Questions about Drama

• What is the setting/historical background of the play?
• Who are the characters?
• What is the plain sense of the play?
• What are the characters' personalities?
• Is there a narrator?
• How are characters revealed?
  • What do they do?
  • Actions/Reactions?
  • Temperament
  • What do they say?
    • Soliloquy - thinking out aloud alone
    • Monologue - long public speech
    • Dialogue - conversation with others
    • Aside - speech addressed to audience
• What genre is the play? Tragedy? Comedy? Tragicomedy? Comedy of manners?
• If a tragedy, what is the protagonist's tragic flaw (hamartia)?
• What motivates the characters?
• What is the protagonist's pride (hubris)?
• Who is the protagonist?
• What are the roles of the other characters?
  • Relationship to protagonist?
  • Contribution to protagonist's fall?
  • Type of character (c.f., stock)?
• How was/is the play performed?
• How do stage directions help in interpreting the play?
  • Entries and exits
  • Setting and props
  • Action off stage
• What significance do the divisions of the play have?
• What makes an act an act?
• What makes a scene a scene?
• What happens to the characters?
• What role does this scene play in the drama?
• What role do figures of speech play within the play?
• What symbolism is present in the play?
• What irony is present in the play?