How Does Sherriff Create a Sense of Pathos in Act Three Scene Three of the Play

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How Does Sherriff Create a Sense of Pathos in Act Three Scene Three of the Play?

 Act Three Scene Three in the play is ultimately the point in which all of the dramatic tension comes to a tragic climax. This sense of pathos is achieved by a number of different factors.

The first is that the scene begins with an emotive description of the atmosphere, describing the ‘intense darkness of the dugout is softened by the glow of the Very lights’ and the ‘distant mutter of the guns’.

There is also a frequent reference to the cold, which helps to reflect the bitterness of war.

The men in the dugout are clearly trying to keep things normal in order to try and suppress their fears about the approaching German attack, for example Trotter sings to himself and Mason fusses about tea and drinks. However it is also clear that there is an underlying tension in the unnerving stillness of the atmosphere at this moment in the play.

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The men coping with their fears through trivial matters are contrasted with Hibbert, whose fears are not so well concealed. It is at this point that Stanhope’s caring personality and good leadership skills are visible, when he gets water for Hibbert and sends Mason up to keep him company. The more we empathise with Stanhope, the greater the tragedy when he is killed.

We also see that the attack is steadily building as the noises of the shells and minenwerfers increase, and the demand for stretcher-bearers becomes more frequent as soldiers are being injured. This relentlessness of the ...

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