Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Overdue work!!!
Dramatic Techniques taken from english y11 drama
Speech directions
Words in brackets that tell the actor how to say the lines. This helps us to
understand the feelings of the character easily.
Asides
When a character temporarily turns away from another character and speaks directly
to the audience. This helps us to understand a character’s real feelings at a particular
moment in a play. It is often used for humour or to help us empathise with a
character.
Entrance and exits
It is important to notice when characters exit and enter a scene. Pay particular
attention to what is being said as they enter or what they say as they leave.
Shakespeare often had characters leaving after a dramatic rhyming couplet (two
lines that rhyme).
Scenes and Acts
It is important to pay attention to when a playwright chooses to end a scene and an
Act (a number of scenes). It is usually significant in building audience expectations of
what is to come. This is sometimes a cliff hanger.
Symbolism
When an object is used to represent something else, e.g. a broken vase may
symbolise a broken relationship.
Stage Directions
Read these carefully. They tell us what should be happening on stage and will often
include clues, e.g. the darkening of the stage may suggest something bad
approaching.
Off-stage
Noises off-stage may indicate the coming of conflict, of something bad likely to
happen.
Recurring imagery
Look out for repeated words, phrases and images. Together, these create a sense of
mood or a key theme, e.g. references to chains may suggest the feeling of
imprisonment.
Prose or verse
In older plays, it is possible to tell the status of a character or the mood of the scene
by whether it is written as poetry or in everyday speech, e.g. characters of low
status do not speak in verse and comic scenes are often written in prose.
Soliloquy
When a character is alone on stage and speaks out his or her thoughts aloud.
Language that invites action
A character can say something that requires others to act or react. Look out for what
this tells us about the character, e.g. a sudden order might suggest frustration.
Language and length
Look out for how much or little is said by characters. Playwrights will often change
the pace (slowing down or speeding up) by how the characters speak.
Drama Conventions taken from Wiki Pedia
 | What does conventions mean in drama? | [Edit] |
Convention
The means the playwright employs are determined at least in part by dramatic convention. Greek: Playwrights of this era often worked with familiar story material, legend about gods and famous families that the audience was familiar with. Since the audience was familiar with certain aspects of these, the playwrights used allusion rather than explicit exposition. In representing action, they often relied on messengers to report off-stage action. For interpretation the Greeks relied on the CHORUS, a body of onlookers, usually citizens or elders, whose comments on the play reflected reactions common to the community. These plays were written in metered verse arranged in elaborate stanzas. This required intense attention from the audience. English Drama: Minor chara cters play an important role in providing information and guiding interpretation. The confidant, a friend or servant, listens to the complaints, plans and reminiscences of a major character. Minor characters casually comment among themselves on major characters and plot development. Extended SOLILOQUY enables a major character to reveal his thoughts in much greater detail than in natural dialogue. ASIDES, remarks made to the audience but not heard by those on the stage, are common. Realism: Toward the end of the nineteenth century, realistic depiction of everyday life entered the genre of drama, whereas the characters may be unconventional and their thoughts turbulent and fantasy-ridden. Contemporary: Experimentation seems to be the key word here. A NARRATOR replaces the messenger, the chorus and the confidant. FLASHBACKS often substitute for narration. Many contemporary playwrights have abandoned recognizable setting, chronological sequence and characterization through dialogue.
Exam Post Mortem
- -please know what stage conventions are
- Modern Drama is Death of a Sales man. Many of you failed this section in the exam. You have to compare Shakespeare to Death of a Salesman and Clear Light of Day is to be answered on its own. Clear Light of Day is a Post Colonial text.
- Know what Dramatic Techniques are. If you are going to choose the questions at least have 4 examples of the techniques that are being used, and NAME them.
- We ALL know the story line of the plays, and novel. Do not rehash everything. Tie it in to what the questions are asking.
- Make sure you have a good introduction, and conclusion.
- Make up your mind which point of view Clear light of Day is told in, and stay constant with that decision. Is it Bim or is it Tara?
- If you don't know what the question is asking you , DON'T DO IT!!!!
- What ever is your position at the beginning of the essay, please stay with it to the end.
Final Class
Mrs. Buffonge