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Tension Assignment
Read the following information about Dramatic Tension and answer the questions below.
Dramatic tension is a technique that is used in theatrical productions in order to build the suspense and
conflict within a play. Remember the linear plot outline that we examined when we discussed The Most
Dangerous Game? In this plot outline, the conflict was created at the very beginning of the story and increased
throughout the story until the climax and resolution.
Similar to the conflict is a story or novel is the tension that is created in a play. Tension in a play exists to
propel the action of the play forward. The tension of a play lies in the small and large moments of conflict or
anything in the plot that is not 100% copacetic. You can create tension in literature by instituting any sort of
conflict or friction between two or more things. The tension does not have to be based solely on character
disagreement. Dramatic tension can exist in many ways.
Dramatic tension exists between characters, in obstacles that keep characters from completing a task, in a
surprise plot twist, in a moment of levity in a dire situation, and even in the mystery of the unknown. Tension
can be created by nature or even fate; you never know where tension will come from. Some plays even create
tension by the simple placement of characters in a scene or the props used as part of the scenery!
The presence of tension in a play helps to build emotion for the audience and keeps them guessing and
interested in the plot. As tension for the characters builds, so does the tension in the audience. The audience
experiences the emotions that the characters do, and as the tension builds with the action, the anxiety the
audience feels for the characters builds as well.
The tension in a play begins to be released at the moment of climax for the characters. In this moment, some
of the tension begins to dissolve because the events in the play are such that things will never be the same for
the characters again. As the play moves towards its conclusion, even more of the tension is resolved.
However, don't look for all of the tension to magically be solved by the end of the play. Just like the play is
some sort of model for human life, tension is an ever present part of the human condition. If you experience a
play or book that has a happily ever after ending for every single character, chances are you are reading a fairy
tale... not a story that is meant to be an accurate portrayal of true human life.
The questions in this assignment are geared towards getting you to think about the different types of tension
that is created in A Midsummer Night's Dream from Acts I-III, and the possible ways in which this tension
might be resolved.
Tension Questions:
Answer these questions in a separate document and upload to the website where indicated. Please use
complete sentences in your answers.
1. List at least five elements of tension we have witnessed so far in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
2. What specific tension surrounds Hermia's marriage to Lysander? List as many as you can think of.
3. What tension does Helena add to the play?
4. Provide an example of tension in the play that involves at least 4 characters.
5. Provide an example of tension that involves a group of characters against only one or two people.
6. Provide an example of tension in the play that involves only one person.
7. What tension does Bottom cause in the play against the group of performers?
8. How does Shakespeare use tension to drive the action of his story?
9. What purpose does tension serve for the audience?
10. Think about all the different types of tension we have discovered so far in the play. What is a possible
ending to the play (of your own creation) that will resolve most of the tension of the play?