Kelso High School English Department

Advanced Higher English – Drama Textual Analysis

Drama comes from Greek, meaning action, play, or deed. This meaning carries forward to our modern usage as it bears the connotation of a story to be acted out. Dramas revolve around conflict or contrasts of character. Playwright George Bernard Shaw (who wrote Pygmalion, which was later adapted to become the film My Fair Lady) once said ‘No conflict, no drama’. How right he was! Drama that lacks conflict is normally dull and uninspiring. As a rule, conflict should always be considered an essential ingredient for all dramatic performances. Conflict can be between two or more characters, or simply one (inner conflict). Many Elizabethan soliloquies contain inner conflict (‘To be or not to be…’ is an excellent example). Conflict on stage can be verbal, physical or non-verbal (psychological). Conflict differs from tension in that it is often a fixed part of the structure of a play, with characters destined to clash with one another from the outset.

Dramatic Form

Plays are not written in paragraphs like a novel or short story. Instead, they are written as lines of dialogue in the form of a script. Typically, scripts are broken down into one or more acts, or major divisions of the play. And each act is then subdivided into a scene, or smaller divisions within the act. Usually a change in setting means there will be a change in either the act or the scene.

First step

If you are given an extract of a script to read and analyse, the first thing you want to do is to identify the type of play. Is it a comedy or a tragedy? Can you identify the sub-genre? The type of play will give you insight as to what to expect from the theme, characters, and plot.

Types of Drama

Let us consider a few popular types of drama:

Comedy – Comedies are lighter in tone than ordinary writers, and provide a happy conclusion. The intention of dramatists in comedies is to make their audience laugh.  Hence, they use quaint circumstances, unusual characters and witty remarks. Comedy tends to bring humor and induce laughter in plays, films and theaters. The primary function of comedy is to amuse and entertain the audience, while it also portrays social institutions and persons as corrupt and ridicules them through satirising, parodying and poking fun at their vices. By

doing this, the authors expose foibles and follies of individuals and society by using comic elements.

Tragedy – Tragic dramas use darker themes such as disaster, pain and death. Protagonists often have a tragic flaw—a characteristic that leads them to their downfall.

Farce – Generally, a farce is a nonsensical genre of drama, which often overacts or engages slapstick humor.

Melodrama – Melodrama is an exaggerated drama, which is sensational and appeals directly to the senses of audience. Just like the farce, the characters are of single dimension and simple, or may be stereotyped.

Musical Drama – In musical drama, the dramatists not only tell their story through acting and dialogue, nevertheless through dance as well as music. Often the story may be comedic, though it may also involve serious subjects.

Examples of Drama from Literature

Example 1Comedy:

Much Ado About Nothing is the most frequently performed Shakespearian comedy. The play is romantically funny in that love between Hero and Claudio is laughable, as they never even get a single chance to communicate on-stage until they get married. Their relationship lacks development and depth. They end up merely as caricatures, exemplifying what people face in life when their relationships are internally weak. Love between Benedick and Beatrice is amusing, as initially their communications are very sparky, and they hate each other. However, they all of sudden make up, and start loving each other.

Some of the same dramatic elements we find in tragedy occur in comedy as well. Discovery scenes and consequent reversals of fortunate, for example, occur in both. So too do misperceptions and errors of judgment, exhibitions of human weakness and failure. But in comedy the reversals and errors lead not to calamity as they do in tragedy, but to prosperity and happiness. Comic heroes are usually ordinary people. Moreover, comic characters are frequently one-dimensional to the extent that many are stereotypes: the ardent young lovers.

The happy endings of comedies are not always happy for all the characters involved. This marks one of the significant differences between the two major types of comedy: satiric and romantic comedy. Though much of what we have said so far about comedy applies to both types, it applies more extensively to romantic than to satiric comedy, or satire. Satire exposes human folly, criticises human conduct, and aims to correct it.

Romantic comedy on the other hand, portrays characters gently, even generously; its spirit is more tolerant and its tone more genial. Whatever adversities the heroes and heroines of romantic comedy must overcome, the tone is typically devoid of rancour and bitterness. The humour and romantic comedy is more sympathetic than corrective, and it intends more to entertain than instruct, to delight than ridicule.

