Retarding moment
The retarding moment ( French : retarder "to delay") describes a scene in the course of a drama which, after the climax and turning point, delays the end of the dramatic action by briefly making another outcome possible or probable than expected. As a result, the tension increases again before the inevitable end.
In tragedy , the retarding moment describes an event which leads to the false hope of the (still conceivable) rescue of the hero being received.
In comedy , the retarding moment describes an event that delays the happy ending that is apparently within reach.
In the classic five-act act , the retarding moment is assigned to the fourth act . Its mirror image counterpart is the exciting moment at the beginning of the drama.
The term retardation or the retarding moment is also used as a literary scientific term in narrative theory and narrative analysis. The retarding moment describes a narrative strategy in narrative texts to generate or increase tension by delaying the progress of the action expected by the reader. The retardation can be triggered by various techniques at all levels of the narrative, for example by digressions, backward steps or flashbacks . A reduction in the narrative speed and slowing down of the narrated time, for example through a detailed description of certain details or processes, can also be used to shift the arc of tension in a narrative.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Martin Huber, Elizabeth Böhm: Drama - forms of drama and structural units - exposition, increase, climax / turning point, retarian moment, catastrophe . On: Literary terms online [1] . See also retarding moment . On: Wortwuchs.net . Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- ↑ See retarding moment . On: Wortwuchs.net . Retrieved May 11, 2015.
- ↑ Cf. Eberhard Lämmert : Structures of narration. Metzler, 8th unaltered edition 1991, ISBN 3-476-00097-4 , p. 90 and p. 47, 54f., 64, 124 and 138.