English LiteratureExam Revision Guide

Exploring Modern Texts

(worth 40% of total English Literature grade)

Dennis Kelly’s ‘DNA’

DNAPlease visit the school website for resources, revision guides and past exam papers:

Wildern English Revision site:http://wildernenglish.wordpress.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/WildernRevision

Interview with Dennis Kelly about his thoughts about the themes of his playhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/9052744/Dennis-Kelly-Rioters-thought-there-were-no-rules-but-my-characters-know-right-from-wrong.html

Hull truck preview for DNAhttp://www.dnatour.co.uk/

Preview of Unicorn Theatre DNA performance we go to on 24th Aprilhttp://unicorntheatre.com/dna

DNA reviewhttp://itsthetheatregeek.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/dnareturns/

DNA review at Bathhttp://www.bath.co.uk/bathcouk/?p=5055

Literature Unit One Exam – Section A

DNA

Assessment Objectives

Students are required to demonstrate their ability to:

• respond to texts critically and imaginatively; select and evaluate relevant textual detail to illustrate and support interpretations

• explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings

Background and context

The play is set in an indeterminate place and time, though clearly contemporary in speech and reference. The spirit of place is less important than the intensity of the characters. The power struggles within the group of teenagers and the volatility of certain characters create plenty of dramatic tension and lots of opportunities for students to discuss and practice staging. The core themes of self and group identity, bullying, cruelty and responsibility should allow all young people to develop opinions about the consequences faced by the characters in this play. The writer has named the characters but left performers able to change names to suit their own preference. The character-constructs and the moral choices that they make are more important than a name.

Themes

Gangs

Perhaps the strongest influence of the opening scenes on an audience will be the apparently close-knit nature of the group. Seen in disparate groups at first, the nature of what they have done is gradually revealed through their shocked reaction to the death of Adam. However, power struggles within the group are evident through the attempts of John Tate to ban the word ‘death’ and then to suppress what he sees as an overthrow of his leadership by Richard. Most sinister of all, is the contribution of Phil, who has not spoken throughout a tirade by Lea (his long-suffering girlfriend) where he details a well-constructed plan to absolve the group from any blame for the death of Adam – with DNA as part of the cover. The role of the female characters is interesting in that Cathy ultimately takes on the role of gang leader by the end of the play, while Lea leaves, unable to cope with Phil’s solution to the problem of the reappearance of Adam.

Bullying

Psychological bullying as well as the physical abuse of Adam is a predominant theme in the play and echoes the treatment of the subject in Lord of the Flies and I’m the King of the Castle. Phil is perhaps the most interesting character of all as he does not respond to his girlfriend Lea in a number of scenes where she is quite obviously looking for assurance and security. She speaks almost in monologue were it not for the fact he is on stage, at times even speaking for him. His seemingly callous disregard for her feelings is tantamount to bullying and his reaction to her leaving at the end of the play is a surprise. Jan and Mark recount with relish what they did to Adam when they believed he died falling through the grille. John Tate, who bullies mercilessly to keep power, disappears from the action early but is referenced as having ‘lost it’ and ‘found God’ as the play progresses. There are clearly consequences for their actions. The weaker members of the group, Danny, the aspiring dentist, and Brian are used cynically by Phil to help in the cover-up (after being threatened with the same fate as Adam) and are damaged, as is everyone else in the process. Everyone is changed by what happens but not always in the way that we might expect.

Responsibility

The play makes the audience question who is ultimately responsible for the callous behaviour of the group towards Adam in the initial attack – and later when he makes his surprise reappearance as a feral child. The characters fight to save themselves from blame; Jan and Mark consistently refer to ‘laughing’ and being in ‘stitches’ as they recount Adam’s desperately sad attempts to be accepted by the group as he ate leaves, stole vodka, had cigarettes stubbed out on him and ultimately fell to his ‘death’. The shock and the guilt is seen in the smaller conversations such as when Lea accuses Phil – ‘you’re not human’.

As a collective, the responsibility is taken as a shared ‘burden’ but this is actually a device designed to keep all the gang members quiet. When Phil states, ‘I’m in charge. Everyone is happier. What’s more important: one person or everyone?’, he is starting to make them all feel that they cannot step back from the solution that he himself has decided will be the result of the resurrection of Adam. This time the group will be responsible for cold-blooded murder and not accidental manslaughter. This seems a small step for Phil who has insisted that Mark positively identify the completely innocent postman, whose DNA was found on Adam’s jumper.

What other themes can you think of?

Example revision tasks

Who is the most/least guilty?

Judge the range of guilt among the characters. Decide just how far each member of the group is responsible for their actions and how far they are bullied either physically or psychologically to toe the party line.

