Interruptions in Early Modern English Drama

ISBN-13: 9781350238312 / Angielski / Twarda / 2022 / 296 str.

Michael M. Wagoner;Professor Lisa Hopkins;Professor Douglas Bruster

Opis

To interrupt, both on stage and off, is to wrest power. From the Ghost’s appearance in Hamlet to Celia’s frightful speech in Volpone, interruptions are an overlooked linguistic and dramatic form that delineates the balance of power within a scene. This book analyses interruptions as a specific form in dramatic literature, arguing that these everyday occurrences, when transformed into aesthetic phenomena, reveal illuminating connections: between characters, between actor and audience, and between text and reader. Focusing on the works of William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and John Fletcher, Michael M. Wagoner examines interruptions that occur through the use of punctuation and stage directions, as well as through larger forms, such as conventions and dramaturgy. He demonstrates how studying interruptions may indicate aspects of authorial style – emphasizing a playwright’s use and control of a text – and how exploring relative power dynamics pushes readers and audiences to reconsider key plays and characters, providing new considerations of the relationships between Othello and Iago, or Macbeth and the Ghost of Banquo.

Spis treści

LIST OF FIGURES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Introduction Section One: Microinterruptions Chapter One: Dialogue Chapter Two: Self Chapter Three: Action Section Two: Macrointerruptions Chapter Four: Dramaturgy Chapter Five: Convention Continuation Bibliography Notes INDEX