Abstract
Andriy Ivanchenko (Chukyo University)
 The script of Caryl Churchill’s short play Hot Fudge (similarly to several other plays by this author) contains detailed directions for overlapping conversation. At certain points in the play these may be contributing to a number of effects similar to those described for the naturally occurring “collaborative floor”, such as participants’ enthusiasm and mutual support. The importance of an “interactive” approach to constructed conversation is pointed out in the article, particularly that of analysing the overlapped speaker’s response to appreciate discursive significance of the overlapping turn. For instance, acknowledging and/or reusing the other’s overlapping formulations in a non-oppositional format can show the speaker’s understanding of those contributions as collaboratively oriented. Therefore, an “interactive” interpretation of overlapping dialogue in a dramatic text will affect the reader’s understanding of the interpersonal context (e.g. dominance-seeking / mutual support / collaboration between pairs of speakers). Particularly, an “interactive” approach is taken to show how certain kinds of overlapping similar to those described for the naturally occurring conversation can be used dramatically for supportive rather than conflictive ends. Overall, it is shown how the dramatic characters’ interpersonal orientations become inferable from their use of certain dialogic options.
Highlights
In the following, I shall discuss how certain discursive features in a play script contribute to constructing interactional contexts characterized by the characters’ dominance-seeking or by collaboration and enthusiasm – in Act 1 and 3 of Hot Fudge by Caryl Churchill
I hope to have shown how individual interpersonal orientations are inferable from the interactional strategies that include the use of overlapping speech
I hope to have shown how characters’ interactional and interpersonal orientations can be inferred from certain features of their interaction – from their treatment of overlaps. This point, which is related to interpreting the significance of discursive features for conflictive interaction in drama, can be especially relevant when one is aiming at substantiating a literary critical interpretation
Summary
I shall discuss how certain discursive features in a play script contribute to constructing interactional contexts characterized by the characters’ dominance-seeking or by collaboration and enthusiasm – in Act 1 and 3 of Hot Fudge by Caryl Churchill. The use of these patterns is relevant to constructing the interpersonal context of intimate relationships. Darren Gobert (2014: 110-112) has briefly discussed Hot Fudge along with Ice Cream, remarking how both seem to employ meanings that “distort social relations” While this scholar does refer to Churchill’s “intricately entwined dialogue” (Gobert 2014: 8), none of the others mentions the significance of overlapping conversation in that particular play. As for its ultimate strategic purpose (such as pretending solidarity/intimacy), the reader’s understanding will, to a great extent, depend on an emergent understanding of the characters and their relationships
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