References must be made to the text in support of all ideas.

Can Danny and Brian be seen more sympathetically, just as others, such as Cathy, be seen as more culpable?

Higher level answers will explore the thorough and complex juxtaposition of the different perspectives of the character-constructs, leading to a confident and convincing personal analysis, with close reference to the text and perhaps to dramatic structure and devices.

Character relationships

Create character profiles for the characters.

Create character ripple charts to consider the relationships between characters

Select the most important line for your character and justify it

Themes

Create mind maps for each theme

Create revision cards for each theme with key ideas and key quotations

Settings

Mind map the key events for each setting

Do any of the settings represent any of the characters

Symbols

Create mindmaps, tables or revision cards for each symbol in the play (i.e. “beat” could symbolize a heart beat or a conscience

Think of three different interpretations for each symbol

Analytical approaches/Creative approaches (create your own analysis of other characters and staging devices)

Analysis of Lea and Phil

In a number of scenes, (pages 2–4, 23–26, 35–37 and 40–42) we are presented with a one-sided relationship. Lea is clearly concerned about their relationship – ‘You need me as much as ...’, her insecurity and desire for some response from Phil sears through the text. Phil is on stage but usually eating (ice-cream/Starburst/waffles, etc.). He only actually directly responds to her when she has left him on page 42.

Students can look closely at these scenes and the way Lea directly addresses Phil. They can make some decisions about how the character of Phil used facial expression and body language in some response to what she has to say: such as the talk on the beauty of life on page 24 where she hopes that he sees the world from the same perspective as herself. This includes the shocking revelation that she killed her pet with a screwdriver – at which Phil shrugs!

Why is there so little response to what she says? How might his later actions be foreshadowed by his lack of response and concern to what Lea is saying?

Staging Pages 5–11

Set groups of students to stage extracts from pages 5–11, where the wider group gather and John Tate faces what he believes to be a threat to his leadership.

Students should carefully consider the physical dynamics of what is seen on stage – who stands where and what can this represent to the audience?

Focusing on the character of John Tate – how can the perceived threat to his leadership be represented in his expression and tone of voice.

All of this discussion and presentation of ideas will make pupils think more carefully and retain impressions of the characters and the way that they can physically react towards each other on stage. Pupils will be assessed for their ability to role-play effectively in this activity (perhaps including the discussion element). Responses will range from relatively unsophisticated attempts to adopt appropriate character traits based on the evidence in the text to highly convincing and effective performances

of different personas demonstrating a thorough personal engagement.

Key issues for improving grades

The specification states that answers should:

• be relevant – you don’t need to write everything you know about the text, only the things that relate to the question

• be sufficiently detailed – it is better to give a lot of detail about a small part of the text than trying to cover lots of different points

• be well structured – with a clear introduction which addresses the question and a clear conclusion that returns to the question

• use effective vocabulary – including literary terms where relevant

• use well-chosen evidence/quotations to support points. To gain a top grade, candidates should show an enthusiastic and critical personal response. The best candidates write about the author’s methods and achievements, and will concentrate on comment, not content.

Language techniques (methods, features, devices – they mean the same thing!):

Do you know what they all mean? How many more can you think of?

Remember, in Section A you are exploring a play…

imagery personification

irony simile

metaphor onomatopoeia

alliteration emotive language

assonance satire

motif symbol oxymoron

Dramatic techniques (methods, features, devices – they mean the same thing!):

How many more can you think of?

flash-back flash-forward

foreshadowing back-story

cliffhanger pathetic fallacy

setting monologue tone

stage directions prop sound effect

lighting plot

Structural and grammatical techniques:

How many more can you think of?

sentence structure juxtaposition

first person second persontense

foreshadowing dual narrative

fronted conjunction

How to write an essay…

An essay deals with opinions, not facts.

Of course, you have to support your opinions with quotes or evidence from the text. But, the examiner is looking for your point of view and why you have come to think in this particular way (you must justify your response and link your comments to details from the text to show the examiner how you came to this opinion).

Write in an authoritative tone. This helps convince the examiner you know what you are on about. Confidence creates marks!

Opening paragraph:Re-word the question using the key words.State your take on the essay questionDo not spend a lot of time on your introduction!

Body paragraphs: (shallow – deep (zoom) – profound)Keep using key words from the questionStart paragraphs with a pointSupport points with evidence from the text (quotes)Link your comments to the words in your quotationKeep using the key words from the question

Concluding paragraph:This is your chance to be critical and evaluative: what is the writers overarching aim?

