Psychological Complexity and Narrative Form in Peter Shaffer’s Equus: A Close Comparative Study through the Lens of Modern Narrative Theory

Author(s)	Dr. Vaishali Shivkumar Biradar
Country	India
Abstract	Peter Shaffer’s Equus (1973) is a seminal modern drama that stages profound psychological conflict while interrogating the boundaries of narrative form. This article offers a close, comparative study of the psychological dimensions of Equus, especially the fraught dynamic between Alan Strang and Dr. Martin Dysart, analyzed through the theoretical lenses of Gérard Genette’s narratology, Dorrit Cohn’s theory of consciousness representation, Mikhail Bakhtin’s dialogism, and Paul Ricoeur’s narrative temporality. It demonstrates how Shaffer’s use of non-linear structure, choric commentary, and fractured temporality constructs psychological complexity while foregrounding the ethical ambiguity of psychiatry itself. By quoting extensively from the play and integrating insights from Modern Narrative Theory, this study argues that Equus resists reductive interpretations of pathology, instead presenting a polyphonic, layered account of desire, repression, ritual, and modern alienation.
Field	Sociology > Linguistic / Literature
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 4, July-August 2025
Published On	2025-07-05
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i04.50277

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