Twentieth-Century Drama Dialogue as Ordinary Talk : Speaking Between the Lines

Seeks to reconcile the work of linguists and literary critics, bringing the work of both to bear in an interdisciplinary study of dramatic dialogue. This work includes an account of the often-heated debates between linguists and drama critics concerning the analysis of drama dialogue as talk.

In this book, Susan Mandala offers a series of in-depth investigations into how the dialogue of four modern plays ''works'' with respect to the pragmatic and discoursal norms postulated for ordinary conversation. After an account of the often-heated debates between linguists and critics concerning the analysis of drama dialogue as talk, four plays are considered: Harold Pinter''s The Homecoming, Arnold Wesker''s Roots, Terence Rattigan''s In Praise of Love, and Alan Ayckbourn''s Just Between Ourselves. For readers unfamiliar with linguistic approaches to talk, a chapter outlining the major frameworks used in the analysis of the plays is also included. By considering both linguistic and literary perspectives, this book extends the boundaries of traditional criticism and shows how the linguistic study of conversation can contribute to our understanding of dramatic dialogue.