CSEC ENGLISH
Hello there! Before our Christmas break, we were looking at narrative devices. Let’s switch now and consider some dramatic devices. And, of course, we have exercises to help you with English A too. Read on now, and enjoy your CXC English page!
ENGLISH B—Dramatic devices
What do we mean by ‘dramatic devices’, or ‘dramatic techniques’? Those two terms mean the same thing, by the way. They both refer to the clever tricks that the dramatist or playwright uses to make the play’s message come across really powerfully.
Writers of plays have a few tricks (techniques) up their sleeves that are not available to novelists or poets. Can you think of any?
For example, the playwright can make use of any of these: • Movement and grouping of characters • Stage setting and lighting • Sound effects (music, telephone ringing, gunshots, etc.) • Costumes and props • Retaining or breaking down the ‘fourth wall’
Think about the first two scenes of Shakespeare’s Tempest. The first scene gives us the panic on board the ship that is about to be wrecked on Prospero’s island. There is a lot of noise (sound effects)—thunder, winds, creaking and cracking of the ship’s timbers, shouts from the mariners. There can be lighting effects, with semi-darkness pierced by flashes of lightning. And there is a great deal of movement of the characters: the mariners are trying to save the ship, the courtly passengers are frightened and trying to find out what is going on, and the boatswain forgets his manners completely and shouts at the courtiers to get out of the way!
And then, suddenly, the stage becomes very quiet and still. No sign of any storm, no running here and there, no shouting, no panicking, no creaking and cracking—just Miranda and her father, Prospero, sitting together and having a quiet conversation. We’ve switched from noise to quietness, from agitated movement to stillness, from darkness pierced by lightning flashes to calm weather and sunlight, from fast-paced dialogue to long, slow speeches, from a crowded stage to a stage with just two individuals.
Think about this dramatic contrast between the two scenes and you actually have a key to the whole play. The disorder on the ship is a metaphor for the disorder in society (we will learn of usurpations and attempted murder, and we will meet with drunk and disorderly behaviour). The peaceful scene that follows is a metaphor for the order and calm that Prospero will bring about by his magic— reconciling enemies, causing two lonely individuals to fall in love, and ushering in a new order of forgiveness, justice and peace.
For you to do
Read Act 4 carefully. There is just one scene, but you will discover a contrast between the first part, which deals with the goddesses coming down to bless the young couple, and the second part, which takes us to where Caliban and his two drunken companions are getting into mischief. Look at how Shakespeare uses music and other sound effects to create this contrast. Look at how he uses the movements of characters, compare the kind of language used by the two different groups and the pace of the dialogue. You will discover, once again, that dramatic devices are being used to create a contrast between order and disorder. And this contrast is the main focus of the play since Shakespeare is inviting us to consider what makes a good ruler and what makes for a well-run society.
ARE YOU A GOOD EDITOR?
Imagine that you are a proof-reader. Find the mistakes in these sentences and correct them. Check the bottom of the page to see how well you did. 1 The boys have eaten all the cake however, they are some biscuits in the tin.
2 One of the zoo attendant was mauled by a lion but the matter did not report in the newspapers.
3 We wondered if the bangles were her’s, but subsequently we discovered that it was their’s.
4 Using a ladder, the windows were easier for Tom to wash.
5 “What have you got in that parcel,” she demanded leaning over the gate to have a better look “is it a skateboard!”
NO SOONER…THAN, AND HARDLY…WHEN.
Let’s make sure that you can manage these two constructions. Notice which one uses “than” and which one uses “when”.
Look at these sentences:
He had no sooner finished connecting the wire to the lamp to his neighbourhood was cut off.
She had hardly washed up one set of dishes when another tray of dirty plates.
In both sentences, the person has barely finished doing something when something else happens.
Now look at these sentences:
than the power supply her employer brought in
A. No sooner had he finished connecting the wire to the lamp than the power supply to his neighbourhood was cut off.
B. Hardly had she washed up one set of dishes when her employer brought in another tray of dirty plates.
Do you see the difference? We have started our sentences with “No sooner” and with “Hardly”. But look at the word order: No sooner had he finished. Hardly had she washed up…
Can you see that we have used the same word order as for a question? That’s what we call “inversion”.
Rule: If you begin your sentence with “No sooner” or with “Hardly”, then you must change the word order as in the examples: inversion.
PRACTICE WITH INVERSION
Rewrite these sentences, putting “No sooner” or “Hardly” at the beginning of the sentence, and altering the word order. Use the sentences A and B above to guide you.
1. The technician fixed our lights and immediately there was a country-wide
power failure.
2. The young lawyer was called to the Bar and straight away he was asked to
defend a man accused of murder.
3. The young woman stepped off the minibus and immediately she slipped into a
puddle.
4. She finished one exam and immediately she had to start another.
5. Mum paid $6,000 for a pair of shoes and straight away she saw the same shoes
being sold for $4,000.
6. The weather man announced that it was going to rain and immediately the sun
came out.
7. She gave the old clothes to the garbage collector and the next minute she
thought of someone who would have liked them.
8. My sister hung her clothes on the line and the next minute it started to rain.