IB Year 2 – Sample Questions About Drama:

  1. “In dramatic construction there must be variation of pace and rhythm, monotony of any kind being certain to induce boredom.” Comparing at least two plays you have studied in the light of this statement, show how variations of pace and rhythm have been used to attract or heighten the interest of the audience.
  2. To what extent can the plays you have studied be seen to have, directly or indirectly, a social or political purpose? Refer to two or three plays, exploring how they achieve their purposes.
  3. “In plays, no one arrives or leaves from the stage without contributing in some way to the complexity of the play.” Considering two or three plays you have studied, compare the impact on meaning of some arrivals and departures from the stage.
  4. What dramatic techniques have playwrights used to convey ideas and/or beliefs in two or three plays you have studied, and how effective have they been?
  5. “Some plays are either serious or light-hearted; others include both elements.” Consider some of the ways in which either or both sorts of element are presented in two or three plays that you have studied and discuss their importance for the understanding of the plays as a whole.
  6. Some dramatists make more significant use of physical elements such as stage scenery than do others. Discuss the extent of the use of such features and their impact on meaning on two or three plays that you have studied.
  7. “Dramatic structure is not random or arbitrary; it imposes a recognizable order on human behavior and events.” In what ways has the structure of plays you have studied seemed to impose some order on the human events of plays?
  8. “In creating characters in drama, one may begin with stereotypes, but must end with individuals.” Discuss how far such a “rule” is demonstrated or not in plays you have studied.
  9. Compare and contrast the role of symbolism in two or three plays you have studied.
  10. “Long after the words are forgotten, the spectacle of the drama is remembered.” Compare two or three plays you have studied in the light of this quotation.
  11. “Visual action can be as important on the stage as speech.” How far do you agree with this claim? In your answer you should refer to two or three plays you have studied.
  12. Compare the dramatic effectiveness of the relationship between setting and plot in two or three plays you have studied.
  13. Plays are often said to show rather than tell. How far do the plays in your study indicate that dramatic action and dialogue fulfill all the functions of presenting thought and action?
  14. A “love story” is often present in drama. Compare and evaluate the manner in which a “love story”, broadly interpreted, either sits at the center of plays you have studied or intrudes its concerns into the central issues.
  15. Using two or three plays you have studied, compare the presentation of two or three characters (e.g. introduction, dramatic interactions with other characters), saying in each case how the presentation furthered the dramatists’ purposes, and how it rewarded your study.
  16. “Time and place are the basic elements of a play.” In what ways does your study of two or three plays lead you to support this generalization.