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Imagined Worlds: The Handmaid's Tale
infoWhy this? Atwood’s novel provides a rich imagined world through which we can investigate point of view, characterisation, narrative structure, and the presentation of time and place. Its complex narration and distinctive language support close exploration of power, identity, gender, and resistance, bringing linguistic analysis and literary interpretation together.
scheduleWhy now? Earlier work on language levels and representation in the Paris Anthology prepares us to explain how Atwood’s linguistic choices shape her imagined world, rather than relying principally on thematic discussion. Studying a sustained prose narrative extends our ability to trace patterns across a whole text and provides a point of comparison for the compressed voices and perspectives of Heaney’s poetry.