This book was first published in Germany more than a decade ago. At that time, in 1977, it was a pioneering work in its attempt to bridge the gap between drama and theatre studies and to devise a model for a coordinated analysis of the various levels of verbal and non-verbal communication in a dramatic text performed on stage. It soon became a standard work on the subject in university courses all over Germany, where its impact has been felt in almost all relevant studies published since then. Its continued success in German-speaking countries – the English translation coincides with the fifth edition of the German original – and the positive response from many colleagues and students encouraged me to prepare this version for a wider readership abroad.

This new readership has prompted several changes. Many passages which draw upon rather remote samples of German drama have had to be discarded or, more often than not, to be replaced by more accessible English examples, and many references to less important or by now out-dated German academic studies have had to be omitted.