Question

In three to five sentences, identify and explain the effect of the point of view in this passage.

Answer 1

The author uses second-person point of view in this text by addressing the reader directly. The consequences listed for the felony of theft of livestock seem much more severe when readers consider they might happen to them. By speaking to the reader as a distinct individual, the author captures the attention of a reader who in other circumstances might not take the punishment of a crime in Elizabethan England as seriously.

Answer 2

By combining the 2nd-person with the 3rd-person point of view, the author makes sure his text is both informative and engaging. The reader feels addressed and drawn into the narrative more than it would be the case if only the 3rd-person point of view was used. Furthermore, the narrator talks about repercussions for committing different kinds of offenses, so he gets an even more dramatic effect by using the 2nd-person point of view.