Tomaž onič, nasTja Prajnč Kacijan / rePeTiTion as a means of verbal and Psychological violence in 
inTerrogaTion scenes from conTemPorary drama
13
Tomaž Onič, Nastja Prajnč Kacijan
Repetition as a means of verbal and  
psychological violence in interrogation scenes  
from contemporary drama
1 Introduction
Repetition is a common linguistic element in literary as well as non-literary discourse. 
In A Dictionary of Stylistics, Katie Wales draws attention to the two sets of effects it can 
produce in everyday use: it can be an unwanted redundancy as well as a “powerful re-
source of interpersonal involvement and rapport” (2014, 366). While the former is not 
characteristic of quality literature, the latter can be a potent stylistic tool for achieving a 
range of effects. Paul Simpson (2004, 50) refers to repetition as one of the main princi-
ples in forming textual patterns (e.g., foregrounding), thus bringing certain features of 
the text to the front of the reader’s or – in the case of staged drama – viewer’s attention. 
Similarly, Michael Burke (2014, 25-28) sees repetition as one of the significant features 
in stylistics, next to parallelism and deviation, but suggests that the concepts concern-
ing its function need to be further developed and researched. John Cuddon credits 
repetition in literature with a structural function, denoting it an “essential unifying 
element in nearly all poetry and much prose” (1999, 742), while understanding it in 
broad terms: as repetition of words, phrases, stanzas or longer excerpts, even sounds 
and other stylistic or linguistic phenomena. Edward Quinn (2006, 359-60) extends 
this definition to the employment of repeated images with an impact on the imagery 
of the work, as well as to visual context, by acknowledging repetition as a technique in 
film. This makes repetition applicable to all absolute genres, in Szondi’s (2000, 30-31) 
sense, and most particularly to drama.
An extensive overview of research about repetition in spoken conversation was 
provided by Deborah Tannen (2007). Several authors she mentions (e.g., Schegloff, 
1997; Rieger, 2003; Linell, 1982; Svennevig, 2004, and others, cit. in Tannen (15-16)) 
as well as Tannen herself emphasize the importance of considering the sound aspect 
– particularly intonation – in the analysis of repetition patterns: “the very notion that 
the repetition of words spoken in conversation is ‘exact’ repetition holds only if we 
think of words as they would appear in a dictionary, stripped of their sound” (2007, 
16). This suggests that the semantic potential of voice quality, i.e., volume, intonation, 
stress and other phonetic aspects, is too often ignored. These findings are particularly 
DOI:10.4312/ars.14.1.13-26
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relevant for a study like ours that deals with drama, since in the case of dramatic and 
film genres the audience perceives the subject matter directly from the stage or screen 
action, where the spoken text is perceived by hearing and comprises all the phonetic 
qualities referred to earlier.1 All repetition can (and must) thus be considered as new 
text: “we see that a word ‘repeated’ with a different phonetic or intonational realization 
is, in fact, a different word, even though their written forms are identical” (Tannen, 
2007, 16). The same idea was proposed by de Beaugrande (1991, 18), who claims that 
absolute recurrence is rare, since direct repetition inevitably suggests a change in the 
speaker’s intention; for this reason, he introduces the term recurrence instead of repeti-
tion. Since the written image of the repeated phrase is identical to its original appear-
ance, the divergence normally materializes in the sound image of the repeated word 
or phrase, a concept that was upheld by Traci Curl’s (2005) study of conversational 
utterances repeated because the listeners indicated a lack of comprehension, where the 
repeated utterance always differs from the original one in pronunciation.
