Semiotics and Literature

Semiotics is the study of sign system. It is important in structuralism because it also functions in the surface and deeper levels like language. Every sign has two basic elements: Signifier and signified. Every sign is like a word in its function because it passes some message to somebody. Language usually uses words but it uses signs to convey the message. The sign itself is signifier and the message given by the sign is signified. So far, semioticians have recognized three types of signs. They are: index, icon and symbol. An index is a kind of sign that has concrete link with its meaning. In index, part represents the whole. For example, the smoke is the sign of fire, knocking on the door is the sign of somebody’s arrival, the crown is the sign of the king, and the wheel is the sign of the vehicle. Second, icon is a sign, mark or a picture that is similar to the real object in appearance. An icon physically resembles the signified. The traffic signs, the no-smoking sign, sign of male or female on the public toilets are all icons. They resemble the object by picture or some mark. Third, a symbol is a sign that is abstract or linguistic. Symbols are abstract signs because they do not show clear pictures of the things. All the words are symbols to give some messages that do not have any concrete pictures. 

The scope of semiotics is very large because it is applied in everything including literature and even our everyday life. In literature, semiotics helps us analyses the meaning of the text. The writers use different styles and figurative languages in their works. When one is familiar with semiotics, he can comprehend the text better. Semioticians believe that everything gives some messages; everything is sign. When we go to market, we see many hoarding boards, stylish houses, signs on doors, pictures on menus of the restaurants, on the bus, on the road, and so on. All of them are signs that impart some important messages. Sometimes, even the gap or a space is a sign because it gives some message. The whole world of human culture is a text, a sign waiting to be read. We need to understand their meanings.