Caden Lewis

AP Lit
Mrs. Hansen
1.8.20
Stylistic Prose Techniques in A Doll’s House
1. Point of view is who is telling the story or how the story is portrayed. A Doll’s House is a
play and rather than having a narrator, the action is laid out before the audience simply
as it happens. This particular form of storytelling allows the audience to feel the
unadulterated emotions of the characters, without the overarching bias. Ibsen likely
chose this form to convey his story in order to heighten the emotional impact of Nora’s
life on the audience.
2. Tone is the attitudes of the author toward the subject or audience. Throughout the main
portion of the play, Ibsen’s tone could be described as sympathetic. This is shown
through the actions he chooses for his characters. Nora’s joyous attitude and
compassion for others is juxtapositioned against Torvalds demeaning manner. Ibsen
wants us to pity and feel for Nora, he does not approve of the prisons we are often
placed into by society.
3. Syntax is the varying lengths of sentences. Nora’s lines, in respect to all other characters
tend to consist of longer convoluted sentences. This reflects the fact that Nora often
contradicts herself, and her extended logic gets her into trouble
4. Symbolism is the use of one object in a story to represent a broader idea. The story is
set during the holidays,Christmas and New Years. Both holidays are considered
indicators of renewal and new birth. It can be seen as a reflection of the rebirth Nora will
go through as she questions the conditions that led to her current life.
5. Foreshadowing is an event that indicates what will happen in the future. In the beginning
of Act 2, Nora and the Nurse talk about the children and say:
Nurse: "You see, they are so accustomed to have their mamma with them."
Nora: "Yes, but, nurse, I shall not be able to be so much with them now as I was before."
Though this action has no direct link to what will happen later in the play, it foreshadows
Nora’s eventual abandonment of her children.
6. Dramatic irony is the event of audience awareness of a situation that one or more
character is not aware of. Torvalds condemnation of forgery upsets Nora in a way that is
unclear to him. “He forged someone's name. Have you any idea what that means? Just
think how a guilty man like that has to lie and play the hypocrite with every one, how he
 has to wear a mask in the presence of those near and dear to him, even before his own
wife and children. And about the children--that is the most terrible part of it all, Nora.”
Torvald does not understand the situation, but the audience and Nora know of her crime,
and this scene is given an additional meaning.
7. Situational irony is an incongruity that appears between expectations of something to
happen, and what actually happens instead. Dr. Rank is described as having always
been very sick. One would not expect a Dr. to be constantly sick.
8. A Metaphor is a figure of speech that makes an implicit, implied, or hidden comparison
between two things that are unrelated, but which share some common characteristics.
Torvald calls Nora "featherhead," "squirrel" and "skylark" and invariably adds "sweet"
and "little" as adjectives to diminish Nora's sensibilities. He insists she perform "our
Tarantella". By Act Three, Torvald's metaphors have become icily unsympathetic: Nora
is a "hunted dove ... saved from hawk's claws," helplessness personified. When she
leaves him, he calls her a "heedless child." These metaphors highlight the control torvald
exhibits, and the tortured position that he places Nora in.
9. Imagery is to use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a
way that it appeals to our physical senses. “The same room. In the corner, beside the
piano, stands the Christmas-tree, stripped, and with the candles burnt out. Nora’s
outdoor things lie on the sofa.” The setting of the entire play is in this one room. This
quote creates the image of a sad room, without light and festive nature. This is ironic
because this takes place on Christmas. This also furthers the image of an actual doll
house, because of the lack of home like words which would suggest comfort.
10. A simile makes a comparison between two things using like or as. Nora describes
Torvald as playing with her “like a puppet”. This serves to realize Nora’s feeling of being
controlled and play with, which in turn revolves the the title A Doll’s House. Meaning that
her life is organized by outside forces, as well as being fragile and breakable.