IGCSE English Literature Tips and Tricks: Modern Drama
In this week’s blog post, Senior Tutor Edward Ashdown goes through the ways that candidates can improve their analysis of Modern Drama for the IGCSE English Literature course.
Many IGCSE English candidates find discussing Modern Drama challenging. It’s true that at IGCSE, most students are perfectly capable of analyzing language and some structural techniques effectively, but there is a lack of depth in analysis of the form and metastructure, particularly in Modern Drama. For instance, students often struggle with the context of J.B. Priestley, playwright of An Inspector Calls, and why it is structurally significant that Mr Birling is introduced early on along with his views and opinions that get progressively dismantled by the Inspector over the course of the Modern Drama play.
Have a read of what may be a typical Modern Drama question and IGCSE student response:
"How does Priestley present the character of Mr Birling in An Inspector Calls? You must consider language, form and structure in your response."
Firstly, Mr Birling is presented as a knowledgeable and wise, upper-middle-class family man who wants to protect his reputation. His language when talking to Sheila and Gerald, such as “let me tell you”, shows that he is in charge and considers himself in a position of knowledge and authority. His anger at the Inspector, “Who do you think you are?” and eventual relief that the Inspector seemed to have been a hoax, “Shake us at once – and then start questioning us – until we didn't know where we were. Oh – let's admit that. He had the laugh of us all right.” shows that he cares about his reputation and his family. He also competes with the Inspector for authority: “I've told you before, I don't like the tone nor the way you're handling this inquiry. And I don't propose to give you much rope.” which shows his class and strength, which is subverted by the Inspector’s line of inquiry that overrides his perceived authority. There is also irony in the word, ‘rope’ as it implies suicide by hanging, and the subject of the discussion is suicide.
What needs improvement in this response:
Although fluent and structured, the response reads more like a summary of Mr Birling’s character, substantiated by quotations, rather than a sustained Modern Drama analysis. The response summarizes evidence without offering any deeper insight.
There is a lack of discussion of the context or form of the play (its setting, stage directions, structure).
The response could include more signposting of characterisation, such as discussing his purpose as a character to Priestley, which would indicate an understanding of metastructure.
The language is somewhat ‘tortured’: some quotations are too long and wrap awkwardly around the all-too-complex sentence structures.
Next, take a look at this improved response from one of our tutors:
At first, J.B. Priestley presents Mr Birling as a self-important family man, but also as dramatically ironic. Mr Birling is presented in the stage directions at the start of the play as a “heavy-looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties.” It is important to note that his wife is described as “his social superior”, which is what makes the elevation in social status offered by his potential knighthood so important to him. He establishes his dominance over the family as was culturally and socially expected at the time and expresses both his affection for his family and his business: “Gerald, … your engagement to Sheila means a tremendous lot to me. She'll make you happy, and I’m sure you'll make her happy.” However, Mr Birling’s character is also dramatically ironic as the dismantling of his ethics and worldview by the Inspector is foreshadowed by his speech about current affairs. In his monologue, he refers to the impossibility of war and the unsinkable nature of the Titanic. Given the play was written and premiered in 1945, post-WWII, but set in 1912, pre-WWI, the suffering of war was still fresh in the audiences’ mind. This would have been a compelling form of conveying the dramatic irony of Mr Birling’s strong-headedness for an audience of the time. Indeed, the play arguably sets the character up as one of the old-fashioned capitalists who contributed to the problems that led to both world wars. Thus, although Priestley presents Mr Birling as a self-confident family man, his perspective is set up for failure in his sparring with the Inspector by the dramatic irony of the setting.
What this response does well:
Highlights the social and cultural setting and its significance for the character.
Directly addresses the form by discussing the author, context and stage directions.
Considers changes in the characterisation of the character over the course of the play, thus addressing the metastructure of the play.
Uses ellipses and effective in-text quotations to leave out irrelevant aspects of evidence.
Remember that this is only one paragraph and a good essay has at least three strong body paragraphs. Getting in the context and discussing the purpose of the play is essential, particularly for Modern Drama, in picking up those marks and showcasing your knowledge to the examiner. Indeed, while some IGCSE students find Modern Drama challenging, there’s a wealth of marks available and lots of opportunities to pick them up throughout the response. BartyED’s expert IGCSE tutors are always ready to help, so if you still feel unsure and want to know more about how to write your best on exam day, get in touch today.