1st appearance

• "Marley was dead to begin with."

  • Repetition of the fact he is dead - makes him seem like it impossible to be back. Foreshadows his arrival.
  • Ironic/ Paradoxical> starting with a death
• "Marley's face"

  • this phrase is repeated twice in 2 different paragraphs. - at the beginning of a new one and the end of a previous paragraph.
  • Marley appeared on a door knocker - highlights shock to scrooge.
  • {door} is a SYMBOL of new beginning, MOTIF of 'opening doors' = change.

  this suggests that Marley is providing scrooge the opportunity to change.
• Marley's character is described with gothic imagery; "shadow", "ghostly" & "horror"
• "like a bad lobster"


  • ZOOMORPHIC SIMILE > repulsive
• "ghostly spectacles on his forehead"


  -"ghostly spectacles" suggests that he doesn't need them to see scrooge is 'blind'.

  Marley wears them on his forehead and not on his face it shows that anyone can tell that scrooge MUST change - you don't need glasses to 'see' this fact.
• Jacob Marley

  NOMENCLATURE (A02)


  "Jacob">

  • In the bible, 'Jacob' was the founder of Israel and had 12 sons - was a merchant and did a lot of trade. (Genesis)
  • (Jewish name)
  • Dickens uses "Jacob Marley" to be scrooge's former accomplice: recognised his biblical name was also a man of business and referenced his character 'Marley' on him
• "Marley"

  NOMENCLATURE (A02)


  "Marley">

  • "marble" > associated with his death
  • associated with soil ("Unearthly visitor") - suggests he is stuck in purgatory and not heaven
  • connotations of 'WONDER' > Marley is a catalyst of change & is the start to scrooge's redemption