interlude (redirected from entr'acte)

interlude, development in the late 15th cent. of the English medieval morality play. Played between the acts of a long play, the interlude, treating intellectual rather than moral topics, often contained elements of satire or farce. The form developed in Italy as the intermedio and intermezzo, in France as the entremet or intermede and as the entrée, which involved only dance. In Spain the entremés became an independent form as in the work of Cervantes.

Bibliography

See E. K. Chambers, The Medieval Stage (1903); V. F. Hopper and G. B. Lahey, ed., Medieval Mysteries, Moralities and Interludes (1962).

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interlude

1. Theatre a short dramatic piece played separately or as part of a longer entertainment, common in 16th-century England

2. a brief piece of music, dance, etc., given between the sections of another performance