get into the taxi to hide away from the cold whilst others were happy to stay and wait for the next taxi, whilst they would remain outside JFK airport still trying to contain their joy over the fact they were in New York.

After the squabbles of who got to get in the first taxi were over, we all arrived to our rooms and almost immediately passed out on our beds. After our short power naps, we were rushed straight back out the door again to endeavor on an adventure in Times Square, which was even more amazing when lit up at night. Everybody's necks became stiff after spending the entire time looking up at the ridiculously large buildings that populate the whole of New York. In specific, there was one building which was highlighted in the centre of time square, surrounded by shorter, yet still abnormally tall, buildings, stood a thin building that almost disappeared into the vast, midnight blue sky. It was impossible to see where it ended.

Later on in the week, we took a leisurely stroll through central park where we could over see the solid, ice-covered lake which looked as if even a penny dropping would be enough to send the whole cover of ice to go smashing through, and for the water of central park lake to be exposed again. You wouldn't want to be the person stood near to the lake when the ice went plummeting through. As well as the lake now being a temporary ice rink, the whole of central park seemed to have transformed into a sight you'd only expect to see at the North Pole. Metres of snow covered every inch of the park, creating a bliss, white scenery. After becoming soaked with snow balls from our heads to our socks, we returned to the main streets which were significantly easier to walk on than heaps of snow in the park.

Our next and one of our final visits was to Rockefeller centre. The sheer height of the building seems to magnify everything beneath, even though in reality it's the size of an ant compared to an human. Going to the Rockefeller centre so close to the end of our trip after seeing all of these spectacular sights was definitely a good choice. From the top of the centre, we could point out all the different places we had visited. We could even point out the hotel we were staying out.

Overall, the trip to New York was remarkable and I would go back in a heart beat! It's definitely a place everyone should visit in their lifetimes.

Armstrong and Miller sketch analysis

The lexis which are used in this sketch makes a very serious subject become comical. When talking about the war you would expect someone of their status in the war to use standard lexis to make the conversation formal, but they actually use non-standard lexis, giving the conversation a more relaxed tone.Phrases such as 'swear down' and 'or whatever' are used, which we usually associate with teenage slang or unimportant conversations. Also, terms such as 'nicking' are used which are not seen as standard English, even though standard English is what everybody would have spoken in Britain during this time period.

The writer of this sketch has made a subject matter which would usually be targeted at the older generation or people who are interested in war, become appealing to young people, particularly teenage girls by using slang that they are familiar with. Using phrases such as 'oh my days' and 'well vex' appeals to a much wider audience range, increasing the amount of people who will watch this sketch, rather than using subject specific lexis which will only appeal to people who have a good insight into the subject matter of War. The writer has also cleverly made this subject matter light-hearted rather than a serious matter, which is the complete opposite of how people would have felt during the time when it was actually taking place.

Style model - Travel Writing

My chosen style model to analyse is the piece of travel writing by Charlotte Hobson, 'Black Earth City'. One language framework she chose to use in her writing was the use of discourse structure. The piece of text is organised into a variety of short and long paragraphs, varying the way in which the audience read through the text. The smaller paragraphs increase the pace in which the reader reads through the text as there is not as much information to get through, and the sentences are often not as complex. However, the longer paragraphs such as the second one, encourage the reader to take more time on reading these paragraphs as this is where a lot of the scenery is described by Charlotte.

In the second paragraph, Charlotte uses phonology to describe the room and where she is staying. The use of metaphors, 'velvety-eyed girl', emphasises the imagery of the girls' eyes and allows the reader to place themselves in the setting and really emphasise with how the writer is feeling and the different situations she is experiencing. Charlotte also uses alliteration to describe the the 'coffin-shaped cupboards' by the door. This repetition of the same sound slows the reader down even more when reading through the longer length paragraph.

An Introduction to Me

Short autobiographical account of a memory...

One of my best memories so far is visiting NYC. It was a school trip in February 2014. After nearly a whole 24 hours of travelling, no one ceased to be amazed by every single thing that vaguely reminded them of the fact that we were actually in New York, even down to the tiny souvenirs such as a coffee from the Starbucks store in JFK airport. Although we were all struggling to maintain keeping our eyes from closing, these small things thrilled us to our cores knowing we were finally here after all the time we had spent travelling!

As we stepped out of the air-fogged, automatic doors of the airport, the iciness and bitterness of the air sank into our lungs, causing us all take a prolonged, deep breath to restore normality to our usually warm bodies which were now full with icy cold air. It was winter time in New York so it was like this like this for the majority of the time we there. We did not get used to it, we just simply learnt to wear more layers to protect ourselves from the fierce cold. Later, arrived a blue taxi (not the stereotypical yellow taxi you normally associate with New York) with only enough seats for half of us. Some people fought to get into the taxi to hide away from the cold whilst others were happy to stay and wait for the next taxi, whilst they would remain outside JFK airport still trying to contain their joy over the fact they were in New York.

After the squabbles of who got to get in the first taxi were over, we all arrived to our rooms and almost immediately passed out on our beds. After our short power naps, we were rushed straight back out the door again to endeavor on an adventure in Times Square, which was even more amazing when lit up at night. A lot of what we did over the next several days are a blur as it all happened so quickly but I know that we all made some spectacular memories in an amazing city! I can't wait to hopefully visit New York again when I'm older and see a different side to it rather than all the tourist attractions.