Investigating the Semiotics of Place in the Theater of the Ù?Sacred Defense War

Introduction:

Theater is a system of sign. A collection of different signs based on the 13 categories of “Tadoj Cosan’s”? categorization each of which has a very important and effective role in the production of meaning. Among these signs, the terms or in other words the written text of the dramatic event – the only thing that remains as reminiscence in a written form – is a basic element in the ideas of many of the scholars.
Even though, the study and investigation of the semiotics of the signs seems to be more attractive in performance domain due to the more completed form of any theatrical form. But the special study of the written text and discussion over the system of signs of the words and terms is of great importance because this part of the sign systems has got the highest and the most important role in the production of meaning.
Any text of the dramatic event has got in them many elements that create meaning which are in turn related with a system of signs that is directly related to a sign system. Some others are by inference and intimation in the service of the other sign systems.
In addition to this, sometimes the words themselves create an extra – system of signs that has an important role in the creation of meaning. One of the extra – systems of signs is “ place ”? . . . . . . “ Place ”? is one of the important contexts in which the play is created and its study in the domain of performance is extensive as well as complicated and at the same time attractive. But in the domain of writing it’s study can take place from another point of view and this is of special importance and value in the production of meaning for the reader.
In this article the writer, in addition to presenting a brief and useful definition of the semiotics, tries to divide the place of the play from the point of view of the semiotics and thereafter he aims to explain and interpret each of them and subject them to careful studies in some plays of the Ù?Sacred defense war plays.
The important and the noticeable point is that this investigation deals with the plays of the two active playwrights in this area (Saied Hussein Fadaei Hussein and Ali Reza Hanifi) due to lack of sources as well as lack of access to all the plays published on the Ù?Sacred defense war and more importantly because of the unity and coherence of the article and avoidance from discordance. The reason why I have chosen these two writers is just because I had access to their works and not because of prioritizing them over the other figures of this arena.
Semiotics:
“Semiotics”? was for the first time, in the beginning of the 20 th C., came to the fore by the famous scholar and linguist, Ferdinand de Saussure, and the American Philosopher, Charles Sanders Pears. Semiotics, although has experienced many different kinds of changes and alterations in it short period of life, has entered most of the disciplines and a great deal of research has been done on it.
Semiotics is regarded as the science of “studying the ways meaning is produced in society”?. In an art such as theater in which a collection of different systems come together in the process of the production of meaning it is possible to study the role and the effects of these systems and of course different other extra – systems in this process.

With regard to the capability and the detailed study of different systems of theater in this science, semiotic investigation is one of the most important approaches to understanding drama. There is no doubt that for achieving the meaning we have to investigate and study different sign systems.
This article is trying to study some of the plays of the Ù?Sacred defense war on the basis of semiotic study of place.

Categorizing the Location and Place signs in the world of drama:
In order for the applied investigation of elements creating meaning in the world of drama it is better to divide these groups and systems of signs in to smaller groups for the meticulous and careful studies and then investigate them one after the other. Therefore before the beginning of the body of this article, the place signs existing in the world of drama in to the following categories:
1 . The direct place signs in the Cast of the scenes
2 . The indirect place signs in the Cast of the scenes
3 . The implied place signs in the Cast of the scenes
4 . The elements of place signs in the Cast of the scenes
5 . The direct place signs in the conversations of the play
6 . The indirect place signs in the conversations of the play
7 . The implied place signs in the conversations of the play
8 . The elements of place signs in the conversations of the play

Therefore with regard to the above categorizations, the place signs in the world of drama can be subjected to study in eight different sections. Each of the mentioned signs in the categorization has been investigated in the plays of the Ù?Sacred defense war.

A . The direct place signs in the Castof the scenes
The settings that are written in the beginning of the scenes of the plays are filled with elements of place that are directly referring to a known and real place or to an unreal and unknown location. These direct place signs have important roles in the formation of the place location in the minds of the readers and audience in order to settle the suitable and appropriate relations and contacts. It is clear that the reader or the audience makes the location in his or her mind and it is for this reason that he / she is able to arrange every action and event and happening in that same place in his mind for himself and it is on the basis of this arrangement that relationships take its appropriate color and form.
Even though the direct place signs in the Castof the scenes are more clearly seen but they are also seen in the Castof the other scenes of the plays.

