Summary A-level Drama EDEXCEL English Literature Revision Notes + Flashcards – Year 1 + 2
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Course
Unit 1 - Drama (9ET001)
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
My revision notes contain all of the information required to achieve top grades in the Drama component of your EDEXCEL A-level English Literature exam. The optional play choices in these notes are 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and 'Hamlet.'
My notes include a link to accompanying flashcards, as we...
Contents
Welcome! .............................................................................................................................................. 2
A Streetcar Named Desire ........................................................................................................ 3
How to write an essay ............................................................................................................. 3
Themes: ............................................................................................................................................. 5
Form .................................................................................................................................................. 6
Language Terms ........................................................................................................................... 9
Structure...................................................................................................................................... 11
Context .......................................................................................................................................... 13
What happens in each scene?.............................................................................................. 15
Potential Questions ................................................................................................................ 20
Desire Quotes.............................................................................................................................. 23
Essay Plans and Points.......................................................................................................... 27
Hamlet ................................................................................................................................................ 36
Form ................................................................................................................................................ 36
Language ....................................................................................................................................... 39
Structure...................................................................................................................................... 41
Context .......................................................................................................................................... 42
Critics ........................................................................................................................................... 46
What happens in each act .................................................................................................... 52
Example Essay ............................................................................................................................ 54
Essay Plans and Points.......................................................................................................... 57
, Welcome!
Welcome to my notes! These were used when I was completing the Drama module of my A-
Level in English Literature for the Edexcel exam board. I studied ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’
and ‘Hamlet.’ There may be a few spelling errors, but as far as I know everything is as it
should be.
Before we start, here’s the quizlet I made/used alongside these notes:
(https://quizlet.com/fleurcasson/folders/113134120/sets)
I hope you find everything in here useful and get the grades you want!
, A Streetcar Named Desire
How to write an essay
Timings:
Overall: 60 minutes
Planning: 5 minutes (go in detail babes!!!!)
Introduction: 5 minutes
Main Body: 45 minutes (15 minutes for 3)
Conclusion: 5 minutes
Read through if you have any extra time
Planning:
Come up with each idea, then the Form, Language, Structure, Context, Quote for each one.
Take you’re time, as it’ll give the essay a more focused outlook and show the examiner you
know what your doing.
Paragraph 3: Stella=Naturalist
Form: Naturalist – she doesn’t leave him (stagnant character development)
Context – divorce was uncommon
Quotes – ‘narcotised’ ‘why, you must have slept with him!’
Language – drug connotations, exclamatory sentence (melodramatic)
Structure – scene 3
Introduction:
Keep brief, touching all the main 3 points with a little sprinkling of evidence/context. This
was written in year 12, so it’s not the best:
In Tennessee William’s play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ desire is a leitmotif used to reveal the forms
of the play, seen in Blanche’s fall from grace being caused by her fatal flaw of desire. The form of
melodrama is revealed through Blanche’s presentation as an archetypal temptress, seen in how she
encroaches on Stella’s domestic sphere. During the 1940s, audiences would have recognised the
only way women could take pride was in this sphere, and thus Blanche’s intrusion and altering of
Stella’s home would have been all the more unacceptable. Finally, the naturalism of the play is seen
in how Stella’s desire for Stanley causes her to remain stagnant throughout the performance text,
staying with her abusive husband and being ‘narcotized’ by her desire.
It's hard to know exactly what to say when you start out but making a plan should be a good
way to know what context and general points your planning on making.
Main Body:
The meat! The hardest part to do quickly.
, Touch on Structure, Language, Form, Context, and Quotes in each paragraph.
Don’t get too bogged down on too many things. Rather explore one thing in detail than four
briefly in one paragraph. Take your time and think about your sentences before you write
them. Auto-piolet is not enough. However, briefly mentioning an alternative interpretation
can be good if it’s well placed.
Finally, desire reveals the play as having a naturalist form due to the stagnant nature of Stella and
Stanley’s relationship. In scene 4 Blanche exclaims ‘why you must have slept with him!’ as reasoning
for Stella calmness after Stanley abusing her in the previous scene. Blanche’s exclamatory claim is in
part because of her melodramatic characterisation; however, it is also correct, making it an example
of Williams utilising the mad women seeing truth trope. Modern audiences- who are aware of the
unacceptability of abuse- may agree with Blanche’s outburst. Yet, Stella is characterised by her
passivity, exemplified in how when Stanley hits her thigh in scene 3, she admits to Blanche ‘it makes
me so mad when he does that in front of people,’ despite never communicating this to her husband.
The addition of ‘in front of people’ also suggests Stella doesn’t mind it when they’re alone, as she is
described in the stage directions as being ‘narcotized’ after sleeping with the violent Stanley. The use
of the verb ‘narcotized’ suggests Stella is addicted to her desire for Stanley, seen at the end of the
play when his ‘sensual manner’ coaxes her into submission. Stella lack of development as a character
is typical of a naturalist text. Although through her foil with Blanche she seems like a puritanical
woman, she too suffers at the hand of her desire and promiscuity. However, Stella’s desire was more
socially acceptable during the 1940s as it takes place within a marriage, making her less likely to be a
victim of ridicule and rejection. Additionally, during the 1940s divorce was uncommon and abuse
was not grounds for receiving one until 1992.
This still comes off as a little cluttered (my fault), though it has a clear line of argument.
Conclusion:
My teachers wants us to introduce some new insights here, but no major ones. I think
mentioning the title of the play and how that links back to the question (if it does) is best
mentioned here.
Overall, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ presents desire as a fatal flaw that causes the tragic fall of
Blanche and the naturalist lack of change in Stella. The fact that ‘desire’ is the name of the train track
which joins with ‘cemeteries’ suggests that desire leads to death. Audiences who interpret Elysian
Fields as a place for the dead will not be surprised that characters are stagnant in their development.
This stagnation leads to a lack of catharsis typical to tragic plays, as despite the temptress being
removed from the domestic sphere being a typically positive resolution in melodramas, the
antagonistic force of Stanley prevails. Tennessee Williams is effective in preventing desire as
paradoxical by using the costumes of Stanley and Blanche (characters who are motivated by desire).
They both wear ‘red,’ throughout the play, suggesting these characters are linked by the passionate
colour associated with the paradoxical ideas of both love and anger.
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