Dialogue and Narrative

Abstract

“The greatest heights in drama are always between two playres” (Laurence Olivier)―or between a player and chorus. One of the best dialogic plays, Racine's Phèdre has 30 scenes, of which most are of dialogues between a hero (heroine) and his (her) confident (e). V. iv of the play, however, contains a long narrative (le récit de Thèramène, 73 lines). The Japanese theatres (Noh, Kanuki, Bunraku) have the tradition of “katari” (narrative, or recitation) with some kinds of music and dancing. Compared with French classical plays and modern realistic plays, the romantic plays, Shakespeare and Kabuki have a quality of “katari.” “Katari” is something more than a mere narration; it is very persuasive, or “performative” (in the sense of J. L. Austin). Shakespeare's soliloquy is typical of “katari.” The difference between the Shakespearean soliloquy and the modern monologue cannot be stressed too much. (Compare the former with the “monologue” in O'Neill's Strange Interlude.)