Several categories of repetition are introduced by de Beaugrande and Dressler 
(2001, 52), who see repetitive patterns as crucial features of cohesion: recurrence 
is defined as straightforward repetition; partial recurrence as a less strict variation, 
where different parts of speech from the same root repeat; parallelism is the repeti-
tion of syntactic structure with new content; paraphrase occurs when the content is 
repeated with different linguistic means; pro-forms are short words or phrases that 
replace content-carrying words; and ellipsis is defined as the repetition of content 
and structure while omitting some surface words or phrases. In this study we will 
consider de Beaugrande and Dressler’s understanding of the variety of repetitive pat-
terns, since it has proven useful in previous studies (cf. Onič, Prajnč Kacijan, 2019; 
Kusovac, Pralas 2016; Zupan, 2006), as well as selected studies looking into repeti-
tion patterns in non-literary spoken discourse that resembles the discourse of drama 
in many ways – not in all of them, as pointed out by Short (2013, 173-181), but in 
several that are relevant for this analysis.
This study investigates dialogue in interrogation scenes, which – owing to the fre-
quent choice of darker and more troubled subject matter – are often found in drama 
emerging in the 1950s and after. The plays were selected from among the canonical 
British, American and Slovene award-winning authors. Harold Pinter’s opus contains 
several plays featuring sinister interrogation scenes, The Birthday Party (1996) being 
1 This is, of course, based on the assumption that the audience experiences the play (or film) by watching 
it on stage or screen, not by reading the text or the screenplay. A separate issue, yet closely connected 
to this one, is a finding by Janko Trupej (2015, 25; 2019, 62) that offensive language in Slovene televi-
sion subtitling is frequently modified to the extent that multiple spoken repetitions of an offensive 
expression often receive just one appearance of their translation in the subtitles. So not only does the 
viewer in such cases miss the chance of perceiving the full sound image of this expression through the 
subtitles, but is also not given the chance to be exposed to its repetition.
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one of the most salient examples, while The Crucible by Arthur Miller (1987) and Dis-
sident Arnož and His Followers2 (1982) by Drago Jančar are of particular interest be-
cause they were written in repressive political circumstances, the former under the 
threat of McCarthyism in the USA and the latter during Communist rule in Yugo-
slavia. From a discourse-analytical perspective, violence can be seen as an element of 
evaluative meaning, which is the focus of the theory of appraisal by Martin and White 
(2005). The theory of appraisal can show how the expression of violence functions in 
a political context, for example, in Plemenitaš and Krajnc (2018). In the theory of ap-
praisal, realizations of violence are treated as negative judgments within the subsystem 
of attitude. Repetitions of evaluative expressions, on the other hand, are treated as 
resources for intensification within the subsystem of graduation. 
The scenes investigated in this research may not always contain formal interroga-
tions per se, but are reminiscent of them in their crucial features. Our research focuses 
on verbal repetition in the questions of the interrogator (or a character in the corre-
sponding role), which as a rule intensify psychological pressure and contribute to the 
creation of an unpleasant atmosphere. Repeated questions, directly or slightly varied, 
are posed to extort information from the interrogated individuals but also to weaken 
and break their resistance. The analysis will focus on the instances of repetition that 
make a major contribution to creating such situations and relationships. We will iden-
tify and analyse the traditional patterns of repetition and examine their contribution 
to the intensity of perceived violence.
2 Verbal and Psychological Violence Enhanced by 
Repetition Patterns
The selected passages containing notable repetition were analysed according to the 
severity of verbal and psychological violence, as potentially perceived by the oppressed 
characters as well as the audience. The excerpts were thus classified as demonstrating 
implicit or explicit violence – the former when the pressure is exerted on the victim in 
a subtle way, formally mainly through repetition patterns, and the latter when they are 
openly hostile and express a direct insult, threat, (false) accusation, mockery, or simi-
lar negative attitude, thus exhibiting explicit violence. It must be noted, however, that 
the division between the two categories is never absolute, and that the oppressor will 
often proceed from the implicit to the explicit form of abuse within the same scene.
2 Dissident Arnož and His Followers (Slov. Disident Arnož in njegovi, 1982) is based on the biography of 
the utopian socialist Andrej Smolnikar, who set off to America in attempt of peacefully reorganizing 
the society and establishing a new world order. The play is set in the 1830s and opens in Slovenia, while 
the setting later moves to the USA. The idea of the new world order promoted by Arnož fails, as his fol-
lowers turn against him. The play addresses socially critical and existential motifs, and it is – according 
to de Brea (2015) – an extremely relevant account of the universal state of mind.
