The article examines hybridity in literature, focusing on Peter Handke’s play Storm Still. It explores themes of identity, language and history in a multicultural context, drawing on Julia Kristeva’s Revolution in Poetic Language and the concepts it develops, particularly the distinction between the semiotic and symbolic registers of language. The article proposes a hybrid poetological model that builds on these concepts, emphasising how intertextuality mediates and transforms the interaction between the semiotic and symbolic, and how this process fosters hybridity through multilingualism, unconventional structures, figurative language and translation. The analysis foregrounds the fragmented sentence structures, multilingual content and cultural references that reflect fluid identities and cultural intersections in Handke’s play. The article also considers the Slovenian minority in Austrian Carinthia and broader global influences, revealing how historical and cultural layers intertwine. Handke’s use of hybridity – of languages, cultures and references – serves as a poetic device to explore belonging and displacement. The article concludes that this hybrid poetological approach offers a deeper understanding of Handke’s complex work. Overall, hybridity functions as a vital tool in addressing the intricacies of identity, language and memory in a multicultural world.
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