Commentary on Newman's ‘portrait of a Gentleman'

This is a commentary about a passage by Newman called the ‘Portrait Of A New Gentleman’. It describes the perfect gentleman and how a real gentleman should act and all the characteristics and types of personalities that are embedded to form this imaginary man. The speaker in this passage is the author himself addressing the reader about the perfect gentleman. As the passage is read out, the author’s voice can be imagined and the complex descriptions and tone of voice form a vivid image in the reader’s head of the real ‘gentleman’.

The passage has a basic form and is set out in 7 paragraphs, each one describing in detail the characteristics of the perfect man. The language used in every paragraph is different to the others and helps to show a different meaning and to describe different situations and moods. The layout of the passage is very organized and is clearly understandable to the reader.

There are many ideas and messages in this passage that are portrayed to us by the author. There are also many hidden meanings that the author has placed for the reader to engage all his senses as to be able to fully understand them. An example of this is where it says ‘never mistakes personalities or sharp sayings for arguments’. The superficial meaning to this would be that a gentleman never judges a person by his personality. But the more descriptive and detailed hidden meaning is that a gentleman never causes an argument over a small problem and doesn’t misjudge a human being based on his personality and rather tries to look at everything in a positive manner.

The author’s tone of voice in this passage is very smooth and persuasive and truly attracts the reader’s attention. It gives the reader an atmosphere of compelling ness and thought. The complex use of language and words such as where it says ‘he guards against unseasonable allusions’ and ‘he is