The vessel that began as a glow

Text: an original contemporary craft-feature-style practice extract.

Before the glassblower touched it, the material looked less like an object than a small captive sun. It hung at the end of a metal tube, bright enough to make me look away, while the unfinished vessel turned slowly above the stone bench. I had expected the heat to dictate everything. Instead, the glassblower watched it with the concentration of someone listening for an answer.

She rolled the tube between her palms and drew it through the air. The glowing mass lengthened, narrowed and began to resemble the outline of a bottle. When she blew gently into the tube, the surface swelled by degrees. A slightly stronger breath made one side bulge too far. She stopped, reheated the glass and began again, correcting a shape that had changed before I could decide what it was.

At last, the vessel stood on the bench, pale and transparent, with a lip as thin as a drawn line. It was smaller than the blazing form that had first filled the workshop, but it had not been defeated by the heat. The heat had been persuaded to take a shape.

Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to interest and engage the reader.

In your answer, consider:

• language features and techniques
• structural techniques
• the effect on the reader.

Support your views with detailed reference to the extract.