The Silence of the Lambs Literary Elements

The Silence of the Lambs Literary Elements

Director

Jonathan Demme

Leading Actors/Actresses

Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald

Genre

Psycho-drama; crime thriller; horror

Language

English

Awards

Five Academy Awards; Best Movie, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay

Date of Release

January 30, 1991

Producer

Kenneth Utt, Edward Saxon, Ron Bozman

Setting and Context

Ohio, Virginia and Illinois

Narrator and Point of View

The point of view is that of Clarice Starling.

Tone and Mood

Chilling, threatening and terrifying.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Clarice Starling is the protagonist; Hannibal Lecter is the antagonist.

Major Conflict

There is conflict between Chilton and Starling when Chilton reveals that she has offered Lecter a fake deal; he is deliberately sabotaging her deal with him so that he can make one of his own and be the "hero" who persuades Lecter to give him the identity of Buffalo Bill.

Climax

Clarice shoots Buffalo Bill dead after he turns off the lights in the basement and dons night vision goggles so that he can stalk and kill her.

Foreshadowing

Starling finds a sphinx moth in the home of Jack Gordon which foreshadows her discovery that this is the home of Buffalo Bill.

Understatement

N/A

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

At the time, there had been no filming at the real Quantico Academy; this was the first movie allowed to film there and real life students were used as extras in the Quantico scenes.

Allusions

The script alludes to real-life serial killers as the students in Starling's class at Quantico are studying cases as part of their program.

Paradox

Lecter knows the identity of Buffalo Bill but has to turn his information giving into a game rather than giving a name directly, which turns out to be just as effective.

Parallelism

There is a parallel between Starling's intelligence and Lecter's; Lecter seems to respect her as an adversary rather than viewing her as a potential victim.

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