Death with laughter: the subject of the unconscious in Martin McDonagh's Hangmen.
This paper provides a discussion of Lacanian subjectivity and desire in Martin McDonagh's Hangmen. While it might seem an attempt to argue against capital punishment, as many critics have indicated, the play has unconscious undertones that reveal certain facts about the subject's deepest motives. Mc...
| Publicado en: | Studies in Theatre & Performance Vol. 46; no. 2; pp. 253 - 264 |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Literary Criticism |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jun2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=194843091&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 194843091 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 14682761 L2H jtl: Studies in Theatre & Performance issn: 14682761 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jun2026 vid: 46 iid: 2 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 194843091 10.1080/14682761.2026.2643517 ppf: 253 ppct: 11 formats: tig: atl: Death with laughter: the subject of the unconscious in Martin McDonagh's Hangmen. aug: au: Kolahjooei, Farzad affil: Department of English Language and Literature, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran su: Psychoanalysis Subconsciousness Dramatists McDonagh, Martin, 1970- Psychoanalytic interpretation Fictional characters Executions & executioners Existentialism Capital punishment sug: subj: Psychoanalysis Subconsciousness Dramatists McDonagh, Martin, 1970- Psychoanalytic interpretation Fictional characters Executions & executioners Existentialism Capital punishment keyword: Desire subject the gaze the real the symbolic ab: This paper provides a discussion of Lacanian subjectivity and desire in Martin McDonagh's Hangmen. While it might seem an attempt to argue against capital punishment, as many critics have indicated, the play has unconscious undertones that reveal certain facts about the subject's deepest motives. McDonagh's portrayal of depthless characters, who are limited in knowledge and blind to anything other than their unchecked, wild desires, underscores the void at the core of subjectivity. I will argue that the circular structure of Hangmen, which starts and ends with death, implicates the audience in actions that highlight an existentially absurd, cynical view of human desire. I will further discuss how Lacan's concept of the gaze helps us understand McDonagh's reconsideration of the relationship between the audience and the play. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Literary Criticism src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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