Introduction
Roland Barthes, the French philosopher, in his seminal work titled S/Z, developed a distinctive and innovative approach to text interpretation, focusing on the process of meaning-making and the identification of the origin of the text or the narrator’s identity. According to Barthes, a text is a complex system of signs, and his method of analysis, based on the examination of five distinct codes—hermeneutic, proairetic, semic, symbolic, and cultural—aims to uncover how a text is structured and how meaning is constructed within it. By analyzing and decoding these five interwoven codes, which are embedded in the textual units (Lexia), a multitude of possible interpretations of the text can emerge, with the reader or performer playing a critical and active role in this process.
The present study applies Barthes’s approach to a semiotic analysis of Fe’l (The Verb), a Persian play written by Mohammad Rezaei-Rad, with the objective of investigating Barthes’s method—originally devised for the analysis of narrative texts—in the context of dramatic works.
Fe’l deviates significantly from the conventional structure of well-made drama. The play's treatment of time does not represent the reader's experience of natural time, resulting in a fragmented and disjointed narrative. Unlike the causal logic of events and the conventional temporal structure found in plot of traditional well-made drama, the narrative of Fe’l lacks a conventional sequence of cause and effect, with events occurring without a predictable or linear progression. Furthermore, it appears that traditional or academic classical methods of meaning-making or interpretation are insufficient to capture the full semiotic and semantic dimensions of this text. The conventional approaches to dramatic analysis fail to illuminate the complex interplay of signs and meanings embedded in Fe’l. For this reason, an analysis of the play through Barthes's five-code model provides a more effective framework for understanding its semiotic and interpretive intricacies.
The primary objective of this research is to reflect on possibility of Barthes interpretation in dramatic texts and more over is to explore the interpretive potential of Fe’l through Barthes's proposed method, thereby revealing the latent literary capacities and underlying meanings of the play that may remain obscured through traditional methods of dramatic analysis.

Materials & Methods
This study employs a descriptive-analytical method, with data collected through library studies. Primary materials include Barthes' key works, such as S/Z (1970) and related essays, alongside the full text of Rezaei-Rad's play "The Verb: Shetāhiyāti dar Dastur" (2017). The analysis involves segmenting the play into meaning units (lexia) and examining each of Barthes' five codes: Hermeneutic (enigmas and resolutions), Semic (connotative meanings), Symbolic (binary oppositions), Proairetic (actions and sequences), and Cultural (references to shared knowledge). Data on Barthes are described, then analytically confronted with the play's text to uncover structural and interpretive layers.
Discussion & Result
The analysis reveals "Fe'l" as a "writerly" (scriptible) text, open to multiple interpretations due to its interwoven codes. Hermeneutic codes dominate through enigmas, such as the title "Fe'l" or"The Verb" (evoking grammatical verbs and mystical "shetāhiyāt" or ecstatic utterances), the presence of a male teacher (Farhad Kateb) in a girls' school, invisible characters suggesting supernatural or psychological elements, and disruptive behaviors (e.g., sudden slaps or threats), creating suspense and non-linear narrative progression. Semic codes produce implicit connotations, e.g., "Farhad" alluding to the legendary lover in Persian literature, "school" symbolizing Foucaultian panoptic discipline, and "verb" denoting unrestricted action beyond grammatical constraints. Symbolic codes manifest in binary oppositions like male/female, love/hate, virginity/deflowering, sanity/madness, and freedom/oppression, structuring the play's thematic conflicts. Proairetic codes drive the plot via action sequences, including Farhad's hiring, interpersonal tensions (e.g., jealousy-fueled fights, romantic entanglements), and the climax of Leyla Arash's suicide, blending realistic and surreal timelines. Cultural codes reference Iranian-Islamic norms (e.g., gender segregation, familial hierarchies), Sufi mysticism, Foucaultian power dynamics, and myths like the crane (symbolizing fidelity and tragedy), critiquing societal repression. Results indicate that Hermeneutic and Proairetic codes propel the narrative logic, while Semic, Symbolic, and Cultural codes expand implicit meanings, confirming "Fe'l" as a semiotic-rich, interpretable drama that challenges traditional structures and highlights reader/performer agency.

Conclusion
In this study, Barthes' method was applied to interpret the text of play named The Verb, with a comparison to traditional or “academic” modes of analysis. Ultimately, it was demonstrated that in dramatic or theatrical texts, hermeneutic and proairetic codes act as driving forces, moving the text towards a determined end, while three other codes—semantic, cultural, and symbolic—provide foundational information and implicit meanings essential for comprehension. Interpreting this text through Barthes' lens revealed that the work addresses contemporary concepts regarding the relationship between language and paradigms of power, justice, culture, Persian mysticism, and literature, critiquing a gendered and hierarchical society—one that pushes nonconformists towards isolation and forces elite individuals into alienation and eventual senescence. Ultimately, the Verb portrays a tragedy of dissent and rebellion within contemporary Iranian society.
The study's implicit findings are as follows:
1- In the play, proairetic codes either unravel or create narrative entanglements, and according to Barthes' approach, these proairetic codes may potentially function as hermeneutic codes.
2- In dramatic texts, hermeneutic codes disrupt the logical sequence of events, generating mysteries and questions. Since hermeneutic codes themselves develop and reveal the text's narrative, they can alter the narrative style. In texts with non-linear, non-realistic, and non-causal storytelling, these enigmatic codes, through their non-causal and non-linear presence, shift the narrative structure.
3- Barthes' model for analyzing narrative texts can also serve as an effective method for interpatating dramatic texts.