The Exam

• Writing your Answer

  When it comes to writing about plays, it is always productive to write about the sequences that you find particularly memorable or important.
• Writing about plays

  • When it comes to writing about plays, it is always productive to write about the sequences that you find particularly memorable or important.
  • These are usually where the most dramatic, important or climactic moments are in a drama.
  • It is obviously useful for you to know such scenes well as you are likely to draw on those for your answers in the examination.
• ‘Constructions only’

  • It is crucial to see the characters of plays as being ‘constructions only’.
  • You should never write about them as if they are living and breathing people.
  • Always consider them as being ‘presented’ or ‘constructed’ by the author.
• Phrases

  • Use terms like:
  • ‘The way in which Shakespeare presents Iago is...’ or,
  • ‘Othello is constructed by Shakespeare as being...’.
• Dramatic constructions

  • If you can, try to avoid thinking of the characters as representations of people in Shakespeare’s own life.
  • They are, at the end of the day, dramatic constructions only.
  • They may be realistic and convincing but you need to say why this is so, and why the play is successful.
• Critical distance

  • Also avoid heaping too much praise upon an author for their brilliance (especially someone like William Shakespeare).
  • It is better to maintain a respectful critical distance.