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noumenal · 05.03.2007, 10:00 AM

I'm reading this book, A Frolic of His Own by Gaddis, and it has a play within the novel, written by one of the characters. It also has opinions written by judges and other things. I was thinking how much I liked the device. Like in Hamlet and other Shakespeare. I also immediately think of Pale Fire by Nabokov.

There's a rather terrible Wikiopedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_within_a_story). It claims that there are examples in music. This is what I'm trying to think of. I suppose it has to be dramatic music. I can think of some not very good examples: Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale or the bar room pianist in Wozzeck. There has to be a good example in musical theatre or even in a rock opera or whatever. I guess that maybe something like A Little Help From My Friends might work too. I know it freed the Beatles to imagine performing as if they were a different band. Any other ideas?

What I really like is when the "play within the play" is in a recognizably different style from the rest. You know, right?

05.03.2007, 10:00 AM	#1
noumenal expwy. to yr skull Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,855	I'm reading this book, A Frolic of His Own by Gaddis, and it has a play within the novel, written by one of the characters. It also has opinions written by judges and other things. I was thinking how much I liked the device. Like in Hamlet and other Shakespeare. I also immediately think of Pale Fire by Nabokov. There's a rather terrible Wikiopedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_within_a_story). It claims that there are examples in music. This is what I'm trying to think of. I suppose it has to be dramatic music. I can think of some not very good examples: Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale or the bar room pianist in Wozzeck. There has to be a good example in musical theatre or even in a rock opera or whatever. I guess that maybe something like A Little Help From My Friends might work too. I know it freed the Beatles to imagine performing as if they were a different band. Any other ideas? What I really like is when the "play within the play" is in a recognizably different style from the rest. You know, right?
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