Introduction:

What is Billy favourite book? Why is this ironic

Goldman explains that this is his favourite book. What activity brought Billy and his father
closer? rite book, the book his father used to read to him when he was sick. 
 
List 5 characteristics that describe billy’s father.
Boring, unintelligent, illiterate, short tempered
 
What activity brought billy?
Billys father reading the princess bride to him when he was sick in hospital.
 
4 fighting true love snakes, bad men, good men
 
5 he was excited to get a gift from his dad, but when he read it, he got bored.
 
6 Billy became sad because it was his favourite book as a child, and so when his son didn’t like
it, he get sad
 
7 shortened forms of written work
 
8 because he wants his son to read it (and others) and enjoy the book that he did.
 
9
Frenzy: is a state or period of wild behaviour
Petrified: is so frightened one is unable to move
Paranoid: unreasonable and obsessively anxious
Humiliate: someone to make you feel ashamed and foolish by injuring their dignity and pride
Illiterate: unable to read or write
Revelation: a surprising and previously unknown fact that has been disclosed to others
Hostile: showing or feeling a position/ dislike
Pertain: a person with censorious moral beliefs
Construe: interpret a word or action in a particular way
Distraught: very worried or upset looking

Chapter 1
Three characters are introduced at key stages of Buttercup’s life (birth, age 10 and age 15).
Describe how each of these women loses their beauty.

11. Buttercup makes numerous demands of the Farm Boy. What is always his reply?
“As you wish” -Westley.

12. “Morgenstern” uses a great deal of parenthesis in his writing. What purpose does it serve?
Do you believe it improves or negatively affects the story?
William Goldman enters the text once, italicizing his own words, to discuss S. Morgenstern's use
of parentheses. 

13. What is the purpose of Goldman’s use of italics?

To show which ‘author’ is talking.

14. How does Buttercup treat Westley? Provide an example from the story to support your
response?
She treats him mean and rudely, treats him like a servant.

15. What triggers Buttercup’s feelings towards Westley to change? How does she describe him?
She got jealous over the countess, and she realised she was in love with him.

16. Cite a quote that shows how and why Buttercup says she loves Westley. What is his reaction
to her declaration?

17. Why is Westley leaving the farm?

18. Buttercup decides to make changes to her appearance. Describe some of the changes she
makes and explain why she does so.
She decided to take cold baths in the morning and get clear skin.

19. What happens to Westley while he is at sea? Write a lead sentence for a news report about
this event (answer the questions who, what, when and where).
Westley encounters some pirates, and he doesn’t make it.

20. What resolution does Buttercup make upon hearing the news?
Never going to fall in love again.

21. How does this finally make her the ‘most beautiful woman in a hundred years?
She becomes unattainable therefore people want her.

22. Definitions:
Chronicled- to describe past or current events.

Plague -a contagious bacterial disease characterised by fever and delirium, typically with the
formation of buboes and sometimes infection of the lungs.

Suitor- a man who pursues a relationship with a particular woman, with a view to marriage.

Sublimity- he quality of being extremely good, beautiful, or enjoyable.

Glamour- an attractive or exciting quality that makes certain people or things seem appealing.

Clambered- climb or move in an awkward and laborious way, typically using both hands and
feet.

Supplication- the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly.

Deduced Chid- arrive at (a fact or a conclusion) by reasoning; draw as a logical conclusion.

Chapter 2:
23. What does Goldman say he edited from the original text? What were his reasons?
He wanted to continue reading.

24. List 5 characteristics that describe Prince Humperdinck.

Shaped like a barrel, thighs mighty barrel thighs, he was not tall he weighed 250 pounds, he
walked like a crab

25. What “practice” does the prince adopt?

To never let a day, go by without killing something

26. What metaphor does Goldman use to describe his mastery of this sport?
“it was death chest, and he was the international grand master”

27. In 5-6 sentences, describe the “Zoo of Death”.

The zoo death was what prince Humperdinck designed with count Rugen’s help, and he sent his
hirelings across the world to stick it for him. It was kept brimming with things that he could
hunt, and it really wasn’t like any other animal sanctuary anywhere.

28. Who is ‘the Albino’? What does he do?

He was the zookeeper, he made sure the beasts were properly fed, and that there was never
any sickness or weakness inside.

29. What is the prince’s response to news that his father is dying? Were you surprised by his
reaction? Explain why or why not.
“Drat!” said the prince. “That means I shall have to get married.” Prince Humperdinck seems to
be an emotionally unavailable person from the start and the fact he likes killing animals
everyday makes it less of a surprise with his reaction.
30. Definitions:
Dedicate- devote (time or effort) to a particular task or purpose.

