Talking About Stories. Theoretical Preliminaries. The Plan for Rendering the Story, страница 8

the setting helps to identify the genre of the story as ... the setting is crucial to the creation of a complete work

the setting is established in the exposition / scattered throughout the whole story

the setting is vital for understanding the message of the story the setting plays a great role in the operation of the story / in conveying the message because ...

the social background / cultural environment / landscape / historical period / geographical location, etc. is the most important element of the setting in the story/ is as important as the characters themselves

the span of time the story covers

the story is set in ...

to construct the world of the story

to create a tragic / dramatic / peaceful / serene / still / undisturbed / tranquil / gloomy / weary / grim / depressing / cheerful / lively / blissful / idyllic, etc. atmosphere

to encourage the reader to ...

to enhance characterization by ...

to express / frame / reflect / parallel the emotional state of the character

to increase the credibility of the characters and events in the story

to individualize a character

to reveal certain features of a character’s personality

7. SUSPENSE / SURPRISE

skilful sustention of suspense

the action in the story is highly suspenseful

the author gives a hint / hints at some future events

the author plays with the reader’s expectations

the author raises certain expectations in the reader

the author relies heavily on suspense

the author shows his ability to keep the reader in suspense

the author skillfully uses the techniques of suspense and surprise in the story

the climax comes as a complete surprise / as a revelation / as a relief, etc.

the complications are arranged along an ascending scale

the plot thickens

the reader is really taken aback / startled / confused / puzzled / bemused / bewildered, etc. by the unexpected turn of events

the suspense in the following lines is created with the help of / by means of ...

the suspense is intensified by ...

the tension builds toward the main conflict

the tension increases / rises as the plot moves on

to anticipate significant events

to awaken / arouse / hold the reader's interest

to create / build up / heighten / increase suspense in the story

to create a sense of anticipation / a feeling of tense excitement

to maintain suspense by withholding information / using coincidence / providing the reader with information that the characters do not have, etc.

to retain/ withhold / hold back information from the reader

to retain interest

8. SYMBOLS

a symbol allowing of a variety of interpretations / defying single interpretation a symbol conveys / represents / indicates the idea / concept / notion of ... a symbolic / suggestive character / action / object / detail, etc. an allegory

an effective / striking / unexpected / powerful / significant / easily conceivable / universal / traditional symbol

the author relies on symbols to intensify the idea

the author uses symbols in unexpected ways

the author’s use of symbols requires (no) elaborate interpretation

the images / objects represent abstract ideas / feelings

the meaning of the symbol changes at this / that point

the story / novel, etc., is heavily marked with symbols

the story has two layers of meaning

the story uses symbols extensively

the symbol has a straightforward meaning

the symbol has different meanings / levels of meaning

to acquire a symbolic meaning in the context of a story / novel, etc.

to be an image of something

to be related to / based on / associated with something

to be rich in implications

to carry positive / negative connotation

to discover / perceive / examine symbols

to provide analogy for something to serve as a sign / reflection of ...

to symbolize / to signify / to suggest / to denote / to embody / to represent / to stand for something

9. TITLE

the title accentuates / emphasizes / strengthens / reinforces the author’s idea that ...

the title allows of different interpretations / can be interpreted in different ways