Figures of Dialogue
The first half of this chapter uses the simplified model of turn sequencing outlined in Chapter 1 to develop a more precise vocabulary with which to talk about dialogical form. It proposes three new terms to describe how sequences of turns are built: intervention, blanking, and apostrophe. The second half of the chapter tests this approach on a series examples culled from the work of other critics: Mick Short on Buckingham’s attempt to claim his reward from the newly crowned Richard (Richard III, 4.2); Lynne Magnusson on Desdemona’s insistence that she follow her husband to Cyprus (Othello, 1.3); and Stephen Orgel on the reassignment of the ‘Abhorred slave’ speech from Miranda to Prospero (Tempest, 1.2). In each case, the turn-taking approach yields fresh insights, enabling us to make distinctions at a greater level of detail than had previously been possible.