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2 1 Implicit Verbal and Psychological Violence
Even though explicit violence is more likely to catch the audience’s attention, implicit 
pressure can be just as forceful, or even more. The oppressors in the following excerpts 
develop a powerful psychological hold on their victims, and simultaneously do eve-
rything to protect their status. Jasna Podreka (2018, 37) observes that – in traditional 
as well as neopatriarchal societies – men would often secure their position through 
various violent practices. Similarly, Darja Zaviršek (2018) sees female subordination in 
traditional binary gender roles. Miller’s The Crucible, being set in a traditional Puritan 
society, frequently brings such practices to the forefront. In the following dialogue, 
Judge Danforth occupies the superior position towards Mary Warren, not only as a 
supreme court authority versus a defendant, but also as an older male, competent in 
his field, versus a younger inexperienced female. After so many people have been im-
prisoned or sentenced to death by hanging, it is in Danforth’s interest to protect the 
institution he presides over and identifies with, and thus to avoid public acknowledge-
ment that the whole process has been based on false accusations. Upon reading Mary’s 
deposition, he questions her:
Danforth:  […] Has Mr. Proctor threatened you for this deposition?
Mary Warren:  No, sir.
Danforth:  Has he ever threatened you?
Mary Warren  [weaker]: No, sir.
Danforth [sensing a weakening]: Has he threatened you?
Mary Warren:  No, sir. (Miller, 1987, 91)
Danforth’s question in this excerpt appears three times with slight variation, attempt-
ing to elicit and then force from the victim the answer he wants. The repetition creates 
additional pressure on her, and the didascalia support the notion that the authority is 
aware of his influence, since after “sensing a weakening”, he repeats his question again, 
thus intimidating Mary Warren. A similar sequence of intimidation and forced confes-
sion can be found in Dissident Arnož:
Vončina: Kaj sta počela v zakristiji?
Ksaver: Nič nisva počela. Po čaščenju sva bila tam. Kronarce so pele, 
jaz sem igral na orgle. Potem sva bila še malo v zakristiji.
Vončina:  Potem sva bila še malo v zakristiji. Kronarce so pa pele, 
kaj?
Ksaver: Ja, pele.
Vončina: Na skrivaj ste se zbrali.
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Ksaver: Zvečer se večkrat dobimo.
Kronarca: Petje vadimo.
Vončina  [tipom]: Petje vadijo. […] Kaj pa imate z Arnožem?
Ksaver: Z Arnožem?
Vončina: Kaj imajo te kurbe z Arnožem?3 (Jančar, 1982, 46)
This powerful scene showing Vončina’s hostile interrogation of Kronarca and Ksaver 
begins with implicit verbal aggression but then grows into explicitly violent discourse. 
The dialogue is a mixture of psychological, verbal and eventually physical aggression. 
The exertion of pressure is initiated and then intensified through multiple carefully 
constructed patterns of recurrence, with which the authority consolidates his supe-
rior position by repeating the (occasionally slightly varied) statements of his victims: 
“Potem sva bila še malo v zakristiji.” (Eng. “Then we stayed a bit longer in the ves-
try.”) or “Petje vadijo.” (Eng. “They rehearse singing.”). The effect of such recurrences 
can partly be attributed to qualities like irony, ambiguity, or mockery that this tech-
nique enhances, but also to the doubt and confusion of the victims, which addition-
ally strengthens the interrogator’s dominance. It should be noted that not only the 
authority’s but also the victim’s utterances contain full or partial repetition – although 
with a different effect: the latter do it in confusion and fear, which is probably the effect 
Vončina wants to achieve.
