Explication of the concept of “war” in a dramatic text (based on the play “The Absence of War” by D. Hare)

the aim of the study is to reveal the nature of the literary and artistic explication of the concept of “war” in the play “The Absence of War” (1993) written by the modern British playwright D. Hare. The article examines the approaches of the researchers to the interpretation of the term “concept”, which is an interdisciplinary, multidimensional phenomenon that includes notions, associations, images and semantic meanings in the cognitive, cultural and philosophical spheres. The analysis shows that D. Hare refers to the concept of “war” to reveal the main conflict of the play – the crisis of the British Labour Party. The scientific novelty of the study is related to the lack of the researches on the proposed material. The Russian researchers had not previously conducted a detailed analysis of the explication of the concept of “war” in play “The Absence of War” by D. Hare, the attention was mainly paid to other plays by the playwright, in which he focused on issues of the world politics rather than the domestic policy of the United Kingdom. The article examines the broad meaning of the concept of “war”, in which the play’s author not only combines, but also reveals the distinction between military reality and political confrontation both in the UK and within the Labour Party. The article presents a complex approach to the analysis of the concept of “war” explication in the dramatic text, combining the cognitive and literary theories. The study also reveals the main ways of the political realias representation in the works of D. Hare, as it contributes to understanding of the characteristic features and ideological orientation of the political drama and related genres. The results of the study show that the concept of “war” in the dramatic text helps the author to reveal the country’s domestic policy problems in peacetime, the tragic situation of the main character, who is the embodiment of the “old-school” Labour leader, and the party crisis in the UK.

modern political drama, the concept of “war”, the crisis of the political system, the British Labour Party, political realias