Fear-Driven Dialogue: A Linguistic Study of Death Knocks and Death

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2026

Abstract

This study explores how fear as a mood state affects conversational patterns and shapes communicative behavior. It offers a novel perspective on how fear influences both verbal and nonverbal interactions. Drawing on dialogues from Woody Allen's Death Knocks and Death, the analysis employs Conversation Analysis by Jack Sidnell (2010) and the multimodal extensions proposed by Lorenza Mondada (2019). The study addresses a notable gap by applying both Conversation Analysis (CA) and Multimodal Conversation Analysis (MMCA) to Woody Allen's modern drama, where gestures, posture, and movement are central to meaning-making. The study also moves beyond single-discipline approaches by adopting an interdisciplinary framework that brings together applied linguistics and theatre studies.

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