Drama and Literary Nonfiction
What This Domain Tests
This domain covers plays and nonfiction such as memoirs, essays, speeches, and letters. Drama questions focus on dialogue, stage directions, and conflict; nonfiction questions focus on purpose, argument, and the writer's stance.
Concepts to Master
- Drama conventions. Dialogue, monologue (one speaker), soliloquy (alone on stage, revealing inner thought), aside (remark to the audience others cannot hear), and stage directions (bracketed instructions for action, setting, tone).
- Dramatic irony. The audience knows something a character does not.
- Nonfiction purpose. To inform, persuade, entertain, or reflect.
- Author's stance and tone. The writer's attitude toward the subject.
- Evidence and rhetoric. Anecdote, example, comparison, and appeal to logic or emotion.
Traps to Watch
- Ignoring stage directions. They often carry crucial characterization.
- Confusing soliloquy with monologue. A soliloquy is delivered alone and reveals private thought.
- Assuming nonfiction is neutral. Memoirs and essays carry bias and attitude.
- Confusing purpose with topic. The topic is what it is about; the purpose is why it was written.
Worked Example
A character alone on stage says, "So this is what they meant by loyalty," while the audience already knows his friend betrayed him. Question: "What effect does this create?" The character speaks privately (soliloquy) and lacks knowledge the audience has (dramatic irony). The correct answer names dramatic irony, not simply "sadness." Rule of thumb: whenever the audience knows more than a character, look for dramatic irony.
Strategy
For speeches and essays, ask: who is the audience, and what does the writer want them to think or do?