Scottish Texts - Drama and Prose (Scottish Highers English): Revision Notes
Scottish Texts - Drama and Prose
Overview of the Scottish text section
The Scottish text section is worth 20 marks, which represents 20% of the total marks available for Higher English. You must choose one set of questions from the specified drama or prose texts, or select questions on poems from the list of specified poets.
This section differs from the critical essay section in several ways. While both require knowledge of themes and techniques, the Scottish text demands a much more detailed level of understanding. You need to know not only what themes appear in your chosen text, but also precisely how the writer conveys these themes through specific language choices, dramatic techniques, and structural decisions.
The questions in this section combine textual analysis of a given extract with broader knowledge of the whole text. You will face several 2-3 mark questions on the extract, followed by one 10-mark question that asks you to relate the extract to the wider text.
Approach to studying Scottish texts
When preparing for the Scottish text section, do not attempt to predict specific questions. Instead, undertake a thorough close analysis of your chosen text. This means examining:
- The themes present in the text
- The techniques the writer uses to convey these themes
- The tone in different passages
- How characters are developed
- How setting contributes to meaning
- The use of symbolism
- Language choices and their effects
If you complete this preparation properly, you will be equipped to handle any question that appears in the exam. Never attempt to memorise pre-prepared answers for anticipated questions - the exam is designed to reward genuine understanding, not memorisation.
Working with drama texts
Understanding tone and characterisation
Drama texts require attention to how characters speak and interact. Tone is not something you simply identify - you must support your analysis with detailed textual evidence.
Analysing Tone in "Men Should Weep"
In "Men Should Weep" by Ena Lamont Stewart, the opening exchange between Maggie and Granny establishes Maggie's sardonic, even sarcastic tone.
Granny complains that all she is fit for is "Sittin an gantin" (sitting and wasting away). Maggie responds that Granny is "as much bother as anither wean" (as much bother as another child). This comparison reveals Maggie's frustration. She sees Granny not as a responsible adult who could help with household tasks, but as another dependent person who adds to her workload.
The humour in the scene develops through Granny's deafness and self-pity. When Maggie says that if a woman did everything that ought to be done, she would work "till she drapped doon deid" (until she dropped down dead), Granny mishears and asks "Wha's drapped doon deid?" (Who's dropped down dead?). This misunderstanding creates comedy while also revealing Granny's preoccupation with death and her own mortality.
Understanding Historical Context
Maggie extends the humour with her response that Granny will not die but will "just sit it oot like it was a second roon o the pictures" (just sit it out like it was a second showing at the cinema). In the 1930s, when the play is set, cinemas showed films in continuous performance. You could not book seats, and films repeated continuously throughout the day.
Maggie's image suggests that Granny will not make her exit but will passively remain, watching life repeat itself. The phrase "sit it oot" implies that Granny is disengaged from her existence, merely enduring rather than participating.
Analysing character relationships
The exchange between Granny and Maggie reveals dynamics that run throughout the play. Granny uses emotional manipulation, attempting to make Maggie feel guilty. She claims "I'm just an aul nuisance, takin up room" and threatens to go to the poorhouse where "John can hae me boxed and buried frae there". The stage direction "(Setting up a terrible wail)" shows that she sets up this display of emotion deliberately. The verb "setting up" indicates artifice rather than genuine feeling.
However, Maggie refuses to respond to this manipulation. She tells Granny to "stop yer nonsense" and makes the tangential remark that the poorhouse "got a fancy name noo" (has got a fancy name now). This deflection shows that Maggie does not take Granny's threats seriously. Even her reassurance that "John and me wad never send ye onywhere" is undermined by the closing line "Aye... well... Lizzie's tae tak her turn" (Yes... well... Lizzie has to take her turn). Maggie does not allow Granny's behaviour to make her feel guilty or to change the arrangement.
The scene establishes Maggie's strength and insight, qualities that develop as the play progresses. It also shows Granny as a foil for Maggie's wit - someone whose complaints and self-pity allow Maggie's sharper intelligence to emerge.
Marking schemes for Scottish text questions
Three-mark questions
Three-mark questions typically follow a formula. You are expected to make three comments on three references, earning one mark for each appropriate comment supported by textual reference (). A more developed comment could attract two marks, but you must always include appropriate references.
