Drama Essay: Character Analysis
Part 1 Character
Post your response of at least 150-200 words to the Discussion Area.
Before beginning this assignment, read the following five 10-minute plays on pp. 1061-1083 of your Compact Literature textbook: What Are You Going to Be?, Beauty, Magic 8 Ball, Applicant, and Zombie Love. Choose only one play to use in your response.
Prompt: Choose a character from one of the 10-minute plays listed above. In one or two well-developed paragraphs, write a character analysis, explaining the person’s actions, emotions, conflicts, and motivations. Include examples and at least one quotation from the play as supporting evidence.
Refresher on Character
A reader or viewer of a play can learn about a character in a number of ways.
- Dialogue/monologue – How do the words the character says reveal information about who he/she is? Does the character have a noticeable speech pattern? Does the character’s use of language reveal his/her emotional state? What is revealed through what others say about the character?
- Action – What is shown through the character’s actions or lack of action?
- Stage directions/movement/props – What is revealed through the character’s placement on the stage, movements, and use of props?
- Relationships/interactions – What is understood about the character through relationships and interactions with other characters?
- Development – Does the character grow and change during the play, or is the character static and unchanged? How developed or round is the character?
- Role – Is this character the narrator? If so, is he/she reliable or unreliable?
Tips: Remember to provide evidence for your claims in the form of quoted passages from the play. Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries should be cited according to APA rules of style, including in-text and reference citations. Quoted material should not exceed 25% of the document.Title your post with the character you are analyzing and the title of the play. Example: Lamb, “Applicant”Check grammar and spelling before posting.
Example APA Reference from the eBook
Martin, J. (2016). Beauty. In L.G. Kirszner & S.R. Mandell (Eds.), Compact Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing [VitalSource digital version] (pp. 1069-1073). Boston: Cengage.
Part 2 Drama Essay: Character Analysis
Submit your three-paragraph essay as a Microsoft Word attachment. You will complete this assignment using the play Proof on pp. 1181-1232 of Compact Literature.
Directions
Read the play Proof, and then write an analysis of one of the characters. You may use the brainstorming questions below to generate ideas, or you may refer to the Week 3 discussion prompt for a refresher on ways character is revealed.
For this assignment, develop a short essay of at least three paragraphs and 500 words. In your response, be sure that you have the following: an introductory paragraph with a clear thesis statement, at least one body paragraph with supporting reasons, examples, and quotations from the play, and a concluding paragraph. The thesis statement should be your main argument analyzing the character you have chosen. Use APA style for formatting the paper and for in-text citations and end references.
Brainstorming Questions
Select a character from Proof. What main emotion is the character experiencing? What does he or she want? What is the conflict this character encounters? How does he or she attempt to get this desire? What prevents him or her from achieving it? What is the resolution by the end of the play for this character? Does the character change by the end of the play? What point do you want to make about the character in your essay? Make notes, and develop a thesis statement with support.
Reminders
- Use APA style, and include a title page, running header, proper font and spacing, in-text citations, and a separate references page.
- Do not use any outside sources to complete this response; rely on your own insights.
- Quoted material from the play should not exceed 25% of the essay.
- You may exceed the minimum word and paragraph count.
