Question

Read and listen to the excerpt from chapter 4 of Pride and Prejudice. Then respond to this question: How did listening to the audio recording of the excerpt affect your understanding of the text?

Answer 1

Listening to a story can affect understanding dramatically. There are several ways it can do this:

The emphasis put on particular words, phrases, or sentences can point out something or illustrate something that a reader may not have noticed.

When different intonations are used for different characters it can reveal in more depth a character's emotions.

The speed at which particular passages or dialogue is read can affect the way a listener visualizes the action.

Using accent correctly can help a listener understand or interpret the way a non-native speaker views the world, or can reveal what particular words are meant to sound like.

When writing your response, keep these things in mind.

Answer 2

Listening to the excerpt makes the tone of the dialogue clear and helps convey the emotions of the characters better. Hearing the characters speak makes them seem more real. Elizabeth’s prejudiced nature and Jane’s naïveté come to the fore. This excerpt is an example in which Austen uses dialogue to highlight traits of her characters. The author’s sarcastic comment on the behavior of the Bingley sisters is clearly conveyed. (PLATO)