A . A. Tapeh Aflak (Saied Hussein Fadaei Hussein): The direct place sign in the Castof the scenes is in café in an old area.
The enthusiastic and the epical melody of the war era are heard. It is in an afternoon of one day at the time of the war. A half – made chamber of a martyr is erected beside the café. Reza is young man who is roughly 22 years old; he is wearing a black shirt and he is sitting in the opposite direction to the chamber while he is holding his knees; he is staring at a spot. A moment later, Saied, a young man at the same age of Reza, enters from the side of the chamber while he is wearing a scarf and is carrying a vase and the frame of a picture; he puts the vase and the frame in the chamber and then he changes their places a bit.
In direct place signs in the Castof the scenes in . . . . . Tapeh Aflak there is a direct sign of setting and all the scene activities are formed around that setting. This direct setting is the café. It is seen in the other scenes as well as in the middle scenes of the play and it is indicating that it has an important role and relation with the theme of the play.
In addition in this, the old area is also a direct sign of setting that is seen in the above scene menu but it seems that it is due to the introduction that the emphasis is laid on the café and there is no specific indication of it in the course of the play.

A . B . The 8 th Wheel (Ali Reza Hanifi): The Beginning Cast of the Play

A semi – dark place that is similar to the arena of ZurKhaneh; there are some stabs, armor, flag and a great and big sign on the other corner and it seems as if it is the store house of mourning. . . . . .
There are two direct references to the setting in the beginning of The 8 th Wheel. In fact it is a place with two different explanations and descriptions at the same time; in other words the second setting sign is self – definitive of the first setting sign.


The hole of . . . . . ZurKhaneh is the first direct setting sign that is used by the author and through the uses of means and devices in relation to it this setting sign is intensified but after that the author makes this setting similar to the store house of mourning through other means and devices which is in turn another direct setting sign.
These setting signs draw the attention of the reader and the audience to these two places; by reading it this point is made clarified that the story is taking place somewhere in between the ZurKhaneh and the mourning storehouse and for this reason we understand that the direct setting signs that have been used in this play is in direct relationship with the play. . . . . .

B . The indirect place signs in the Cast of the scenes

The indirect place signs in the Cast of the scenes are signs that the reader understands them indirectly by the use of a sign or different signs. These signs most of the time are part or data-x-items of the intended place that the playwright made use of them instead of direct references to them. . . . . .
With a cursory look at the collection the plays about the Ù?Sacred defense war and especially the ones that are the subject of study for this article one can understand this important point that the playwrights of these types of plays (if it can be referred as type) in its arrangements of setting made use of indirect setting signs to a less extent and most of the time they state the setting signs in a way that the story takes place in it or in a way that is related to it.
Can this be a statement referring to a special case or a special point? Because this can be found in many of the greatest dramatic works of the world with regard to the setting signs.
I think lack of attention to the literary side of the written text in the plays of the Ù?Sacred defense war had been the cause that we can not see such signs in them. . . . . .
Another important point that can not be taken for granted or that can not be easily ignored is that lack of writing on these signs in an indirect way, although it can not be regarded as a basic weakness, but paying attention to them can make the words and the text more powerful, beautiful and important; it can show the literary side of the work in an appropriate way.
A thought worthy point in the Ù?Sacred defense war plays is that the playwrights use the direct signs of setting as well as the indirect ones along with each other. Although, when the direct setting sign is used the other signs are not seen indirectly. . . . . .
These writers usually define this place directly and then they try to describe and explain it in an indirect way.
For example:
A decapitated house in the edge of the war, destroyed walls, flat balls, broken windows and destroyed . . . . . . . . .”? . . . .
In the above setting menu “A decapitated house in the edge of the war”? is a direct sign of setting and the other sentences have come to describe this sign of setting; it is while the above setting sign without considering a decapitated house in the edge of the war ( that is without considering the direct sign of the setting ) refers in an indirect way to a decapitated house in the edge of the war.
The above mentioned point is obviously seen in many of the plays that are written on the plays of the Ù?Sacred defense war.

