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Dramatic Literature

http://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/1983/5/83.05.03.x.html

**Character** Who are the characters both major and minor? What are their relationships to one another? What kind of people are they? Are you able to identify with one particular character? Which of the following means of characterization does the author use?

> a. **Direct Description**, in which the author tells you what a character looks like, what he is wearing, etc. > b. **Speech**, through what a character says or how he says it; or what others say to him or about him > .c. **Action,** by showing what a character does, fails to do, or chooses not to do > .d. **Reaction**, by showing how a character reacts to others and or how others react to him. e. **Author’s statement**, in which the author speaks directly to the reader about a character. This can be accomplished by a background chorus, or a narrator or a character who represents the author’s point of view. > > **Plot** What happens in the play? What is the plot line? Does the story go straight ahead in time or are there flashbacks? Is more than one story being told? What conflicts can you find? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">What is the climax or turning point of the play?

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Where and when does the play take place? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Does the story shift from one setting to another? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Is the setting important to the story? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Is the time present, future or past? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Is time a vital factor in the story?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Setting **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Does the play have a theme or underlying idea? If so, what is it? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Is the title related to the theme? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Is the author trying to show you a new, different or better way of looking at life? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Does he say anything important about life or people? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Does the author tell his ideas directly or must you read between the lines? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Technique <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Does the author use such devices as foreshadowing and symbols? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Do the situations and characters seem believable? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Does the author depend upon coincidence or are the events developed logically and inevitably?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 20px;">Theme **