A Study of Sarah Kane’s New Subjectivity through Deleuze’s Chromaticism: Focusing on Language in Crave and 4.48 Psychosis (들뢰즈의 반음계주의를 통한 사라 케인의 새로운 주체성 연구: Crave와 4.48 Psychosis에 나타난 언어를 중심으로)

Bo Ram Choi (최보람)

A Study of Sarah Kane’s New Subjectivity through Deleuze’s Chromaticism: Focusing on Language in Crave and 4.48 Psychosis

Journal of Modern English Drama
Abbr : JMBARD
2023, 36(2), pp.91-119
Publisher : 한국현대영미드라마학회
Research Area : Humanities > English Language and Literature > English Literature > Contemporary English Drama
Received : July 13, 2023
Accepted : August 7, 2023
Published : August 31, 2023

Bo Ram Choi ¹

¹한국예술종합학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This article examines Sarah Kane’s experimental use of language as a means of exploring the human subjectivity and identity within the context of Gilles Deleuze’s linguistic theory. In Crave and 4.48 Psychosis, Kane describes the unstable human consciousness through a deconstructed and fragmented form of language, a reflection of characters’ past experiences of violence and trauma. Both plays challenge the conventional interpretations of character by embracing a linguistic structure that diverges from the traditional form based on rational logic. Rather than fixating on the meanings of each word and sentence, Kane explores the rhythm and fluidity of language itself, presenting the potential for novel aesthetics inherent to language. To understand the significance and essence of Kane’s linguistic expression, an examination of Deleuze’s notion of Chromaticism provides valuable insight. Deleuze’s theory underscores the continuous variation of linguistic and phonetic elements within language, indicating its deviation from structured and rigid power dynamics, including predetermined expressions and grammatical rules. Similarly, Kane’s language is succinct, metaphorical, and refined to eliminate unnecessary or discarded elements, diverging from functional communication-focused structure of existing language systems. By investigating the relation between Kane’s language and Deleuze’s theory, this article argues that Kane develops her unique mode of linguistic expression, which simultaneously serves as a creative and innovative approach to probing and comprehending the intricate dimensions of human subjectivity and identity.

KEYWORDS

Sarah Kane, Gilles Deleuze, Crave, 4.48 Psychosis, Chromaticism

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

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This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.

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