Silas Marner - Dialogue

In what way does vocabulary vary between characters? Does a character’s dialogue change over time, or in different situations? Does it make any difference which characters are speaking together?

Dialogue tells you much more than about individual characteristics. Plot often depends on dialogue, especially where speech prompts an event; speech also often conveys information which you might not otherwise know, for example those events which happened before the story begins, or how characters expect to see future events unfold. In Silas Marner this is information which the narrator usually tells the reader directly, so it is worth noting what dialogue is reserved for instead.

One practical method of preparing for a literature exam is to memorise dialogue. Create a list of the most significant examples of dialogue for each character, paying special attention to those that convey their characteristics or occur at a turning point in the text.

The quiz below focusses on knowing who is speaking each of these lines. Consider the significance of these lines before answering the questions. What do they tell the reader about the character who speaks them? Would it be possible to imagine another character speaking the same lines? If not, why not? Also think whether the dialogue also gives us information about the person being addressed, or whether it foreshadows or explains later events.