Crafting Descriptive Character Narratives in Arthurian Legend

Word-Weavers!
Word-Weavers!
Every Word Counts!
LESSON 1
 
2
Describing Characters
3
Describing Characters
4
Some Characters in Arthurian Legend
 
Morgana – a beautiful, but evil witch
Sir Lancelot – the strongest and bravest knight
Sir Galahad – the wise and holy knight
Sir Gawain – one of Arthur’s favourite knights
 
Go back to your plot summary (the bare bones story).  Now think
of a name for one of the characters in that story – can you make
your choice sound like a character from an Arthur story?
 
And, of course, you know that Proper Nouns, like character
names, need capital letters!
5
LESSON 2
 
6
Noun Phrases to Build Description
Sometimes noun phrases are built by putting adjectives before the noun:
a 
strange 
language
a 
dark
 
song
her 
long 
fingers
Look at your description of a character from the Arthur and Merlin stories:
have you created any noun phrases like this?
What did you want to make you reader see or think about your character?
7
Noun Phrases to Build Description
You can also build noun phrases by adding more description 
afte
r the noun
You could add adjectives:
her 
fingers
, 
long, white 
and 
dancing,
her 
eyes
,
 
wide
 and 
intense,
a 
lady
, 
dark-haired
 and 
beautiful,
You could add a prepositional phrase:
the 
colour
 
of honey
the 
hood
 
of his dark cloak
You could add a non-finite clause beginning with an –ing or –ed verb:
gold
 
washed in milk
a 
lady
, 
dark-haired and beautiful, 
wearing a gown of wine-red
the 
words
 
flowing from her lips
8
Describing Characters
9
Building detail by adding information after the noun (post-modification):
10
Examples of Noun Phrases
… her 
fingers
, long, white and dancing
, …
… her 
eyes
, wide and intense, …
… a 
lady, 
dark-haired and beautiful
, …
… the 
hood
 of his dark cloak, …
… his 
face
, parchment-silver and etched
with age …
CREATE YOUR OWN NOUN PHRASE TO
DESCRIBE THIS CHARACTER AND PAINT A
PICTURE OF HIM IN WORDS
LESSON 3
 
11
The Story Mountain
The Story Mountain
New Year’s Eve at
Camelot: gathered
for a feast
A strange green man
charges into the hall
on his horse
CLIMAX???
RESOLUTION???
ENDING???
12
Show, not Tell: make your reader infer
Show, not Tell: make your reader infer
When we describe characters for our readers, sometimes we 
tell
 them directly about the
character: here’s Roald Dahl’s description of Mr and Mrs Wormwood’s house:-
‘Matilda’s parents owned quite a nice house with three bedrooms upstairs, while on the
ground floor there was dining-room and a living-room and a kitchen’
This gives us precise information about their house.
13
But good writers also make the readers 
think about, or infer
, what characters are like from
a description:
‘Mr Wormwood was a small ratty-looking man whose front teeth stuck out underneath
a thin ratty moustache.’
This description is not just information about what Matilda’s dad looks like: by showing us
what he looks like, Dahl also makes us think, or infer, about what kind of man he is.  What
kind of a man is ‘
ratty-looking
’?  What do we think about rats as creatures? How different
it would have been if Dahl had described him as ‘
a cuddly bear-like man’?
Show, not Tell: make your reader infer
Show, not Tell: make your reader infer
Show not tell: Dahl doesn’t tell us that Mr Wormwood is a nasty little man, he 
tells
 us he is
‘ratty-looking’ and so 
shows 
us he is a nasty little man.  We have to work this out for
ourselves (or infer this).
 
When we write, sometimes we do tell our readers about characters, but good writers also
make the reader infer what the character is like.
14
Show, not Tell
Show, not Tell
At that moment, from outside in the courtyard, came the clatter of horses’ hooves
on the cobbles.  The doors of the hall flew open, and before I had time to call for
them to be closed, a giant of a man rode in on a towering warhorse that pawed
the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its fury.  The man
swept the hall with terrible eyes, wolfish eyes that froze the courage in a man’s
veins, eyes you could not hold with your own.  But it was not the man’s eyes that
amazed us most, it was not his size either  -  and I tell you I’d never in my life set
eyes on a bigger man – no. It was the colour of him. Green, the man was green
from head to foot.
                                   
