INDIRECT REPRESENTATION OF THOUGHTS IN HISTORICAL DRAMA

Abstract

The article looks into one of the modes of speech and thought presentation, particularly free indirect thought representation. Reflection, as one of the pragmatic structure elements of William Shakespeare’s plays, performs the same function as episodes of indirect thought representation in prose. The research studies reflection episodes in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. It is asserted that according to the author’s pragmatic purpose, the presentation of reflections creates a two-dimensional perception of the plot for the audience – from their own point of view and from the point of view of the characters revealing their inner thoughts and emotional state to them. From the point of view of pragmatics, the content of the characters’ reflections is relevant to the extent that it reveals the conditions for the sincerity of verbal and non-verbal acts of the characters on the stage.

Keywords

• косвенная репрезентация мыслей
• рефлексии
• прагматическая релевантность
• шекспир
• free indirect thought representation
• reflection
• pragmatic relevance
• shakespeare