Downton Abbey Analysis

The medium of Downton Abbey is television and the purpose of the show is to entertain. The show takes the form of a Drama, specifically a period or historical Drama. The tone of the show is very formal, the characters are clearly upper class, judging by their clothes, which are extravagant, and by their well spoken accents. There is a serious tone throughout the most of the show, as the show involves serious events from 1912-1925, therefore the tone is serious to go with this. This Television show has a traditional style; the scenes are neat and clean, which is in order to make the upper class, rich setting seem realistic so that the viewer feels as if the show could be real.

First Section - The servants clearly have different accents to the house owners; this is to clearly show that they are lower class as they are less well spoken. They are also wearing a maid's outfit, which is design to separate them from the house owners, and remind that they are not in charge and do not posses any power. One of the servants is asked to do something but says she can't as she is attending "her ladyship" indicating that tending to the house owners is a priority task. When a paper boy gives one of the upper class characters a newspaper and tries to ask him something, he gets told not to ask, which is because he is in no place to ask, being a lower class than the other character. A similar thing occurs seconds after, when a servant asks a house owners why they have to dry the ink. She replies in a rude manner and says that it was so that his lordship's hands are not as black as hers are; a reminder that she is a subordinate class.
Next section is 2:30 onwards.
Second Section - This section is set in the upstairs part of the house, where the rich, upper class house owners are. We can immediately tell that they are upper class because of their clothes; lots of silk and quality looking fabrics. They are all in very formal clothes; the men in suits and the women in smart dresses. Their accents also indicate their class. They are well spoken and use longer and more advanced words than the servants; this is because they have enough money to be educated, as only those who were rich could get an education in the early 20th century. The part of the house they are in also looks very grand, as it has lots of decorative metal such as mantelpieces and banisters, and paintings in decorative frames on the walls. Unlike the downstairs, it is neat and clean. There are plant pots with well trimmed plants places neatly around, but there are not too many, reflecting the upper class characters' organized nature. When Lord Grantham asks a servant something, she replies by addressing him as "My lord" indicating he is her superior. Also, she pronounces it "m'lord", showing she is less educated in grammar than him due to her class. When he is talking to one of the female characters about the recent event of the titanic sinking, a servant comes in, and she is silent during her duration in the room as it is not her place to comment on their matters. When dismissed, she also doesn't say anything, as that would disrupt her betters' conversation.