Dramaturgical Report by Karen Sheard

In this report, I will compare extracts of Educating Rita to analyse the way dialogue functions in both, in order to illuminate the playwright’s intentions. I will compare how the use of language changes after the ‘educating’ of Rita that happens between these extracts of the play.

Introducing the characters

Educating Rita concerns two characters with marked differences in class, background and education, and therefore an analysis of their ways of speaking that illustrates this to the audience is worthwhile.

Steve Lewis, in his commentary to the play, says of Rita: “as soon as she opens her mouth to speak, her accent reveals that she is probably ‘uneducated’.” He states that what “sets her apart from Frank’s world” is “what she says and the way she says it” (xli). The two characters’ way of speaking helps illustrate to the audience the difference in worlds that each are from.

Register

Rita’s dialect – the ‘geographical context’ that influences her language (Waters 120) is highlighted by her Liverpudlian accent and word choice. For example, she uses the word ‘dead’, instead of ‘very’ when she says, “I was dead surprised,” (Russell 171) which might be recognised as a ‘unique dialect feature’ (Trawick-Smith 2011) of Liverpool vocabulary.

She also shows her working-class background and lack of education, her ‘sociolect’ (Waters 120), in the way she pronounces words. For example, she says ‘an’ instead of ‘and’ and ‘y’ instead of ‘you’, such as in the lines: “It’s like y’ sit there, don’t y’, watchin’ the ballet… an’ y’ call it rubbish” (Russell 173).

Frank is, in many ways, her opposite. He has a formal, middle-class idiolect, and his word choice and way of speaking reflect his education.

Formal/informal register

From the outset Rita has a very informal way of addressing Frank, that subverts the expected ‘implicit role’ (Waters 118) of student and tutor, such as when she says, “stupid bleedin’ handle” and “Look at those tits” (Russell 170).

It could be that she is unaware of the ‘social codes’ (Davis 15) of addressing a tutor within an academic setting. However, she shows self-awareness of her use of language when she admits that she often uses swearing to shock people (174).

Though Frank takes on a more academic/formal register, he is able to adopt an informal register easily. He seems to enjoy the freedom of expressing his informal views, and this could be a reason he enjoys Rita’s company.

Language

Kempton writes that conflict should be a key element of any dialogue (137). In Educating Rita, the two characters get on well together, but the conflict lies in their different use of language, which creates compelling conversations. Their differences in speech also add humour to the play, for example, for Frank ‘flora’ means flowers, to Rita it’s a type of margarine (178). To Frank ‘Yeats’ is a poet, to Rita, a wine lodge (175).

Rita often flummoxes Frank with her responses, such as by not understanding (or pretending not to) the nature of his rhetorical question (Waters 123) when he asks: “You are?” responding:

RITA: What am I?

FRANK: Pardon?

RITA: What?

FRANK (looking for the admission papers): Now you are?

RITA: I’m a what?

(Russell 170)

However, Rita uses rhetorical questions herself (171) and so must understand their use. Also, the idea that she is purposefully misunderstanding is implied later when Frank misunderstands her, and she assumes he is joking with her in the same way:

FRANK: Don’t you recognise a compliment?

RITA: Go way…

FRANK: Where to?

RITA: Don’t be soft. Y’know what I mean.

(Russell 178)

Rita then re-uses one of Frank’s phrases from this exchange shortly after, asking him, “Don’t you recognise a compliment?” (180). This repetition of earlier used phrases happens often throughout their conversations, and in this way, they have set up their own ‘specialist vocabulary’ (Waters 118), creating meaning from what has gone on before. This adds to the comradeship between the two and helps demonstrate their common intellect, despite different education.

The ‘Educated’ Rita: The last scene: Rita’s new idiolect

In the last scene, Rita speaks more confidently. She still has the same Liverpudlian dialect and sociolect, but her overall idiolect, her unique way of speaking (Waters 120) has changed. She uses fewer words now and is more to the point.

She tells Frank she has learned more than just quotes (230), and proves this by building up an argument, that uses the skills she has learned. For example, in the following speech she uses repetition of ‘could’ and chose/choice, to build up a feeling of rhetoric (Waters 114–116).

RITA: I could have done. An’ you’d have been proud of me if I’d done that an’ rushed back to tell you – wouldn’t y’? But I chose not to. I had a choice. I did the exam.

(Russell 231)

Now when Frank uses specialised language such as ‘metaphorically’ (229) or ‘evasive’ (231) Rita has the knowledge that allows her to understand Frank’s reference.

She has managed to synthesise the two ways of speaking and to make peace with her own way of speaking. She has achieved the balance that John Yorke describes when he speaks of overall story structures, of ‘thesis’, ‘antithesis’, ‘synthesis’, where a character is thrown out of their own world into one that is their opposite, and in the end achieves balance between the two (28–29).

Works Cited

Davis, Rib. Writing Dialogue for Scripts. Third Edition. A & C Black. London. 2008. Print.

Kempton, Gloria. Write Great Fiction: Dialogue. Writer’s Digest Books. F&W Publications. Cincinnati. 2004. Print.

Lewis, Steve. ‘Commentary’ in Educating Rita. Methuen Drama. A & C Black. 2007. London. 19 Nov. 2016. Web. http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/books/educating-rita-iid-12141/do-9781408167861-div-00000021

Russell, Willy. Educating Rita, Stags & Hens and Blood Brothers. Methuen Modern Plays. London. 1986. Print.

Trawick-Smith, Ben. ‘British Accents’. Dialect Blog. WordPress. 2011. Web. http://dialectblog.com/british-accents/

Waters, Steve. The Secret Life of Plays. Nick Hern Books. London. 2010. Print.

Yorke, John. Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them. Penguin Random House. 2013. Print.

The report into the use of dialogue in Educating Rita was written by Karen Sheard (Pen name Karen Heard) in 2016.