Evaluation of David Mamet's theater plays in the context of semiotics

In this thesis, four plays by David Mamet, one of the most important names of contemporary American theater, "A Life in the Theater", "Glengarry Glen Ross", "Shawl" and "Oleanna" are analyzed by semiotics. The basic dramatic elements in the selected texts and the network formed by these elements were analyzed in the context of signification processes. The study focused on the dramatic elements of each play such as language, space, time, body language, metaphors and the functions of these elements. In the light of the findings, the common themes, cultural codes and universal messages carried by Mamet's plays are analyzed and interpreted. As a result, while proving the effectiveness of semiotics in the field of text analysis, the distinctive qualities of David Mamet's understanding of theater, which deals with human and social reality from a critical perspective, have been revealed. Considering the insufficient number of studies on Mamet and his plays in Turkey, this thesis aims to contribute to the academic literature and to make his plays more staged and recognized in our country. Keywords: Semiotics, David Mamet, Theatre, Text Analysis, Social Criticism