MAXIM OF POLITENESS FOUND IN THE CHARACTERS CONVERSATIONS OF “WICKED” (2024)

This study investigates the maxim of politeness in the characters’ conversations in Wicked (2024). The research focuses on two main problems: first, to identify the types of politeness found in the characters’ dialogues, and second, to analyze the context of situation influencing the use of politeness maxims. The study applies Leech’s (1983) Politeness Principle theory to examine the strategies of politeness employed by the characters and Halliday’s (1985) framework of context of situation to understand the field, tenor, and mode of the interactions. The findings indicate that the characters’ conversations predominantly employ tact and approbation maxims, with variations influenced by the social roles, relationships, and situational contexts. The study also highlights that some character utterances, particularly between protagonists and antagonists, do not fully align with the expected politeness strategies, reflecting complexity in interpersonal dynamics. This research is limited to the analysis of politeness maxim and context of situation, and future studies are recommended to explore broader aspects of literary pragmatics and character analysis. The results of this study provide insights into the interplay between politeness, social context, and character interaction in literary works.