‘Yardstick’ is a radio drama about a teenage girl, Laura, who is being bullied by her classmates. Laura has fallen out with her friend, Katy, because they both like the same boy, Conor. Laura has been receiving threatening text messages, so she has stayed away from Conor, even though they both like each other. With her parents having just announced that they are separating, Laura feels lonely and isolated.
The play contains an unusual twist: the character of Moby. Moby is Laura’s new mobile phone, who is trying to help her. This unusual characterisation adds to the story. The dramatist (person who writes a drama) also uses personifi cation: when human qualities are given to non-human objects, animals or ideas.
Listen carefully to the excerpt from this radio drama, and then answer the questions.
REMEMBER:
Characterisation is the creation of a fi ctional character through their actions, speech, thoughts and how they interact with other characters.
168 FIRE & ICE 2
What I will learn:
to identify dramatic elements and
discuss their eff ect
to understand characterisation and personifi cation
