Use of Language in Journeys End by RC Sheriff :: Journeys End Essays

The Use of Language in Journey's End Journey’s End was R.C. Sherriff’s only major theatrical production and had had relatively little experience of playwriting before. However, the language in the play does not show any evidence of this. Being set in the trenches in the Great War, and being with a serious, ingrained message, the play needed to be presented to the audience powerfully and effectively. The language needed to show the characters and their language as they would have been had they had actually been in the trenches at the time and make sure that they were as realistic as possible. Sherriff has aimed to relate the characters’ speech directly to their character but also to create a powerful picture in the minds of the audience. One of his main aims in the play was to present the public with a play to show the real attitudes during the war. Each character has different dialogue to each other to typify their characters and to distinguish them apart. The characters also have different styles of language that provides various elements to the play. Although the play is of a deeply profound nature, the play has vital outlets of comic relief which is displayed through the characters in the play. The stage notes throughout the play show the simple, atmospheric style the Sherriff uses in describing the aspects of the play. The very start of the play which describes the set, and the situation for the whole play, tunes the audience into the tone of the scene. â€Å"Warm yellow candle flames light the other corner from the necks of two bottles on the table. Through the doorway can be seen the misty grey parapet of the trench, and a narrow slit of starlit sky.† This is typical of R.C. Sherriff’s style. The notes are simple, explanatory but have the aura of the scene in mind. The characterised aspects of the scene such as the â€Å"Warm yellow candle flames† and the â€Å"misty grey parapet† contrast to emit the homeliness in the trench, but with the sinister, stony atmosphere outside. Sherriff also focuses greatly on the actions and movements of each character. He does this to portray the character in the scene exactly as he wants them to be perceived by the audience. This is shown in Act One where Raleigh arrives in the trench for the first time and his uneasy disposition as a newcomer to the dugout is clearly apparent. Sherriff explains: â€Å"An officer comes groping down the steps and stands in the candle-light. He looks round, a bit bewildered. He is a well built, healthy looking boy of about eighteen, with the new uniform of a 2nd