Question

Why might the playwrights have made Anne repeat those lines?

a) To emphasize the importance of the dialogue
b) To reinforce Anne's emotions or thoughts
c) To showcase Anne's memory skills
d) To confuse the audience with repetition

Answer 1

Playwrights may use repetition to reinforce a character's emotions or thoughts, often to underline the importance of a theme and to help structure chaotic experiences into a coherent narrative.

Step-by-step explanation:

Playwrights might make Anne repeat those lines for several reasons, one of which is b) to reinforce Anne's emotions or thoughts. Repetition in a play underlines the importance of words and allows the characters to express their emotions deeply and introspectively. It can also highlight a character's compulsive need to share their experiences, emphasizing a particular theme or idea. In the described situation, where the character repeats the story of the fireman, it suggests an attempt to process and deal with the emotions surrounding the event. The repetition creates a 'rhythm and frame' which could refer to the way the rhythm of the repeated narrative helps to structure the chaotic feelings or experiences into something more manageable and coherent. This use of repetition is not to be confused with d) confusing the audience through repetition, which may occur in other, less straightforward pieces.