Dead Class is a web of references to Polish culture and literature, as well as to the Bible, the Old Testament and Greek and Roman mythology. These references form the basis of a rich tapestry of wordplay that's lost without an understanding of Polish. As Marek Jodłowski puts it: “Dead Class is a poem, made of predominantly extralingual components, but then again, so is poetry, whether phonic or visual, always extralingual.” Each word evokes a multitude of meanings, symbolic and literal, and layers of historical and literary significations. Nevertheless, while few audience members outside Poland understand the play's language, it is perhaps the lack of understanding that gives Dead Class an aura of enigma, exoticism and international magic. Brian D. Barron describes the process: “When we are all silent, [the actors] slowly animate into Polish words and gestures that are strangely gripping.” If one does not understand the words, they become whatever one wants them to be; the enigma fascinated audiences and fueled their imaginations.

The images Kantor used to create Dead Class reflect the so-called Polish School of Grotesque. Eileen Blumenthal, alone among American critics, rightly noted that “Kantor's vision of the death of culture is very close to themes in Grotowski's work, although his sensibility is linked to a more general tradition of Polish surrealist writing, including the works of Bruno Schulz, Witkiewicz and Gombrowicz.”