Example+Critical+Essay+questions

Some example questions gathered from past papers and suggested by students.

Cover most of the things you might get asked so good to read through and think about possible introductions, quotes and conclusions.

**__DRAMA QUESTIONS __**   Choose a play in which one of the main characters has to cope with strong feelings such as love, jealousy, ambition, hatred. Show how the character deals with these feelings and what effect this has on the outcome of the play.  Choose a play in which a main character faces a problem. Say what the problem is and then go on to show whether you think the character was successful in dealing with the problem in the rest of the play.  Choose a play whose main theme is made clear early in the action. Show how the dramatist introduces the theme and discuss how successfully s/he goes on to develop it. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: theme, key scenario, characterisation, language, or any other appropriate feature.  In ‘Bold Girls’, by Rona Munro, the various characters have their own unique ways of coping with their miserable lives. Write an essay in which you do the following:-  Name TWO characters from ‘Bold Girls’ and describe how their everyday lives are miserable. Show how each of the women has a way of coping with the situation. Show how each of them is made to face the truth about their lives and what, or who, it is that makes them face reality. Use some quotation in your answer. Make sure you give your thoughts and feelings about the characters. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play in which a character is out of step with those around him/her. Which aspects of his/her character and circumstances contribute to this lack of harmony and how, if at all is harmony restored? <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">“Characters in conflict is the essence of Drama” Select a play that seems to prove this contention and show how the Dramatist reveals the nature of the characters and the conflict between them. In your answer you should discuss such aspects as characterisation, dialogue, situation, symbolism, recurring motifs etc. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play which has an important scene at a turning point in the play. Give a brief account of the scene and go on to show why it is important in the play as a whole. In your answer you must refer to the text and to at least two of: key scenes, structure, characterisation, themes, stage directions, plot, dialogue, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play which explores relationships within a family, or between two members of a family. Describe any such relationship[s] and go on to show how they affect the events of the play. In your answer you must refer to the text and to at least two of: key scenes, structure, characterisation, themes, stage directions, plot, dialogue, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play in which a character feels increasingly isolated from the community in which he or she lives. Show how the dramatist makes you aware of the character’s increasing isolation and discuss how it affects your attitude to the character. In your answer you must refer to the text and to at least two of: key scenes, structure, soliloquy, setting, characterisation, themes, stage directions, plot, dialogue, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">In ‘Bold Girls’ the various women – Nora, Cassie and Marie – have their own unique ways of coping with their miserable lives. Write an essay in which you attempt to cover the following:- <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Describe the misery of their lives. Show how each of the women has a strategy for coping with the situation. Show how each of them is made to face the truth. Use some quotation in your answer. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play in which a character gains your sympathy because of what happens to him or her in the play. Say what happens to the character in an important part of the play and explain why you feel sympathy for him or her. In your answer you should refer to such features as: character, key scenes, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play about a group of people in a school, or a family, or a team, or a neighbourhood, or any other group of people which has to face a problem. Say what the problem is and how it is tackled by the characters. In your answer you should refer to such features as: character, the ending, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play in which a relationship between two characters develops in a way you found surprising. To what extent were you surprised and to what extent were you satisfied by the way the relationship developed? In your answer you must refer closely to the text of selected scenes and deal with such aspects as language and imagery and dialogue, rather than simply with what happens. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play that is based partly or wholly on historical events. Discuss to what extent, in your opinion, the play retains its relevance in the modern world. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: theme, setting, characterisation, key scenes, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play with a clear political or social or religious message. Outline briefly what the "message" is and go on to explain the methods by which the dramatist makes you aware of it. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: theme, characterisation, setting, dramatic style, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play in which one speech or piece of dialogue is particularly important. Put the speech or piece of dialogue in context, and then go on to explain why you think it is particularly important to the rest of the play. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: characterisation, theme, language, climax, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> Choose a play whose main theme is made clear early in the action. Show how the dramatist introduces the theme and discuss how successfully s/he goes on to develop it. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: theme, key scenario, characterisation, language, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">In ‘Bold Girls’, by Rona Munro, the various characters have their own unique ways of coping with their miserable lives. Write an essay in which you do the following:- <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> Name TWO characters from ‘Bold Girls’ and describe how their everyday lives are miserable. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Show how each of the women has a way of coping with the situation. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Show how each of them is made to face the truth about their lives and what, or who, it is that makes them face reality. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Use some quotation in your answer. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Make sure you give your thoughts and feelings about the characters. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play in which a character is out of step with those around him/her. Which aspects of his/her character and circumstances contribute to this lack of harmony and how, if at all is harmony restored? <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">“Characters in conflict is the essence of Drama” Select a play that seems to prove this contention and show how the Dramatist reveals the nature of the characters and the conflict between them. In your answer you should discuss such aspects as characterisation, dialogue, situation, symbolism, recurring motifs etc. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play which has an important scene at a turning point in the play. Give a brief account of the scene and go on to show why it is important in the play as a whole. In your answer you must refer to the text and to at least two of: key scenes, structure, characterisation, themes, stage directions, plot, dialogue, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play which explores relationships within a family, or between two members of a family. Describe any such relationship[s] and go on to show how they affect the events of the play. In your answer you must refer to the text and to at least two of: key scenes, structure, characterisation, themes, stage directions, plot, dialogue, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play in which a character feels increasingly isolated from the community in which he or she lives. Show how the dramatist makes you aware of the character’s increasing isolation and discuss how it affects your attitude to the character. In your answer you must refer to the text and to at least two of: key scenes, structure, soliloquy, setting, characterisation, themes, stage directions, plot, dialogue, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">In ‘Bold Girls’ the various women – Nora, Cassie and Marie – have their own unique ways of coping with their miserable lives. Write an essay in which you attempt to cover the following:- <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Describe the misery of their lives. Show how each of the women has a strategy for coping with the situation. Show how each of them is made to face the truth. Use some quotation in your answer. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play in which a character gains your sympathy because of what happens to him or her in the play. Say what happens to the character in an important part of the play and explain why you feel sympathy for him or her. In your answer you should refer to such features as: character, key scenes, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play about a group of people in a school, or a family, or a team, or a neighbourhood, or any other group of people which has to face a problem. Say what the problem is and how it is tackled by the characters. In your answer you should refer to such features as: character, the ending, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play in which a relationship between two characters develops in a way you found surprising. To what extent were you surprised and to what extent were you satisfied by the way the relationship developed? In your answer you must refer closely to the text of selected scenes and deal with such aspects as language and imagery and dialogue, rather than simply with what happens. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play that is based partly or wholly on historical events. Discuss to what extent, in your opinion, the play retains its relevance in the modern world. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: theme, setting, characterisation, key scenes, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play with a clear political or social or religious message. Outline briefly what the "message" is and go on to explain the methods by which the dramatist makes you aware of it. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: theme, characterisation, setting, dramatic style, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Choose a play in which one speech or piece of dialogue is particularly important. Put the speech or piece of dialogue in context, and then go on to explain why you think it is particularly important to the rest of the play. In your answer you must refer closely to the text and to at least two of: characterisation, theme, language, climax, or any other appropriate feature. <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">
 * //<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Answers to questions in this section should refer to the text and to such relevant features as: characterisation, key scene(s), structure, climax, theme, plot, conflict, setting… //**