Barchester Towers Literary Elements

Barchester Towers Literary Elements

Genre

Fiction; novel

Setting and Context

England in the 19th century

Narrator and Point of View

An unnamed, third-person omniscient narrator.

Tone and Mood

The tone is funny; the mood is shocking.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Proudie is the protagonist; Mr Slope is the antagonist.

Major Conflict

The major conflict of the novel occurs when Mr Proudie becomes a bishop for one of the counties in England.

Climax

The climax of the story is reached when Bishop Proudie becomes unpopular as a result of his manipulative wife.

Foreshadowing

The decline of Proudie's popularity is foreshadowed by the fact that his wife his cruel.

Understatement

The role of manipulation is understated throughout the novel.

Allusions

The story alludes to the experience of an episcopal system in England at the time.

Imagery

The imagery of religious services is present in the novel.

Paradox

The fact that Mrs Proudie isn't a bishop, yet influences her husband is an example of paradox in the story.

Parallelism

N/A

Metonymy and Synecdoche

The crumbling walls are a metonym for the destruction of Proudie's popularity.

Personification

N/A

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