Page 107 - SpringBoard_Writing_Workshop_Grade8_Flipbook

Writing Workshop 9 (continued)
6 SpringBoard® Writing Workshop with Grammar Activities Grade 8
c. Use of Language: How does the dialogue provide cues for tone, blocking, and gestures? What other text features and conventions of script writing do you recognize? How does the diction and imagery create a mood and convey the humor of the situation?
The script excerpt contains very minimal stage directions, limited
to indications for when the characters exit. The dialogue, however, contains many cues for tone, such as the evident confusion in Hermia’s line “Why are you grown so rude? what change is this?” Lines such as Lysander’s “let loose,/ Or I will shake thee from me” provide cues about the blocking and characters’ interactions onstage. One can imagine that Hermia is clinging to Lysander as he tries to get free from her. Hermia’s accusations to Helena such as “You thief of love” might be accompanied by a gesture such as a pointing finger shaken in Helena’s face. Other text features include the use of bolded and capitalized character names followed by colons to introduce dialogue. The diction, especially the over-the-top insults, such as “canker-blossom” and “painted maypole” help convey the humor of the situation while lines such as “Hate me! wherefore? O me!” create an excited and frantic mood.
Check Your Understanding
7. This script excerpt from A Midsummer Night’s Dream does not have a
narrator, but some Shakespeare plays begin with a prologue delivered by a chorus which provides background information and commentary, much like a narrator. Write several lines that could serve as a prologue in order to enhance the audience’s understanding of plot, setting, character, or relationships more clearly. Explain what your prologue adds to the text. Possible response: Before the first line of dialogue, a chorus could announce: “Watch now as Hermia awakes to find that Lysander, her love, is now in love with her best friend Helena. Lysander and Demetrius are under a spell, and think they are both in love with Helena. Poor Helena thinks it is all a joke!”
8. This script also lacks stage directions that provide actors and directors with specific instruction on tone, blocking, and gestures. After reading the example provided, add stage directions to one line of dialogue.
Example:
HERMIA: (Shrieking and holding her hands over her ears as if trying to
block out sound ) Lower! hark, again. Students’ responses will vary.
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