Example 2Tragedy:

Sophocles’’ mythical and immortal drama, Oedipus Rex, is thought to be his best classical tragedy. Aristotle has adjudged this play as one of the greatest examples of tragic drama in his book, Poetics by giving following reasons:

The play arouses emotions of pity and fear, and achieves the tragic katharsis. It shows the downfall of an extraordinary man of high rank, Oedipus. The central character suffers due to his tragic error called hamartia; as he murders his real

father, Laius, and then marries his real mother, Jocasta. Hubris is the cause of Oedipus’ downfall. Some readers of tragedy have suggested that, according to Aristotle, the catastrophe results

from a flaw in the character of the hero. Others have contented that the hero’s tragic flaw result from fate or coincidence, from circumstances beyond the hero’s control.

An essential element of the tragic hero’s experience is a recognition of what has happened to him. Frequently this takes the form of the hero discovering something previously unknown or something he knew but misconstrued. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero’s regognition (or discovery) is often allied with a reversal of his expectations.

We may consider why, amid such suffering and catastrophe, tragedies are not depressing. Aristotle suggested that the pity and fear aroused in the audience are purged or released and the audience experiences a cleansing of those emotions and a sense of relief that the action is over. Perhaps tragedy represents for us the ultimate downfall we will experience in death: we watch in fascination and awe a dramatic reminder of our own inevitable mortality. Or perhaps we are exalted in witnessing the high human aspiration and the noble conception of human character embodies in tragic heroes. 1[5]

Example 3Farce:

Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest ,is a very popular example of Victorian farce. In this play, a man uses two identities; one as a serious person Jack (his actual name) that he uses for Cecily, his ward, and as a rogue named Ernest for his beloved woman, Gwendolyn. Unluckily, Gwendolyn loves him partially because she loves the name Ernest. It is when Jack and Earnest must come on-stage together for Cecily, then Algernon comes in to play Earnest’ role, and ward immediately falls in love with another Ernest. Thus, two young women think that they love the same man – an occurrence that amuses the audience.

Example 4Melodrama:

The Heiress is based on Henry James’ novel the Washington Square. Directed for stage performance by William Wyler, this play shows an ungraceful and homely daughter of a domineering and rich doctor falling in love with a young man, Morris Townsend wishes to elope with him, but he leaves her in lurch. Author creates melodrama towards the end, when Catherine teaches a lesson to Morris and leaves him instead.

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Elements of Drama The elements of drama include plot, character, dialogue, staging, and theme. Our discussions of each

of these elements individually allow us to highlight the characteristic features of drama in a convenient way. We should remember, however, that analysis of any single element of drama should not blind us to its function in conjunction with other dialogue; character is expressed through dialogue and staging; and so on.

1. Plot

One of the reasons we read plays to discover what happens, to see how particular consequences result from specific observable actions. We become engaged by a play’s story line, and remain held by its twist and turns, until the playwright resolves things. The details of action, or incidents, in a well-organized play form a unified structure. The unified structure of a play’s incidents is called plot.

It is important to realize that a dramatic plot is not merely a series of haphazard occurrences. It is, rather, a carefully arranged series of casually related incidents. The incidents of the plot, that is, must be connected in such a way that one gives rise to another or directly results from another. And, of course, the playwright shapes and arranges the incidents of the plot to do precisely these things. The exposition of a play presents background necessary for the development of the plot. The rising action includes the separate incidents that “complicate” the plot and build toward its most dramatic moment. These incidents often involve conflicts either between characters or within them, conflicts that lead to a crisis. The point of crisis toward which the play’s action builds is called its climax. Most drama will have one or more crises in the development of the plot. A crisis is a key moment of dramatic tension and conflict in the play, usually occurring between two or more characters and having serious implications for the outcome of the plot. The ultimate crisis, or highest peak, is usually called the climax and often (but not always) occurs toward the end of a performance. There can also be more than one climax, although this is uncommon.

