Style and Technique: Structure

General Structure

Sunset Song is structured chronologically, following the life of its protagonist Chris Guthrie.
The narrative is broken up into four parts (“Ploughing”, “Drilling”, “Seed-Time” and “Harvest”) each named after agricultural seasons/processes, echoing the novel’s rural setting and themes.
The story predominantly unfolds through Chris’s perspective, allowing readers to intimately experience her struggles and evolution.

Framework Narratives

Gibbon further divides each part into a series of shorter ‘chapters’, or ‘Songs’ as he calls them. This gives the novel a musical, poetic quality.
Interspersed within these ‘songs’ are lyrical interjections, often exploring Chris’s deep emotional reactions to her surroundings.
‘Songs’ are marked by noticeable shifts in narrative tone and voice, reflecting the changing realities and emotions in Chris’ life.

Flashbacks and Time Shifts

Gibbon frequently employs flashbacks and time shifts, providing deeper insights into characters’ histories and motivations.
Anachronistic moments feature prominently, whereby past and present seem to overlap. This technique helps to underline the cyclical nature of rural life and the impact of time on character development.

Perception of time

Time is presented as fluid in Sunset Song, reflecting Chris’s struggle between her owned past and the forceful present.
Gibbon regularly slows down or speed up the flow of time in the narrative, creating a sense of temporal disorientation that highlights the inner turmoil faced by his characters.

Language and Dialect

The language used by Gibbon is a unique mix of high literary English and the specific local dialect of Scotland’s northeast. It symbolises the divided identity of Chris – her attachment to her land, reflected in her use of dialect, versus her desire for education and progress, reflected in her ability to use formal English.

Understanding the structure of Sunset Song provides key insights into the themes and characterisation present in the novel. The manipulation of time, shared perspective, and cyclical nature of rural life all contribute to Gibbon’s complex portrayal of Chris Guthrie’s journey.