"I only wrote to escape hell - and that never worked - but on the other side of the world, when you sit there and look at something and think this is the most perfect expression of hell I've felt so maybe it was worth it. (Sarah Kane, Royal Holloway College, London, November 3, 1998). » (Saunders. 2002: 1). The state of being human is both representative and reflected in this statement by British playwright Sarah Kane (1971-1999) (Sierz. 2001: 90-91). In a literal sense, the state of being human could be illustrated as an expression of existence. That of the individual and the characteristics and traits experienced throughout the life of mortal man. (Oxford English Dictionary. 2006: 61 and 366). In addition to this, the meaning associated with the word "tested" suggests "a difficult situation that reveals the strength or quality of someone or something." (Oxford English Dictionary. 2006: 785). When defined in these terms, it then opens up the question of how an expression of human existence is revealed under pressure in Sarah Kane's play Blasted (1995). The first sensational drama of 20th-century British playwright Sarah Kane (1971-1999) was Blasted. opened at the Royal Court Theater Upstairs, London, in January 1995. (Saunders. 2002: 2). From the beginning, Kane's play caused much controversy within the media. The title itself had a great impact on its audience, as its formed meaning and literal association is a term "expressing annoyance". (Oxford English Dictionary. 2006: 70). As British theater critic Aleks Sierz said, Kane's Blasted is "a shocking play whose crude language and powerful images of rape, eye gouging, and cannibalism provoked critical outrage... Kane blew up theater...... middle of paper... ...tp://www.robertsilverstone.com/wp-content/articles/Art_of_Being_Human_Part1.pdf. [Accessed 21 April 2012] Stephens, S. (2010) Sarah Kane's first play, Blasted, returns. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/oct/24/sarah-kane-blasted. [Accessed April 21, 2012] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, (2009) War. [Online] Available at: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/war. [Accessed April 21, 2012] The Guardian, (2005) “The art of suicide? She's better than that. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2005/oct/12/theatre. [Accessed April 21, 2012] Wixson, C. (2005) 'In Better Places': Space, Identity and Alienation in Sarah Kane's Blasted. [Online] Available at: http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.falmouth.ac.uk/journals/comparative_drama/summary/v039/39.1.wixson.html. [Accessed April 19 2012]