Charles Dickens’
A Christmas Carol
Key Literary Terms

Protagonist: main character (hero) in
any literary work.
Antithesis: the opposite of someone
or something. A character can be
the complete antithesis of another.
We will see how this is true in the
first stave. This term is similar to
‘foil.’
(Remember Macbeth and Banquo?)

Key Literary Terms

Epiphany: the point or moment in a
literary work in which a character
arrives at a significant realization or
insight. An epiphany changes a
character’s understanding.

Catharsis: the purging of emotions.
Catharsis helps bring a character to
redemption.
Key Literary Terms

Verbal Irony: when a character says
something but means the opposite.
It is similar to sarcasm and is
typically intentional.

Onomatopoeia: a word that imitates
a sound.
Ex: buzz, bang!, zip!....

Key Literary Terms

Periphrasis: the use of excessive or
superfluous writing to achieve a
poetic effect, also known as
circumlocution.
Stave One: Marley’s Ghost

A stave is a musical term. Notice the
title of this novel refers to a musical
song. Dickens was being cute or
clever by breaking the novel into 5
staves; think of each stave as a large
chapter.
Social Context
Dickens’ social critique:
 His writing was intended to
illuminate the humanity of those
suffering from the effects of the
Industrial Revolution.
 He was a champion of the poor, of
children, and really all those who
were ‘disenfranchised.’

Stave One
Exposition- Setting (time/place) is
established: mid 19th century London
 Reader learns “Old Marley was as dead as
a doornail.” Notice this cliché- a very
old, common and worn out
expression/figure of speech…
 Tone/Mood- dark, dreary, flat, bit creepy
 Story begins in counting-house (workplace)
of misanthropic Ebeneezer Scrooge

Stave One
Narrator goes to great lengths to establish
facts of Marley’s death- reader learns that
Scrooge was Marley’s only friend in life,
only mourner at funeral
 Allusion to Shakespeare’s Hamlet helps
clarify that Marley is actually a ghost just
like the father of Hamlet.

Stave One
Characters Introduced
 Ebeneezer Scrooge- miserly
businessman, hates humankind
(misanthrope), no friends, dark weather
has no effect on him, laughs at the idea of
charity, has not thought about Marley
once since he died

Stave One
Characters Introduced
 Fred- Scrooge’s nephew, his antithesis,
or opposite, extends Scrooge an invitation
to Christmas dinner, Scrooge rejects him,
mocks him for being modest, somewhat
poor, married, and for celebrating
Christmas, later reveals himself to be kind
soul who pities his uncle 

Stave One
Characters Introduced
 Charity Workers/”Portly Gentlemen”Visit Scrooge after Fred’s visit, ask for
donations to poor, rejected by Scrooge who
says that prisons and workhouses are good
enough for the poor, who he feels they
should just die to “decrease the surplus
population”

Stave One
Characters Introduced
 Countinghouse Clerk- mocked by
Scrooge when he asked for Christmas Day
off, treated horribly by Scrooge, given
very little coal to keep warm while
working, reader later learns this is Bob
Cratchit, father of the crippled boy, Tiny
Tim

Stave One
Characters Introduced
 Jacob Marley- died 7 years ago on
Christmas Eve, appears as a spectral
vision/ apparition on door knocker of
counting house (illusion,
foreshadowing), appears as the first of
the 4 ghosts to visit Scrooge, lives just like
Scrooge when he was alive

MARLEY’S GHOST
Stave One
Marley’s Ghost
 “I wear the chain I forged in life….I made
it link by link….”
 Since his death, Marley has been
wandering, in “incessant torture of
remorse,” trying to make amends. He
tries to warn Scrooge to “shun the path I
tread…”
Stave One
Significance of Marley’s Ghost
 Reveals to the reader the exciting
force/inciting incident.
 “You will be visited by Three Spirits.”
Stave One
Significance of Marley’s Ghost
 Marley shows Scrooge the tortured
spirits/phantoms outside his window to
help him see the life that awaits him
unless he changes. They are unable to
help those here on earth.
Stave Two
Ghost of Christmas Past
Clock strikes one, and this
bizarre-looking ghost appears.
 Childlike, like an old man, but also ageless
 Light shines from head (symbolic of
Scrooge’s past, his memories, his
potential)
 Hold extinguisher (cap) to block the light
Stave Two
Ghost of Christmas Past
Takes Scrooge first to his
schoolhouse where he is a
young, lonely boy abandoned by his father,
then to visit the Fezziwigs, and finally
Belle
Stave Two
Characters Introduced:
Young Scrooge- abandoned by his father,
lonely, wants to be loved
Fan- Scrooge’s loving sister who protects
her brother, reader learns she later dies, has
one child, Fred
Stave Two
Characters Introduced:
Fezziwgs- family who employed Scrooge,
allowed Dick and Scrooge to serve as
apprentices, treated him very well,
wonderful family, mirror images of the
Cratchits in terms of wholesomeness and
family unit, help Scrooge see how he treats
Bob Cratchit (What does Scrooge say?)
Stave Two
Characters Introduced:
Belle- former fiance, Scrooge cannot bear
to see her, realizes that he threw love away
for money, a kind soul who released
Scrooge from their engagement since he
loved work and $ more than her
“You are changed.”
Stave Two
Scrooge already shows a ‘kinder’ side:
 He has been hurt during his
childhood, and this upsets him.
 He misses the company of the
Fezziwigs.
 He never recovered from losing Belle.
“Remove me!”- his pain is too much for
him….
Stave Three
Climax of the story
 Ghost of Christmas Present visits- (like the
Jolly Green Giant, happy, welcoming)
 Scrooge has started to change
significantly- notice/recall his reactions to
his young self, to the Fezziwigs, to Belle
 Also, notice how Scrooge responds/reacts
to this ghost- he is now open to the idea
of being shown how he can change…

