A Semiotic Reading of Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis
Abstract
The present study aims at analyzing Sarah Kane’s 4.48 psychosis from a semiotic point of view. Sarah Kane is a significant English playwright whose play, 4.48 psychosis, constitutes a huge turn in her dramatic creation. Kane's psychosis is rich with signs that reflect the mental collapse and social isolation of the main character. The process of delivering a meaningful message involves the use of different items or 'codes' that correlate with each other. In the drama this 'code system' involves many aspects like language, body movement, costume, décor, and sound effects, but Psychosis neglects the traditional use of these items and relies only on the spoken word. Semiotic analysis, then, seeks to deconstruct the play to its essential parts and see how a play that dispenses with most dramatic aspects can be understood as a play and consequently be performed. Psychosis takes the spoken word to be the central element of its construction. However, the language of the play is very powerful, it provides alternative signs to the absence of scenic directions concerning character’s movement, stage appearance and inarticulate sounds. Thus, the analysis of the play aims at finding the different theatrical aspects within the language of the text and what type of message they are used to deliver.
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