Another example of repetition occurs when Ana is questioned by Arnož about 
her relationship with the governor. In this dialogue, Arnož, who can be considered the 
main victim on the plot level, transforms into an oppressor, using a similar method 
and repetition technique for abusing and subduing Ana. The emphasis in this instance 
is on the imitation of the victim with the aim to mock and implicitly humiliate:
Arnož:  […] Kako se le moreš obnašati tako servilno?
Ana: Vljudno!
Arnož:  Servilno. Kaj pa tak kravar ve o vljudnosti. […] Hvala, gos-
pod guverner; da, gospod guverner; že odhajate, gospod 
guverner? Servilno, poniževalno! […] Izvolite, gospod gu-
verner. Seveda bom prišla, kadar si me boste poželeli, gos-
pod guverner, vaša vdana … (Jančar, 1982, 62)
Firstly, there is an occurrence of exact repetition when Arnož mocks Ana by describ-
ing her behaviour as “servilno” (Eng. “servile”) and repeating the word, thus judging it 
as inappropriate. He implies that she is too loyal to the governor in an improper way, 
3 Bold type in all excerpts is added for emphasis. 
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and that such behaviour means she has lost her self-respect: “Servilno, poniževalno!” 
(Eng. “Servilely, humiliatingly!”). Ironically, while Arnož is accusing Ana of acting in 
such a way he is the one humiliating and disrespecting her. This is shown through the 
parallel structure of sentences, where Arnož imitates his victim, trying to expose her 
supposedly inappropriate behaviour. The parallel structure of the sentences and use of 
epiphora (repeated phrase endings) contribute to the mocking tone of the imitation, 
as if everything that Ana said was in the service of pleasing Mr. Governor: “Hvala, 
gospod guverner; da, gospod guverner … […] Seveda bom prišla, kadar si me boste 
poželeli, gospod guverner, vaša vdana …” (Eng. “Thank you, Mr. Governor; yes, Mr. 
Governor… […] I will certainly come when you desire me, Mr. Governor...”). 
This pattern echoes Tannen’s (2007, 58) observation that the repetitive structure, 
i.e., parallelism, enables the speaker to establish a paradigm and vary only a part of it, 
while keeping the frame structure unchanged – as in an example she provides: “And he 
knows Spanish, and he knows French, and he knows English, and he knows German, 
and he is a gentleman” (ibid.). In our case, the unchanged repetend is “Mr. Governor”. 
The paradigm starts off as exaggerated imitation and even has humorous elements, 
since in the first two occurrences the repeated part is longer than the new informa-
tion, but then what initially seems teasing grows into degrading, accusatory mockery, 
with Arnož’s implying that Ana would even be willing to please the governor sexually. 
Moreover, since the imitated utterances are fluent as well as parallel in structure, they 
appear as lacking originality, which supports Arnož’s opinion of Ana’s thoughtless sub-
ordination to Mr. Governor. Therefore, he implicitly humiliates her, trying to secure 
his own dominance by making her feel less worthy. 
Another scene where Tannen’s concept of a paradigm applies is Goldberg and Mc-
Cann’s interrogation from Pinter’s The Birthday Party (1996). The paradigm of parallel 
utterances can be spotted even with a mere glance at the page; however, anaphora (re-
peated phrase openings) and stichomythia (alternating utterances between two speak-
ers) emerge even more clearly in the staged performance. Only an excerpt is provided 
here; the whole stichomythic exchange goes on for 71 lines, which adds a sense of 
humour and absurdity to the prevailing feeling of oppression:
Goldberg:   We’ll make a man of you.
McCann:  And a woman.
Goldberg:   You’ll be re-oriented.
McCann:   You’ll be rich.
Goldberg:  You’ll be adjusted.
McCann:   You’ll be our pride and joy.
Goldberg:  You’ll be a mensch.
McCann:   You’ll be a success.
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Goldberg:  You’ll be integrated.
McCann:  You’ll give orders. 
Goldberg:  You’ll make decisions. 
McCann:  You’ll be a magnate.
Goldberg:  A statesman.
McCann:  You’ll own yachts.