Critical Rule for All Questions
References alone, without comment, earn no marks. You must always explain what the quotation shows, how it works, and why it matters.
Sample Three-Mark Response
If asked to explain what is revealed about Maggie's attitude to Granny, you could write:
"Ye're as much bother as anither wean" shows that Maggie sees Granny as a burden who does little to ease her workload (1 mark). The comparison to a child suggests that Granny is as dependent and needy as an infant (1 mark).
"Right enough, if a woman... drapped doon deid" reveals that Maggie feels more than overworked and overburdened (1 mark). The phrase "if a woman did everythin that ought tae be done aboot the hoose" indicates the extent of household demands, while "till she drapped doon deid" suggests that these demands could literally kill her (2 marks).
Ten-mark questions
The ten-mark question follows a specific formula: 2+2+6. This breaks down as follows:
Part A (2 marks): Identify the commonality of the extract. You must state the theme, characterisation, image, setting, or other feature referred to in the question, along with a general comment about how this feature appears in the text.
Part B (2 marks): Make at least one relevant reference from the extract, supporting the identified technique or idea. You should provide the reference and explain its effect or significance.
Part C (6 marks): Identify references from at least one other part of the text. You need three relevant references (3 marks) plus three supporting comments (3 marks), totalling 6 marks. Alternatively, you could gain the 6 marks from two relevant references with more developed supporting comment.
Remember that marks are awarded for the quality of analysis rather than the quantity of references. Two well-developed points with detailed analysis are better than three superficial observations.
Example ten-mark response structure
Complete Ten-Mark Response
Question: "Discuss the significance of the role of Granny's character. You should refer to this extract and in more detail to the play as a whole."
Part A - Commonality (2 marks):
The character of Granny is self-pitying, a trait that runs throughout the extract. She constantly complains about her vulnerable situation and the impact of getting older (1 mark). Her character gives an insight into the plight of the elderly at the time the play is set (1 mark).
Part B - Reference to extract (2 marks):
When asked to go to bed, Granny whines "The nicht's ower lang when ye're aul" (the night's too long when you're old). Her self-pity takes the form of complaining that because she is put to bed early, she feels lonely and sorry for herself (1 mark). Moreover, the extract reveals Granny's concerns about getting old and becoming a burden when she says "I'll no bother ony o ye. I'll awa tae the poorhoose and John can hae me boxed and buried frae there". The poorhouse was where many elderly people ended up because their pension was insufficient to afford anything else (1 mark).
Part C - References to elsewhere in the text (6 marks):
Using bullet points can help keep your answer focused and clear:
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Granny's dependence on the family is established in the extract when she says "But I ken the way it is, Maggie; I'm just an aul nuisance, takin up room". She feels sorry for herself and hopes that her self-pity will soften Maggie into saying that she is no problem and can stay. That same use of self-pity appears at the beginning of Act 2 when she says "I'm nae that dottled that I dinna ken I'm no wantit. I'm naethin but an aul nuisance tae Maggie and Lizzie". This time she gets the response she hopes for from Mrs Harris, who exclaims "Whit an idea! Yer no a nuisance at a! I'm shair they'll miss ye something terrible when ye go". The italicised "terrible" hints at the irony of Mrs Harris's remark.
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Her self-pity and worries about being abandoned to the "poorhouse" develop at the beginning of Act 2, where her feelings of being deserted are made clear by her remark "Eh dear! I'm deserted! Lizzie's forgot me!". The exclamation mark indicates the strength of her panic at being left. The word choices "deserted" and "forgot me" convey her worries of being abandoned, combined with feeling sorry for herself.
Working with prose texts
Understanding themes in novels
When studying a novel for the Scottish text section, you must be fully aware of its themes. For example, "The Cone Gatherers" by Robin Jenkins portrays several themes:
- The nature and importance of sacrifice
- The nature of evil
- The descent into evil
- The place of morality in a world torn apart by evil
- The role and significance of class conflict
- The nature and extent of human goodness
- Evil on a microcosmic scale
Active Thematic Study
Choose one theme and examine the ways the novel explores it. This exercise should be carried out with whichever Scottish text you are studying. Don't simply list where a theme appears - analyse how the writer develops and explores it through language, structure, and characterisation.