Arthur, High King of Britain 
by Michael Morpurgo
What does the physical
description of the man
and his horse suggest
about his character?
What does the description
of how the man arrives
suggest about his
character?
What might a reader
think about a man who
is completely green?
15
Show, not Tell: through noun phrases
At that moment, from outside in the courtyard, came 
the 
clatter
 of horses’
hooves on the cobbles
.  The doors of the hall flew open, and before I had time
to call for them to be closed, 
a giant of a man 
rode in on 
a towering warhorse
that pawed the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its
fury. 
 The man swept the hall with 
terrible eyes, wolfish eyes that froze the
courage in a man’s veins, eyes you could not hold with your own
.  But it was
not the man’s eyes that amazed us most, it was not his size either  -  and I tell
you I’d never in my life set eyes on 
a bigger man 
– no. It was 
the colour of
him. 
Green, the man was green from head to foot.
16
Show, not Tell: through noun phrases
At that moment, from outside in the courtyard, came 
the 
clatter
 of horses’
hooves on the cobbles
.  The doors of the hall flew open, and before I had time
to call for them to be closed, 
a 
giant 
of a man 
rode in on 
a towering 
warhorse
that pawed the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its
fury.
 
 The man swept the hall with 
terrible 
eyes
, wolfish eyes that froze the
courage in a man’s veins, eyes you could not hold with your own
.  But it was
not the man’s eyes that amazed us most, it was not his size either  -  and I tell
you I’d never in my life set eyes on 
a bigger man 
– no. It was 
the colour of
him. 
Green, the man was green from head to foot.
17
Show, not Tell: through noun phrases
the 
clatter
 of horses’ hooves on the cobbles …
.
… a towering 
warhorse
 that pawed the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine
head, snorting its fury …
… a 
giant 
of a man… 
… terrible 
eyes
, wolfish eyes that froze the courage in a man’s veins, eyes you
could not hold with your own
… a bigger 
man
… the 
colour
 of him…
M
ichael Morpurgo shows us through his noun phrases that:
He is 
a giant of a man
 – so he is likely to be strong, possibly fierce;
His horse is 
towering
 and it is a 
warhorse
 so he must be a fighting man;
The man has 
terrible
 eyes, like a wolf’s (
wolfish
 ), and it makes the other knights
frightened (
froze the courage in a mans veins) 
so he might be evil or nasty
The man is a strange colour (green) – what kind of man is green?
18
Show, not Tell: through noun phrases
Michael Morpurgo could have 
told
 us about the Green Knight by writing:
The Green Knight was a huge man who was very powerful and intimidating,  and
who was ready to fight , and he had a horse that was very fierce and threatening
.
Instead he 
shows
 us what the Green Knight is like by writing:
a 
giant 
of a man 
rode in on 
a towering 
warhorse
 that pawed the ground, sides
lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its fury.
 
 The man swept the hall with
terrible 
eyes
, wolfish eyes that froze the courage in a man’s veins, eyes you could
not hold with your own
.
19
He shows us the character of the Knight by describing what he looks like; he
doesn’t tell us.  We have to 
infer
 what the character is like.
LESSON 4
 
20
Show, not Tell: through verb choices
At that moment, from outside in the courtyard, came the clatter of horses’
hooves on the cobbles.  The doors of the hall flew open, and before I had time
to call for them to be closed, a giant of a man rode in on a towering warhorse
that pawed the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its
fury.  The man swept the hall with terrible eyes, wolfish eyes that froze the
courage in a man’s veins, eyes you could not hold with your own.  But it was
not the man’s eyes that amazed us most, it was not his size either  -  and I tell
you I’d never in my life set eyes on a bigger man – no. It was the colour of
him. Green, the man was green from head to foot.
21
Show, not Tell: through verb choices
At that moment, from outside in the courtyard, came the clatter of horses’ hooves on
the cobbles.  The doors of the hall 
flew
 open, and before I had time to call for them to
be closed, a giant of a man 
rode
 in on a towering warhorse that 
pawed
 
the ground,
sides lathered up, 
tossing
 its fine head, 
snorting
 its fury.  The man 
swept
 the hall with
terrible eyes, wolfish eyes that 
froze
 the courage in a man’s veins, eyes you could not
hold with your own.  But it was not the man’s eyes that amazed us most, it was not his
size either  -  and I tell you I’d never in my life set eyes on a bigger man – no. It was the
colour of him. Green, the man was green from head to foot
.
Michael Morpurgo shows us through his verb choices that:
The man’s actions are fast and decisive (
flew; rode; swept
) so he seems a powerful,
confident man
The horse seems aggressive (
pawed; tossing; snorting
) and ready to fight
22
Word-Weavers: Key Learning
Choose nouns and adjectives carefully to paint character pictures
Use noun phrases to create visual descriptions of characters
Consider adding more description after a noun to give more detail
‘Show not tell’ when describing characters – make your reader infer
Well-chosen verbs can suggest what characters are like by showing what
they do
23
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Dive into the world of Arthurian legend and explore the art of crafting vivid character descriptions through nouns and adjectives. Learn how to create engaging narratives that bring characters like Morgana, Guinevere, and Merlin to life with rich detail and imagery.