Goldberg:  Animals.
McCann:  Animals. (Pinter, 1996, 42)
This scene is frequently staged so that the sitting Stanley is positioned between the 
two interrogators, who thus appear above and slightly behind him, in the strategic 
position, which makes it difficult for Stanley to follow the quick exchange and con-
sequently to defend himself. Even though potential defence is not a realistic option, 
it is still crucial for the scene, since the feeling of helplessness and the inability to act 
contribute to the overall anxiety of the mood, felt not only by the victim but also by 
the audience. Stichomythia, therefore, considerably increases the verbal and psycho-
logical pressure on the victim, owing to the simple fact that the hostile utterances 
are directed at the victim from two sources, both in a position of power. Despite the 
mostly non-threatening but praising and stimulating utterances, their coming from 
two directions as well as their brisk and energetic alternation increases the tension 
and achieves the opposite effect. The menace, however, also seems to stem from the 
occasionally disturbing suggestions by Goldberg and McCann, for example, the open-
ing few utterances in this excerpt (“We’ll make a man of you. […] And a woman. […] 
You’ll be re-oriented. […]”), which seem to suggest that something as unquestionable 
as Stanley’s gender could easily be changed. This is reminiscent of an observation by 
the literary scholar Anamarija Šporčič about how in some genres of fiction gender 
might, in fact, be imposed on a person – “through the act of repetition” (2018, 62) 
– which confronts the reader or the audience with the growing horror of identity 
through insinuation.
Similarly, in the following excerpt from The Crucible, the effect of the utterance 
is enhanced by the form: parallelism is used as a tool for supporting and conveying 
verbal violence and psychological pressure:
Abigail:  She made me do it! She made Betty do it! […] She makes me 
drink blood! […] She sends her spirit on me in church; she 
makes me laugh at prayer! […] She comes to me every night 
to go and drink blood! […] Don’t lie! [To Hale]: She comes 
to me while I sleep; she’s always making me dream corrup-
tions! (Miller, 1987, 45-46) 
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This sequence of parallel exclamatory remarks allows Abigail to establish herself 
as an authority, divert attention from herself and her own guilt, and channel it to Titu-
ba, the most vulnerable member of the group of females who danced in the forest. 
As soon as Tituba enters the room, Abigail points at her “[Mrs Putnam enters with 
Tituba, and instantly Abigail points at Tituba.]” (Miller, 1987, 45) and starts with the 
accusations, since it seems likely that a young girl will be sooner trusted than a slave 
from Barbados. She follows the climactic parallel structure (the only point where she 
interrupts the pattern is when she addresses Tituba with the ironic imperative “Don’t 
lie!”), and by falsely accusing another, she switches from the role of victim to that of 
authority. At the same time, she implicitly subordinates Betty, who is in bed (possibly) 
listening, showing her that the same false accusation could happen to her if she says 
something that might not please the new authority.
2 2 Explicit Verbal and Psychological Violence
Unlike implicit violence, where the aggression is undisclosed, the instances of explicit 
hostility are, according to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, expressed 
“in a way that is very clear and direct” (2010, 595). All the selected examples are both 
clear and direct, but what additionally amplifies the strength of the oppressors is their 
expressing themselves through repetition. In the first example, Judge Danforth needs 
Mary Warren’s confession of her involvement with the devil, otherwise his position 
could be at stake, since he has already signed and issued many death sentences, based 
on the (potentially false) accusations of a group of young women: 
Danforth:  […] You have seen the Devil, have you not? […] You have 
seen the Devil, you have made compact with Lucifer, have 
you not? […] I cannot hear you. What do you say? You will 
confess yourself or you will hang! [He turns her roughly to 
face him.] Do you know who I am? I say you will hang if you 
do not open with me! (Miller, 1987, 103) 
Earlier in the third act, the young women start pretending that they can see Mary’s 
spirit. This chaotic moment is probably the only real chance for Proctor and Mary 
Warren to maintain that no supernatural forces are at work. Danforth, however, is 
aware that this claim could threaten his position, so in his effort to obtain this crucial 
confession he begins to pressure the victim, first by repeating a suggestive, slightly 
varied question, and then, after a climactic sequence of tension-increasing utteranc-
es, with two repetitions of an explicit threat (“…you will hang! […] I say you will 
hang…”). In this pivotal moment, he thus proceeds from implicit to explicit violence, 
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clearly trying to safeguard his position by imposing his power on the victim, whom 
he has already identified as weak earlier in this act: “Mary Warren [weaker]: No, sir. 
