Further Guidance - Don John Question

If you decide to choose the Don John question, there are obviously a fair few action points that you need to address.

1. You need to know Don John's scenes very well indeed. It shouldn't take you long to re-read them WITH a study guide.

2. You need to be fully aware of the usual comedic qualities of Shakespeare comedy.

3. You need to plan in advance what your main points are.

4. You need to have an idea what the usual features of a tragedy are also.

5. You need to be able to understand what how the audience would perceive Don John- both then and now.

Planning.

Introduction - This whole unit is about the genre of COMEDY, so you have to focus heavily on the genre of the play and how Don John fits into this. Ensure that you make the marker aware that you know Shakespeare comedies have 'conventions'. You need to seem totally knowledgeable on the subject. This does not mean listing the conventions. It means casually mentioning one or two, and making it obvious you know the others exist.

The main body of your essay - Start off by strongly forming your opinion. Is Don John too dark/threatening? Is it difficult to decide? Well, you need to know what your thoughts are before you start writing. This will take a fair amount of study. Mind map what it is about Don John which makes him fit the 'comedy' role, and what it is about him that doesn't.

To do this, you COULD compare him, on an individual level, to each of the conventions. Does he fit them? For example, is he a stupid master or an intelligent servant? Hmm, arguably. Is he a character who adds to the complexity of the text by featuring in an intertwining plot? Yes.

By doing this, you'll find quite a few paragraphs you can write.

Also, think about the tragic conventions. What is it about Don John that might make him heavily suited to being in a tragedy?

Compare him to other characters who are, perhaps, more comedic and point out their differences.

Then think about your reaction to Don John, and the potential reaction of an audience.

Once you have mind mapped as many points as you can about whether or not he is a comedic/dark character, use your common sense to order your points in terms of how good they are.

Ie, which ones sound the most profound? Which ones do you have the most impressive evidence to support (remember, you must ALWAYS support with evidence - usually multiple pieces of evidence).

Then simply start to write your essay.

Basic overview

Always make sure you're directly answering the question and always make sure you're referring directly to the genre and how he fits into it in terms of comedic conventions, audience reaction etc.

You should try to use technical vocabulary wherever possible: Enjambment, imagery, hyperbole, lexical field etc.