The Writing Experiment by Hazel Smith

fact, all dialogue ranges from realist to non-realist. Realist dialogue is
based on the conversation we are used to hearing around us, though some-
times in dramatically heightened situations. For example, there is a
passage in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1985, pp. 10–11), near the
beginning of the play, which is an excellent example of a realist dialogue.
In this passage Willy Loman complains to his wife that he is no longer
valued in his job, and also that Biff his son is not ambitious. The dialogue
has a clear function in setting up Willy’s character, and implying sources
of conflict which will erupt later in the play. It characterises Willy as unable
to come to terms realistically with life, and his diminishing job prospects,
incapable of viewing his son as an independent being, blinded by material
values, and supported by a wife who partially, if not completely, colludes
with his attitudes. All these difficulties are shown to be more intense as the
play progresses, and the plot hinges on the revelation of the sources of
Willy’s difficulties, and the effects of his failings on others. Such dialogue
seems to mimic familiar modes of conversation, but there is a lot more
patterning in the dialogue of a play or novel than in real life: it is highly
edited even when based on observation. To see how this works, you might
want to record a conversation and then edit it as a dialogue: you will see
then how much you will need to reshape your material. You will have to
cut out irrelevant and repetitive exchanges, and bring character and situa-
tion much more to the fore.
Death of a Salesman is largely about Willy’s inability to face reality, but
its basic dramatic mode is nevertheless realism. However, dialogue in con-
temporary drama is not necessarily realist. If you read the dialogue below
from the play, A Letter for Queen Victoria , by American playwright Robert
Wilson, you can see how it doesn’t develop as we might expect, the
sequence is often highly irrational.

Example 6.2: Non-realist dialogue

(CURTAIN UP)

1(SCREAM SONG)

2(SCREAM SONG)

1 SHE BROKE HER NECK

2 THAT’S NOT WHAT I DID

1 OH YOU WERE

2 THANK YOU

1 YEAH WELL THAT STUFF

2 WERE THEY WERE THEY A...YEAH I KNOW

114 The Writing Experiment