Danforth [sensing a weakening]: Has he threatened you?” (Miller, 1987, 91). So, by us-
ing repetitive patterns Danforth achieves the desired outcome, and since he is a formal 
authority, Mary is repressed and has no real choice to answer freely. 
In the next example, Jančar combines two antithetic polyptotons, i.e., opposing 
concepts with varying prefixes and suffixes but the same root, to construct a pattern 
of explicit verbal and psychological violence. Vončina, in the position of an authority, 
uses them to humiliate his victims Ksaver and particularly Kronarca with the repeated 
insult kurba (Eng. whore) and its antipode moliti (Eng. pray):
Vončina:  Kaj imajo te kurbe z Arnožem? […] [Hodi po prostoru, spo-
toma razmeče posteljo, vrže kak predmet na tla.] Bordel im-
ate tukaj. Vaš prerok in učitelj ima tukaj kurbišče. [Stopi h 
Kronarci.] No, pa ti povej, kaj sta počela v zakristiji? […] [ji 
vleče roke narazen]: Ne boš molila, tukaj ne boš molila. Če v 
cerkvi ne znaš moliti. Kurba. Zbor neporočenih kurb, ne pa 
kronaric Device Marije. […] Ne bosta se kurbala v zakristiji. 
Tukaj se bosta kurbala, pri svojem kurbirskem profesorju, 
pri Satanovem poslancu. [Tišči ju skupaj, tolče, pljuva.] […] 
Dajta se, tu se dajta v tem bordelu. […] (Jančar 1982, 46-47)
The seven-fold polyptoton of the insult kurba (Eng. whore), which is the most salient 
iterative figure in this excerpt, densely fills Vončina’s utterance, yet it shows a consid-
erable diversity of form. Partly, this can be attributed to the inflectional nature of the 
Slovene language, but also to the playwright’s choice. The parts of speech expand from 
a singular noun insulting Kronarca and plural noun referring to all of Arnož’s support-
ers to the adjective kurbirski profesor (Eng. whoring professor), also used for Arnož, and 
verb kurbati (Eng. to whore). Among seven recurrences of this polyptoton, only two 
are the same, the rest are varied. This adds to the multiplicative effect of the repeti-
tion, since diversity of vocabulary by definition enriches the textual potential, in this 
case in a negative way. Moreover, the expression bordel (Eng. brothel) is used, which is 
technically not part of the polyptoton, but as a synonym it expands the repetition se-
mantically. Finally, the stylistic element to enhance this range of insults is the antithetic 
polyptoton based on the verb moliti (Eng. pray), which is semantically on the opposite 
side of the spectrum. All three of its occurrences that emerge in three consecutive sen-
tences are in the negative verb form, thus supporting the speaker’s main aim to humili-
ate and subdue the victims. The clauses are short and parallel: “Ne boš molila, tukaj 
ne boš molila. Če v cerkvi ne znaš moliti.” (Eng. “You shall not pray, you shall not pray 
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here. Since you cannot pray in church.”), and they could also be viewed as a litotes, 
which is a rhetorical figure of claiming or stressing something by denying its opposite. 
Since Kronarca’s praying is in contrast with the insult whore and is now negated, this 
is, in fact, used to semantically repeat the insult. This double polyptoton thus enhances 
malicious atmosphere not only with its clustered density and meticulously planned 
word variety, but also with the synergic effect of two contrasting series of recurrences.
