Author(s)

Jianmin Zhao

Corresponding Author

Jianmin Zhao

Abstract

The Homecoming, one of the most important works of Harold Pinter, was first published in 1965. It receives heated discussion from scholars all around the world, and feminism, menace as well as its absurdity nature are among the most popular research subjects of this play. However, scholars rarely investigate power relations of the play from the perspective of discourse analysis. Through analyzing conversations of the play from the perspectives of turn-taking, cooperative principle, and speech act theory, the present research aims at revealing how conversation participants apply linguistic strategies to seek and maintain their own power, and proving that language plays a critical role in human society and it largely constructs social reality.

Keywords

The Homecoming, conflicts, discourse analysis, power relations