Dictionary of Semiotics introduction

As a literary theory, semiotics has increasingly gained ground in the last two or three decades of the twentieth century. It is now usually included in secondary education literature programs and in surveys of critical theory. Moreover, the concept has become part of media discourse with regard to film and advertising in Europe and throughout the world. Yet while theoretical research into the discipline has advanced – particularly in France - to many the very term 'semiotics' has remained an enigma and thus its appeal restricted. This book proposes to familiarize researchers as well as university students and their teachers with the semiotic approach. A brief outline of the aims of semiotic theory, its history and working method is followed by a reference section providing definitions of terms and models used in semiotic metalanguage, and finally an example of semiotic analysis applied to a text.