C . The implied place signs in the Cast of the scenes. . . . .
Some of the signs of setting have got multi – dimensional meaning characteristics; this means in addition to the clear and straight forward meaning and sense as well as signification they have, it is possible to get connotative meaning and sense as well as signification. Clear understanding of these signs has a direct relationship with the dramatic ability of the reader who has his / her root in the dramatic rules and cultural roots. Therefore it is clear that the more the dramatic capability of the reader, the more his ability for the understanding of these signs will be. On the other hand the understanding of these setting signs are always easier and more meaningful for the reader or the addressee who is familiar with the rules, signs, ambience, movements and conversations as well as the speeches that are specialized for the fighters.
In case these signs of the setting move the mind of the reader towards multi – meanings, it is the text of the play that can be the best guide for him so that he or she can focus on a special meaning that is in line with the ambience of the texts. . . . . .

C . A . Like Father : . . . . . (Saied Hussein Fadaei Hussein ) : The Setting of the Play
The Room with a vault, dim and everywhere in the scene, the means and devices of Mourning are seen more than anything else. In the nearest place to the spectators and audience is a box like a coffin. Ali, a teenager of 15 or 16 years old, is sitting by the coffin and he set aside the flag on the coffin and he is staring . . . . . . Moments later a sound is heard on the scene.
In the setting menu of the beginning scene of the Like Father, the room is a place that is directly referring to the store of the mourning devices and means, but the immediately the author draws a similarity of the room to a vault shows that the place is dedicated to holding the dead bodies of the martyrs for a short period of time.
On the other hand, the semi – dark place of this vault indicates the formation of the story of the play in an environment between “reality and imagination”?; it is an environment that contains the general work in facing with the character of Ali with regard to his father.
C . B . . . . . . Under Ground : (Saied Hussein Fadaei Hussein ) : The Setting of the Play
A dry land in the south war ridden areas of the country, Mound Hills and destroyed entrenchments, disorderly arrangement of the thorny wires and the warning signs that indicate the existence of bombs and explosive materials in the area; a small and old sunshade seemingly for sentry
In the setting of the beginning scene of the play Under Ground the sign of the place “destroyed entrenchments”? . . . . . in addition to direct references to the entrenchment indicates the destructions of the war in consequence as well as the pass of the long time after the war and of course oblivion of the entrenchments due to their lack of use.
In addition to this regarding the setting, the playwright is making use of another sign for the setting: “a small and old sunshade seemingly for sentry”?.
The sunshade itself indicates warmth and the burning sun of the south of the country in which the play takes place and its oldness is a sign which indicates the pass of time after a long period from the end of the war. . . . . .
A thought worthy point regarding the “signs of setting which have connotative meanings in the setting menu”? is that these kinds of signs which indicate setting in the Ù?Sacred defense war plays, especially in the plays that are discussed here, are found very rarely; in a way that there was no use in searching for finding signs of setting in the setting menus of the works by Ami Reza Hanifi.

D . The elements of place signs in the Cast of the scenes

In the world of semiotics some signs “as a result of which the subject is influenced are regarded to indicate that subject”?. Such signs are called symbolic signs and the most important kind of them is setting signs. . . . . .
The most important elements of setting that are used in drama are “ here ”? , “ there ”? , “ that way ”? , as well as “ this way ”? . They have important and key roles in the language of the drama. But an important point is that, in spite of the great importance of the elements in the drama, they are very rarely used in specifying the setting scenes of the plays. It can certainly be said that one can rarely find the setting elements in the setting menu of the plays; there might be a few cases, but they are very rare. But the obvious and the clear reason for the lack of the use of setting elements in the setting menu of the plays is the descriptive nature of these scenes; they have to be explained very clearly and without any ambiguity and this is why the direct signs of the setting have a special importance and position for the menu of the play’s setting. . . . . .
Based on this point of view, most of the theatrical texts of the Ù?Sacred defense war especially the works of the authors and writers that are discussed here in this article have been subjected to close scrutiny but unfortunately the least signs of the setting elements were not found in the setting menu of these plays. . . . . .

