A Pragmatic Study of Dialogue in some of Arnold Wesker's Plays

Abstract

This thesis applies some linguistic models and theories to dramatic texts, particularly to the plays of Wesker. A pragmatic analysis is employed to uphold particular interpretations of the verbal strategies of characters in the drama. The researcher proposes how to interpret and react to a text based on the linguistic signals that lead to pragmatic inferences. An eclectic framework that comprises theories and techniques borrowed from pragmatics, discourse analysis, conversational analysis, text analysis, and socio-linguistics is developed. These theories are integrated to account for the textual and contextual dimensions of the character's linguistic strategies.