Explicit verbal violence can also be seen in Vončina’s utterance directed at 
Arnož. The audience learns that the latter used to be Vončina’s teacher, and exercised 
both physical and verbal violence over him at that time. Now, the roles are reversed, 
Vončina is in the position of authority and threatens Arnož with what seems per-
sonal revenge:
Vončina:  Arnož, jaz si tega ne dovoljujem. Jaz se vam lahko grdo 
maščujem. Jaz vam še nisem odpustil tiste klofute. (Jančar 
1982, 36)
The threat in the central sentence of this parallelly structured utterance is explicit: 
“Jaz se vam lahko grdo maščujem.” (Eng. “I can take severe revenge against you.”). 
The anaphora that links the three draws attention not only because of the repetition 
itself, but to a large extent because of the unusual use of the personal pronoun jaz 
(Eng. I) in the subject position, which is regular in English syntax, but not in Slo-
vene.4 So, its unusual use brings the speaker and his self-consciousness into the fore-
ground, while he himself underlines his newly gained authority and the concomitant 
possibility of revenge.
Finally, let us look closely at the figure of polysyndeton in the following utterance 
by Abigail from The Crucible, enhanced by the short sentences introduced with the 
repeated conjunction:
Abigail:   Now look you. All of you. We danced. And Tituba conjured 
Ruth Putnam’s dead sisters. And that is all. And mark this. 
Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, 
about the other things, and I will come to you in the black 
of some terrible night, and I will bring a pointy reckoning 
that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw 
Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next 
4 The neutral formulation in Slovene would be “Lahko se vam grdo maščujem”, since the suffix –m of 
the conjugated verb se maščujem indicates the first person singular subject. This is similar to some 
other European languages (e.g., Italian, French, German), where the verb suffix changes according to 
the grammatical person and number; however, in Slovene the personal pronoun (in this case “jaz”) is 
dropped, while in French or German it remains part of the structure.
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to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night, 
and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go 
down! (Miller, 1987, 26-27)
The threat in the passage is explicit, and polysyndeton gives it climactic strength. 
Combined with the personal pronoun I (“[…] and I will come to you… […] and I will 
bring… […] and I have seen… […] and I can make you…”), the parallel structure sup-
ports Abigail in establishing her superiority over other girls. Each addition she makes 
increases both the explicit threat and pressure on the girls, which are enhanced by the 
rhetorical scheme of polysyndeton.
3 Conclusion
Repetition as a rhetorical scheme has the potential to achieve a range of effects, from 
acting as a mere aesthetic accessory to playing a salient role in various segments of the 
dramatic structure. 
As we have shown in this article, repetition in a range of forms can effectively con-
tribute to building a malicious atmosphere in interrogation or torture scenes. These 
frequently start in a seemingly mild tone and progress to openly menacing and hostile 
incidents, possibly even combined with physical action. Repetition proves efficient at 
all stages of this process: in the early phases, when the threat in the interrogators’ utter-
ances is still merely implicit, the role of repetition is substantial, since the majority of 
the pressure-creating potential comes from the iterative utterances (e.g., questions) of 
the interrogator. When threatening, scolding and other forms of abuse become overt, 
repetition multiplies their strength and arouses the impression of ongoing verbal and 
psychological pressure. This phenomenon contributes considerably to the hostile 
mood and is, therefore, a vital stylistic element of the dramatic structure.
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Tomaž Onič, Nastja Prajnč Kacijan
Repetition as a means of verbal and psychological violence in 
interrogation scenes from contemporary drama
Keywords: repetition, recurrence, verbal violence, psychological violence, modern drama
The psychological and verbal pressure that often saturates the atmosphere in the interroga-
tion scenes of certain subgenres of post-WWII drama can be achieved through various stylis-
tic means. Among these are repetition and recurrence, which conveniently suit the nature of 
vicious interrogations, where questions (often illogical) are posed repeatedly, partly to extort 
information from the victim but predominantly to break the victim’s resistance. Used in the ut-
terances of the speaker, these repetitive questions or parts thereof intensify the distressing mood 
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and strengthen the superiority of the speaker who intimidates, humiliates or otherwise degrades 
the victim. In this study, the focus will be on those instances of repetition and recurrence that 
contribute strongly to creating such situations and relationships in contemporary drama. The 
traditional iteration patterns will be identified, analysed and categorized according to the po-
tential intensity of the repression and the schematic type of recurrence. The examples are taken 
from plays by Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter and Drago Jančar.
