payment page
Genre
David Copperfield is a bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel)
Point of View
David writes in the first person, limiting his viewpoint to what he sees in his youth and his attitude at that time.
Tone
David reflects upon his youth fondly and remembers his naïve youth wistfully.
Tense
The novel is written in the past tense.
Setting
David Copperfield is set in the first half of the 18th century and takes place in various parts of England.
Foreshadowing
The novel’s opening scene’s observation that David’s birth is inauspicious, the adult David’s remark that Little Em’ly would have been better off if the sea had swallowed her as a child, Agnes’s distrust of Steerforth, and Agnes’s blush when David asks her about her love life are all examples of foreshadowing in David Copperfield.
Major Conflict
David struggles to become a man in a cruel world, with little money and few people to guide him.
Rising Action
David loses his mother and falls victim to a cruel childhood, but then has a happier youth with Miss Betsey and Agnes.
Climax
David watches from shore as the storm claims the lives of Ham and Steerforth.
Falling Action
The various subplots involving secondary characters resolve themselves. David realizes his love for Agnes, marries her, and comes to grips with the treachery and death of his good friend Steerforth.
