Joey Rosenthal
Close reading/Script analysis
- Close reading:
Peter: And I have a Dachshund. Named Carl. Which is fun. (He smiles, she
smiles he wants to say… but doesn’t) Carl awaits. (Peter leaves, forgetting his hat.
Henrietta smiles, Picks up his hat. Flips it and puts it on her head. Peter returns.)
Sorry. Hat. (Henrietta hands him the hat. He touches her hand.) I think that…
you might be quite… marvelous. I think that. Often. (Silence. He begins to
leave before Henrietta begins to speak.) There’s an ocean liner leaving
tomorrow — You should be on it — I’ll be on it — I’m saying come with me
— To Europe — For a month — or two? You don’t have to decide now — but
close to now because the liner leaves tomorrow — I said that — Pack warmly
— cold at night — We might stop in Spain —And there’s dancing and lobster
and water and moonlight and bobbing around and that’s romantic — or
sickening — Either way there’ll be an eclipse. Which is fun.
Joey Rosenthal
Close reading/Script analysis
- Character analysis (close reading)
Near the beginning of his monologue, Peter speaks in fragmented syntax, showing that he
is nervous, full of emotion, and is also hesitant as he admits his feelings to Henrietta. After he
admits that he thinks she is “marvelous,” he adds two additional fragmented sentences to clarify
what he has just said: “I think that. Often.” This is an example of Epanorthosis. After he receives
a smile from Henrietta, he goes on, still nervously, to invite her on an ocean liner with him that
will be traveling to Europe. In describing the plan, there are numerous dashes in between each of
his thoughts, indicating that he is still talking semi-fragmented. This is an example of isocolon,
as dashes are repeatedly used in succession. In addition, there are also a handful of examples of
epanorthosis as he is describing his idea, indicating that he is still nervous, as he feels the need to
clarify what has already been said. The following example shows a glimpse of the isocolon that
is seen in his monologue with the repetition of dashes, and also an example of epanorthosis:
“There’s an ocean liner leaving tomorrow— You should be on it — I’ll be on it— I’m saying
come with me—…” The dashes also show that he is speaking quite spontaneously, in that it
seems that he keeps interrupting himself to move onto a different idea, which is an example of
Aposiopesis. Throughout the monologue, there are also a handful of examples of imagery that
paint a picture of Peter’s idea to bring Henrietta along on the ocean liner: “And there’s dancing
and lobster and water and moonlight and bobbing around and that’s romantic— or
sickening—…” Along with this imagery, we also see an incorrect grammatical structure where
he is describing a list of things without using any punctuation, which shows the reader that he is
speaking nervously, fast, and spontaneously. He also includes near the end that there will be an
eclipse at some point on the journey, which perhaps could be a symbol foreshadowing the change
Joey Rosenthal
Close reading/Script analysis
in his and Henrietta’s relationship in the future. Overall, he speaks strictly with denotation of
words, meaning that he only uses words for their standard, regular meaning, indicating that he is
speaking in prose form, rather than a more poetic style. His language is also quite formal.
- Script analysis:
Peter: And I have a Dachshund. Named Carl. Which is fun. (He smiles, she
smiles he wants to say… but doesn’t) Carl awaits. (Peter leaves, forgetting his hat.
Henrietta smiles, Picks up his hat. Flips it and puts it on her head. Peter returns.)
Sorry. Hat. (Henrietta hands him the hat. He touches her hand.) I think that…
you might be quite… marvelous. I think that. Often. (Silence. He begins to
leave before Henrietta begins to speak.) There’s an ocean liner leaving
tomorrow — You should be on it — I’ll be on it — I’m saying come with me
— To Europe — For a month — or two? You don’t have to decide now — but
close to now because the liner leaves tomorrow — I said that — Pack warmly
— cold at night — We might stop in Spain —And there’s dancing and lobster
and water and moonlight and bobbing around and that’s romantic — or
sickening — Either way there’ll be an eclipse. Which is fun.
(Operative words and phrases underlined)
Joey Rosenthal
Close reading/Script analysis
- Character analysis (script analysis)
Initially, Peter’s goal is primarily to excel at his academic job at the observatory. After
getting to know Henrietta however, his objective shifts, making it his primary objective to
become closer to Henrietta. Even despite marrying a different woman while Henrietta is away, he
still shows his admiration for her when she returns from home after being away for a long time,
confirming that maintaining the relationship between them is his super-objective.
In this particular monologue, we see that Peter wants Henrietta to know how he feels
about her, and we see him go about doing this by hesitantly confessing his feelings for her.
Almost immediately after seeing that Henrietta does not disapprove of his attraction toward her,
his objective changes, and he attempts to begin a romance with her by inviting her on a vacation
away from their work for some time. In confessing his feelings for her, Peter first uses the simple
tactic of simply telling her how he feels about her. Once he notices that she is not completely
denying him, he moves to a more aggressive tactic, and all of a sudden invites her on a trip that
will perhaps last two months. He tries to convince her by telling her about all of the unique
things that they would do and see while on the trip, and also implying how it would perhaps be
romantic as well.
The actor performing this monologue from Peter has so many choices to make. Firstly, he
must decide how nervously he plays the portion when he confesses his attraction. Does he make
eye contact? Does he have confident body language, or could we tell that he is nervous just by
observing his body? Moving forward to when he invites Henrietta on the ocean liner, the actor
Joey Rosenthal
Close reading/Script analysis
playing Peter must choose how quickly he wants to talk. Does his body language still give off
signals that he is nervous, or is he more relaxed now? Also, he can choose to emphasize certain
parts of his plan over others. For example, does he imply that the trip would be more likely
romantic rather than sickening, or the other way around by changing the inflection in his voice?