Tomaž Onič, Nastja Prajnč Kacijan
Ponavljanje kot sredstvo besednega in psihološkega nasilja v 
zasliševalnih prizorih v sodobni drami
Ključne besede: ponavljanje, ponovna pojavitev, besedno nasilje, psihološko nasilje, 
sodobna drama
Psihološke in verbalne pritiske, s katerimi so pogosto prežeti prizori zasliševanja v nekaterih 
dramskih delih iz obdobja po drugi svetovni vojni, dramatik pogosto doseže z različnimi slo-
govnimi sredstvi. Med njimi sta ponavljanje in ponovna pojavitev, ki kot besedni figuri ustreza-
ta naravi zloveščih zasliševanj, na katerih zasliševalci (pogosto nelogična) vprašanja zastavljajo 
znova in znova – včasih zato, da bi od žrtve izsilili določene informacije, večinoma pa zato, da bi 
zlomili njen odpor. Ta ponavljajoča se vprašanja ali njihovi deli stopnjujejo napetost in krepijo 
nadvlado govorca, ki žrtev ustrahuje, ponižuje ali kako drugače degradira. Pričujoči prispevek 
se osredinja na tiste primere ponovitev in ponovnih pojavitev, ki znatno prispevajo k ustvarjanju 
takšnih situacij in odnosov v sodobni drami. Nadalje raziskava analizira tradicionalne iteracij-
ske vzorce ter jih kategorizira glede na potencialno intenzivnost represije in figurativni vzorec 
ponovitve. Primeri so prevzeti iz iger Arthurja Millerja, Harolda Pinterja in Draga Jančarja.
O avtorjih 
Tomaž Onič je izredni profesor za angleško književnost na Oddelku za anglistiko in amerikani-
stiko Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Mariboru. Poučuje različne predmete s področja književ-
nosti in književnega prevajanja. Njegovo raziskovalno delo obsega britansko in ameriško dramo 
v tesni povezavi s prevajanjem in kulturološkimi študijami ter literarno stilistiko. V zadnjih letih 
se raziskovalno osredotoča na igre Harolda Pinterja in njihovo dojemanje v slovenskem kultur-
nem prostoru ter na prevajanje Shakespearjevih iger v slovenščino. 
Nastja Prajnč Kacijan je študentka anglistike in zgodovine magistrske stopnje na Filozofski 
fakulteti Univerze v Mariboru. Tri študijske semestre je bila študentska demonstratorka in je 
tako sodelovala pri raziskovalnem delu članov oddelka. Je soavtorica članka, sodelovala pa je 
tudi na več mednarodnih konferencah pri predstavitvah prispevkov na temo sovražni govor v 
moderni drami. 
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About the authors
Tomaž Onič is an Associate Professor of English literature in the Department of English and 
American Studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor. He teaches a variety of courses 
in literature and literary translation. His research interests include British and American drama 
in close connection with translation and cultural studies, as well as literary stylistics. In recent 
years, the focus of his research interest has been the plays of Harold Pinter and their reception in 
the Slovene cultural space, and translations of Shakespeare’s plays into Slovene.
Nastja Prajnč Kacijan is a student of English studies and history (MA) at the Faculty of Arts, 
University of Maribor. She has been a student demonstrator for three semesters, thus parti-
cipating in research work conducted by department members. She has co-published a paper 
and co-presented talks at several international conferences, dealing mostly with hate speech in 
modern drama.
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