ABSTRACT
The beginning of the play within a play in The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard is frequently quoted as a satire on badly handled exposition because the information is conveyed so crudely. Exposition is central to the whole dramatic structure. Pupils who are more skilled in drama can incorporate more sophisticated expository techniques into their work. Exposition needs to be seen as part of the content and meaning of the work. Exposition is sometimes simply the process of conveying background information to the audience, but, as the first scene of Hedda Gabler illustrates, it can be used more subtly as a process of establishing dramatic themes and tensions. The technique of exposition is as much about withholding as it is about disclosing information. In those cases the process of exposition is more obviously relevant. At a superficial level, exposition is simply a process of deciding how information should be given to the audience.
