The Black Prince
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Key Facts
full title · The Black Prince
author · Iris Murdoch
type of work · Novel
genre · Modernist Novel
language · English
time and place written · England, 1972
date of first publication · 1973
publisher · Viking Press
narrator · Bradley Pearson
point of view · First Person
tone · Ironic
tense · Past tense
setting (time) · Early 1970s
setting (place) · London, England
protagonist · Bradley Pearson
major conflict · Bradley's need to break out of his writing block
rising action · Arnold Baffin's fight with his wife; Tutorials of Julian; Date at the opera with Julian Rachel's attempted seduction
climax · Arnold Baffin's murder
falling action · Bradley's trial and conviction; Bradley's writing of his novel; Bradley's death
themes · Art and Truth; Eros; Randomness of Life
motifs · Marriage; Hamlet; Boots and Feet
symbols · Kites; Priscilla's jewels; Der Rosenkavalier
foreshadowing · Arnold's initial call to Bradley; Rachel's prediction of her fire; Bradley's threatening note to Arnold; Der Rosenkavalier; Bradley's destruction of Arnold's books
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