The Actor and the Subject-Agent in the Semiotic Analysis of the Paris School A Model Applied Study of Zakaria Tamer’s “Tigers on the Tenth Day”

Abstract

Classical semiotic analysis, founded by A. J. Greimas and his colleagues, centres on the presence of stable meaning within discourse or the text. This meaning is analysed as an established reality within discourse and from a fixed perspective, on the assumption that stable signification relies on a set of semiotic tools for its disclosure. These tools also prevent such signification from being arbitrarily manipulated and prevent texts from being used for divergent utilitarian purposes. The concepts of the actor (acteur), the agent (agent), and the actant (actant) are fundamental to this analysis, since purposive and thematic roles intersect within them to constitute the true dynamics of the text.