DNA - Dialogue

This GCSE English Literature quiz takes a look at dialogue in Dennis Kelly's DNA. In literature, “dialogue” is the term used to describe any direct speech. Plays, which are, of course, meant to be performed for an audience, consist primarily of dialogue. The style and content of dialogue are essential means of characterisation, giving the audience important information about each of the characters. Dialogue is also a tool which allows the author to instigate action, keep the plot moving and show how characters develop.

A useful approach to thinking about dialogue in a work of fiction is to compare and contrast the speech of different characters. See if you can define how the speech of one character is differentiated from that of another. Can you perceive differing vocabularies or registers? Who speaks formally, and when? Who uses slang or dialect, and when, or to whom? Do you detect any patterns?