Interludes

Abstract

The Oxford English Dictionary defines an interlude as “a dramatic or mimic representation, usually of a light or humorous character, such as was commonly introduced between the acts of the long mystery‐plays or moralities, or exhibited as part of an elaborate entertainment.” The word is also now applied as a more generic term for the earliest form of modern drama, or non‐cycle plays which preceded the establishment of the commercial theater in London in the late sixteenth century.