<p>The drama of Kristina Lugn’s Kvinnorna vid Svansjön (The women by the Swan Lake) takes place in the dialogue and language; the same ambiguous language that is found in Lugn’s poetry. In this essay I examine how meaning and dramatic tension is created in the dialogue of Kvinnorna vid Svansjön.</p><p>I describe the play, using concepts from various drama theories. However, the most important concepts of classical drama theory such as "story" and "plot" are not really applicable. This is because of the contradictory information given in the dialogue. For the same reason, the dramatic ”space” is very hard to define. I found other concepts, ”theme/motif” and ”symbol”, more rewarding. These elements carry the spheres of interest and constitute the metaphors that create unity in the play. The main themes/motifs in this drama are ”love” and ”death”, which are closely connected to the main symbol, ”water”.</p><p>According to theatre theorist Erika Fischer-Lichte, dramatic dialogue contains a tension between ”writing” and ”orality”. This tension is my starting point when examining the dialogue of Kvinnorna vid Svansjön, which constantly alternates between monologue (writing) and face-to-face dialogue (orality). The tension between writing and orality is also present linguistically in the play; writing is represented by lyrical, metaphorical language and orality by everyday spoken language. I find that communication often occurs through associative and thematic language use. There are many connections between the metaphors/themes on the linguistic level and the motifs/themes on the dramatic level. Lugn’s thematic dialogue gives new life to worn-out metaphors.</p><p>I connect the tension in dialogue and language to the play’s floating spatial dimension, in which I make out two levels: ”reality” and ”fantasy”. These levels are as deceptive as the language of the play and help to create uncertainty and suspense about the dramatic reality.</p>

The drama of Kristina Lugn’s Kvinnorna vid Svansjön (The women by the Swan Lake) takes place in the dialogue and language; the same ambiguous language that is found in Lugn’s poetry. In this essay I examine how meaning and dramatic tension is created in the dialogue of Kvinnorna vid Svansjön. I describe the play, using concepts from various drama theories. However, the most important concepts of classical drama theory such as "story" and "plot" are not really applicable. This is because of the contradictory information given in the dialogue. For the same reason, the dramatic ”space” is very hard to define. I found other concepts, ”theme/motif” and ”symbol”, more rewarding. These elements carry the spheres of interest and constitute the metaphors that create unity in the play. The main themes/motifs in this drama are ”love” and ”death”, which are closely connected to the main symbol, ”water”. According to theatre theorist Erika Fischer-Lichte, dramatic dialogue contains a tension between ”writing” and ”orality”. This tension is my starting point when examining the dialogue of Kvinnorna vid Svansjön, which constantly alternates between monologue (writing) and face-to-face dialogue (orality). The tension between writing and orality is also present linguistically in the play; writing is represented by lyrical, metaphorical language and orality by everyday spoken language. I find that communication often occurs through associative and thematic language use. There are many connections between the metaphors/themes on the linguistic level and the motifs/themes on the dramatic level. Lugn’s thematic dialogue gives new life to worn-out metaphors. I connect the tension in dialogue and language to the play’s floating spatial dimension, in which I make out two levels: ”reality” and ”fantasy”. These levels are as deceptive as the language of the play and help to create uncertainty and suspense about the dramatic reality.

<p>This essay examines an excerpt of the wide range of animated films that our children has access to in Sweden today.It takes up questions about what kind of messages the films are delivering, if there are certain patterns that are being followed, differences between the films relating to the cultures where they’re from, but above all, what the hero is about and what kind of shape he or she assumes. The film analyses that are being made are anchored in two theoretical investigations; one about how children are influenced by-, and how they use, the stories that are being told in films to develop their own identity. The other one treats classical and traditional patterns and genres in stories.</p> / <p>Denna uppsats undersöker ett utdrag av det utbud av tecknade filmer som våra barn tar del av här i Sverige i dag. Den tar upp frågor som vilka budskap filmerna egentligen sänder ut, om det finns vissa givna mönster som följs, skillnader mellan filmerna i förhållande till de kulturer de kommer ifrån, men framförallt hur hjälterollen ser ut och gestaltas. De filmanalyser som utförs förankras i två teoretiska undersökningar, dels en om hur barn påverkas av och använder filmsagor i sitt utvecklings- och identitetsarbete och dels en som behandlar traditionella klassiska mönster och genrer. </p>

This essay examines an excerpt of the wide range of animated films that our children has access to in Sweden today.It takes up questions about what kind of messages the films are delivering, if there are certain patterns that are being followed, differences between the films relating to the cultures where they’re from, but above all, what the hero is about and what kind of shape he or she assumes. The film analyses that are being made are anchored in two theoretical investigations; one about how children are influenced by-, and how they use, the stories that are being told in films to develop their own identity. The other one treats classical and traditional patterns and genres in stories. / Denna uppsats undersöker ett utdrag av det utbud av tecknade filmer som våra barn tar del av här i Sverige i dag. Den tar upp frågor som vilka budskap filmerna egentligen sänder ut, om det finns vissa givna mönster som följs, skillnader mellan filmerna i förhållande till de kulturer de kommer ifrån, men framförallt hur hjälterollen ser ut och gestaltas. De filmanalyser som utförs förankras i två teoretiska undersökningar, dels en om hur barn påverkas av och använder filmsagor i sitt utvecklings- och identitetsarbete och dels en som behandlar traditionella klassiska mönster och genrer.