سيميائية العنوان والغلاف في رواية "يوتوبيا" للكاتب أحمد خالد توفيق

Abstract

The research dealt with two prominent components of the novel: the title and the cover. This is because these are the gateways for the reader to enter the world of surprise and interpretation. They are also the trigger that arouses the reader’s passion towards the text and interact with it. The study dealt with these components , their definition, importance and status in guiding the reader, and their role in highlighting the text in an artistic and aesthetic way that helps the recipient to decipher semantics, and to show its artistic and creative dimensions. The analysis began with the title because of its great importance in producing the narrative’s discourse. It is the cornerstone on which the author builds his idea, and carries the most intense and suggestive semantics. The title also constitutes the bridge that connects both the dispatcher and the receiver together. The cover is also an essential component, not only because it contains the text inside, but because it carries symbols that suggest specific indications that the writer wants to allude to . The cover had on it the title, the author's name and biography , critical opinions, and a quote from the novel epitomizing the novel’s tragedy. It also contained many plastic paintings such as a hand, splashed blood, palm trees, buildings, etc., as well as colors and drawings extracted from the text. The research also analyzed the connotations carried by the components of the cover as a whole, and it showed the interrelationship among its different components. It also revealed the core idea of the novel, which indicates consistency, harmony and unity of all the elements that make up the text.