Lecture 19: Pacing in Scenes and Narratives
z In contrast, intensely dramatic or violent scenes can be played out either
fast or slow, depending on your intent. At the end of Melville’s 0RE\
'LFN, for example, Captain Ahab and the crew of the whaling ship
3HTXRG chase the great white whale for three days, and the suspense is
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The effect is shocking and ruthless—a dazzling example of how a
sudden shift in pacing can open the abyss at the reader’s feet.z Slowing the pace of a scene can allow you to wring the last bit of
suspense or mystery out of it. In John le Carré’s 7LQNHU7DLORU6ROGLHU
6S\, the aging spy George Smiley has been assigned to discover the
identity of a Soviet double-agent, who has been working at the highest
level of British intelligence for 30 years.
o The book’s pace varies throughout, but in its climactic scene,
Smiley is hiding with a gun in the kitchen of a safe house, where
he has lured the double-agent. He knows that the next voice he
hears will tell him which of his trusted friends and colleagues
is a traitor. At this point, le Carré slows the narrative down,
telling us every detail, making us sweat alongside Smiley.o The events in this passage—an unseen man coming to the door
and Smiley’s racing thoughts—would take only a few seconds
in real life, but le Carré almost cruelly slows them down,
making us wait for the big reveal.Burroway, :ULWLQJ)LFWLRQ.
Catton, 7KH/XPLQDULHV.
Eliot, 0LGGOHPDUFK.
Le Carré, 7LQNHU7DLORU6ROGLHU6S\.
Melville, 0RE\'LFN.
Munro, “The Beggar Maid.”
Pelecanos, 7KH&XW.Suggested Reading