Deck 7: Dramatic Structure and Dramatic Characters

Question 1

The technical term for revelation of background material in a play is

A) imposition.
B) juxtaposition.
C) composition.
D) exposition.

Answer 1

exposition.

Question 2

Another word that means "contrast in the connection of scenes" is

A) exposition.
B) juxtaposition.
C) composition.
D) imposition.

Answer 2

juxtaposition.

Question 3

A __________________ reinforces or runs parallel to the major plot in an episodic play.

A) exposition
B) story
C) climax
D) subplot

Answer 3

subplot

Question 4

Which is not a characteristic of extraordinary characters?

A) larger than life
B) prestigious roles such as kings or queens
C) pivotal but minor role
D) depicts characters at their best and worst

Question 5

A repetition or reenactment of a proceeding or a transaction which has acquired special meaning is called a

A) pattern.
B) serial structure.
C) ritual.
D) tragedy.

Question 6

An intellectual or artistic movement that breaks with tradition and therefore seems ahead of its time is called ________; literally, it means "advance guard in a military formation."

A) en garde
B) après-garde
C) surtout garde
D) avant-garde

Question 7

The main representative character in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House who to this day serves as a symbol of the modern woman is

A) Hedda Gabler.
B) Varya Trofimov.
C) Irina Arkadina.
D) Nora Helmer.

Question 8

________ was at the heart of most plot complications in the commedia dell'arte.

A) Capitano
B) Pantalone
C) Harlequin
D) Dottore

Question 9

Minor characters are

A) typically used as a dramatic device by the playwright to move the action along.
B) typically used to be supportive or confidante-like characters for the central character in a play.
C) usually those in which we see only one facet of their personalities.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 10

Narrators in the most traditional sense remain outside the action of the play and typically comment on the action communicating directly with the audience.

Question 11

In a climactic drama, the plot begins early in the story.

Question 12

When nonhuman characters are written into a script it is typically because the producers do not want to create a stage prop when an actor can solve the problem nicely.

Question 13

The term "robot"
was actually first used in an early twentieth-century play by Neil Simon.

Question 14

We know that playwrights frequently write plays about a single family in classic climactic structure and they will also occasionally create two contrasting characters that are siblings or husband and wife in order to allow character traits to stand out more dramatically in the action.

Question 15

Minor characters in a play are always written as basic stock characters.

Question 16

Common structure in musical theatre requires that every song have a segment that involves the chorus.

Question 17

A tableaux structure begins with characters arranged in a visual stage picture and the action, frequently nonverbal, proceeds from that tableaux until the end of the scene.

Question 18

Patterns as structure exist not only in dance but also in some plays, where the characters' movement and circumstances can be repetitive, as in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

Question 19

As seen in some of Chekhov's plays it is possible to combine the climactic and the episodic forms.

Question 20

Choose a modern well-made or climactic play (by Ibsen, Miller, or Hansberry, for instance) and draw a chart separating story and plot. Do the same for an episodic play (by Shakespeare or Brecht, for instance).

Question 21

Choose a well-known ritual such as a funeral, wedding ceremony, or inauguration and analyze the individual elements of it. Is there a structure to it? What is it?

Question 22

Discuss current films or television shows in terms of dramatic structure. Do certain types of shows (such as police action shows or situation comedies) tend to use one type of structure more than the other? Why might this be the case?

Question 23

Using a historical incident, suggest episodic and climactic plays that might be derived from the events. For instance, a playwright who wanted to write a climactic play based on the life of John F.Kennedy might focus on the Cuban missile crisis, and the way that the subject was treated would be influenced by the structure. What other parts of Kennedy's life might the playwright choose? If he or she wanted to write an episodic play of the same incident, how would it change? What could be shown more easily in an episodic structure? In a climactic structure?

Question 24

Examine the periods in which certain structures have been dominant. Can you see anything in the society that would lead to a preference for such a form?

Question 25

Discuss whether a particular medium leads to the use of one of the structures. For instance, does film's ability to easily move from place to place encourage an episodic structure?

Question 26

Discuss whether a particular theatre space, or a particular style of theatre, seems better suited to either of the dramatic structures. For instance, did the design of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre encourage him to write in the epic structure? Does realism and naturalism encourage the use of the climactic structure?

Question 27

Identify and discuss ways in which television dramas or popular films utilize the deus ex machina dramatic device to wrap up a story.

Question 28

Describe a dramatic character that the spectator dislikes (e.g., Iago, Lady Macbeth, Severus Snape or Hannibal Lecter) and explain how the performer playing the part could be admired at the same time that the character is despised. Could we say that the more we dislike a villainous character, the more we are admiring a performance?

Question 29

Extraordinary characters are increasingly prevalent in today's films. Discuss such characters. In what type of films do they most often appear? How can we, as normal people, relate to such characters? What values might the character and the audience share?

Question 30

Explain the major differences among characters in the three major categories: extraordinary, representative, and stock.

Question 31

Discuss the stock characters of Italian commedia dell'arte. In what way is their behavior predictable and stereotypical? Compare and contrast them with television situation comedy (sit-com) characters.

Question 32

What kinds of stock characters do we find in modern theatre, movies, or television (for instance, in the spy action/thriller, the soap opera, and the detective story)?

Question 33

Stock characters have been used in entertainment throughout history. Discuss the relationship between stock characters and ethnic and religious stereotypes. When does a stock character become a negative stereotype? Is it possible to have a stock character that does not insult a group? Why or why not?

Question 34

Why might nonhuman characters, such as animals, be effective for certain plays? What sorts of personalities are typified by certain animals? Discuss these answers in terms of fairy tales, for instance, or Walt Disney or Pixar animation.

Question 35

Human beings are all complex people, with many reasons for doing what they do. In real life, there are no stock characters or minor characters. Discuss why such characters are used in drama. Draw on the ideas of selectivity and point of view discussed in previous chapters.

Question 36

Discuss and analyze the differences between stock characters and characters with a dominant trait. What is distinctive about the similarities between the two types of characters that allow us to think of them differently?

Question 37

What about "normal, everyday"
people in a play or film-i.e., characters who are not extraordinary, representative, stock, or possessing a single characteristic? Are there such characters? Would "normal, everyday"
people be "representative"? Is part of drama about revealing what is extraordinary or representative about people?

Question 38

Do stock characters or characters with a single trait lack psychological depth?

Question 39

Recall stock characters in film or television that were designed to mislead the audience into assuming they possessed one or two characteristics but, it turns out, become more multidimensional. What are the various reasons as to why this strategy may be used?

Question 40

Recall the Wicked Witch of the West from the classic film The Wizard of Oz. How does that character differ from the same character, Elphaba, from the Broadway musical Wicked? Which is an extraordinary character and which is a stock character. Explain why. How does the character in Wicked work to deconstruct stereotypes?

Question 41

Look at the cast of characters in a Shakespearean play you have seen or read. Place each character in a category: major character; minor character; or a character in between-that is, a character with a clear personality but not a large role. Which characters are in opposition to one another? Which characters in the play dominate in the struggle? Is there a reversal of their fortunes? Now, do the same for a blockbuster film.