Text 1 Step 1: Word Level Analysis Nouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs

village Beddagama jungle country plains sea mountains north wall trees air smell air dust leaves sticks beginning end sides north south east west line hills door houses clearing compounds spaces huts tracks paths axe katty

called means lay seem rise stretched surrounded overhung pressed stood
ready

low great long heavy hot dry powdered unbroken blue mud living
yearly

far away straight up away continually always out

midway

press break choke clearing kept spared creep smother blot

Step 2: Phrase Level Analysis

NP

VP

AdjP

AdvP

PP

The village the jungle

the low country or plains

the sea

the great mountains the north a long wall the sea of trees

the air

smell of the jungle the smell of hot air, of dust, and of dry and powdered leaves and sticks

was called Beddagama means the village in the jungle lay in the low country or plains, midway between the sea and the great mountains seem, far away to the north, to rise like a long wall straight up from the sea of trees was in, and of, the jungle; lay heavy upon it was in the jungle stretched away from it on all sides unbroken, north and south and east and west, to the blue line of the hills and to the sea. surrounded it, overhung it, continually pressed in upon it. stood at the door of the houses always ready to press in upon the compounds and open spaces, to break through the mud huts, and to choke up
2

in the jungle far away in the low country or plains between the sea and the great mountains

straight up

to the north,

from the sea of trees in, and of, the jungle; of the jungle upon it

of hot air

of dust of dry and powdered leaves and sticks

Its beginning and its end

the jungle all sides

north and south and east and west the blue line of the hills

the tracks and paths was only by yearly clearing with axe and katty could be kept out was a living wall about the village, were spared

in the jungle

from it on all sides

to the blue line of the hills to the sea

would creep in and smother and blot out the village itself.

the door of the houses the compounds open spaces the mud huts and paths the tracks yearly clearing axe and katty a living wall a wall the axe

in upon it. at the door of the houses in upon the compounds by yearly clearing with axe and katty about the village through the mud huts

Step 3: Clause Level Analysis Independent Clauses Dependent Clauses

THE village was called Beddagama, It lay in the low country or plains, midway between the sea and the great mountains It was in, and of, the jungle;

which means the village in the jungle which seem, far away to the north, to rise like a long wall straight up from the sea of tree which stretched away from it on all sides unbroken, north and south and east and west, to the blue line of the hills and to the sea the air and smell of the jungle lay heavy upon that it could be kept out. it The jungle surrounded it, overhung it, a wall which, if the axe were spared, would continually pressed in upon it. creep in and smother and blot out the village itself. It stood at the door of the houses, always ready to press in upon the compounds and open spaces, to break through the mud huts, and to choke up the tracks and paths. It was only by yearly clearing with axe and katty It was a living wall about the village,
Step 4 Identifying the reasons for the existence of such patterns Step 5 Writing the analysis The given excerpt is a passage taken from The Village in the Jungle by Leonard Woolf. It contains description of the village called Beddagama and its surroundings. The constant struggle between the village and the jungle surrounding it is highlighted through the passage. The jungle is portrayed as constantly trying to reclaim the patch of land it lost to the village whereas the village desperately tries to keep the jungle at bay. The menacing presence of the jungle and the feeble attempts of the village to escape its clutches are portrayed by the author using numerous linguistic devices. The excerpt contains a host of nouns and noun phrases that introduce different elements found within the village and its surrounding. These nouns and noun phrases reflect the birds eye view adopted by the writer in describing the scenery at the beginning of the passage. Hence, nouns such as sea, mountains, jungle, and hills provide information about geographically significant landmarks while nouns denoting directions such as north, south and east reinforce the map-like quality of the description. As the passage progress, the writer narrows the focus of the description to the village and the part of the jungle that surrounds it. The use of concrete nouns like huts, tracks and axe indicates this shift of focus. Although the writer is prolific in his use of nouns, he uses relatively few adjectives. This scarcity is reflected in dearth of adjective phrases in the passage as well. The writers effort to portray the struggle between the jungle and the village as a struggle between to animate beings seems to be the reason for this relative scarcity of adjectives. The adjectival descriptions would have made both the 4

jungle and the village passive entities at the mercy of natural processes and, as a result, would have robbed the passage of its sense of agency and immediacy. Within the excerpt a key role is played by verbs and verb phrases as they are used by the writer to compensate for the lack of adjectives. To suit his purpose of narration, the writer makes use of many dynamic verbs such as lay, pressed, and stretched which personify both the jungle and the village. The selection of verbs servers to establish the overall tone of the passage. Most of the verbs used in the passage evoke negative connotations and denotations. For example, verbs such as choke press and smother depicts the jungle in a negative light. The jungle seems to be likened to a best waiting to claim its pray, the village. This use of verbs along with use of nouns and noun phrases such as the smell of hot air, of dust, and of dry and powdered leaves and sticks contribute to the sense of gloom and desolation that pervade the passage. The use of adverbs and adverb phrases is also sparse and even the ones that are used imply inevitable perpetuation of things rather than vibrancy or energy. At the clause level, relatively equal distribution of independent clauses and dependent clauses is seen and all dependent clauses are relative clauses. The alternating pattern between independent clauses and dependent clauses is indicative of the relationship between the jungle and the village. The village is only a patch of land claimed from the jungle. Hence, the village is dependent of the jungle. The use of relative clauses as dependent clauses can be seen as a reflection of the inherent relationship the village shares with the jungle. The goal of the excerpt seems to be to portray the strained existence between the jungle and the village. The style of language used in the excerpt is highly evocative. The reader almost feels like a watching a best playing with its hapless prey until it succumbs to its eventual fate. The linguistic elements at all levels function with singular accord to depict the jungle as a menacing force and the village, its helpless victim.