A Minor Role - UA Fanthorpe
Stanza/ Quotation Theme Analysis Device
Line
Title ‘A Minor Role’ Theatre
1/1 ‘best observed on ‘All the world’s a stage’ - As You
stage’ Like It.
‘Out, out, breathe candle’ -
Macbeth. Life is both comedy and
tragedy. Punning on stages of an
illness or an operation theatre.
1/2 ‘spear’ Violence.
1/3 ‘servant’ T.S. Eliot - ‘I am not Hamlet, nor
was meant to be’, from The Love
Song of J.Alfred Proofrock. Not
meant to be the tragic hero.
1/4 ‘Yes, sir. O no, sir’ The italics look like a servant
bowing. Short sentence because it
is only ‘A Minor Role’
1/5 ‘midget moments’ Contrast of ‘midget moments’ and
‘monstrous ‘monstrous fabrics’. Get it wrong
fabrics’ and the horror unravels.
1/5 ‘monstrous Could be an audience. It could be a
fabrics’ reference to horrible hospital
gowns or the curtains that
separate beds. Social anxiety.
2/1 ‘unobtrusive’ Boring. Born Yesterday by Philip
Larkin.
2 A list is used to convey the
conveyor belt of repetitive
appointments.
2/3-4 ‘Holding hands Britishness of not being showy and
under/ Veteran not doing things for credit.
magazines’ ‘Veteran’ suggests that the
narrator is old and has battled
many things - including this illness.
2/5 ‘consultants’ Serious as ‘consultants’ are higher
up than doctors.
2/5 ‘monologues’ Takes back to extended metaphor
of acting. Contrast with ‘A Minor
Role’ as it is a larger role.
2/5-6 ‘pointed Aggressiveness - links to the violent
questions politely’ ‘spear’. Clever wordplay with
‘pointed’ and ‘politedly’ - they
sound similar.
2/7 ‘Dates’ Romantic associations.
Stanza/ Quotation Theme Analysis Device
Line
Title ‘A Minor Role’ Theatre
1/1 ‘best observed on ‘All the world’s a stage’ - As You
stage’ Like It.
‘Out, out, breathe candle’ -
Macbeth. Life is both comedy and
tragedy. Punning on stages of an
illness or an operation theatre.
1/2 ‘spear’ Violence.
1/3 ‘servant’ T.S. Eliot - ‘I am not Hamlet, nor
was meant to be’, from The Love
Song of J.Alfred Proofrock. Not
meant to be the tragic hero.
1/4 ‘Yes, sir. O no, sir’ The italics look like a servant
bowing. Short sentence because it
is only ‘A Minor Role’
1/5 ‘midget moments’ Contrast of ‘midget moments’ and
‘monstrous ‘monstrous fabrics’. Get it wrong
fabrics’ and the horror unravels.
1/5 ‘monstrous Could be an audience. It could be a
fabrics’ reference to horrible hospital
gowns or the curtains that
separate beds. Social anxiety.
2/1 ‘unobtrusive’ Boring. Born Yesterday by Philip
Larkin.
2 A list is used to convey the
conveyor belt of repetitive
appointments.
2/3-4 ‘Holding hands Britishness of not being showy and
under/ Veteran not doing things for credit.
magazines’ ‘Veteran’ suggests that the
narrator is old and has battled
many things - including this illness.
2/5 ‘consultants’ Serious as ‘consultants’ are higher
up than doctors.
2/5 ‘monologues’ Takes back to extended metaphor
of acting. Contrast with ‘A Minor
Role’ as it is a larger role.
2/5-6 ‘pointed Aggressiveness - links to the violent
questions politely’ ‘spear’. Clever wordplay with
‘pointed’ and ‘politedly’ - they
sound similar.
2/7 ‘Dates’ Romantic associations.
