English LAL, Unit 2, Summative

Assessment.
This biographical extract was regarding the eminent film director, Alfred Hitchcock, which
was written by the biographer Peter Ackroyd. This biographical extract consists of stylistic
devices such as similes, imagery, both polysyllabic terminology and monosyllabic
terminology, numerous biographical conventions, and an unbelievable tone of language. This
will be a critical analysis of Ackroyd’s biographical extract on Alfred Hitchcock.

In the first and second paragraphs, the author has used formal language, monosyllabic and
polysyllabic lexis such as vindicated and matinee, it gives a thorough idea about what
category the movie belongs to, and when the film had begun. The biographical conventions
used in this segment were key events as they had started and announced, “The Lodger.” It
also includes the convention background as it explains that this extract is about the film
industry and Alfred Hitchcock, the director. Ackroyd has given a vigorous description on how
the movie was created, as it reads, “sudden close-ups” or “vertiginous staircase.” The
paragraph also consists of various monosyllabic and polysyllabic words such as
expressionistic, vertiginous, and etcetera. The biographer also links the context to a specific
semantic field where he utilizes language correlated to movies and films, for example “story”
and “cameraman.” The biographical convention used here was achievements as it states that
Hitchcock called his film as, “the first real Hitchcock film” and that it is a great achievement
for the director.

In the third and fourth paragraph, the writer has used several stylistic devices. He used similes
when he wrote, “Enter Novello from the London fog like a wraith.” Ackroyd uses imagery as
he gives a detailed description which helps the reader visualize the atmosphere of the scene.
There has been use of monosyllabic lexis and polysyllabic lexis such as orchestrated,
domesticity, and erstwhile. The biographical convention applied in this segment was key
events, where Mister C. M. Woolf (the chairperson of Gainsborough Pictures) and Mister
Graham Cutts prophesied “The Lodger,” as a disaster and thought that the film would
“alienate” the English audience.
Lastly, in the fifth paragraph, “The Lodger,” was sadly declared a fiasco, as it was too
“‘highbrow’ and too ‘arty.’.” In this paragraph, there were plenty of monosyllabic words, but
it was a very powerful conclusion. There is a sense of foreshadowing in the end, that Ackroyd
has added in his biography that, “Hitchcock’s career looked as if it might be over just after it
began,” which puts the reader to think about what will happen to Hitchcock’s future work life.
One of the conventions used in this part was impact, because the devastating news made a big
impact on Hitchcock and his wife, Alma. After all, the film was proclaimed a disaster.
Another convention utilized was key event, since the film had been insulted by the audience
and Hitchcock’s colleagues, which is one of the key events of Hitchcock’s life and this
biographical essay.

To conclude this analysis, this biographical writing has an exceedingly high level of language,
the biographical essay has been written in third-person narrative and chronological order. It
includes all the biographical conventions. It uses polysyllabic and monosyllabic lexis.
Overall, Ackroyd has done an exemplary job of authoring this biographical essay on Alfred
Hitchcock.