This paper aims to examine the stylistic features in the thought asides
in Eugene O’Neill’s Strange Interlude (1928) by means of lexical and syntactic
information obtained from the corpus of the play. No other play created
during the playwright’s experimental years (1920–1934) achieved greater
popular success than Strange Interlude, in spite of the potential risks
of leaving a discursive impression on the characters’ speeches, and of
the nearly six-hour performance length overwhelming both actors and audience.
Although a number of studies have been put forward on the use of thought
asides, it cannot be said that this subject has been fully researched because
there has been no corpus stylistic analysis of the thought asides in the
play. Thus it is worthwhile to conduct such an analysis using lexical and
syntactic information gained from the corpus. In order to explore these
issues, this paper deals with the following four points: in Section 1,
giving a brief overview concerning the corpus data of Strange Interlude;
in Section 2, conducting a lexical analysis of Charles Marsden’s thought
asides so as to examine his thought presentation, as such an analysis and
examination can indicate any connection between features in his vocabulary
and his characterization; in Section 3, dealing with the frequency of the
suggestive phrase “got to” in Mrs. Evans’s thought asides as a form of
reflection of her anxiety and sense of duty; and finally, in Section 4,
examining one of the most characteristic differences in style between two
types of thought asides—one developing a character’s thoughts in an objective
manner, and the other revealing their emotional feelings. Through investigation
via corpus stylistic analyses, this paper attempts to shed light on the
various stylistic features in the thought asides in Strange Interlude.
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