Question

In this assignment, you'll revisit the topic of stage directions and explore additional ways they can develop literary elements in a play. Read the example: I think stage directions were especially important in defining and shaping the audience's understanding of Brutus and Portia's marriage in Act II. When Portia kneels before her husband, we understand that this is a gesture of submission and pleading. She really, really wants to know what is wrong with her husband. However, when the stage directions indicate that Brutus "helps her rise," we understand that Brutus cares about his wife and thinks of her more as an equal. Your answer should include the following: • Explain why playwrights use stage directions. • Explore how stage directions help to develop the plot or the meaning in a play. • Cite one specific example of a stage direction from Julius Caesar, and explains how it develops the plot or meaning of the play

Answer 1

Playwrights use stage directions to give more insight into how the characters should be interacting with each other. Shakespeare uses actually very few stage directions compared to some modern playwrights who detail every move a character is supposed to make.

Stage directions help develop the plot because they help the actors and audience physically move in the space to move the action forward. For example, in Caesar we get the stage direction "CASCA first, then the other Conspirators and BRUTUS stab CAESAR". We understand through the dialogue that they are going to stab Caesar, but this gives us the person who stabs first and the person who stabs last. This helps give meaning to the characters because we learn a lot about Casca (he is the most willing to start the violence) and Brutus (he is still hesitating and it takes him the longest to actually be able to follow through). Also, it develops the plot in the obvious way that if this action does not occur, the rest of the play could not happen.