SAT II Literature : Characterization and Motivation: Drama
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Literature
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Example Questions
Example Question #51 : Passage Content
Adapted from Richard III by William Shakespeare, I.i.1-42
Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths;
Our bruised arms hung up for monuments;
Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,
Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.
Grim-visaged war hath smooth'd his wrinkled front;
And now, instead of mounting barded steeds
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,
He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.
But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks,
Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass;
I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty
To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
Deformed, unfinish'd, sent before my time
Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them;
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to spy my shadow in the sun
And descant on mine own deformity:
And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.
Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,
By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams,
To set my brother Clarence and the king
In deadly hate the one against the other:
And if King Edward be as true and just
As I am subtle, false and treacherous,
This day should Clarence closely be mew'd up,
About a prophecy, which says that 'G'
Of Edward's heirs the murderer shall be.
Dive, thoughts, down to my soul: here
Clarence comes.
According to the passage, what motivates the narrator to “prove a villain”?
His inability to function in a society not at war
The audience is not made privy to the narrator’s motivations in this passage.
His desire to take the throne for himself
His hatred of his brother
His desire for riches
His inability to function in a society not at war
Considering the lines around the phrase “prove a villain” can be helpful in answering this question:
“And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.”
The speaker here gives as his reasoning that he has determined to become a villain since he “cannot prove a lover.” Combined with the information presented in the rest of the passage, we can tell that by this, he means that he is unable to function in a society not at war.
Example Question #12 : Characterization And Motivation: Drama
Caliban: This island's mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which thou takest from me. When thou camest first,
Thou strokedst me and madest much of me, wouldst give me
Water with berries in't, and teach me how
To name the bigger light, and how the less,
That burn by day and night: and then I loved thee
And show'd thee all the qualities o' the isle,
The fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile:
Cursed be I that did so! All the charms
Of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you!
For I am all the subjects that you have,
Which first was mine own king: and here you sty me
In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me
The rest o' the island.
The primary purpose of Caliban's monologue is to describe ______________________.
the death of a loved one
the landscape of the island
a betrayal
a romance
a battle
a betrayal
The primary purpose of Caliban's monologue is to describe a betrayal. Caliban's feelings of disappointment and betrayal are directly stated several times in the text:
"This island's mine...Which though takest from me"
"When thou camest first, thou strokedst me and madest much of me..."
"and then I loved thee...Cursed be I that did so!"
"and here you sty me...whiles you do keep from me the rest o' the island"
Caliban does describe the landscape of the island, but that is clearly not the primary purpose of the monologue. There is no evidence that Caliban is describing a romance, a battle, or the death of a loved one.
Passage adapted from William Shakespeare's The Tempest (1611).
Example Question #13 : Characterization And Motivation: Drama
A bell rings in the hall; shortly afterwards the door is heard to open.
Enter NORA, humming a tune and in high spirits. She is in out-door dress and carries a number of parcels; these she lays on the table to the right. She leaves the outer door open after her, and through it is seen a PORTER who is carrying a Christmas Tree and a basket, which he gives to the MAID who has opened the door.)
Nora: Hide the Christmas Tree carefully, Helen. Be sure the children do not see it till this evening, when it is dressed. (To the PORTER, taking out her purse.) How much?
Porter: Sixpence.
Nora: There is a shilling. No, keep the change. (The PORTER thanks her, and goes out. NORA shuts the door. She is laughing to herself, as she takes off her hat and coat. She takes a packet of macaroons from her pocket and eats one or two; then goes cautiously to her husband's door and listens.) Yes, he is in. (Still humming, she goes to the table on the right.)
Helmer: (calls out from his room). Is that my little lark twittering out there?
Nora (busy opening some of the parcels): Yes, it is!
Helmer: Is it my little squirrel bustling about?
Nora: Yes!
Helmer: When did my squirrel come home?
Nora: Just now. (Puts the bag of macaroons into her pocket and wipes her mouth.) Come in here, Torvald, and see what I have bought.
Helmer: Don't disturb me. (A little later, he opens the door and looks into the room, pen in hand.) Bought, did you say? All these things? Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again?
Nora: Yes, but, Torvald, this year we really can let ourselves go a little. This is the first Christmas that we have not needed to economize.
Helmer: Still, you know, we can't spend money recklessly.
Nora: Yes, Torvald, we may be a wee bit more reckless now, mayn't we? Just a tiny wee bit! You are going to have a big salary and earn lots and lots of money.
Helmer: Yes, after the New Year; but then it will be a whole quarter before the salary is due.
Nora: Pooh! we can borrow till then.
(1879)
Which is the most significant difference in how Nora and Helmer speak to each other?
She calls him by his first name and he does not use her name at all
He is domineering and she is submissive
He sounds erudite and she sounds uneducated
He speaks humorously and she speaks seriously
She is patient and loving and he is quick-tempered and cruel
She calls him by his first name and he does not use her name at all
The most significant difference in how these two characters speak to each other is that she consistently calls him by his first name (Torvald) and he refers to her only as "my little squirrel" or, later, "my little spend thrift. Their dialogue does not suggest any significant difference in level of education or humorousness. Nora is not submissive to Helmer. In fact, she argues with him. And he is critical of her, but not necessarily quick-tempered or cruel.
Passage adapted from Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House (1879)
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