Writer’s Methods and Techniques
Examiners want students to analyse a wide range of Shakespeare’s methods (AO2), not just the language. Remember, analysing methods means evaluating all of Shakespeare’s choices, which includes a lot more than just the lines he wrote for each character. It includes characterisation, form, structure and even stage directions. In this guide you will find sections on:
Exam Tip
Examiners like to see that students have an awareness of the form of a text, whether it’s a novel, a play, a poem, etc. All Shakespeare texts on this paper are plays, and so it’s important that you signal to the examiner that you know this. This is as simple as using the term “audience” instead of the reader, and other play-specific terminology such as “act”, “scene”, “on stage” and even “playwright” instead of the writer.
It is also important to add that commenting on stage directions is as valuable as analysing any other writer’s method. Indeed, it has the advantage of showing the examiner you are aware of Shakespeare’s intentions (the overall message he is trying to convey) because all stage directions are literally his intentions for what happens on stage.