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Wenling Lu
Mrs. Bailin
English 11 Honors (Period 4)
September 9, 2013
The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride by William Goldman is a novel filled with adventure and
fantasy. The book has many different themes presented throughout it, but I think the
theme true love is the most dominant. The scene of the sword fight between Westley
and Inigo uses simple diction, countless examples of imagery, specific details, and
postmodern language to convey the theme true love in the story; it shows one of the
major challenges that Westley had to encounter to rescue his dearest, Buttercup.
True love is a major theme represented throughout The Princess Bride. My
favorite scene was when Westley, disguised as the man in black, sword fights with
Inigo. Westleys chances of winning were slim to none because Inigo is the best sword
fighter in the world. In the end, he defeated Inigo. He also managed to beat Fezzik, who
was ten times his size. Westley outwitted Vizzini, the brains of the trio. He was able to
accomplish all of this because was courageous enough to face all the dangers that lied
ahead to rescue his true love. In my opinion, the sword fight was the most intense
scene because I personally did not expect the man in black to be good a sword fighting.
He found the courage to rescue his sweetheart. He knew she was in danger and risked
his life to save her because he knew that she was the only one for him.
The author uses very simple words in the sword fight scene. I feel that the author
did this because he wanted the reader to focus on the intensity of the scene, rather than

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trying to decipher difficult language in the text. You seem a decent fellow, Id hate to kill
you. Inigo said. "You seem a decent fellow," answered the man in black "I hate to die."
(146). Rhetorical phrases used suggest that both characters enjoy the company of each
other.
The author uses countless imagery in the scene. He describes the landscapes
and the characters appearances. It was a splendid plateau, really, filled with trees for
dodging around and roots for tripping over and small rocks for losing your balance on
and boulders for leaping off if you could climb fast enough, and bathing everything, the
entire spot. Moonlight. (145). This phrase creates an image in my head, and I am able
to imagine the physical appearances of the landscape. "The man in black just hung in
space, feet dangling, the entire weight of his body supported by the strength of his hand
jammed into the crevice." (146) I can just imagine the man in black dangling, holding on
for his life. It creates images and helps the reader better convey the scene.
The sentences are to the point. The author does not use complicated sentences.
The Princess Bride, written in 1973, contains postmodern language that we do not use
today. We do not use words like inconceivable in our regular speech. There is not
flowery language; it is straight to the point. The author does not try to sound intellectual
to get the scene across, but rather uses simple word choice.
Repeated throughout the book, is the theme true love. Westley had to encounter
many challenges to reach his true love. One of which was the sword fight between Inigo
and Westley. The romance between Westley and Buttercup was amorous. The
confrontations that Westley overcame to be with his beloved show the theme true love.

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Works Cited
Goldman, William. The Princess Bride. London: Bloomsbury Children's, 2008. Print.