How does Willy Russell create dramatic tension in the cliff scene of Our day out Essay Example

Carol, please come away from there." in this quote Mr Briggs tone of voice is more threatened and worried.

Carol's personality in the beginning of the play is quite and curious, "Miss is that in England, eh?" and "will we have t' get a boat?" in these two quotes Carol is asking questions out of curiosity. In the middle of the play Carol is still quiet and curious, "'Ey you. Y'not supposed t' touch them." In this quote Carol is again asking questions. Near the end, Carol becomes more brave and courageous, "Don't you come near me!" this quote shows that Carol is more upfront about her feelings.

Carol's tone of voice in the beginning of the cliff scene is quiet loud, "Don't lie, you!" in this quote Carol is talking to Mr Briggs in an angry way. Carol's tone of voice becomes more calm near the end of the cliff scene, "Sir... sir you don't half look funny, y' know." In this quote Carol is nicer as she compliments Mr Briggs.

The stage directions in the cliff scene use a lot of pauses to add dramatic tension. "He moves forward. Again, she moves nearer to the edge. He stops and they look at each other." This increases the tension; by letting Briggs move closer to her, she moves closer to the edge, this increases the tension as the risk of her falling off gets more dangerous. Another example is "she continues to ignore his presence", this quote shows that she has turned against Briggs by ignoring him, she might do something stupid.

I think that Willy Russell has created tension in the cliff scene by making Carol and

Briggs change their personalities to the opposite of what was expected. Their tone of voice has also change for example, Carol getting rude to Mr Briggs. Mr Briggs using a sensible, calm tone to persuade Carol to get away from the edge. With the stage directions, he has managed to use according to their personalities, "She continues to ignore his presence" this tells the audience that she has turned against Briggs by not listening to him and refuse to go back to the rest of the group.