In this paper I make an analysis of the play Järnbörd (By burning Iron) written by the swedish author Magnus Dahlström. In this play all the characters has committed horrible crimes wich they easily describes the violence. The starting-point of my analysis is the text itself and not any stage-setting. The reason for this is that I find it interesting to see what can be found in the text only. I investigate if the language itself can tell something.

Furthermore I discuss Magnus Dahlström´s literary language and if he has any distinguishing quality, and if so what it may be. I examine each characters discourse and I describe certain aspects of the language such as the characters incapability to really interact and how the violence is described.

I focus on the text and it´s characteristic elements. My main sources is therefore two literature studies. Dramatiskt berättande (“Dramatic telling”) by Mats Ödeen and Drama i tre avsnitt (“Drama in three parts”) by Gunnar Brandell. In particular I use the chapters in which they discuss the language and it´s significance in the world of drama. In the study Det moderna dramats teori 1880-1950 (“Theory of the modern drama 1880-1980”) by Peter Szondi, he writes about how the classical drama went from taking place between persons to take place inside the characters mind. I use this study to discuss Järnbörd as a modern play.

I also want to discuss the discourse from a philosophical aspect of language. I discuss Emilé Benveniste and his thoughts about language as a ”tool” of communication. Furthermore I discuss Friedrich Nietzsche´s study Om moralens härstamming (Geniality of morals), in which he writes about our human moral as something created and not as some “higher power” that judges us.