Sarah Kane:Confront Death

In her short but splendid life,Sarah Kane(1971-1999)has left the world a series of immortal plays:Blasted(1995),Phaedra's love(1996),Cleansed(1998),Crave(1998)and 4.48 psychosis(1999).These works defined as In-Yer-Face Theatre by British theatre critic Aleks Sierz broke away from the conventions of realistic theatre.As one of the important In-Yer-Face playwrights,Sarah Kane inclines to present the violence,war,nervous breakdown and sexual abuse to the audience.But paradoxically,to arouse love and hope in the depth of human's hearts by this violent and cruel way is the final goal of the plays.To understand Kane's works better or more clearly,Michel Foucault's idea is a great help.For Foucault,all social practice must take place in the so-called discourse.In the power/knowledge theory,a vital part of Foucault philosophy,Foucault particularly addresses how discourse shapes power/knowledge as a form of social control through societal institutions.Foucault explores the mechanisms that create and enforce people obedient to authoritative rule.The issues of sanity and madness,health and illness,normal and deviant sexualities and law-abiding and criminal actions are Foucault's main focuses.With the help of Foucault's theory on discourse and power/knowledge,this thesis try to analyze Kane's five plays one by one from three perspectives:violence behind the rituals in Blasted and Phaedra 's love,discipline and punish in Cleansed,chaos and orders in Crave and 4.48 psychosis.Throughout the five plays,Kane is seeking for love and hope,but eventually found relief in death,as Sarah Kane wrote"the vital need which I would die" in 4.48 psychosis,death is the way she pursues the pure love and hope.Although Kane chooses to commit suicide,she still tells people to "Remember the light and believe in the light".