Topic 11 - Conversational structure and character (Session A)

What will we learn in this topic?

This is the first of the three topics in this course devoted to the stylistic analysis of dramatic texts. So we will begin by thinking about the nature of drama and dramatic texts and look in general terms at what is needed in terms of stylistic analysis to analyse dramatic texts well. Then we will move on to look at the specific analytical area we are going to explore in this first topic, namely the turn-taking structure of conversations, how turn-taking reveals things about the relations among the participants (in particular power relations) and how this kind of conversational analysis helps us to understand character relations in plays.

Printer friendly version of notes for Topic 11

Home ¦ Outline ¦ Contents ¦ Glossary