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Literary notes about interlude (AI summary)

The term "interlude" appears in literature with a range of functions—from a brief pause in the narrative to a formal structural division. For instance, James Joyce in Dubliners employs it to evoke a transient moment of sensory pleasure, as when whisky falls softly into glasses ([1]). In theatrical works by Molière, the interlude is marked with precision, often denoted by numbered entries that punctuate the main action, such as the “FIRST INTERLUDE” and “SECOND INTERLUDE” ([2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]). E. M. Forster’s Howards End uses it as a narrative bridge that both interrupts and enhances the unfolding story, as seen in the events of elephants dancing and the closing of an interlude ([8], [9]). Authors like Conrad and Hawthorne employ the term to signal a fleeting, sometimes symbolic, diversion from the central narrative, hinting at deeper emotional undercurrents ([10], [11]). In the works of Kate Chopin and F. Scott Fitzgerald, the interlude carries connotations of both musicality and irony, offering a gentle melodic pause or a dampened symbolic moment within the larger tapestry of life ([12], [13], [14], [15]). Finally, in both dramatic and narrative contexts, writers such as Ben Jonson and Dickens use interludes to introduce light-hearted or comic acts, effectively enriching the dramatic structure of their works ([16], [17], [18]).
  1. The light music of whisky falling into glasses made an agreeable interlude.
    — from Dubliners by James Joyce
  2. SECOND INTERLUDE.
    — from The Imaginary Invalid by Molière
  3. (The four Apprentice Tailors celebrate with a dance, which comprises the Second Interlude.)
    — from The Middle-Class Gentleman by Molière
  4. FIRST INTERLUDE.
    — from The Imaginary Invalid by Molière
  5. The players have made a doctor's admission the subject of an interlude, with dances and music.
    — from The Imaginary Invalid by Molière
  6. THIRD INTERLUDE.
    — from The Imaginary Invalid by Molière
  7. (The Turkish ceremony for ennobling Monsieur Jourdain is performed in dance and music, and comprises the Fourth Interlude.)
    — from The Middle-Class Gentleman by Molière
  8. After the interlude of elephants dancing, they returned and made the observation for the second time.
    — from Howards End by E. M. Forster
  9. The interlude closes.
    — from Howards End by E. M. Forster
  10. He would look on the affair as no more than an interlude in the main business of his life.
    — from Twice-told tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  11. Then he came out, bringing out from that festive interlude the face of a man who had drunk at the very Fountain of Sorrow.
    — from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad
  12. Narcissus Off Duty INTERLUDE BOOK TWO—The Education of a Personage CHAPTER 1.
    — from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  13. Gradually and imperceptibly the interlude melted into the soft opening minor chords of the Chopin Impromptu.
    — from The Awakening, and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin
  14. Mademoiselle played a soft interlude.
    — from The Awakening, and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin
  15. A DAMP SYMBOLIC INTERLUDE
    — from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  16. ‘Oh!’ said the manager, ‘the little ballet interlude.
    — from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
  17. JIG, merry ballad or tune; a fanciful dialogue or light comic act introduced at the end or during an interlude of a play.
    — from The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
  18. JIG, merry ballad or tune; a fanciful dialogue or light comic act introduced at the end or during an interlude of a play.
    — from Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson

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