E . The direct place signs in the conversations of the play
The setting signs that are used directly in the conversations of the plays, clearly and obviously indicate the locations and places which the characters need them to reply the questions of the other characters standing in front of them; sometimes they make use of the introduction of the intended place for the advancement of the plot of the story or for other reasons that might be explained later. . . . . .
These groups of setting signs have a very important statistical role in the plays on the Ù?Sacred defense war and it can certainly be said that there is few works in which such signs are not used in a special form. . . . . .
Another point about the direct place signs in the conversations of the Ù?Sacred defense war plays is that the majority of the writers in this area, especially the writers on which this article has focused, have made use of these signs in a way that it is possible to decipher the operational as well as the war i . e . the frontier lines and more importantly the outstanding points as well as the strategic locations of the war. . . . . .
Semiotics analysis of the signs of the settings in these plays especially the direct sign settings in the conversations can be of great help to the third generation of the audience and spectators of the dramatic works to clearly understand them.
E . A . : Rainy Nights ( Ali Reza Hanifi )
Mojtaba: No body taught me anything. . . . . .
Rasol: I teach you. I ( takes out a box of ammunition from under the iron bed and opens it ; he takes out some small boxes full of dust that are in an army hat; he takes mojtaba’s hands in to the dust and teach him in a loud voice ) .
D . . . . . . . . Like Dasht e Abbas . . . . . F like Furat . . . . . . A like Ain e Khodesh (Like Himself ), Mim; Mim; repeat said Mojtaba repeat Mim, Majnoon . . . . . . Gh like . . . . . . . Ghalavizan , Sin like . . . . . . Soosangerd, repeat, repeat; this scarf is full of furat dust; it is full of the dust of the boots of the comrades, we stars understood that God has created human beings out of dust and clay . . . . . . . I am Hajj Rasol . . . . . . . .

As it is clear, the setting signs of Dasht e Abbas , Furat , Aine Khodesh , Majnoon , Ghalavizan , soosangerd have been used in a direct way. Paying careful attention to these setting signs , makes the reader / audience aware of an important plan of place in the war. In fact this means that the reader is informed about an important part of the plot of a war in the south west of the country and accordingly it imparts meaning and signification and certainly it teaches a great lesson to the addressee who is unfamiliar with the war texts.
In addition to these signs the writer in this play is making use of the other direct sign settings and with regard to the speeches and conversations they helped the creation of meaning to a great extent. . . . . .
Investigating the other works of this writers ( Ali Reza Hanifi ) shows this important point that he makes use of these signs in most of his plays and most of his works as well. The most strategic points of the war are to be found in the conversations that are available in his works. Hanifi, from this stand point, introduces the war and the important places in which the war took place for the reader / audience. . . . . .

E . B . Dirty Land : ( Saied Hussein Fadaei Hussein )
Soldier : I know. If you want we can say that we have come with a caravan. They are like you; all of you are the same. Like each other . . . . .; please do not be angry with me. But accept that sending these caravans has become a sort of play or entertainment, such as the other works. You are waiting to see what the other are doing; then you want to do the same as the others did. It was sometimes customary and common that people used to go to Kish to bring goods; sometimes it was common that people went to Japan to find jobs; now it has become common for people to come to the frontiers of the war. It was acceptable to go to Kish and Japan but . . . . . . I do not know what that means: to come to the war frontiers. . . . . . . . Is it worthy of coming to see a hand full of clay and some destroyed entrenchments and some meters of thorny wires that have been rotten.

