  We present analytic expressions that approximate the behavior of the
spacetime of a collapsing spherically symmetric scalar field in the critical
regime first discovered by Choptuik. We find that the critical region of
spacetime can usefully be divided into a ``quiescent'' region and an
``oscillatory'' region, and a moving ``transition edge'' that separates the two
regions. We find that in each region the critical solution can be well
approximated by a flat spacetime scalar field solution. A qualitative nonlinear
matching of the solutions across the edge yields the right order of magnitude
for the oscillations of the discretely self-similar critical solution found by
Choptuik.
