Analysing Dramatic Techniques And Effects
Overview
A novel can tell you that a room went cold. A play cannot. It has to change the light, put a stranger in the doorway, cut a line short, or let two people stand in silence for four seconds longer than is comfortable. Everything a dramatist means has to be carried by something an audience can see or hear in a room, in real time, with no narrator to help.
That constraint is the whole art. This note is the toolkit: dramatic irony, stage directions, setting and set, entrances and exits, dialogue and subtext, soliloquy, aside and chorus, the shaping of tension towards a climax, and the way acts and scenes are cut. It also covers the harder half of the skill, which is not naming a technique but saying precisely what it does to the people watching.
Objectives
- Understand how writers create literary effects in drama
- Understand and use appropriate literary terminology
- Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects
Lesson Note
Available on the Green Bridge App
Download the Green Bridge CBT app on your phone or computer to access full lesson notes, practice questions, and more.
Lesson Evaluation
Congratulations on completing the lesson on Analysing Dramatic Techniques And Effects. Now that youve explored the key concepts and ideas, its time to put your knowledge to the test. This section offers a variety of practice questions designed to reinforce your understanding and help you gauge your grasp of the material.
You will encounter a mix of question types, including multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, and essay questions. Each question is thoughtfully crafted to assess different aspects of your knowledge and critical thinking skills.
Use this evaluation section as an opportunity to reinforce your understanding of the topic and to identify any areas where you may need additional study. Don't be discouraged by any challenges you encounter; instead, view them as opportunities for growth and improvement.
- Dramatic irony occurs when: A) A character says the opposite of what they mean B) The audience knows something a character on stage does not C) The ending of the play is unexpected D) A character speaks alone on stage Answer: B
- Priestley instructs that the lighting be pink and intimate before the Inspector arrives and brighter and harder afterwards. This is an example of: A) An aside B) Subtext C) A stage direction that carries interpretation as well as instruction D) A soliloquy Answer: C
- Alfieri in A View from the Bridge is best described as: A) The protagonist B) A chorus figure who uses direct address C) An unreliable narrator D) A comic subplot Answer: B
- Which best explains why the telephone booth in A View from the Bridge is dramatically effective? A) It shows that the play is set in the 1950s B) It is visible on the set throughout but unused, so Eddie's eventual crossing to it is recognised by the audience before he dials C) It allows Alfieri to speak to the audience D) It provides comic relief before the climax Answer: B
- In Death and the King's Horseman, the alternation between the Yoruba scenes and the colonial scenes mainly works to: A) Give the actors time to change costume B) Establish the Yoruba world first so that the colonial scenes are read against it C) Keep the two plots entirely separate until the end D) Show that the two worlds are equally well understood by the audience Answer: B
Available on the Green Bridge App
Download the Green Bridge CBT app on your phone or computer to access full lesson notes, practice questions, and more.
Available on the Green Bridge App
Download the Green Bridge CBT app on your phone or computer to access full lesson notes, practice questions, and more.
Recommended Books
Practice Mock Questions
Want to practice mock questions on Analysing Dramatic Techniques And Effects? Download the Green Bridge CBT app to access mock questions and full practice assessments for this topic.
Download The App On Google Playstore
Everything you need to excel in your exams
