Comparison of Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons in preparation for extract response.

2. LIST EVERYTHING YOU LEARN ABOUT EACH
WOMAN SUPPORTED WITH EVIDENCE (A01)
Mrs Johnstone Mrs Lyons
• Mrs Johnstone uses colloquial
language – ‘Yeh’
Speaks in Standard English –
Standard English is used throughout the
whole conversation.

4. Willy Russell uses 3 main techniques to create characters.
Stage
Directions
Dialogue Action

5. •How are the two mothers presented in this extract?
•Who do we, as the audience, sympathise with and why?

6. •Think about:
•Length/ form of speech e.g. Sentence length/ interogative/ declarative
statements
•Use of pauses/ ellipses (…)
•Stage directions (how they present actions AND emotions)
•Challenge:
•Can you identify any of the 4 syntactical functions (declarative, interrogative,
imperative, exclamatory) in this extract? What do they suggest about each of
the characters?

7. Mrs Johnstone Mrs Lyons
• What form do a lot of Mrs Johnstone’s
lines take? What does this suggest
about how Mrs Johnstone feels at this
stage in the extract?
• Can you find any examples of Mrs
Johnstone sounding uneasy/
uncertain?
• What do the stage directions tell us
about Mrs Johnstone’s control over
the situation/ how she feels about the
pact?
• Mrs Lyons has more dialogue in this
extract than Mrs Johnstone- what do
you think that suggests about the two
women?
• How does Mrs Lyons persuade Mrs
Johnstone to agree to the pact?
• What is the significance of Mrs Lyons
using the bible?

8. WHO DO WE, AS THE AUDIENCE, SYMPATHISE WITH
AND WHY?

9. Point
In this extract the
character that
Russell appears to
sympathise with
most intensely is…
Evidence
Quotations/ stage
directions that
support this
characterisation
Explanation
How are Mrs Lyons and Mrs
Johnstone are presented in
this extract of the play?
Who do you feel most
sympathy towards in this
extract?
Analysis
Discuss the SPECIFC
parts of the quotation
e.g. stage directions/
syntactical functions-
how does this effect the
presentation of your
chosen character?
Evaluation
Why has Russell
appeared to side
with this character
and why?
Analyse the
impact of this
scene on the on
the audience- how
do WE feel about
each of the
characters at this
stage and why?