Stave Three
Characters Introduced:
 Cratchits- family of Bob, Scrooge’s clerk,
jocund despite being very poor, “happy,”
“grateful,” eldest children Belinda and
Peter work to help their dad

Stave Three
Characters Introduced:
 Tiny Tim- a frail, physically handicapped
boy who is the ultimate symbol of
goodness and innocence in story
 He wants to serve as an example to
others, a reminder of how Christ healed
those who need Him (according to Bob)

Stave Three
Ghost of Christmas Present
 Sympathetic towards the poor- sprinkles
incense from his torch on them as he
walks around
 Takes Scrooge all around the world- to a
lighthouse, to hospitals, to cold mining
villages- all to show Scrooge there is hope
in poverty and happiness in Christmas

Stave Three
Visit to Fred’s house shows Scrooge the
error of his ways- Fred toasts to him, says
he feels only pity for his uncle
 “I am sorry for him. I couldn’t be angry
with him if I try…..”

Stave Three
Ghost shows Scrooge children within his
robe: “Man’s Children”- Ignorance and
Want
 Notice the symbolism here- How does
this relate to Scrooge? How is verbal irony
present in the Ghost’s response?.....

The Ghost of Yet to Come

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
is the last of the three spirits that
haunt the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, in
order to prompt him to adopt a more
caring attitude in life and avoid the
horrid afterlife of Marley. Most
people find the Ghost of Christmas
Yet to Come the most fearsome of
the spirits; it appeared to Scrooge as
a figure entirely muffled in a black
hooded robe, except for a single
gaunt hand with which it pointed.
Although the character never speaks
in the story, Scrooge seems to be
able to get its messages, usually as
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_of_Christmas_Yet_to_Come
assumptions due to his previous
experiences.
Stave Four
Marks the beginning of the denouement,
the part of a literary work that follows the
climax, leads to a resolution- ‘loose ends
are tied up.’
 Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
(Future)- mysterious, “immovable”, does
not speak, appears as ‘Grim Reaper’ type

Stave Four
“It’s likely to be a cheap funeral….”
 Scrooge encounters businessmen who are
talking about his death.
 Scrooge does not yet know whose death
they are discussing.

Stave Four
Next stop with ghost: Old Joe’s pawn shop
 The low-life type characters (Mrs. Dilbert
included) wish to profit by selling goods
stolen from the now-deceased Scrooge.
 Scrooge is laughed at and mocked as a
“wicked old screw.”
 Mrs. Dilbert on selling Scrooge’s
possessions for cash: “It’s a judgment on
him.”

Stave Four
Scrooge asks to visit people who have
some sort of “emotion”, some about this
mystery man who has died.
 He is taken to people who owe him money
(Caroline and her husband)
 How do they feel about this man’s death?
Why?

Stave Four
Ghost escorts Scrooge to the Cratchits.
What has happened to Tiny Tim?
 What kind of man does Bob Cratchit again
show himself to be at this point? How so?
 When Scrooge is taken to the graveyard,
he finally learns that the man who is
‘dead’ is actually him.

Stave Four
Scrooge, moved by the sight of his
tombstone, seems to finally have realized
the misery of his past life.
 Pleads with the ghost, “I will live in the
Past, Present, and Future.”
(personification)
 Scrooge’s epiphany is clearly illustrated
in this stave.

Stave Four
Epiphany: a sudden realization, a
flash of recognition
 Scrooge experiences an epiphany in one
night, thanks to the 4 ghosts. It begins
when he first see his young self and is
most clear when he pleads w/ the final
ghost, “I will honor Christmas in my
heart….I will live in the Past, Present, and
Future.”

Stave Five
Catharsis: a purging or redemption of
great emotions, a ‘coming to terms’ with
deep emotions or troubles
 Scrooge’s catharsis is fully present and
developed in Stave 5. He is happy, fully
alive, and wants to make amends for his
past.

Stave Five
Resolution is present in this stave.
 Scrooge is thrilled to be alive and have a
2nd chance at life.
 He orders a huge turkey for the Cratchit
family, he has dinner with Fred, he gives
Bob a raise, and he becomes a “2nd
father” to Tim.

Stave Five
How else does Scrooge make up for his
miserable past?
 He runs into one of the “portly
gentlemen/charity workers” from Stave
One and donates a ridiculous amount of
cash.

Stave Five
What is the most important effect of
Scrooge’s epiphany and catharsis? Tiny Tim is saved due to his generosity!
 Story ends on happy note- Tiny Tim’s
quotation: “God bless Us, Every One!”


Literary Terms Continued
Verbal Irony: marked difference
between what is stated and what is
implied. (similar to sarcasm)
 Example- Ghost of Christmas Present to
Scrooge, “Are there no workhouses?”
(Stave Three)

Literary Terms Continued
Onomatopoeia: words spelled the way
they sound
 Notice the bells/clocks in Stave Five
 Examples: Buzz, dong, bam, moo
 “Ding dong, bell! Bell, dong, ding!...”

Literary Terms List
Allusion/ Illusion
Climax (3)
 Antithesis
Verbal Irony (3)
 Foreshadowing
Denouement (4)
 Exposition (*1)
Catharsis (5)
 Exciting Force (1)
Resolution (5)
 Epiphany (2-4)
Onomatopoeia
* Refers to Stave #

Poets’ Corner
He is buried in Poets’
Corner in Westminster
Abbey in London.
 Dickens’ epitaph:
He was a sympathizer
to the poor, the
suffering, and the
oppressed; and by his
death, one of England’s
greatest writers is lost
to the world.