Following this high point of intensity in the play is the falling action, in which there is a relaxation of emotional intensity and a gradual resolution of the various strands of the plot in the play’s denouement (French word that refers to the untying of a knot).

How Miller builds suspense (i.e. the audience wonders what will happen and how events will transpire)

a    delays in discovering events: Acts 1 and 2 have a two-day ‘frame’.

b    Shifting between present and past

i           Simultaneous past and present

ii          use of memories

iii         use of flashbacks

iv         blurring between memory and imagined memory

v          imagined conversation with dead man

 

How tension and conflict is developed between characters. 

a    unsaid items

b    dramatic irony

c    anger

d    surprise

e    annoyance etc

f     monologue

g  dialogue

i   questions & commands

ii  sentence length

iii  use of interruptions

iv  hesitation

2. Theme

There are two questions you ask when you are determining theme. First is the 'What?' For example, 'What is the theme?' Usually, the theme is going to be a moral or a lesson that the characters learn. Often in a tragedy, the topics include revenge, loss, revelation, and justice. Comedy often deals with disorder in varying degrees.

The next question, 'How?', will further your analysis of the script. 'How does the playwright implement the theme?' Usually, this will be through characters and dialogue. Not only will this help you better understand the theme, it will help you discuss the playwright's style, or her unique use of dramatic techniques.

The ideas explored by are called the play's themes and themes are always made clear through the play's characters and action.Playwrights are often very political creatures who are particularly sensitive to what they perceive to be the wrongs of society. Their plays are often a vehicle not just for entertainment but for the expression of the playwright's ideas and concerns. These are called the play's themes. A modern televised play can stir the imaginations and consciences of millions of people and change minds in a way little else can. It is because of this that drama has always had the potential to be a radical form of literature indeed, in Shakespeare's day, many plays were banned or had to be performed secretly or outside of the city's legal limits to avoid censorship or worse: more than one playwright was imprisoned and worse for their work.

Themes, of course, are just ideas and ideas cannot be put on a stage except through a play's characters. So, the study of a play always involves the study of who its characters are, what they do, how they do it, who they do it to, as well as what they say, how they say it and who to... that is, the action and language of the play!

2. Character

The other elements of analysis, the dramatic techniques like the characters, plot, and stage directions, are all very much intertwined during the play. As you read, you need to ask yourself, 'How do stage directions, dialogues, soliloquies, and actions develop the characters?'

Each character will further be developed through the use of dialogue, or what the characters say, throughout the play. Not only will the playwright give you their speaking lines, she will often give you stage directions, the information in the script that is only meant for the director, actors, or stage crew, that indicate tone of voice and mannerisms. What the character says and how he says it will give you insight to the character's importance to the plot. In fact, the main character in the play will move the plot.

Drama is one of the best literary forms through which dramatists can directly speak to their readers or audience as well as they can receive instant feedback of audience. A few dramatists use their characters as a vehicle to convey their thoughts, values such as poets do with personas, and novelists do with narrators. Since drama uses spoken words and dialogues, thus language of characters plays a vital role, as it may give clues to their feelings, personalities, backgrounds, and change in feelings, etc. In drama the characters live out a story without any comments of the author, providing the audience a direct presentation of characters’ life experiences.

If we read plays for their plots-to find out what happens-we also read them to discover the fates of their characters. We become interested in dramatic characters for varying, even contradictory, reasons. Characters bring plays to life. First and last we attend to characters: to how they look and what their appearance tells us about them; to what they say and what their manner of saying it expresses; to what they do and how their action reveal who they are and what they stand for.

Characters in drama can be classified as a major and minor, static and dynamic, flat and round. A major character is an important figure at the center of the play’s action and meaning. Supporting the major character are one or more secondary or minor characters, whose function is partly to illuminate the major characters. Minor characters are often static or unchanging: they remain essentially the same throughout the play. Dynamic characters, on the other hand, exhibit some kind of change-of attitude, of purpose, of behavior. Flat characters reveal only a single dimension, and their behavior and speech are predictable; round characters are more individualized, reveal more than one aspect of their human nature, and are not predictable in behavior or speech.

