How Does Alan Bennett Reveal The Speaker in 'A Lady of Letters' And Provoke Both Humour And Sadness In The Audience.

... How Does Alan Bennett Reveal The Speaker in 'A Lady of Letters' And Provoke Both Humour And Sadness In The Audience 'Miss Ruddock is an ordinary middle-aged woman. The room in which we see her is simply furnished and there is a bay window' However basic these opening stage directions to 'A Lady of Letters' may appear, they do in fact hint at the dominant theme of the monologue, loneliness. Alan Bennett uses stage directions minimally yet effectively throughout, on stage the actions speaking equally as loudly as the carefully chosen and structured words. The fact that Irene, the protagonist, is middle-aged and still a 'Miss' hints at the idea of her being a lonely person, and in addition the 'simply furnished' room physically displays the isolation Irene feels. With this lonesome atmosphere established it could be expected that the 'Bay window' would be a refreshing opening to the outside world, from which Irene is

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