Interruptions in Early Modern English Drama: (Arden Studies in Early Modern Drama)

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.

Table of Contents:
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

About the Author :
Michael M. Wagoner is Assistant Professor of English at the United States Naval Academy, USA.

Review :
With its wide-ranging scope, its insightful close readings and its persuasive argument, Michael M. Wagoner’s Interruptions in Early Modern English Drama will be a useful addition to the libraries of all students of early modern drama, especially those invested in the workings of conventions and structural issues, and those interested in the editing of early modern plays, as well as experts of Shakespeare, Jonson and, especially, Fletcher. Makes a compelling case for treating interruptions as a distinct textual form … [The] structure enhances the book’s general reader-friendliness, making it easy to consult for explanations or examples of a specific type of interruption. A well-researched and engaging investigation of the significant meaning of interruptions as a feature of dramatic texts in early modern drama … [Wagoner’s] persuasive and attentive study paves the way for further explorations in the early modern canon of the wide range of interruptions here so competently discussed.