ABSTRACT
The dramatist is clearly not restricted to presenting a time scale which is restricted by the actual performance time. Time shift is taken to refer to any departure from the linear chronology of the narrative. For narrative to be translated into dramatic plot, pupils will need to have a sense of dramatic form which will demand their being able to find a focus and might include experimenting with non-linear time. Another form of time shift in drama is to explore events which would in fact take place simultaneously. A life story is a useful focus for drama because it provides a ready-made linear structure and has clear thematic content, an exploration of how events from the state of affairs. A drama based on T. Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles started with a reading of the scene near the end of the novel in which the landlady notices blood dripping from the room.
