Study guide: Images, Poem Patterns and Dramatic Delivery
Apply interpret an image’s shared quality, identify a rhyme scheme, recognize dramatic delivery, connect a line to a scene using supplied texts and original responses.
Ideas to explain in your own words
- A literary image can compare unlike things to emphasize a particular quality. The useful interpretation states that quality, rather than insisting the comparison is literal.
- Rhyme scheme labels matching ending sounds with the same letter. AABB pairs adjacent lines; ABAB alternates; ABBA encloses a pair; ABCB repeats only lines two and four.
- Stage directions can influence how an audience understands dialogue. Volume, pauses and laughter change delivery, but the actor should preserve the supplied words.
- Lines of dialogue and narration can introduce a problem, reveal a choice, resolve that problem or orient the setting. The role depends on its relation to the surrounding scene.
Useful vocabulary
- Interpret an image’s shared quality
- A literary image can compare unlike things to emphasize a particular quality. The useful interpretation states that quality, rather than insisting the comparison is literal.
- Identify a rhyme scheme
- Rhyme scheme labels matching ending sounds with the same letter. AABB pairs adjacent lines; ABAB alternates; ABBA encloses a pair; ABCB repeats only lines two and four.
- Recognize dramatic delivery
- Stage directions can influence how an audience understands dialogue. Volume, pauses and laughter change delivery, but the actor should preserve the supplied words.
- Connect a line to a scene
- Lines of dialogue and narration can introduce a problem, reveal a choice, resolve that problem or orient the setting. The role depends on its relation to the surrounding scene.
Watch your reasoning
- One image can have different effects in other contexts.
- The letter A does not stand for a particular word.
- Do not add new dialogue as if it were in the script.
- A place description alone does not resolve a conflict.
A worked review example
Image: a lamp like a tiny sun, lighting the dark room. Endings: light/night/day/play. Direction: [whispers]. Role line: The only key is missing. Interpret an image’s shared quality: The relevant input states: Image: a lamp like a tiny sun, lighting the dark room. This fits brightness. A literary image can compare unlike things to emphasize a particular quality. The useful interpretation states that quality, rather than insisting the comparison is literal. One image can have different effects in other contexts. Identify a rhyme scheme: The relevant input states: Endings: light/night/day/play. This fits AABB. Rhyme scheme labels matching ending sounds with the same letter. AABB pairs adjacent lines; ABAB alternates; ABBA encloses a pair; ABCB repeats only lines two and four. The letter A does not stand for a particular word. Recognize dramatic delivery: The relevant input states: Direction: [whispers]. This fits whisper quietly. Stage directions can influence how an audience understands dialogue. Volume, pauses and laughter change delivery, but the actor should preserve the supplied words. Do not add new dialogue as if it were in the script. Connect a line to a scene: The relevant input states: Role line: The only key is missing. This fits introduces the conflict. Lines of dialogue and narration can introduce a problem, reveal a choice, resolve that problem or orient the setting. The role depends on its relation to the surrounding scene. A place description alone does not resolve a conflict.
Make a practice plan
- Practice interpret an image’s shared quality: Read the exact comparison and the explicit supporting detail. Name the shared quality and connect it to the image.
- Practice identify a rhyme scheme: Say the supplied ending words and assign a new letter to each new ending sound. Reuse a letter only for an actual rhyme.
- Practice recognize dramatic delivery: Read the direction and perform or describe that delivery. Explain how it affects the line’s meaning or mood.
- Practice connect a line to a scene: Read the supplied scene description and compare the line with the stated problem. Explain the role using the actual words.
- Try the new review before opening its answer. Return to the related lesson if you want more help.