A narratology of drama : dramatic storytelling in theory, history, and culture from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century /

This volume argues against Gérard Genette's theory that there is an insurmountable opposition between drama and narrative and shows that the two forms of storytelling have been productively intertwined throughout literary history. Building on the idea that plays often incorporate elements from...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Schwanecke, Christine
Published: De Gruyter,
Publisher Address: Berlin :
Publication Dates: [2022]
Literature type: Book
Language: English
Series: Narratologia, volume 80
Subjects:
Summary: This volume argues against Gérard Genette's theory that there is an insurmountable opposition between drama and narrative and shows that the two forms of storytelling have been productively intertwined throughout literary history. Building on the idea that plays often incorporate elements from other genres, especially narrative ones, the present study theorises drama as a fundamentally narrative genre. Guided by the question of how drama tells stories, the first part of the study delineates the general characteristics of dramatic narration and zooms in on the use of narrative forms in drama. The second part proposes a history of dramatic storytelling from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century that transcends conventional genre boundaries. Close readings of exemplary British plays provide an overview of the dominant narrative modes in each period and point to their impact in the broader cultural and historical context of the plays. Finally, the volume argues that throughout history, highly narrative plays have had a performative power that reached well beyond the stage: dramatic storytelling not only reflects socio-political realities, but also largely shapes them.
Carrier Form: xvi, 419 pages ; 24 cm.
Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (pages [379]-413) and index.
ISBN: 9783110721379
3110721376
Index Number: PN1655
CLC: J809
Call Number: J809/S398