F . The indirect place signs in the conversations of the play
The indirect place signs in the conversations of the play such as their counterpart in the menu of the scenes are signs that indirectly refer to a special place or location but they appear in different forms that seems to be totally irrelevant to the place and it is only through considering the language in the text of these signs as well as complete search of place and their cumulative and communal effect that one can achieve a full imagination of the place in an indirect way. . . . . .
Although the use of such signs in the conversations among the characters of the play can deepen the effects of the work as well as the make the characterization of the characters of the play more beautiful and guide the audience and the spectators in the path toward understanding of the meaning as well as signification of the play but unfortunately these signs are found very rarely. . . . . in the literature of the Ù?Sacred defense war and such as making use of these signs in the scene menu, it is accompanied by description and definition in a direct way. That means in addition to presenting the characteristics, features and details of a part of whole in an indirect way the location and the setting is clearly announced and stated. I have brought the examples of these explanations in the discussion of the plays on the Ù?Sacred defense war in the section entitled “the indirect setting signs in the menu of the scenes.”?
In any way these types of signs indicating setting were not found in the conversation between the characters of the plays written by the two playwrights whom we consider their works in our analysis. . . . . .

G . The implied place signs in the conversations of the play
In order to understand the signs which have the implied elements of the setting of the play it is better to understand their difference ( s ) with the indirect signs that have the elements of setting in them. . . . . . The setting signs which indirectly point to the setting of the play are signs; they are signs that we understand the general place through stating the details, characteristics and features that a section or sections of them but in the sign setting which have implied applications of place it is through understanding the elements that are irrelevant to the place that we understand their existence. . . . . .
The great playwrights of the world in the domain of drama have always paid attention to the literary side of their work in addition to paying attention to the dramatic aspects; they have also made use of the similarity of setting which has its roots in ambiguity and it has made their works deeper and more meaningful as well as significant. The other important point is that these type of signs which indicate setting saves the authors as well as the playwrights from telling every thing straight forward and thereby it helps then make their works multi – dimensional; it is through paying careful attention to the language context that the readers can reach the meaning and find the coherence of meaningful elements in the play.

G . A . The Time for the Memories of Narjes ( Saied Hussein Fadaei Hussein )

Narjes : indeed , where is he going ?
Ahmad : I told you . He is going towards the sun . . . . ..
In the above conversation towards the sun is a sign of place which indicates and implies martyrdom. In fact the playwright has made use of this sign of the place in a poetical way and thereby emphasizes the martyrdom of the father of Narjes. In addition the reader understands this implication through understanding the context in which this terms has been used.

G . B . The 8th Wheel ( Ali Reza Hanifi )
The Old Man : There is not a hero remained. Lo. . . . . ! Lo ! the brave men of the “Dasht e Tof”?. Where are you? Were they all myths?
In the above excerpt from The 8th Wheel the sign of the setting is “Dasht e Tof”?. And this implies Karbala. . . . . .
The Old Man : Do not attach or connect your self to my name and my army because there are at least hundreds of bulwarks that I was the hero of the Alamdar Army. I have gone to Karbala ( he cries ) . I have seen karbala . I have seen 5 Karbalas . I . . . . . I . . . . . .
In the above excerpt, the sign indicating Karbala has been used directly and this in turn implies the operations named Karbala and are numbered one to five and not the real land of Karbala. Making use of this sign of setting takes its meaning in the context of time and from this point of view it is poetical and has a very beautiful application.