How to analyse a play…

• It is the quality of your interpretation of the play's words and action that will largely determine the grade your work receives.

 

• When you interpret the action and dialogue of a play, you are finding, explaining and discussing the methods, effects and purposes of the layers of meaning that exist beyond the surface meaning. Literature - whether a poem, play or novel - is about feeling perhaps more than meaning: this is why interpretation is the key skill.

 

◦ Plays always contain layers of meaning; these are created by the playwright to help develop important aspects of the play, most especially its themes. 

 

◦ To uncover these different layers of meaning, you will need to consider the what, how and why of such things as the mood being created, the way a character is being portrayed through dialogue and action, etc., how the stage setting (i.e. the time, place and context) adds to the play in subtle but important ways, and how the events (plot), stage action and dialogue all work to help develop and explore the play's themes. All of these are covered in detail later.

 

◦ It's important to realise that interpretation is not about facts. An interpretation is, by its very nature, an opinion - a point of view. This is why examiners are not keen to read the opinions of others - those of your teacher or those taken from a study guides, for example; examiners like to read about individual ideas - your ideas. These are always rewarded more highly.

 

◦ That said, it can be far easier to uncover these layers of meaning if you work with a friend on the play - other viewpoints can often help you to develop a deeper understanding of it. This does not mean you should ever copy from a friend - or rely on a study guide - but it does mean that reading and discussing the play with others can be very helpful indeed.

 

◦ Because interpretations are opinions not facts, they will need supporting by referring to the aspect of the text that caused them to arise.

 

• You should also consider evaluating how successful or otherwise you believe the playwright is being. You might consider this in the light of the play's likely effect on different kinds of audience.

THINK ABOUT THE PLAY'S DRAMATIC ASPECTS

 

Be sure to consider the methods used, the effects created and the purposes intended of the following dramatic aspects:

• stage directions

• stage entrances and exits (i.e. timing)

• positioning, action and interaction of characters

• how things could be spoken

• the key device of dramatic irony

• structure and the effects of sequences of action

• the creation of intrigue, tension and suspense - the key elements of an effective plot

• uses of soliloquies and monologues

NOTE: Think about the events, settings and people that we do not see on stage

ADVICE FOR THE EXAMINATION

o Highlight the key points of the question- this will help you stay focused.

o Use the language of the question and use key words form the question at the beginning and end of your answer, as well as in each paragraph.

o Remember to be specific. Do not start narrating the story, the examiner knows the story.

o Use appropriate formal vocabulary.

o Analyse the character’s use of language closely. How does this reflect the time period, story, and the social and historical context?

o Always relate points to other issues in the text. This shows you have a wide understanding of the text and you will get more marks.

o Think about how everything reflects the context of the time. Whatever point you are making, consider whether you can say anything about the context of the time. This will automatically get you more marks. Remember historical and social contexts.

o Every point you make needs to be backed up by evidence.

o Make sure you know key themes, quotes and characters.

o Avoid waffling on. Be analytical.

o Spend around 45mins on Section A and 45mins on Section B.

Remember, Google and GCSEPod is your friend. It is not cheating to research on the internet - use everything you can to research, learn the book and the play, and form opinions.

If you think something...write it down! It’s a shame to have an A* thought and forget it before it comes round to revising again.

PAST EXAM QUESTIONS

1. Try answering some questions from past exams.

2. Why not time yourself and use the mark scheme to work out what grade you got.

3. Use the marking criteria you have been given to assess your work. What have you done well? Are there

any gap in your knowledge? (Use the revision sites available to ‘plug the gaps’)

4. The more you practice answering exam questions – the better you become!

Make sure you are every strict with your timings. You have 45 minutes for Section A and 45 minutes for Section B.

JUNE 2011 EXAM

Section A: Modern prose or drama

Answer one question from this section on the text you have studied. You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.

Dennis Kelly: DNA

EITHER Question 19

How does Kelly use the settings in DNA to convey his ideas to the audience and to contribute to the effectiveness of the drama? (30 marks)

OR Question 20

What is the importance of Cathy in the play DNA and how does Kelly present her? (30 marks)

P.T.O. for next question

JANUARY 2011 EXAM

Section A: Modern prose or drama

Answer one question from this section on the text you have studied. You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.

Dennis Kelly: DNA

EITHER Question 19

Phil and Leah are both involved in violent and unpleasant actions which change them. How does the writer present the changes? (30 marks)

OR Question 20

Many of the important events in DNA are not shown on stage but are revealed to the audience through conversations of the characters.

What does the writer achieve by choosing to convey important events to the audience in this way? (30 marks)

P.T.O. for next question

You’re amazing. Enjoy it and show off!