Lesson 2: Dialogue, Conflict, and Resolution

🟦 Introduction

In drama, what characters say—and how they say it—can shape the entire story.
That’s the power of dialogue. It reveals personalities, advances the plot, and brings conflict to life. Conflict, in turn, creates the tension that keeps audiences engaged, while the resolution brings satisfaction by showing how the conflict ends.

In this lesson, you’ll explore how dialogue and conflict work together in plays, and how resolutions tie everything together. You’ll also learn to analyze how these elements appear in WASSCE drama texts.

🟩 Key Concepts and Explanations

1. What is Dialogue?

Dialogue is the written or spoken exchange between characters in a play.
Unlike novels, plays depend almost entirely on dialogue to:

• Reveal character traits

• Build tension and emotion

• Drive the plot forward

• Show relationships between characters

🎭 In drama, actions are limited—but words do everything!

Features of Effective Dialogue in Drama:

• Sounds natural but purposeful

• Reflects the speaker’s background or status

• Builds conflict and reveals inner thoughts

• Is often short, snappy, and dramatic

2. What is Conflict?

Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces that drives the plot.
Without conflict, the story would be flat. In drama, conflict:

• Creates suspense

• Pushes characters to change or make tough choices

• Engages the audience emotionally

Types of Conflict in Drama:

3. How Dialogue Creates Conflict

Writers use dialogue to reveal tension through:

• Arguments

• Sarcasm or insults

• Hidden motives or secrets

• Misunderstandings

Example:

IAGO: O, beware, my lord, of jealousy!
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on.
(Othello, Act 3, Scene 3)

🗣 This warning creates conflict by planting suspicion in Othello’s mind.

4. The Resolution

A resolution is how the play ends—when the central conflict is solved or explained.

In tragedies, the resolution may involve death or failure (e.g., Macbeth).
In comedies, it often brings reunions or happy endings (e.g., Twelfth Night).

Resolutions should:

• Tie up loose ends

• Reveal the consequences of actions

• Leave a lasting impression on the audience

5. Tips for Analyzing Dialogue and Conflict in WASSCE

When answering drama questions, ask:

• What is the conflict here?

• How do the characters’ words show their emotions?

• Does the resolution fit the rest of the play?

• What message or lesson does the playwright leave with the audience?

🧭 Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Excerpt:

Wife: Why didn’t you tell me he called again?
Husband: I thought it wasn’t important.
Wife: Not important? That man’s threats are real!

Step 1: Identify the Dialogue

• Short, sharp, emotionally charged.

• One character is anxious, the other defensive.

Step 2: Identify the Conflict

• External: Wife vs. Husband (disagreement over secrecy).

• Implicit threat from an outside character creates dramatic tension.

Step 3: Predict the Resolution

• They may unite to face the threat—or the relationship might break down.

🟨 Practice Exercises

Exercise A: Analyze Dialogue

Read the passage:

Teacher: You had one job—bring the test papers.
Student: I lost them, sir.
Teacher: That’s the third time this term. Are you even trying?

Questions:

1. Who is in conflict?

2. What kind of conflict is this?

3. How does the dialogue build tension?

<details> <summary>✅ Answers</summary>

1. Teacher and Student

2. Person vs. Person

3. The teacher’s rising frustration and the student’s excuse build emotional tension.

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Exercise B: Identify Resolution Types

Match the play with its type of resolution:

<details> <summary>✅ Answers</summary>

• Macbeth – A

• The Blood of a Stranger – B

• Twelfth Night – C

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Exercise C: Create a Short Conflict

Write 3–5 lines of dialogue showing a conflict between:

• Two siblings over a broken phone

• A landlord and tenant about unpaid rent
  Choose one, and label the conflict type.

✔️ Tip: Keep the tone dramatic and focused on emotion or tension.

🔁 Recap

In this lesson, you learned:

• Dialogue reveals character and drives the plot.

• Conflict is the heart of drama—it comes in many forms.

• Resolution ends the story, showing the results of the conflict.

• Good analysis means looking at words, emotions, and outcomes.

🪞Reflection Prompt

Think of a time you had a disagreement with someone. If that moment were part of a play:

• What would the dialogue sound like?

• What kind of conflict would it be?

• How would you resolve it in a dramatic way?

Write a short reflection imagining this moment as a scene in a play.