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  1. Word-Weavers! Every Word Counts!

  2. LESSON 1 2

  3. Describing Characters NOUNS WHICH DESCRIBE THE CHARACTER S APPEARANCE a lady, dark-haired and beautiful, wearing a gown of wine-red. MORGANA her long fingers extended, and her eyes, wide and intense. her fingers, long, white and dancing, GUINEVERE the hood of his dark cloak MERLIN his face was parchment-silver His hair was long to his shoulders and shone silver in the sun. 3

  4. Describing Characters ADJECTIVES WHICH DESCRIBE THE CHARACTER S APPEARANCE a lady, dark-haired and beautiful, wearing a gown of wine-red. NIMUEH her long fingers extended, and her eyes, wide and intense. her fingers, long, white and dancing, GUINEVERE the hood of his dark cloak MERLIN his face was parchment-silver His hair was long to his shoulders and shone silver in the sun. 4

  5. Some Characters in Arthurian Legend Morgana a beautiful, but evil witch Sir Lancelot the strongest and bravest knight Sir Galahad the wise and holy knight Sir Gawain one of Arthur s favourite knights Go back to your plot summary (the bare bones story). Now think of a name for one of the characters in that story can you make your choice sound like a character from an Arthur story? And, of course, you know that Proper Nouns, like character names, need capital letters! 5

  6. LESSON 2 6

  7. Noun Phrases to Build Description Sometimes noun phrases are built by putting adjectives before the noun: a strange language a dark song her long fingers Look at your description of a character from the Arthur and Merlin stories: have you created any noun phrases like this? What did you want to make you reader see or think about your character? 7

  8. Noun Phrases to Build Description You can also build noun phrases by adding more description after the noun You could add adjectives: her fingers, long, white and dancing, her eyes, wide and intense, a lady, dark-haired and beautiful, You could add a prepositional phrase: the colour of honey the hood of his dark cloak You could add a non-finite clause beginning with an ing or ed verb: gold washed in milk a lady, dark-haired and beautiful, wearing a gown of wine-red the words flowing from her lips 8

  9. Describing Characters Building detail by adding information after the noun (post-modification): Character Determiner NOUN Adjectives Non-finite clause Merlin his parchment-silver etched with age face Guinevere her long, white and dancing dark-haired and beautiful fingers Morgana a wearing a gown of wine-red lady Morgana the flowing from her lips words 9

  10. https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR4_Eq4PuVDjMMrgP5OOY0CrDrV8E9rG2N0U8S7p9PvMeFIwgBEhttps://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR4_Eq4PuVDjMMrgP5OOY0CrDrV8E9rG2N0U8S7p9PvMeFIwgBE Examples of Noun Phrases her fingers, long, white and dancing, her eyes, wide and intense, a lady, dark-haired and beautiful, the hood of his dark cloak, his face, parchment-silver and etched with age CREATE YOUR OWN NOUN PHRASE TO DESCRIBE THIS CHARACTER AND PAINT A PICTURE OF HIM IN WORDS 10

  11. LESSON 3 11

  12. The Story Mountain CLIMAX??? A strange green man charges into the hall on his horse RESOLUTION??? New Year s Eve at Camelot: gathered for a feast ENDING??? 12

  13. Show, not Tell: make your reader infer When we describe characters for our readers, sometimes we tell them directly about the character: here s Roald Dahl s description of Mr and Mrs Wormwood s house:- Matilda s parents owned quite a nice house with three bedrooms upstairs, while on the ground floor there was dining-room and a living-room and a kitchen This gives us precise information about their house. But good writers also make the readers think about, or infer, what characters are like from a description: Mr Wormwood was a small ratty-looking man whose front teeth stuck out underneath a thin ratty moustache. This description is not just information about what Matilda s dad looks like: by showing us what he looks like, Dahl also makes us think, or infer, about what kind of man he is. What kind of a man is ratty-looking ? What do we think about rats as creatures? How different it would have been if Dahl had described him as a cuddly bear-like man ? 13

  14. Show, not Tell: make your reader infer Show not tell: Dahl doesn t tell us that Mr Wormwood is a nasty little man, he tells us he is ratty-looking and so shows us he is a nasty little man. We have to work this out for ourselves (or infer this). When we write, sometimes we do tell our readers about characters, but good writers also make the reader infer what the character is like. 14

