An Interpretation of the Play After the Fall Based on Role- and -Value Cognitive Concept

Abstract

The paper aims to interpret Arthur Miller’s stream-of-consciousness play text, After the Fall, from the perspective of the cognitive concept of evolving reference, namely “role and values”. The results of the study are as follows: 1. Mutual across-time-and-space contextual embedment or entanglement is the distinctive feature of stream-of-consciousness play text, which makes it possible to present synchronically what has happened diachronically, so that the various values generated by role switching over the past years are accessible in a while. 2. This feature in turn makes characterization more natural, true-to-life, vivid and substantial, revealing not only the different aspects of the protagonist’s disposition but also the shaping process involved. 3. Despite the seemingly disordered contextual entanglement, the values through role switching are implicitly linked by the cause-effect logical relationship, which ensures the textual coherence of the play.