Keywords: THESIS3

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# Frequency of interruption and speech length

The frequency of interruption is roughly equivalent to the frequency of semantic change in direction. In comedy, this tends to be higher than in tragedy. The average frequency of interruption is an important stylistic parameter and so is the variation within this frequency. A high frequency of interruption exhibits a clear tendency to a close relationship between the dialogue partners, as we will see in the analysis of Kiss Me in the next chapter. That is: the higher the frequency, the more marked is the dialogical and actional quality of the verbal interchange. This his also the effect of increasing the tempo.

Dialogues with longer speeches introduce monological elements with a high level of self-reflection, a greater degree of abstraction from the dramatic situation and a slower tempo. This difference becomes particularly clear whenever the frequency of interruption shows considerable variation.

A good example of how the change in this frequency can help to depict the relationship between two dramatic figures is Pretty Women from Act II. The Judge and Todd are at first quite distant, because of the social class-distance but as they discover a ''fellow taste in women'' they grow closer, and so, the frequency of interruption increases until they sing together. Seen in this light, a duet is probably one of the most intimate forms in musical theater.

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