A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat

'Wacky Races'

'Wacky Races'

Noun phrase - allusion to TV show, ambition of race nit reflected by Levine, not taking seriously?

'We'll open the car boot, you climb inside and point your camera towards the race.'

Dialogue, tricolon, parallelism, commands - established plan of action, lads are taking it very seriously

'fired up with excitement'

Verb phrase - looking forward to getting in the action

'zoom lens'

Noun phrase - technical camera language, suggests their keenness to get a clear shot even from a distance

'relished'

Verb - enjoyed the experience

'Formula One without rules'

Allusion - allusion to motor racing, humorous image, 'without rules' suggests sense of chaos

'survival of the fittest'

Idiom - creates exciting, dangerous atmosphere

'Nearly one hour later'

Temporal marker - not as exciting as anticipated

'silly'

Adjective - questions what she is doing

'the only action was a villager on a wobbly bicycle, who nearly fell off as he cycled past and gazed around at us.'

Humorous anecdote - contrasts with what she expected to see, definitely not as exciting/powerful

'Just'

Temporal marker - shift in tone/pace

'roared', 'revved'

Verbs - movement and sound,

Alliteration (r) - gritty, full of action

'neck-and-neck'

Compound noun - tension of the race

'cloud of fumes and dust'

Noun phrase - anticipating that something is approaching, causing movement

'fifty vehicles'

Statistic - conveys size of event

'40kph'

Statistic - surprising speed for donkeys

'energetically'

Adverb - full of enthusiasm and energy to win

'Men standing on top of their cars and vans, hanging out of taxis and perched on lorries, all cheered and shouted, while the vehicles jostles to get to the front of the convoy.'

Parallelism - lots of action happening at the same time

Verbs 'hanged, 'perched' - everyone is trying to get the best view

'shouted', 'cheered'

Verbs - excitement of the race

'horns tooting, bells ringing, and the special rattles used...'

Tricolon - simultaneous actions, lots of noise, people are using any objects to celebrate the race

'jostles'

Verb - like a negotiation and a race to get to the front and the best view

'There were two races'

Declarative - stating that race between both donkeys and vehicles were simultaneously occurring

'running close'

Verb phrase - increases tension

'Yaqoob loved it'

Short sentence - the thrill of the chase

'dived'

Verb - emphasising dramatic/chaotic nature of the race

'But'

Conjunction - shift in tone

'there was a near pile-up as the leading donkey swerved, lost his footing and he and the cart tumbled over.'

Multi-clause sentence - sequence of actions

'The race was over.'

Short sentence - blunt end to something highly anticipated/exciting/dramatic, emphasises how quickly it was over

'And then the trouble began'

Short sentence - abrupt end means spectators are unfulfilled with the outcome

Noun 'trouble' - intimating problematic behaviour in response

'over hundred punters'

Hyperbole - popularity of sport as a betting activity, also in terms of potential trouble

'Voices were raised, fists were out and tempers rising'

Tricolon - sequences of events intimating trouble

Verbs 'raised', 'rising' - indicate increase in something, we can infer tension is heightening

'volatile', 'nasty', 'nervous'

Adjectives - indicate situation is worsening, making writer anxious

'ordering me to stay in the car'

Clause - situation isn't safe

'But I don't even have my licence yet because I'm underage'

Dialogue - element of humour introduced, disregard of law reflects chaotic state, writer was in a vulnerable position