Style and Technique: Structure

Style and Technique: Structure

Structure of the Play

  • Ena Lamont Stewart’s ‘Men Should Weep’ is a three-act play. This provides a classical structure divided into a beginning, middle, and end, which creates a well-paced plot development and enables characterization to unfold in a balanced manner.

Scene Changes

  • The play has a continuous and linear sequence, with scenes flowing into one another. This conveys a sense of the relentless onslaught of problems faced by the family, creating a sense of tension and despair.

The Role of Dialogue

  • Realistic dialogue is a key structural feature in the play. It is through the characters’ conversations and disputes that Stewart draws attention to the social conditions, class disparities, and gender inequalities of the period.

Setting and Time Frame

  • The entire play takes place within a single setting: the Morrison family’s cramped tenement flat. The limited setting is a powerful symbol of the characters’ restricted lives and opportunities.
  • The play spans a relatively short time frame of a few months, compressing the Morrison family’s struggles and troubles and heightening their plight.

Character-driven Plot

  • Stewart uses a character-driven narrative style in her structuring of the play. The plot unfolds mainly through the characters’ relationships, conflicts, and responses to their circumstances rather than driven by external events.

Dramatic Devices and Climaxes

  • Stewart skilfully incorporates climaxes at the close of acts, such as the violent seizure of Granny Morrison at the end of Act II. These create shock and lead to intense emotional reactions, maintaining the drama and the pace of the plot.

Foreshadowing

  • The use of foreshadowing is a significant tool in the play’s structure. For example, Maggie’s persistent cough hinted at her future health crisis. Stewart employs this technique to build tension and prepare the audience for upcoming plot points.

Symbolism

  • The use of symbolic elements, such as Maggie’s cough representing the harsh living conditions, helps add a deeper layer to the narrative, making the audience contemplate further on the characters’ situations.

Juxtaposed Characters

  • Ena Lamont Stewart also uses juxtaposed characters, such as Jenny’s stylish appearance against Maggie’s despair-ridden life to highlight the stark differences within the same environment and their consequences.