Character, conflict and the shape of a play
A play is an argument between people who each believe they are right. Tracking the conflict tells you what the play is really about.
Part of your national curriculum
- Reading: Study setting, plot and characterisation, and the effects of these on the reader
- Reading: Read and appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage through the study of Shakespeare, seminal world literature and poetry since 1789
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Study setting, plot and characterisation, and the effects of these on the reader
Key learning points
- • Five-part structure
- • Characterisation by contrast
- • Setting as pressure
- • Dramatic irony
This lesson at a glance
- 32 minutes
- 27 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 27
Watch first
Character, conflict and the shape of a play
Track conflict, foils and the turning point that commits a plot to its ending.
In a nutshell
Study setting, plot and characterisation, and the effects of these on the reader
What you already know
Part 2 of 27
Before we start
What you already know
You should already know how to track a character across a text and how to quote accurately.
Key words
Part 3 of 27
Key words
Words you'll need today
- Exposition
- The opening that sets up situation and characters.
- Climax
- The turning point of highest tension.
- Foil
- A character whose contrast reveals another.
- Dramatic irony
- The audience knows something a character does not.
- Resolution
- How the play settles at the end.
Reset break
Part 4 of 27
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 5 of 27
Learning cycle 1 of 2
The shape of a play
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 6 of 27
Learn
Five-part structure
Most Shakespearean plots move through exposition, rising action, a turning point roughly in the middle, falling action and resolution. Locating the turning point is the fastest way to explain a play: everything before it makes the turn possible, everything after it pays the price.
Explore the idea
Part 7 of 27
Learn
Characterisation by contrast
Characters are built against each other. A cautious adviser makes a rash ruler look rasher; a loyal friend makes betrayal sting. This pairing is called a foil. When you write about a character, name the foil, because the contrast is where the meaning sits.
Reset break
Part 8 of 27
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 9 of 27
Quick check
Part 10 of 27
Learning cycle
Part 11 of 27
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Pressure and irony
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Reset break
Part 12 of 27
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 13 of 27
Learn
Setting as pressure
A night scene, a storm, a court, a battlefield: setting raises or lowers what a character can safely say. Watch how the same person speaks in public and in private — the gap between the two is characterisation.
Explore the idea
Part 14 of 27
Learn
Dramatic irony
When the audience knows more than the character on stage, ordinary lines turn painful or funny. Noticing dramatic irony lets you write about the effect on the audience, not just the meaning of the words.
Quick check
Part 15 of 27
Quick check
A character speaks kindly in public and cruelly in private. This mainly shows:
Reset break
Part 16 of 27
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 17 of 27
Explore the idea
Part 18 of 27
Worked example
Model paragraph
The storm scene isolates the ruler at exactly the point he loses authority: the setting externalises the collapse of order he has caused. Because the audience already knows the adviser's warning was accurate, every confident line lands as dramatic irony.
Common mix-ups
Part 19 of 27
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- People often think the climax is the ending. It is the turning point, usually before the final act.
- People often describe a character in isolation. Contrast with a foil usually shows far more.
Reset break
Part 20 of 27
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 21 of 27
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 22 of 27
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
A night scene, a storm, a court, a battlefield: ____ raises or lowers what a character can safely say.
Watch how the same person speaks in public and in private — the gap between the two is ____.
Challenge round
Part 23 of 27
Game · Recall cards
What is a foil?
Card 1 of 4
Reset break
Part 24 of 27
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Exit quiz
Part 25 of 27
Exit quiz
Show what you've learned
6 questions, marked together at the end. Nothing is timed.
1. Which comes first?
2. A foil is a character who...
3. Dramatic irony happens when...
4. The climax of a five-act play usually falls...
5. Setting can create pressure by...
6. Resolution is best described as...
Mastery quiz
Part 26 of 27
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Character, conflict and the shape of a play
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What is a foil?
2. Which best describes a turning point?
3. A character speaks kindly in public and cruelly in private. This mainly shows:
4. Dramatic irony affects an audience mainly by:
Lesson round-up
Part 27 of 27
Lesson round-up
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Study setting, plot and characterisation, and the effects of these on the reader
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Read and appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage through the study of Shakespeare, seminal world literature and poetry since 1789