Single inverted commas

Although it is usual to enclose a word under discussion in single inverted commas, I have chosen instead to emphasise it in red to prevent confusion with apostrophes.
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Sunday 16 September 2012

METADRAMA

The term metadrama is used when a play draws the attention of the audience to the fact it is a drama and a fiction. It occurs when the Chorus in Henry V refers to "this wooden O" or, more loosely, when Hamlet says: "The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king" meaning the Mouse-trap but reminding us that we are, at that moment, watching a play.
The device is sophisticated as it does counteract the "willing suspension of disbelief" normally required of an audience but it distances us for a while so that we may return in our emotions more intensely afterwards.
See more on this on Hamlet pages of: Classics of English Literature:essays by Barbara Daniels
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous20 December 2012 at 12:57

    Could the term 'metadrama' be used to refer to a novel? I am studying Northanger Abbey and Austen frequently draws the reader's attention to that fact that we are reading a novel. Could I say it is a novel-form of metadrama or just self referential/literarily aware?

    Many thanks

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    1. Barbara Daniels20 December 2012 at 22:56

      If you are analysing a novel it is best to use the term "metafiction." Well done on identifying examples. You could say "self-referentially aware" as a variant to show you understand the term "metafiction." Barbara

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