Determine- cause (something) to occur in a particular way or to have a particular nature.

Relentless- unceasingly intense.

Sanctuary- refuge or safety from pursuit, persecution, or other danger.

Intrusion- the action of intruding.

Chapter 3:

31. In the opening of this chapter, Prince Humperdinck is on a mission. What is he “hunting” for
this time? Prince Humperdinck is hunting for a bride.

32. What criteria does Prince Humperdinck establish in his search for a bride?
Somebody who’s good with a knife.

33. What happened at 8:23? How does it bring the two countries to the brink of war?
There seemed every chance of a lasting alliance starting between Florin and Guilder.

34. Define
pathetic - arousing pity, especially through vulnerability or sadness.

Fallacy- a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound arguments.

Find an example of pathetic fallacy in this chapter.

When they found out the princess was bald

35. Prince Humperdinck does not feel that love is a necessary component of marriage. Do you
agree or disagree with his opinion? Explain. I disagree with his opinion. I believe marriage
should be based off love.

36. How does the prince convince Buttercup to marry him?

That she doesn’t have to love him and she gets money and riches.

Chapter 4
“with one thing and another, three years passed.” What are some of the things Goldman says
happened in those year?
-Buttercup was introduced to the world as the coming queen
-Humperdinck cant marry a common woman, so they fight with the nobles and make buttercup
the princess of a small land.
-Miracle man started improving King Lotharon
-Training of a princess

Chapter 5
Describe how and why Buttercup’s appearance is different now that she is a Princess.
Her figures faults were gone, the too bony elbow having fleshed out nicely; the opposite pudgy
wrist could not have been trimmer. Her hair, which was once the colour of autumn, was still the
colour of autumn, expect that before, she has tended it her-self, whereas now she had five full-
time hairdressers who managed things for her. Her skin was still wintry cream, but now, with
two handmaidens assigned to each appendage and four for the rest of her, it actually, in

39. Create a chart like the one below. Describe the characters Buttercup meets, leaving room to
add to your descriptions. Sicilian Spaniard Turk

40. What do the 3 men do with Buttercup? What is the reason for their actions?

41. Define digression. At what point does Goldman digress from the text? Why?

42. Who is following the kidnappers to the Cliffs of Insanity?

43. Define inconceivable. What are three things the Sicilian says are inconceivable?

Inigo 44. Who is Yeste? How does he convince Inigo’s father to make swords?

45. What is the one condition upon which Domingo will make the special swords?

46. What is the peculiarity of the man who wants Ingio’s father to make a sword for him? Why
does Domingo agree to make it?

47. What happened when the sword was completed?

48. How does the nobleman leave Inigo? How is this symbolic?

49. How does Inigo train for the following ten years?

50. What is Inigo’s driving motivation? What does Inigo plan to say to the nobleman when he
finds him?

51. What problem does Inigo encounter in his search and how does this affect him? The Fight
on the Cliffs of Insanit

52. Why does Inigo offer to help the man in black?

53. Why does the man in black let him?

54. What does Inigo hope the man in black can do? Why?
 55. Summarise the fight scene in one paragraph, using some key adjectives and adverbs to add
to your description.

56. Why does the man in black decide not to kill Inigo? Define honour.

57. Do you think either of these characters are villains at this point? Why or why not? Fezzik

58. What did Fezzik like to do in his head when he was younger?

59. What does this show about his character? 60. Define stereotype. How is Fezzik a stereotype?

61. How does he go against his stereotype?

62. What happened when Fezzik won his first few matches?

63. What did he learn in the Gobi Desert? Why did this make him happy?

64. What happened to Fezzik when he turned twenty? Why was this important?

65. What did the Sicilian, Vizzini, promise Fezzik? Why did Fezzik agree?

66. Describe the two ways Fezzik kills the man in black. How is he unsuccessful?

67. How does the man in black defeat Fezzik? Vizzini

68. Define oxymoron. Why does Vizzini say he resents the man in black? How is this an
oxymoron?

69. What is the battle of wits to which the man in black challenges Vizzini?

70. Trace the process by which Vizzini deduces which goblet the main in black has put the
Iocane poison. How does he trick the man in black and how does it backfire on him?

71. Who is the man in black? How do we discover his true identity?

72. The Fire Swamps - What are Fire Swamps? What are the odd characteristics of the
Florin/Guilder Fire Swamps?

73. What was the first obstacle Buttercup and Westley encountered in the swamps? How did
they overcome it?

74. Explain how Westley survived his encounter with the Dread Pirate Roberts.

75. What did Roberts say to him at the end of each day?

76. What are R.O.U.S.’s? Describe them.

77. What agreement does Buttercup and Prince Humperdinck arrive at?

78. How does Humperdinck betray the agreement?

79. What do we learn about Count Rugen at the end of the chapter?

80. Why is this an important example of foreshadowing?

The Voice of William Goldman

Genre: Generally, a fantasy fiction, romance. However, it has elements if adventure, comedy,
and fairy tale.
 
