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Prepare for the GCSE English Literature exam by playing this quiz.

DNA - Language

Explore how Dennis Kelly’s DNA uses slang, pauses, and repetition to reveal pressure, guilt, and power in the group. Sharpen your analysis of language and dialogue.

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Fascinating Fact:

Slang and informal diction help build authenticity while exposing how ordinary language can disguise serious wrongdoing.

In GCSE English Literature, you are expected to analyse how language in DNA shapes character and theme. Looking closely at slang, repetition, and unfinished sentences helps you explain tension, guilt, and control.

Key Terms

Slang: Very informal words and expressions, often used by a particular group of people.
Diction: A writer’s choice of words, which can sound formal, informal, simple, or complex.
Register: The level of formality in language, such as chatty, conversational, or highly formal.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How does DNA use slang and informal language?

In DNA, slang and casual speech make the teenagers sound realistic and close-knit. At the same time, this everyday language often hides how serious and violent their actions truly are.

How do I write about language and structure in DNA for GCSE?

Choose a short quotation, identify a language feature such as slang or repetition, and then explain its effect. Link your comments to big ideas like guilt, loyalty, or responsibility.

Why is repetition important in the dialogue in DNA?

Repetition in the dialogue can show panic, shock, or characters trying to convince themselves. It also highlights key ideas by making certain words or phrases stand out for the audience.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

JOHN TATE: So if me and Richard are mates now, which we are and all that silliness is over, which it is, and you're on someone's side, Danny, then you're on your own side, which is very, well, to be honest, very silly and dangerous.

Which of the following words describes John Tate's tone?

Humble

Persuasive

Intimidating

Sad

John Tate is trying to intimidate Danny into placing group loyalty (and personal loyalty to John Tate as the group's leader) above any other consideration

2 .

LEAH: And I mean, there's been a service, there's been appeals, there's been weeping...They're naming the science lab after him, for God's sake.
ADAM: I'm...dead?

Which one of the following is correct?

Leah is talking about Adam to the others

Leah is explaining the group's quandary to Adam

Leah is talking to herself

Adam has a clear understanding of everything taking place

Leah's use of pronouns demonstrates that she is talking to the group about Adam, rather than talking to him. She uses the third person pronoun, "him", showing that she is discussing the problem with the group, almost as if Adam is not present and has no say in what happens next

3 .

DANNY: They're looking for Brian.
LEAH: Why?
DANNY: Because he can identify him.
LEAH: No he can't.
LOU: Because he saw him in the woods.
LEAH: He didn't
LOU: He did

In this conversation about the arrested man, what does Lou's dialogue tell the audience?

Lou is deliberately trying to confuse Leah

Lou does not distinguish between fact and fiction at this point

Lou is frightened of the consequences

Lou is concerned for the innocent man who has been arrested

Lou discusses Brian identifying the suspect as though the invented story reported to the headteacher and the police is actually true

4 .

PHIL: This is a bad situation. We didn't want this situation. But we've got this situation. It wasn't supposed to be like this. But it is like this.

What technique does Dennis Kelly use here in Phil's dialogue?

Onomatopoeia

Metaphor

Rhyme

Repetition

Phil uses repetition to imply that no one in the group has any choice over what happens next. He implies that if they accept the terrible situation they are actually in, rather than wishing for something impossible, they will understand exactly what needs to be done

5 .

JAN: I mean he was still joking all the way, but
MARK: you could tell
JAN: He weren't really
MARK: fear

Which of the following is correct?

Mark and Jan are arguing

Mark and Jan contradict one another

Mark and Jan don't make any sense

Between them, Mark and Jan tell the truth

Mark and Jan, who form the chorus in the first scene of each act, here complete each other's thoughts in order to express the truth: Adam was terrified and they knew it, even though he was laughing

6 .

ADAM: I fell, I falled into, I fell onto this...
wake, woke, wake up, I woke up with liquid on my head, leaves, dead and rotting, I remember leaves, but just dark maybe a light high, high, high, high, high....above

Adam finds it difficult to explain his experience to the rest of the group. With what is "waking" associated?

Light

Falling

Rotting

Darkness

Adam's words contrast falling, darkness and rotting with the experience of "waking". "Waking" is difficult since the light is high and far away and Adam is surrounded by death and darkness, almost as if he had awakened in his own tomb

7 .

LEAH: Okay. Now things are strange. Things are really, really strange, Phil. I mean with the greatest of respect, Adam, you are supposed to be dead.

Which of the following describes the effect of the phrase "with the greatest of respect" here?

Its formality emphasises the very oddness of the situation Leah describes

Leah doesn't really respect anyone

The phrase sounds childish and unlike Leah's usual way of speaking

The phrase has no effect on the meaning of the line

"With the greatest of respect" seems both formal and somehow rather adult. The phrase draws attention to the unprecedented situation in which Leah and Adam find themselves

8 .

A Field. RICHARD sits with PHIL.
PHIL is not eating. He stares into the distance.
Silence.
Suddenly RICHARD gets up.

Which of these stage directions is surprising?

RICHARD sits with PHIL

PHIL is not eating

Silence

Suddenly RICHARD gets up

This stage direction is unusual because it states what Phil is NOT doing. In the scenes set in the field he is always eating. Not eating shows the audience that something has changed for Phil

9 .

LEAH: Did you see Jan at Adam's memorial? Floods of tears. It was wonderful, everyone felt wonderful, I felt terrible of course, but everyone felt wonderful. It's incredible. The change. This place. You're a miracle worker. Everyone's happy. You know that?

What does Leah contrast here?

Her feelings and Phil's feelings

Phil's feelings and everyone else's feelings

Her feelings and everyone else's feelings

Her terrible nature and Phil's kind nature

Leah marvels at the atmosphere created when a community comes together to mourn someone. As one of those complicit in Adam's "murder", she cannot share in the community spirit

10 .

LEAH: A chimp'll just find itself on the outside of a group and before he knows what's happening it's being hounded to death by the others, sometimes for months. For years we've thought that chimps were our closest living relative, but now they're saying its the bonobos. Bonobos are the complete opposite of chimps. When a stranger bonobo approaches the pack, the other bonobos all come out and go "Hello, mate. What you doing round here? Come and meet the family, we can eat some ants."

Which of the following phrases sheds some light on the title of the play?

"A chimp'll just find itself on the outside of a group"

"Before he knows what's happening it's being hounded to death by the others"

"For years we've thought that chimps were our closest living relative, but now they're saying it's the bonobos"

"Come and meet the family, we can eat some ants"

Leah believes that humanity would have a different view of itself if it considered its genetic closeness to the gentle bonobo, rather than seeing itself reflected in the violence of chimpanzees

Author: Sheri Smith (PhD English Literature, English Teacher & Quiz Writer)