Why is unseen drama analysis difficult?

Drama does not come up very often in IB English Literature Paper 1 exams, but it is always a possibility. While most IB English students typically study drama at some point in the course, adapting these skills to an unseen drama extract can be quite challenging. Students need to apply sophisticated literary analysis to a range of dramatic techniques on the spot, which requires an appreciation of writer’s craft quite unlike prose or poetry.

Tips for acing unseen drama analysis

Here are some tips and questions for any IB English student to tackle drama pieces:

Treat drama in a similar way to how you would treat poetry and prose: try to identify linguistic features and imagery (e.g. metaphor, simile).
Drama has a different set of formal conventions; you should familiarise yourself with them. Some examples include tragedy, tragicomedy, musical theatre, farce, satire, commedia dell’arte and naturalist/realist.
Drama is set apart from other literary genres by dialogue and stage directions and musical accompaniment. Pay attention to the stage directions: are they descriptive or short? Is the set angular? realistic? domestic? Is the music diegetic or non-diegetic?
Pay particular attention to punctuation, syntax, narrative voice, and characterisation through dialogue and tone.
There are specific language features which are over-represented in drama: irony, dramatic irony, double entendre, word play.
Remember that drama is written to be performed. Is there any element of ambiguity in the lines? Could the lines be interpreted differently by different actors?

How to revise for IB English unseen drama

Though most IB English students will be familiar with drama, consolidating this for a Paper 1 exam looks quite different in technique and revision. The best way to revise for the IB English Paper 1 exam is to practise—pick an extract (2-3 pages) from a play and have a go at analysing it! Since the text will only be an extract, students need to be very confident in discussing and extracting insightful thematic and literary points under timed conditions.

Sample IB English response on ‘Hedda Gabler’

Here is an example on how an IB English student might talk about characterisation within a play (Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler):

In Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, the character Georg Tesman embodies all the petty concerns of the Victorian upper-middle class. Tesman’s dialogue is set apart from the short, pithy sparrings of the other characters in its hypotactic syntax:

“Tesman: Well but, Judge Brack—it would show the most incredible lack of consideration for me. [Gesticulates with his arms.] For—just think—I'm a married man! We have married on the strength of these prospects, Hedda and I; and run deep into debt; and borrowed money from Aunt Julia too. Good heavens, they had as good as promised me the appointment. Eh?”

Tesman displays a lack of intelligence and poise as he flaps around a singular subject — his economic concerns — in distended and frantic dialogue. Furthermore, Tesman’s anxiety and uncertainty are revealed in his constant recourse to the verbal tic “Eh?”, with which he ends most sentences. This makes him sound weak and in need of reassurance. Tesman’s timidity acts as a foil to his wife’s straightforward confidence, who states with cool indifference that economic troubles “can make no difference.” This contrast embodied within the interplay between these two characters runs contrary to the gendered expectations at the time. Men were expected to be decisive and aggressive, and women were expected to be passive followers. Perhaps in this reversal Ibsen laments a social order in which hierarchy is dictated by gender rather than ability.

Extra help with unseen drama analysis

IB students often find that improving in English is easiest with the support of an experienced tutor. Given the challenges of the course, every student requires different teaching methods. For individualised and comprehensive support for IB English Literature unseen drama analysis, or just help with IB English in general, reach out to us today!