The protagonist is the main character in a play. Generally introduced to the audience very early, this is the character that the author expects should more engage our interest and sympathies. The antagonist is the character or force against which the protagonist struggles. The antagonist may be another character, a culture and its laws or traditions, natural elements, or the protagonist divided against himself.

Major / Minor Characters

The actors are responsible for putting across the characterisation

We learn about the characters through the dialogue:

What they say and what others say about them

How they say it e.g. tone of voice, pace of speaking

The stage directions often tell us how the words are said and therefore how the character feels.

The word choice also reveals feelings and emotions.

Who a character is, what they say, how they say it, what other characters say about them, how other characters act around them and so forth all help to build up a character in the audience's mind.

Do you like a particular character?

Why? Do you empathise with him or her or even sympathise with their plight? If so, think about what it is that makes you feel this way perhaps some aspect of the way they are being treated by their society? This is a theme of the play. Your sympathy and engagement with this character is persuading you to accepting the playwright's ideas or themes. And just because their society is, for example, Italy in the olden days, does not mean that the ideas are old hat. Society may have evolved technologically, but not always in other ways. Shakespeare's views on human relationships, and Arthur Miller's views on society are, in many ways, still very valid today.

Do you dislike a particular character?

Again, why? What are they doing to be disliked? How are they being presented? Are they created as a stereotype - a kind of stock character? What ideas occur to you when you watch them? Again, these ideas are linked to the themes of the play.

The type of sentences used can reveal feelings and emotions.

Exclamation sentences are easy to spot and often suggest strong feelings e.g. surprise, anger, fear, enthusiasm, joy etc

Sentences with pauses [shown by ellipsis…] or dashes may suggest some hesitation on the part of the speaker or they may have been interrupted by another character.

Dashes can be used to convey the natural rhythm of conversation (we often speak in incomplete sentences).

The language used can reveal feelings and emotions.

Look out for imagery (similes & metaphors)

Repetition

Alliteration

And any other techniques you are used to analysing in close reading or literature

Character’s own words reveal their natures and beliefs e.g.:Linda’s naivete for buying the washing machine that had the biggest advertisement.

a    Hesitation and stuttering

b    Patent untruths e.g.: what Willy has sold

c    Repetition

d    Willy talking to himself and talking to someone who is not there.

e    Contradiction

 Use of a character to e.g.:

a    voice an opinion on another.

b    show admiration

c    show disappointment

d    repeating someone else’s words (there’s always a reason for doing this – also see ‘repetition’ below)

Points to Ponder when analysing a Drama Script

How does the word choice in these lines show the feelings of the character?

To answer this, do not simply quote what the character says ( and don’t put the speech in your own words).

First say what the feelings are, then….

Quote examples of the word choice and for each separate example comment on the connotations of the words – what the words suggest to us, not what they mean.

By referring to one example of his actions, show how the character’s mood is reflected during this speech.

To answer this make it clear what the character’s mood is.

Quote from the stage directions to show what the character does.

Explain how this action shows his mood.

Show how the dramatist uses dialogue to develop your understanding of the emotions experienced by [the character] at this point.

To answer this, do not simply quote what the character says ( and don’t put the speech in your own words).

First say what the emotions are, then….

This is a textual analysis so explain HOW:

How are the words spoken?

Tone? How do you know?

Word choice? (analyse)

Sentence types? (analyse)

Other techniques e.g. repetition

Show how the language of (the character’s) speeches conveys aspects of his character.

State an aspect of character e.g. boastful / helpful / lonely…

Quote evidence and justify it i.e. explain how the quotation backs up what you say about the character.

Think about

1. Word choice – are the words used formal or informal? What does the word choice say about a character?2. Imagery – simile, metaphor, personification. When a character uses an image when they talk, what does it say about them?3. Sentence structure – rhetorical questions, long and short sentences, parenthesis, list, repetition, climax, antithesis4. Tone – ironic, sarcastic, upbeat, downbeat, serious, light, nostalgic, humorous, pompous5. Sound effects – alliteration and onomatopoeia6. Register – high register (formal) or low register (informal). This example uses both: ‘My lords ladies and gentlemen … how y’doing?’7. Stage directions – what do the actors do on stage? Are they standing, moving around … trying to stab each other!?8. Props and costumes – what are the actors holding and wearing?9. Setting – where does the scene take place? In a house? In a castle? Outer space?10. Relationships – when two characters talk, one is always more important than the other. Which one is in charge?11. Characterisation – how does a character talk? How do they behave on stage?

