Exam: Plays

Question 1

‘King Lear’ by William Shakespeare quote

Answer 1

(Goneril) ‘Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter;
Dearer than eye-sight, space and liberty;
Beyond what can be valued, rich or rare;
No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honour;

(Cordelia) ‘I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty
According to my bond, no more nor less.’

(family love)

Question 2

‘Romeo and Juliette’ by William Shakespeare quotes

H…

A….

S….

Answer 2

(Capulet) ‘H–ang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch’

‘A—nd you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend;
And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets,’

‘S—peak not, reply not, do not answer me;
Mt fingers itch’

(parental love)

Question 3

‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare quotes

C
O
W

P
F

Answer 3

‘who would not make her husband a (C)uckold to make him a monarch?’ (Act 3, scene 3) (marital love)

‘I hate the Moor, And it is thought that ‘twixt my sheets/ H’as done my (O)ffice. I know not if’t be true, But I, for mere suspicion in that kind/ Will do, as if for surety’(Act 1.3.380). (Jealous love)

‘For that I do suspect the lusty moor/ Hath leaped into my seat; the thought whereof/ Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw at my innards; And nothing can or shall content my soul/ Till I am evened with him, (W)ife for wife.’ Act 2, scene 2 (Jealous love)

‘I nothing but to (P)lease his fantasy’ in Act 3, scene 3 (marital love)

Question 4

‘A Streetcar named desire’ quotations

BADBAT

Answer 4

STELLA: When he’s away for a week I nearly go wild!
BLANCHE: Gracious!
STELLA: And when he comes back I cry on his lap like a (B)aby… (she smiles to herself)’ (Scene 1)

‘STELLA: But there are things that happen between a man and a woman in the (D)ark-that sort of make everything else seem unimportant.’ (Scene 4)

‘BLANCHE: When I was sixteen, I made the discovery-love. All at once and much, much too completely. It was like you suddenly turned a (B)linding light on something that had always been half in shadow, that’s how it struck the world for me.’ (Scene 6)

‘STELLA: Stanley doesn’t give me a regular (A)llowance, he likes to pay bills himself, but-this morning he gave me ten dollars to smooth things over.’ (Scene 4)

Question 5

What is plastic theatre?

Answer 5

Plastic Theatre, is the use of props, noises and/or stage directions to convey a blatant parallel with the characters states of mind on stage. Thus, the state of Blanche’s mind, emotions, and memories converted into the stage setting.

Question 6

Describe how the Varsouviana polka is used in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’

Answer 6

1. The Varsouviana Polka
   This is the polka tune which often reminds Blanche of the last day she spent with her young husband – Allen Grey. Earlier that day, she caught her husband’s adultery with another man, and yet pretended that ‘nothing had happened’. In the middle of the Varsouviana when Blanche told Allen of how he ‘disgusted’ her, he committed suicide.
   The polka music often arouses a sense of loss and regret for Blanche. The polka draws upon the mental deterioration of Blanche, which was evoked by the suicide of her husband. Williams thus uses the music to bring about Blanche’s loss of the grip of truth and reality.

Question 7

Timeline the use of the ‘polka’ in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’

Answer 7

1. Scene 1–when Stanley asks Blanche about her husband it is heard faintly in the distance
2. Scene 6–heard in a minor key faintly in the distance when Blanche tells Mitch about the suicide of her husband.
3. Scene 8–when Stanley gives Blanche the Greyhound ticket to return home: ‘The Varsouviana music steals in softly’…‘The ‘Varsouviana’ is heard, its music rising with sinister rapidity’
4. Scene 9–Blanche is alone in her bedroom, the music ceases as Mitch enters: ‘The rapid, feverish polka tune, the ‘Varsouviana’ is heard. The music is in her mind; she is drinking to escape it’

Question 8

Describe how the blue piano is used in ‘A Street Car Named Desire’

Answer 8

The blue piano shows the cyclical structure of the play, as the play starts and ends with the same background music.
The blues music also enhances the dreamlike feeling in the play. The Blue piano represents ‘the spirit of life’ (Pg 3) in the setting. This is prominent in the first scene when Blanche recalls the unfortunate fate of Belle Reve, and in the 5th scene when she kisses the Young Man. The blue piano is the loudest when Blanche is sent away to the asylum in the last scene.