A Reconstruction-analysis of Buried Child by Playwright Sam Shepard

This book is the product of a computer-aided text analysis of Sam Shepard's Buried Child. Its methodology centers on the idea that one gains a greater understanding of a "whole" from a complete analysis of its parts, the parts of a playscript being each character's dialogue and the stage directions. The computer performed a double breakdown of the script: first, the separate parts in full-line text; second, formatting the separate parts into individual concordances. (Thus "reconstructing the text."). The human activity is also on two levels. First, an analysis of full-line text; then the analysis of the concordance files. The investigation is concluded with an analytical/critical essay comparing the project's findings with that of published critical analyses.