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]).
- The light music of whisky falling into glasses made an agreeable interlude.
— from Dubliners by James Joyce - SECOND INTERLUDE.
— from The Imaginary Invalid by Molière - (The four Apprentice Tailors celebrate with a dance, which comprises the Second Interlude.)
— from The Middle-Class Gentleman by Molière - FIRST INTERLUDE.
— from The Imaginary Invalid by Molière - The players have made a doctor's admission the subject of an interlude, with dances and music.
— from The Imaginary Invalid by Molière - THIRD INTERLUDE.
— from The Imaginary Invalid by Molière - (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 - After the interlude of elephants dancing, they returned and made the observation for the second time.
— from Howards End by E. M. Forster - The interlude closes.
— from Howards End by E. M. Forster - 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 - 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 - Narcissus Off Duty INTERLUDE BOOK TWO—The Education of a Personage CHAPTER 1.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - 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 - Mademoiselle played a soft interlude.
— from The Awakening, and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin - A DAMP SYMBOLIC INTERLUDE
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - ‘Oh!’ said the manager, ‘the little ballet interlude.
— from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens - 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 - 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