  15. Show, not Tell What does the description of how the man arrives suggest about his character? What does the physical description of the man and his horse suggest about his character? What might a reader think about a man who is completely green? At that moment, from outside in the courtyard, came the clatter of horses hooves on the cobbles. The doors of the hall flew open, and before I had time to call for them to be closed, a giant of a man rode in on a towering warhorse that pawed the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its fury. The man swept the hall with terrible eyes, wolfish eyes that froze the courage in a man s veins, eyes you could not hold with your own. But it was not the man s eyes that amazed us most, it was not his size either - and I tell you I d never in my life set eyes on a bigger man no. It was the colour of him. Green, the man was green from head to foot. Arthur, High King of Britain by Michael Morpurgo 15

  16. Show, not Tell: through noun phrases At that moment, from outside in the courtyard, came the clatter of horses hooves on the cobbles. The doors of the hall flew open, and before I had time to call for them to be closed, a giant of a man rode in on a towering warhorse that pawed the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its fury. The man swept the hall with terrible eyes, wolfish eyes that froze the courage in a man s veins, eyes you could not hold with your own. But it was not the man s eyes that amazed us most, it was not his size either - and I tell you I d never in my life set eyes on a bigger man no. It was the colour of him. Green, the man was green from head to foot. 16

  17. Show, not Tell: through noun phrases At that moment, from outside in the courtyard, came the clatter of horses hooves on the cobbles. The doors of the hall flew open, and before I had time to call for them to be closed, a giant of a man rode in on a towering warhorse that pawed the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its fury. The man swept the hall with terrible eyes, wolfish eyes that froze the courage in a man s veins, eyes you could not hold with your own. But it was not the man s eyes that amazed us most, it was not his size either - and I tell you I d never in my life set eyes on a bigger man no. It was the colour of him. Green, the man was green from head to foot. 17

  18. Show, not Tell: through noun phrases the clatter of horses hooves on the cobbles . a towering warhorse that pawed the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its fury a giant of a man terrible eyes, wolfish eyes that froze the courage in a man s veins, eyes you could not hold with your own a bigger man the colour of him Michael Morpurgo shows us through his noun phrases that: He is a giant of a man so he is likely to be strong, possibly fierce; His horse is towering and it is a warhorse so he must be a fighting man; The man has terribleeyes, like a wolf s (wolfish ), and it makes the other knights frightened (froze the courage in a mans veins) so he might be evil or nasty The man is a strange colour (green) what kind of man is green? 18

  19. Show, not Tell: through noun phrases Michael Morpurgo could have told us about the Green Knight by writing: The Green Knight was a huge man who was very powerful and intimidating, and who was ready to fight , and he had a horse that was very fierce and threatening. Instead he shows us what the Green Knight is like by writing: a giant of a man rode in on a towering warhorse that pawed the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its fury. The man swept the hall with terrible eyes, wolfish eyes that froze the courage in a man s veins, eyes you could not hold with your own. He shows us the character of the Knight by describing what he looks like; he doesn t tell us. We have to infer what the character is like. 19

  20. LESSON 4 20

  21. Show, not Tell: through verb choices At that moment, from outside in the courtyard, came the clatter of horses hooves on the cobbles. The doors of the hall flew open, and before I had time to call for them to be closed, a giant of a man rode in on a towering warhorse that pawed the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its fury. The man swept the hall with terrible eyes, wolfish eyes that froze the courage in a man s veins, eyes you could not hold with your own. But it was not the man s eyes that amazed us most, it was not his size either - and I tell you I d never in my life set eyes on a bigger man no. It was the colour of him. Green, the man was green from head to foot. 21

  22. Show, not Tell: through verb choices At that moment, from outside in the courtyard, came the clatter of horses hooves on the cobbles. The doors of the hall flew open, and before I had time to call for them to be closed, a giant of a man rode in on a towering warhorse that pawed the ground, sides lathered up, tossing its fine head, snorting its fury. The man swept the hall with terrible eyes, wolfish eyes that froze the courage in a man s veins, eyes you could not hold with your own. But it was not the man s eyes that amazed us most, it was not his size either - and I tell you I d never in my life set eyes on a bigger man no. It was the colour of him. Green, the man was green from head to foot. Michael Morpurgo shows us through his verb choices that: The man s actions are fast and decisive (flew; rode; swept) so he seems a powerful, confident man The horse seems aggressive (pawed; tossing; snorting) and ready to fight 22

  23. Word-Weavers: Key Learning Choose nouns and adjectives carefully to paint character pictures Use noun phrases to create visual descriptions of characters Consider adding more description after a noun to give more detail Show not tell when describing characters make your reader infer Well-chosen verbs can suggest what characters are like by showing what they do 23

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