Курсовая работа: Theatre concept in the semantic space of W.S.Maugham’s Theatre
7) stable word combinations that are synonyms of the key word;
8) phraseological units that include the name of concept;
9) proverbs, aphorisms, etc.;
10) metaphorical nominations;
11) stable comparisons that include the key word;
12) free word combinations that include features for the characteristics of concept;
13) associative field as a result of the experiment on the word-stimulus that names concept;
14) subjective word definitions proposed for the interpretation of concept;
15) lexical interpretation of language units that objectificate concept;
16) articles of the encyclopedia or reference book (informational-explicative texts);
17) thematic texts that represent the content of concept;
18) sociopolitical texts and belles-lettres that represent the content of concept;
19) totality of the texts in case of need in explication or discussion of the content of complex, abstract or individual concepts) [15; 29].
It is necessary to notice that the proportion between the word and concept is the main theoretical problem of the cognitive linguistics.
Meaning is the unit of semantic area of language. So it is the element of the totality and system of meanings of the concrete language. Meaning includes a small quantity of semantic features that are famous in some social environment. These features are connected with the functioning of the sound cover. The semantics of the word provides the mutual comprehension in the process of communication.
The description of the units of the nominative field gives an ability to image the content of concept in the form in which it is reflected and fixed in the language. It also gives an ability to reconstruct and describe only a part of concept. This part includes the most relevant features. If the nominative field of concept is characterized by the larger volume and a greater quantity of units the results of the reconstruction and the description of the content and structure of concept are better.
The construction of the nominative field of concept is the definition and description of the totality of linguistic means that represent concept and its separate features. It is possible to determine only the direct nominations (key words and its synonyms). This method gives an ability to create the nucleus of the nominative field. Besides it is possible not to make such limitations and determine the nominative field in a whole. The key word is the lexical unit that is characterized by the nominative function concerning concept.
The nucleus of the nominative field is usually determined by the following ways:
1) with the assistance of the synonymic widening of the key word (it is necessary to use dictionaries in this case);
2) with the assistance of the analysis of the contexts that are characterized by the nomination of concept we are interested in.
After our research we can make conclusion that concept is a rather compound linguistic phenomenon.
1.2 The notion of theatre
We have considered the theoretical aspect of concept, let us found out what the THEATRE concept is.
Theatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self-contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion. By this broad definition, theatre has existed since the dawn of man, as a result of the human tendency for storytelling. Since its inception, theatre has come to take on many forms, utilizing speech, gesture, music, dance, and spectacle, combining the other performing arts, often as well as the visual arts, into a single artistic form. The word derives from the Ancient Greek theatre meaning “the seeing place”. [39]
The word “theatre” means a “place for seeing». The two most common types of theatre plays are comedy and tragedy, symbolized by the theatre masks. The first recorded theatrical event was a performance of the sacred plays of the myth of Osiris and Isis in 2500 BC in Egypt. This story of the god Osiris was performed annually at festivals throughout the civilization, marking the beginning of a long relationship between theatre and religion.
The ancient Greeks began formalizing theatre as an art, developing strict definitions of tragedy and comedy as well as other forms, including satyr plays. Like the religious plays of ancient Egypt, Greek plays made use of mythological characters. The Greeks also developed the concepts of dramatic criticism, acting as a career, and theatre architecture. In the modern world these works have been adapted and interpreted in thousands of different ways in order to serve the needs of the time. Examples are offered by Antigone, used in 1944 by Anouilh to make a statement about the Nazi occupation of France, and by Brecht in 1948, likening Creon to Hitler and Thebes to defeated Germany. [39]
Western theatre continued to develop under the Roman Empire, in medieval England, and continued to thrive, taking on many alternate forms in Spain, Italy, France, and Russia in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The general trend over the centuries was away from the poetic drama of the Greeks and the Renaissance and toward a more realistic style, especially following the Industrial Revolution. A uniquely North American theatre developed with the colonization of the new world.
The history of Eastern theatre is traced back to 1000 BC with the Sanskrit drama of ancient Indian theatre. Chinese theatre also dates back to around the same time. Japanese forms of Kabuki, Noh, and Kyogen date back to the 17th century AD. Other Eastern forms were developed throughout China, Korea, and Southeast Asia.
The most popular forms of theatre in the medieval Islamic world were puppet theatre (which included hand puppets, shadow plays and marionette productions) and live passion plays known as ta’ziya, where actors re-enact episodes from Muslim history.