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?
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One excellent way to revise for a literature exam is by memorising dialogue. Aim to choose a few key lines for each character, being sure to connect these lines to an important theme of the text. This technique will both help your memory and allow you to identify which quotations might be useful for answering particular types of exam questions.
The quiz below asks you to remember which character in DNA speaks the words given. Think about what makes the quoted dialogue important before answering. Can you think of any reasons why particular words belong more obviously to one character, rather than another? Would another character be able to speak the same words believably? Why, or why not? What does this tell you?
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Match the dialogue to the correct speaker.
1.
|
"There, I'm admitting, I am admitting, I talk too much, so shoot me. So kill me, Phil, call the police, lock me up, rip out my teeth with a pair of rusty pliers, I talk too much, what a crime, what a sin, what an absolute catastrophe, stupid, evil, ridiculous, because you're not perfect actually" |
|
[ ] |
Cathy |
[ ] |
Leah |
[ ] |
Brian |
[ ] |
Jan |
|
|
2.
|
"You can walk down any corridor in this [...] any corridor in this school and you know, no-one bothers you and if you want something it's yours and no-one bothers you and everyone respects you and everyone's scared of you and who made that, I mean I'm not boasting, but who made that happen?" |
|
[ ] |
Phil |
[ ] |
Richard |
[ ] |
John Tate |
[ ] |
Danny |
|
|
3.
|
"This is not part of the plan. Dental college is part of the plan, A levels are part of the plan, dead people are not part of the plan, this is not dental college." |
|
[ ] |
Cathy |
[ ] |
Brian |
[ ] |
Lou |
[ ] |
Danny |
|
|
4.
|
"The refuse sacks that you are going to buy on the way, do not use the first one on the roll, use the third or fourth, do not be tempted to use a bin liner you have knocking around the house as that will be a DNA nightmare" |
|
[ ] |
Phil |
[ ] |
John Tate |
[ ] |
Leah |
[ ] |
Cathy |
|
|
5.
|
So we're all peggin them. Laughing. And his face, it's just making you laugh harder and harder, and they're getting nearer and nearer. And one hits his head. And the shock on his face is so...funny. And we're all just...
just...
really chucking these stones into him, really hard and laughing and he slips |
|
[ ] |
Jan |
[ ] |
Mark |
[ ] |
Brian |
[ ] |
Danny |
|
|
6.
|
"Well, we thought, you know, I mean you'd given a description so we thought, well, I thought, you know, show initiative, we'll look for a fat balding postman with bad teeth" |
|
[ ] |
Mark |
[ ] |
Danny |
[ ] |
Cathy |
[ ] |
Jan |
|
|
7.
|
"I can't face it. They look at me. They look at me like I'm lying and it makes me cry. I can't stand the way they look at me. And then, because I cry, they think I'm telling the truth, but I'm crying because I'm lying and I feel terrible inside" |
|
[ ] |
Lou |
[ ] |
Brian |
[ ] |
Adam |
[ ] |
Danny |
|
|
8.
|
"We'll take you up the grille now. We'll get you by the arms. By the legs. And we'll swing you onto the grille. We'll throw rocks at you until you drop through. You'll drop through. You'll fall into the cold. Into the dark. You'll land on Adam's corpse and you'll rot together" |
|
[ ] |
John Tate |
[ ] |
Richard |
[ ] |
Cathy |
[ ] |
Phil |
|
|
9.
|
I was sad, crushed.
Came outside.
I couldn't remember things.
I couldn't remember anything.
I was new |
|
[ ] |
Adam |
[ ] |
Brian |
[ ] |
Leah |
[ ] |
John Tate |
|
|
10.
|
"This is insane. I mean I've never, but this, because, alright, whatever, but this is actually insane. We can't just leave him up here" |
|
[ ] |
Cathy |
[ ] |
Brian |
[ ] |
Leah |
[ ] |
Phil |
|
|
1.
|
"There, I'm admitting, I am admitting, I talk too much, so shoot me. So kill me, Phil, call the police, lock me up, rip out my teeth with a pair of rusty pliers, I talk too much, what a crime, what a sin, what an absolute catastrophe, stupid, evil, ridiculous, because you're not perfect actually" |
|
[ ] |
Cathy |
[x] |
Leah |
[ ] |
Brian |
[ ] |
Jan |
|
|
2.
|
"You can walk down any corridor in this [...] any corridor in this school and you know, no-one bothers you and if you want something it's yours and no-one bothers you and everyone respects you and everyone's scared of you and who made that, I mean I'm not boasting, but who made that happen?" |
|
[ ] |
Phil |
[ ] |
Richard |
[x] |
John Tate |
[ ] |
Danny |
|
|
3.
|
"This is not part of the plan. Dental college is part of the plan, A levels are part of the plan, dead people are not part of the plan, this is not dental college." |
|
[ ] |
Cathy |
[ ] |
Brian |
[ ] |
Lou |
[x] |
Danny |
|
|
4.
|
"The refuse sacks that you are going to buy on the way, do not use the first one on the roll, use the third or fourth, do not be tempted to use a bin liner you have knocking around the house as that will be a DNA nightmare" |
|
[x] |
Phil |
[ ] |
John Tate |
[ ] |
Leah |
[ ] |
Cathy |
|
|
5.
|
So we're all peggin them. Laughing. And his face, it's just making you laugh harder and harder, and they're getting nearer and nearer. And one hits his head. And the shock on his face is so...funny. And we're all just...
just...
really chucking these stones into him, really hard and laughing and he slips |
|
[ ] |
Jan |
[x] |
Mark |
[ ] |
Brian |
[ ] |
Danny |
|
|
6.
|
"Well, we thought, you know, I mean you'd given a description so we thought, well, I thought, you know, show initiative, we'll look for a fat balding postman with bad teeth" |
|
[ ] |
Mark |
[ ] |
Danny |
[x] |
Cathy |
[ ] |
Jan |
|
|
7.
|
"I can't face it. They look at me. They look at me like I'm lying and it makes me cry. I can't stand the way they look at me. And then, because I cry, they think I'm telling the truth, but I'm crying because I'm lying and I feel terrible inside" |
|
[ ] |
Lou |
[x] |
Brian |
[ ] |
Adam |
[ ] |
Danny |
|
|
8.
|
"We'll take you up the grille now. We'll get you by the arms. By the legs. And we'll swing you onto the grille. We'll throw rocks at you until you drop through. You'll drop through. You'll fall into the cold. Into the dark. You'll land on Adam's corpse and you'll rot together" |
|
[ ] |
John Tate |
[ ] |
Richard |
[ ] |
Cathy |
[x] |
Phil |
|
|
9.
|
I was sad, crushed.
Came outside.
I couldn't remember things.
I couldn't remember anything.
I was new |
|
[x] |
Adam |
[ ] |
Brian |
[ ] |
Leah |
[ ] |
John Tate |
|
|
10.
|
"This is insane. I mean I've never, but this, because, alright, whatever, but this is actually insane. We can't just leave him up here" |
|
[ ] |
Cathy |
[ ] |
Brian |
[x] |
Leah |
[ ] |
Phil |
|
|