Setting: 2 countries - Florin + Guilder
 Unspecified time
 
What is Literary Style?
Style in literature is the literary element that described those ways that the author uses words
-- the authors word choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement
all work together to establish mood, images, and meaning in the text. Style describes how the
author described events, objects, and ideas.
 
The novel follows a fairy tale structure for the most part with the common theme of the love
interest of a beautiful woman having to show his courage and valour to save her from a fate
worse than death.
 
However, unlike most fairy tales, it has a distinctly modern tone. It is frequently interrupted by
the secondary narrator, Goldman who muses on the story as merely fairy tale and establishes a
distance between reader and story.
 
Literary Structure
1. Written the abridged version.
2. Time period clarifications are put in brackets.
3. Asterixis and italics are Goldmans thoughts feelings and opinions.
 
William Goldman didn’t take someone else's work and pass it off as his own, he did something
far more interesting; he took his own work and passed it off as someone else's. He makes his
reader (us) believe that his 'classic' love story The Princess Bride was actually written by a man
from Florin by the name of Morgenstern, Goldman gives us the feeling of respect for the book,
an unspoken acknowledgment that this was a 'classic'. A book revered through decades. A book
that was worthy of all this attention and the effort of abridging it so…
 
The Princess Bride is a story, within a story, within a story! -- There are 3 layers
 
 3. Goldmans "Life, his context and commentary"
2. "Morgenstern's" Princess Bride (Westley and Buttercups Story and the vast amounts of
history)
1-Goldmans abridgement (to edit and change a story to make it shorter or more exciting) of
Westerly's and Buttercups Story

Cultural Context
-Goldman gives us the cultural context in the introduction -- his son Jason, Morgenstern, and
the abridged version
- The story is the “distilled” version

Historical Setting
-Florin + Guilder = fictional countries
-Goldman does refer to some trends but writes it as a reaction to the de line of monarchy at the
time.
-Monarchies declined in the 18th centuries

Creative Writing:
Why write narratives?
• Narration means the art of storytelling.
• Stories were originally told to make sense of our world.
• They are as old as humanity and we hear stories daily
• They draw us into the lives of fictional characters.
• We are not only captivated by the events but also begin to consider meaning and
significance.
Key Features:
• Style – is the way in which language is used.
• Tone – mood or the ‘sound’ of the writing and conveys an attitude to the subject matter.
 • Imagery – an image is a mental picture that has a significant impact on the response of
the reader
Orientation
• Introduce your main character and provide a vivid description of their appearance.
• Try to make the reader work for it.
• This is a much more artistic and well-crafted way of doing things and less irritating for
the reader.
Orientation: Where and when
• The setting of a story must answer the where and the when.
• The setting of the story can be chosen to quickly orientate the reader to the type of
story they are reading.
• The most important thing to remember is to entice your reader in through description.
Complication
• Without a problem there is no story. The problem is the driving force of the action.
• Usually in a short story the problem will centre around what the primary character
wants to happen or, indeed, wants not to happen.
Rising action
The rising action of a story is the section of the plot leading up to the climax, in which the
tension stemming from the story's central conflict grows through successive plot developments.
• The rising action follows the part of the plot known as the exposition (in which the
world of the story and its characters are established), and precedes the climax.
• Every story has a section that can be described as the "rising action," even if the story
has an unconventional narrative or plot structure.
• The opposite of rising action is falling action, the phase of a story following the climax in
which the main conflict is de-escalated and tension is further dispelled.
Climax
• It is the dramatic high point of the action. It is also when the struggles, kicked off by the
problem, come to a head.
• The climax will ultimately decide whether the story will have a happy or a tragic ending.
Falling Action
 • Often, after the climactic action, a few questions will remain unresolved for the reader,
even if all the conflict has been resolved.
• The resolution is where those lingering questions will be answered. It may be that in a
short story the resolution will only be a brief paragraph or two.
• Consider what emotions you wish to leave the reader with.
• Usually, the action is complete by the end of the climax, but it is in the resolution that if
there is a twist be found it will appear.
• To pull this off convincingly usually requires considerable skill though so don’t attempt it
if you’re not confident.
The Denouement
• This is the final part of the story which draws everything together and all matters are
resolved or explained. This is where the resolution to your complication/problem is
found.
• Once you have completed your story, go back, and edit for grammar, vocabulary choice,
spelling etc.