DialogueOur discussion of character and conflict brings us to a critical aspect of

dramatic characters-their speech, or dialogue. Although generally we use the word dialogue to refer to all the speech of a play, strictly speaking, dialogue involves two speakers and monologue to the speech of one. An important dramatic convention of dialogue is the use of a soliloquy to express a character’s state of mind. A soliloquy is a speech given by a character as if alone, even though other characters may be on stage. A soliloquy represents a character’s thoughts so the audience can know what he or she is thinking at a given moment. Soliloquies should be distinguished from asides, which are comments made directly to the audience in the presence of other characters, but without those other characters hearing what is said. Unlike a soliloquy, an aside in usually a brief remark.

Analysing a line of dialogue in a play or script

This line is from the movie ‘Pulp Fiction’, a comedy thriller about gangsters in Los Angeles:

Normally both of you would be dead as fried chicken. But you happened to pull this while I'm in a transitional period.

This is said by Jules the hitman as he points a gun at Ringo the armed robber, and Ringo’s girlfriend.

What can we say about this line?

Word choice –

• The scriptwriter has used colloquial language – ‘pull this’. This shows Jules is a tough character who speaks plainly. He is also happy to show Ringo that he is in charge of the situation – he uses a low register to show Ringo is of less importance than himself.• This is contrasted with a high register – ‘transitional period’. This is a clever-sounding phrase which you wouldn’t expect Jules to say. It shows that he is thinking about himself and his life. This helps capture the audience’s attention and make Jules a complex character rather than just a thug.

Imagery – the simile ‘dead as fried chicken’ says a lot about Jules. For textual analysis, write down more than one thing if you can.• Jules is a menacing character – fried chicken has been cooked as well as killed; this suggests Ringo will die in a gruesome way• Jules is a common person – fried chicken is cheap food which you can buy anywhere.• Jules holds life very cheaply – killing Ringo would be like eating chicken to him.

Next Extract

The extract below is taken from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II. Sir John Falstaff, is a lecherous, middle-aged and boisterous drunkard who has spent much of the two plays Henry IV, Part I and Henry IV, Part II teaching the young heir to the throne, Prince Hal, how to have a good time in the inns and bawdy houses of England. Now, at the end of the play, Hal's father, King Henry IV, has died,

and Prince Hal has just been crowned Henry V. As Hal is now king, Falstaff and his cronies Pistol, Shallow and Bardolph think that life will carry on much as before, but with extra funds to support the merriment. They approach him as he leaves Westminster Abbey, after the coronation:

Falstaff God save thy Grace, King Hal; my royal Hal!

Pistol The heavens thee guard and keep, most royal imp of fame!

Falstaff God save thee my sweet boy!

King My Lord Chief Justice, speak to that man in vain.*

Chief Justice

Have you your wits? Know you what 'tis you speak?

Falstaff My King! My Jove! I speak to thee, my heart!

King I know thee not, old man. Fall to thy prayers. How ill white hairs become a fool and jester.

(Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part II: Act 5, scene 5, 42-9)

*in vain = contemptuously

It is clear that the new King Henry V treats his old drinking friend with considerable harshness, signalling a very different relationship between them now that he has the power and responsibility of being the head of stat

Conversational Behaviour Powerful Participants

Powerless Participants

Who has most turns?Who has the longest turns?Who interrupts?Who is interrupted?Who allocates turns to who?Who initiates?Who responds?Who uses speech acts like questioning, commanding, demanding, threatening, and complaining?Who uses speech acts like answering, agreeing, acceding, giving in, and apologising?Who controls/changes the topic of talk?

Who uses 'title + surname' terms of address?Who uses 'first name' terms of address?

