Interruptions in Early Modern English Drama

To interrupt both on stage and off is to wrest power. From the Ghost's appearance in <i>Hamlet</i> to Celia's frightful speech in <i>Volpone</i> 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.<br/> <br/>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.