H . The elements of place signs in the conversations of the play . . . . .
The element of place in the world of drama has a unique and great role. “a possible world is real for its settlers so much as one can refer to it as a place and it should have the attribute of now and where. The point here is the contrast between here of the play and the far away places that can be imagined. “David K . Lewis”? believes that the real issue is a symbolic issue such as I , here and now. This means that from the viewpoint of reference it is dependant on the situation of speech; this means that the world is the place where that speech has happened.”?
Therefore the language is given an active and conversational and not a descriptive and mono – lingual one ; therefore we are witnessing that the elements from the very beginning have been the necessary element in differentiating drama in the form of the non – narrative discourse of the creator of the world. . . . . .
Among the elements and categories, the element of place has been prioritized over the elements of time because in a dramatic discourse, people introduce themselves in their being in a special place named somewhere. Therefore in a speech discourse, the place characteristics play a crucial role in the contexts of the language.
The important point regarding the categories and the elements in a dramatic discourse is that “the dramatic discourse is an automatic discourse; the speaker definers every things such as (the addressee, you and . . . . . . . . . ) based on his position in the dramatic world. Here and now are just to specify the position of the speaker in the position of the speaker. It is for this reason that the place and location elements related to the present position of the speaker as well as his speech ( here, this , these , now and at the moment as well as . . . . . . . . . . ) are symbolically meaningful. There has been set quite a great difference between the distances of things, times as well as far way places and outside ( there , that , those , past times as well as . . . . . . . . . .) which specify the language of the narration.
And it is for this reason that among the elements, place has occupied a great deal of statistical application; in the pays on the Ù?Sacred defense war and especially in the plays that we are discussing here in this article it is found quite a lot.
H . A . South Train (Ali Reza Hanifi )
Joseph : Did you go by yourself again ? Didn’t we agree to go together ?
Mariam : Where ?
Joseph : wherever you say ?
Mariam : Is there a place left ? ( she shows the head of the harpoon )
Joseph : Yea , there is still filled with them. . . . . . One has to have brevity.

The sign of setting here is “there”? in the sentence uttered by Joseph refer to the character of him; with regard to the context of the language it is here the war ridden areas as well as the battle fields which are still filled with bombs (that are not yet neutralized) that are referred to.

H . B . South Train (Ali Reza Hanifi )
Mariam : You there ? what there ? . . . . . Lo ! one is burning within , no poor boy ; he does not want to speak ; were you so silent at those times as well ? do you remember ?
What is up Joseph? ( he plays ) God knows; nothing. Joseph what do you there indeed? If God accepts I want to be mayor ( both laugh ) ; well Mr. Mayor what is the news about the construction as well as the works that are there ? . . . . . in fact they are under construction.

“There”? as a sign of setting has been repeated for four times by Mariam in the above excerpt; with regard to the context of time and place one can understand that they refer to the frontiers of the war.

H . C . Under Ground ( Saied Hussein Fadaei Hussein )
Father : be there at the same place where you are now. My dear daughter
The place element “the same place”? . . . . . indicates an area that is filled with bombs and this is understood from the context in which this language was used.

H . D . Under Ground ( Saied Hussein Fadaei Hussein )

Masoomeh : you are continuously saying that this place is dirty. So why the place (there) in which you are staying is not dirty?
Here two different signs of setting have been used and they are there and here. “Here”? shows the place which is filled with bombs and is protected while “there”? refers to a place in which one is safe for there is no bombs. . . . . .

Conclusion:
This article has been written on the basis of the 13 categorical system of Kozan that is the semiotics of the words and we hereby focused on the semiotics of place which is one of the branches of signs system of words; . . . . . therefore we divided the signs indicating the place in to eight categories based on their occurrence in the dramatic texts and then we have investigated them in the plays of the two active playwrights who write in the domain of the Ù?Sacred defense war plays.
This Semitics study of the signs shows that some of these authors made use of the signs which indicated setting in some cases; they have also made use of other elements such as indirect signs of setting in the menu of the scenes as well as in the conversations as well as in the elements of place in the scene menu.
An important point is that with regard to the dominant ambience on the Ù?Sacred defense war plays which originate in the point of view . . . . . the authors take with regard to an event such as warm it can be said that the direct and indirect signs of setting have the same directions; in other words they have the same applications.
This semiotic study can be of a great importance . . . . . when it is applied to all the plays that were written on the Ù?Sacred defense war and can help us present better and more complete results on the signs referring to settings of the plays.


Writer: Jahan Shir Yarahmadi
Source: Book "Lost notes" to try and change "Mohsen Babaee Rabii," and by the Revolution and Sacred Defense Theater Association and published