Task A - Who has the longest turns?The obvious way to answer this question is to count the words of each character and then divide the total by the number of turns that character has, to get an overall average. When we do such work it can also be worth noting the 'spread' from the average (what the statisticians call 'standard deviation'), in order to see whether each turn is near the average for the relevant character, or whether there are big variations caused by very long or very short turns (in which case it would be sensible to look at the deviations in a bit more detail). We won't actually calculate the standard deviation statistically here, but just note any big variations.

When you have calculated the averages and looked for deviations from the average, compare your findings with ours.

Task B - Who has the most turns?Count the turns for each character and compare them.

Task C - Who interrupts who? Identify any interruptions and count up how many times each character interrupts the other. Then compare your findings with ours.

Remember that not everything ending in a dash or continuation marks necessarily counts as an interruption. It is also worth remembering in general terms that the punctuation used to signal an interruption can vary a bit from one dramatist to another, and sometimes from one edition to another of the same play, depending upon publisher conventions.

Task D - Who allocates turns to who, if at all? Identify any examples you can find of turn-allocation, and establish who is allocating turns to who.

Task E - Who initiates the conversational exchanges and who responds? Go through the passage carefully, looking for examples of initiations and responses. Which character is associated with which turn-taking position?

Task F - Who uses coercive speech acts? Go through the passage carefully looking for examples of possible commands and compare your findings with ours.

Task G - Who controls the topic? Go through the passage carefully looking for examples where one character imposes a particular topic of talk on the other and compare your findings with ours.

The Audience

Characters sometimes speak directly to the audience to reveal their thoughts.

In a Shakespeare play this device, called a soliloquy, happens a lot.

Think about how the audience is meant to react to what they hear or see on stage e.g. be sympathetic, feel sad, laugh, be held in suspense…

Be sure to consider why an aside or a soliloquy has been included.

Setting and Staging

In addition to the dialogue, a script will also include stage directions. These notes, which are often in italics or parentheses, help the actors interpret the scene for the audience. In this example, when Rose transitions from singing to speaking directly to Troy, the stage directions tell her to whom she is talking. The audience will only see her turn and direct her comment to Troy. ACT I Scene 1 The setting is the yard which fronts the only entrance to the MAXSON household, an ancient two story brick house set back off a small alley in a big-city neighborhood. The entrance to the house is gained by two or three steps leading to a wooden porch badly in need of paint. A relatively recent addition to the house and running its full width, the porch lacks congruence. It is a sturdy porch with a flat room. One or two chairs of dubious value sit at one end where the kitchen window opens on to the porch. An old-fashioned icebox stands silent guard at the opposite end. Unlike a novel, which may devote several paragraphs to describing the setting, the play is limited to what the audience can see on stage. It is important that the playwright give some indication to setting, especially if the actors will use the items on stage. In some cases, the stage directions provide information on what the stage should look like. Other times, they tell the actors where or how to move, or what facial expressions or tone of voice is appropriate when speaking a line. In this except from Fences, the director and actors can visualise how the stage should appear to the audience. And while they will not have an actual house on a stage, they will have the window and entrances in corresponding places so that the audience can visualise the scene as well. Stage directions tell us

Where the character is on stage

Their actions and gestures

When they enter or leave

The stage directions may also describe the character.

The actions of a character and other stage directions often reveal inner feelings e.g.:

a    action and gesture e.g. put an arm round someone

b    movement

c    feelings

d    Use of sounds

i.      music

ii.     flute

iii     laughter

Remember…

Be sure to consider the methods used, the effects created and the purposes intended of the following dramatic aspects:

stage directions stage entrances and exits (i.e. timing) positioning, action and interaction of characters uses of props and costumes - Use and symbolic significance of props

e.g. The polished car represents pride, admiration, devotion et

the key device of dramatic irony structure, the effects of sequences of action, a key plot device the creation of intrigue, tension and suspense - the key elements of an effective plot uses of asides and soliloquies. the use of dance, music and song

Also consider… other DRAMATIC DEVICESContrast

Without the careful use of contrast a performance is boring and lacks tension. An obvious example of contrast is a sad scene followed by a happy one. But contrast can be created in subtler and sophisticated ways, such as manipulating the drama to create a change in setting, use of space or rhythm. The pace of scenes can also be altered, as can various dramatic elements within one small section of a performance.

