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Memorable Characters. An exercise in developing a character description with the pupils of Papadopoulou Language School, Litochoro, Greece, by Lisa Murray. Introducing the characters…. Jens Kristian, by Anne Testut, from the series L'Europe a table. Louis XIV, by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701.
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Memorable Characters An exercise in developing a character description with the pupils of Papadopoulou Language School, Litochoro, Greece, by Lisa Murray.
Introducing the characters… Jens Kristian, by Anne Testut, from the series L'Europe a table. Louis XIV, by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701
Who do you see? What age is this person? What is he/she wearing? Where is this person? How is the person placed in the painting? Full face, profile, three-quarter. Does he/she make eye contact? What facial expression does he/she have? What does his/her body language say? What adjectives would you use to describe the character of this person? The Lesson As part of the Certificate of Proficiency in English course, pupils are sometimes required to describe a person. This lesson helps to build a memorable character by paying attention to the details that makes people unique. Working in pairs the students work through a set of questions designed to help them describe, analyse and interpret a portrait. Student Question Sheet • What is the occupation of this person? • How do you think this person wants to be portrayed? • How does the artist portray this person? • What do you think the purpose of this portrait is?
The next step is think of the character in more depth. Here I used a useful resource by Anita Riggiohttp://characterdevelopment.suite101.com/article.cfm/developing_memorable_characterswhich gives the students some questions to consider. I asked each pair of pupils to choose five questions to ask the other pupils in the class about the person in their chosen portrait. The pupils found this fun to do. • What is this character’s greatest achievement? • What is this character’s greatest hope? • Does this character have an obsession? Name it. • What is this character’s greatest disappointment? • What is this character’s worst nightmare? • Whom does this character most wish to please? Why? • If s/he had to choose, with whom would this character prefer to live? • If this character had to live in seclusion for six months, what six items would s/he bring? • What calms this character? • What wakes this character in the middle of the night? • How would a stranger describe this character? • What does this character resolve to do differently every morning? • Who depends on this character? Why? • If this character knew s/he had exactly one month to live, what would s/he do? • What do you know about this character now that s/he doesn’t yet know? • What is this character’s greatest flaw? • What do you know about this character that s/he would never admit? • What is this character’s greatest asset? • If this character could choose a different identity, who would s/he be? • What music does this character sing to when no one else is around? • In what or whom does this character have the greatest faith? • What is this character’s favorite movie? • Does this character have a favorite article of clothing? Favorite shoes? • Does this character have a vice? Name it. • Name this character’s favorite person (living or dead). • What is this character’s secret wish? • What is this character’s proudest achievement? • Describe this character’s most embarrassing moment. • What is this character’s deepest regret? • What is this character’s greatest fear? • Describe this character’s most devastating moment.