Analysing class conflict in "The Cone Gatherers"
The episode in Chapter 11 where the cone gatherers seek shelter in the beach hut during a thunderstorm portrays and develops class attitudes. The two brothers know the hut is out of bounds and that they have promised not to get into more trouble. However, Calum is soaked through and they need shelter. To save his brother, Neil decides to enter the hut.
Once inside, having lit a fire, they hear a key rattle in the lock. As the door is flung open, there is heard "the loudest peal of thunder since the start of the storm". The timing creates dramatic symbolic significance. Sheila, Roderick and Lady Runcie-Campbell enter. "The two men could not meet the anger in her face", such is her fury at their presence. Her entrance along with the thunder creates a significant and highly dramatic effect.
Examining internal conflict
The passage that follows reveals Neil's internal conflict:
"Neil did not know what to do or say. Every second of silent abjectness was a betrayal of himself, and especially of his brother who was innocent."
The word "betrayal" suggests Neil's guilt, while "abjectness" suggests that this guilt brings feelings of misery, hopelessness, and shameful self-loathing. Before arriving at the beach hut, Neil had argued that the worst Lady Runcie-Campbell could do was expel them from her woods, whereas their health could suffer badly from being soaked, or worse, they could die. He claimed "We'll do no harm. Nobody will ever ken we've been in it".
Faced with Lady Runcie-Campbell, however, Neil displays submissiveness:
"He could not lift his head; he tried, so that he could meet the lady's gaze at least once, no matter how scornful and contemptuous it was; but he could not. A lifetime of frightened submissiveness held it down."
Understanding Character Psychology
The phrase "a lifetime of frightened submissiveness" explains Neil's inability to stand his ground. Despite his beliefs about equality, he cannot overcome the conditioning of his social position. This makes him feel guilty - he despises the aristocracy but submits easily to them when confronted.
This internal conflict is central to understanding Neil's character and the novel's exploration of class dynamics.
Analysing language and word choice
When Lady Runcie-Campbell reacts to Calum's claim that Neil was protecting him from the cold and wet, she "recoiled from Calum, as if from something obnoxious". The verb "recoiled" suggests an almost instinctive reaction, a jerking back in horror at something disgusting. She sees Calum as something repulsive and objectionable, not only because of his appearance but because of his low social status.
She uses the imperative "Get out", then repeats and intensifies it with the expression "For God's sake". This phrase is not blasphemous but functions as a plea to God to help her enforce her command. The repetition of her threat "You'll hear more about this", along with her declaration that "this week will be their last", makes clear that she wants them expelled from the estate because they have been, in her opinion, insolent.
She later claims that she had "never heard such impertinence", accusing them of being disrespectful to her position. She then asserts that "After this war, the lower orders are going to be frightfully presumptuous".
The term "lower orders" reveals her snobbery and pomposity. The upper-class tone of "frightfully" intensifies her fear that these people will have ideas above their station. She knows her position and wants the lower orders to remain in theirs, believing that any change will upset the stability of the social structure.
Understanding setting and symbolism
Setting and characterisation can both be symbolic. Characters can be interesting in themselves, but they can also have universal appeal, representing aspects of society or humanity.
In "The Cone Gatherers", the beach hut functions as a microcosm of the world at large. It is the place where conflict between the upper classes and "the lower orders" becomes palpable. The scene is dramatised by "the loudest peal of thunder since the start of the storm". The thunder symbolises and foreshadows the peal of Lady Runcie-Campbell's anger - another kind of storm altogether.
The behaviour of Neil and Calum in this extract is symbolic. Their roles reverse when faced with Lady Runcie-Campbell. Neil displays submissiveness while Calum shows defiance. By saying that Granny will "sit it oot" (sit it out), Maggie suggests that Granny is passively disengaged from her existence.
Symbolic Opening of "The Cone Gatherers"
The setting is symbolic from the opening of the novel. The narrator tells us that the landowner's mansion was located "behind its private fence of silver firs". This fence symbolises the barrier between the aristocracy within and the lower classes beyond. The words "mansion" and "private fence" indicate wealth, seclusion and privilege.
When Neil "stretched out from its ragged sleeve" an arm "to pluck the sweet resinous cones", the words "ragged sleeve" indicate Neil's poverty. From a tall larch, Neil "gazed at the great house with a calm yet bitter intentness and anticipation". Not only are class differences established, but his attitude of bitterness and determination establishes class conflict.
Structuring a response on theme
When answering a ten-mark question on theme, you need to structure your response carefully.