Contrasts

a    past and present

b    between characters e.g. Biff and Happy

c    between character responses

d    juxtapositioning of different elements

e    treatment of Biff and Happy,

f    Willy’s treatment of Linda and the woman

g   Willy’s optimism and feelings of hopelessness

6. Mood

Mood is the feeling or tone of a performance. It refers to ambience or aura and is often created through a combination of several dramatic and stagecraft elements working in harmony with each other. The mood of a performance is closely linked with everyday feelings such as pity, anger, desire or frustration. Mood in drama can be created via sound, lighting, movement, setting, rhythm, contrast, conflict and more.

9. Sound

Modern theatrical practice relies on sound to assist in a number of ways. It can be useful in creating atmosphere or mood. Actors and their bodies can construct effective sound in performance. Small props can also create sound effects that can be used live during a show. Other uses of sound involve the implementation of technology, such as instrumental recordings and sound effects on CDs and mp3 players (though this use of sound is technically a stagecraft element in the theatre, not a dramatic element).

10. Symbol

The use of symbol in dramatic performance can be one of the simplest and also most complicated of all techniques. Essentially, symbolism implies a greater meaning than the literal suggestion. Props are the easiest to work with because objects in everyday life are symbols in society (for example a rose symbolises love; a cross symbolises Christianity). Symbols can also be found in the use of colour. We often symbolise purple with royalty, red with anger or desire, black with evil and darkness or white with purity and innocence. Colour association can be worthwhile symbols with costumes, sets and props. But the most sophisticated use of symbol occurs with the application of gesture and movement. A particular gesture performed by a character early in a performance can be repeated later under different circumstances (context) and have a very different meaning. Used only once, a gesture can also be a powerful symbol. Of course, all of the above examples can be combined for better effect.

 DRAMATIC IRONYThis is the commonest and often most important dramatic device used by a playwright to engage and involve the audience in their play. Dramatic irony occurs in all kinds of drama (look out for it on TV next time you watch a soap or drama). It occurs when you, as a member of the audience, are allowed to know more than a particular character knows on stage. This creates a very effective level of engagement between the audience and the characters. Members of the audience become involved in the action because they feel they ought to 'step in' and help the character - but obviously they cannot. This creates tension and involvement - and even sympathy.

Irony is not so much an element of a dramatic text as a pervasive quality in it. Irony may appear in plays in three basic ways: in their language, in their incidents, or in their point of view. In whatever forms it emerges, Irony almost always arises from a contrast or discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, or between what happens and what has been expected to happen.

Simple verbal irony comes from saying the opposite of what is meant. When someone says, “That was a brilliant remark,” and we know that is was anything but brilliant, we feel and understand the speaker’s ironic intention. Another type of irony is irony of circumstance (sometimes called irony of situation), in which a playwright creates a discrepancy between what characters thinks is the case and what actually is the case. The final type of irony found in plays is called dramatic irony. Dramatic irony involves a discrepancy between what characters know and what readers or viewers know.Irony e.g.:

a    Willy tries to teach his sons to succeed in a way that ensures that they will fail.

b    Willy’s claim to success in business – this becomes dramatic irony as the audience realises the truth when Linda and his sons do not.

c    Charlie is ‘not well-liked’ but he is both successful and generous

d    Willy thinks it important to be well-liked but he says ‘people don’t seem to take to me’ (22)

e     Aims to stay at home yet plays begins, at a later date, with him returning exhausted.

 Repetition

The various different purposes of repetition appear in:

a    words

b    images (motifs)

c    ideas (motifs)

d    revisiting moments

e    recurring references

Humour

a    irony

b    dramatic irony

c    satire

d    hyperbole

 Symbolism

A symbol can be defined simply as any object or action that means more than itself; it represents something beyond its literal self. Objects, action, clothing, gestures, dialogue-all may have symbolic meaning.