Varför tiger du? Expositionen i sju enaktare av August Strindberg

Sammanfattning: This is a study of how expository information is presented in the metatext (title, subtitle, prefaces, dedications, the dramatis personae, announcements of act and scene, stage directions etc.) and the dialogue in seven one-act plays by August Strindberg: The Stronger (1889), Pariah (1889), Simoom (1889), Debit and Credit (1892), The First Warning (1892), Facing Death (1892), and Motherly Love (1892). Exposition in this study is defined as a semiotic temporal-structural element that: (1) is not restricted to any specific part of the drama; (2) is present in both the metatext and the dialogue; (3) transfers information about the prescenic time/action (time/action preceding the scenic time/action), interscenic time/action (scenic and non-scenic time/action between scenes), simultaneous scenic time/action (non-scenic time/action that takes place simultaneously with the scenic time/action, and postscenic time/action (time/action that follows the scenic time/action).The study shows that the expository information is presented gradually in the dramas, in both metatext and dialogue, and in all the four categories of time/action presented above. One important result is that the seven one-act plays, despite their naturalistic qualities, also contain components pointing towards Strindberg’s more expressionistic drama. It is possible to talk about a naturalistic or an expressionistic period in Strindberg’s authorship. It is, however, impossible to regard Strindberg as a naturalist or an expressionist in a stricter sense. Strindberg’s drama is too complex and rich to be placed in a certain theoretic doctrine.It is clear from the dissertation that the study of expository information is useful in dramaturgic analyses, and generates various discussions about for example themes, motives, and metaphors. A complete analysis of the exposition, therefore, must also consider elements such as language and imagery.