Setting and symbolism:
The novel is set on a large estate with a sizeable forest. It is wartime and Lady Runcie-Campbell, as a measure of her sense of duty, is sacrificing her trees for wood for the war effort. Two main characters, Neil and Calum, the cone gatherers, are employed to collect cones to be planted to replace the forest after the war. The beach hut is symbolic as the microcosm of the world at large, the place where conflict between the upper classes and "the lower orders" is palpable.
Character and symbolism:
The working class is represented largely by Neil and Calum. Neil believes when thinking about the landowners that he and Calum are "human beings just like them". He resents the unjust inequality, based on the accident of birth, that exists between rich and poor.
Development elsewhere in the novel:
Class conflict is symbolised by the characters of Neil and Lady Runcie-Campbell, who represent either side of the class divide. The attitudes of the upper class are clarified by the baronet's letters from his posting in the war. He wanted to "be reassured about [Roderick's] manner of speaking to servants and the lower orders". Any form of friendliness to such people, he pointed out, was "downright dangerous".
Lady Runcie-Campbell believes that "the maintenance of society on a civilised basis depends on [the aristocracy]". She thinks that social cohesion is maintained by everyone knowing his or her place in the social order. She further believes that "they [the lower orders] are our inferiors, they would be the first to admit it themselves; it is self-evident".
Neil McPhie does not admit this and feels her equal. He assures Calum before entering the beach hut that someone had said on the wireless "that in wartime everybody's equal". His humanist view conflicts with her hierarchical view of the significance of the upper class. As her husband had claimed, "It was even beyond God's ingenuity to achieve an equality that would work".
General principles for analysing texts
The importance of analysis
It is not enough to claim what a scene does - you must analyse how it achieves its effects. This requires close examination of language.
The Three Essential Questions
When you identify a technique or effect, you must explain:
- What is happening in the text
- How the writer creates meaning through specific language choices
- Why this matters in terms of themes, character development, ideas or messages, and reader response
Failing to address all three aspects will limit your marks significantly.
Supporting points with quotations
Quotations must be accurate, taken directly from the original text, and integrated naturally into sentences. After providing a quotation, you must explain what it shows, how it works, and why it matters.
Effective vs Ineffective Quotation Use
Ineffective approach: Maggie is sarcastic when she says 'You'll just sit it oot like it was a second roon o the pictures'.
Effective approach: Maggie suggests that Granny will not die but will "just sit it oot like it was a second roon o the pictures". The image of sitting through a second showing at the cinema implies that Granny will not make her exit but will passively remain, watching life repeat itself. The phrase "sit it oot" suggests that Granny is disengaged from her existence, merely enduring rather than participating.
Using bullet points effectively
Bullet points can help structure the final section of a ten-mark answer, particularly when discussing references to elsewhere in the text. However, each bullet point must express a complete idea with both reference and analysis.
Bullet Point Structure
Each bullet point should contain:
- A clear reference to a specific part of the text
- A quotation that supports your point
- Analysis of how the language works
- Connection to the question or theme
Never use bullet points as a way to list quotations without analysis.
Well-Structured Bullet Point
- Granny's dependence on the family appears at the beginning of Act 2 when she says "I'm nae that dottled that I dinna ken I'm no wantit. I'm naethin but an aul nuisance tae Maggie and Lizzie". This time she gets the response she hopes for from Mrs Harris, who exclaims "Whit an idea! Yer no a nuisance at a! I'm shair they'll miss ye something terrible when ye go". The italicised "terrible" hints at the irony of Mrs Harris's remark.
Key Points to Remember
- The Scottish text section is worth 20 marks and requires detailed knowledge of your chosen text
- Study themes and techniques at a much more detailed level than for the critical essay
- Always note the number of marks available as this indicates how many points you need to make
- For three-mark questions, make three comments supported by three references ()
- For ten-mark questions, follow the 2+2+6 formula: commonality (2), extract reference (2), wider text references and analysis (6)
- Support every claim with textual evidence and explain what the quotation shows, how it works, and why it matters
- When analysing drama, pay attention to tone, characterisation, stage directions, and how characters interact
- When analysing prose, examine setting, symbolism, characterisation, and how themes develop throughout the text
- Quality of analysis is more important than quantity of references
- Never provide quotations without explaining their significance and effect