Page 106 - SpringBoard_Writing_Workshop_Grade8_Flipbook

DEMETRIUS: Follow! nay, I’ll go with thee, cheek by jole. My Notes Exit LYSANDER and DEMETRIUS
HERMIA: You, mistress, all this coil is ‘long of you: Nay, go not back.
HELENA: I will not trust you, I,
Nor longer stay in your curst company. Your hands than mine are quicker for a fray, My legs are longer though, to run away.
Exit HELENA
HERMIA: I am amazed, and know not what to say. After Reading
6. When you have finished reading, respond to the following questions about the script’s ideas, structure, and use of language in the space provided. Be prepared to discuss your answers with your classmates.
a. Ideas: Who are the major characters in this script, and what are they like? What are their relationships to each other? What is the setting, and how can you tell? Provide specific examples from the text to show how the writer uses dialogue to develop the characters, convey complex relationships, establish a setting, and tell the story.
In this scene, Demetrius and Lysander are fighting over Helena. Demetrius accuses Lysander of being fickle (“I’ll not trust your word.”) At the same time, Lysander is trying to get rid of Hermia, who is trying to remind him that they are in love: “Hang off, thou cat, thou burr!” Helena and Hermia are also fighting, since Hermia thinks Helena is stealing her man, and Helena thinks Hermia is playing a trick on her. Hermia accuses her “Have you come by night/And stolen my love’s heart from him?” The audience gets further information about the complex relationship between Helena and Hermia through the references to their past. Helena says of Hermia “She was a vixen when she went to school.” The setting is clearly morning as indicated by the references to the previous night. Helena also references the setting in her explanation to Hermia: “I told him of your stealth unto this wood. . .”
b. Structure: What is the plot of the script, and how is it conveyed? What exposition is provided? What is the conflict? How do the complications develop the conflict? What is the resolution of the conflict?
The plot is that two men under a spell are declaring their love for the same woman. The woman thinks they are joking, and her best friend thinks she has deliberately stolen her lover. The dialogue provides exposition by explaining the characters’ backgrounds. Hermia calls Lysander “sweet love” and Helena reminds Hermia of their closeness: “I evermore did love you.” The dialogue also explains the conflict and complications of the plot. After explaining to Hermia that she told Demetrius about her elopement with Lysander, Helena explains: “He followed you; for love I followed him.” She then resolves the conflict by running away.
Writing Workshop 9 • Script Writing 5
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