Question
Asked 6 October 2021

How can I determine the social class of fictional characters in a selection of 21st century British plays?

I am analysing characters and characterisation in 21st century British drama and would like to know if there is a method I can use to categorise characters according to their social class. Should I take into account the way they speak (bear in mind that this is a written-text based study)? Should I consider their job? And what if their job is not specified? Does the way they speak necessarily determine their social class? Thank you very much!

All Answers (1)

Iván Villanueva Jordán
Peruvian University of Applied Sciences
Hi, Davide, I would recommend reading Jens Eder's work. There are some outlines of his work translated into English. I think his proposal is comprehensive, since he considers four dimensions to analyzing a character. Depending on your research objectives, all four dimensions may be relevant. I think what you mention falls into the "fictional being". I usually work analyzing characters based on their actions and on characters as functions (Barthes' model), I also use content and thematic analysis to understand the deep structure of the TV Series (in this case, I would recommend reading Challenging Heterosexism by Dana Frei, her her methods are clearly explained and demonstrates how content and thematic analysis are relevant to explore discursive and ideological themes). In case you are also interested in the materiality of the body and as the body of the actors as signs/signifiers, I think Richard Dyer's Stars is also an excellent book.
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