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Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naionale a
Romniei

CLONEA, PROCOPIE
Literary text analysis : (from theory to
practice) / Procopie P. Clonea. - Pitesti : Editura
Universitii din Pitesti, 2008
Bibliogr.
Index
ISBN 978-973-690-807-1

811.111.09


CONTENTS

Introduction...................... 7

PART ONE: $ 7+(25(7,&$/ $3352$&+ 72 7+(
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11

1.1 Style and Stylistics........................... 11
1.2 The Elements of Literary Style............... 14
1.3 Stylistic Functions....................... 17
1.4 Language`s 'Double Intention` and the Problem of
Style.......................
18
1.5 The Stylistic Attitude................... 21
1.6 Style Investigation............... 23

PART TWO: $ 7+(25(7,&$/ $3352$&+ 72 7+(
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2.1 Setting........................... 31
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2.2 Character.................... 34
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2.3 Plot...................... 44
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2.4 Narrator and Point of View .............. 53
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2.5 Narrative Dimensions ................. 63
A. Time..................... 65
Duration.......................
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Order................... 68
Frequency.................. 70
B. Characterization................ 71
C. Focalization.................. 75

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Theme, Plot and Character - %HRZXOI 88
Theme and Composition - 7KH%DWWOHRI0DOGRQ 98
The Comic Portrait - -RVHSK$QGUHZV 107
Contrast and Gradation - 7RP-RQHV 110
Discourse-Based Text Analysis - $ 0RGHVW
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A Socio-Semiotic Interpretation of the Literary
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The Stylistics of the Literary Text - 7KH 0DVTXH
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A Three-Level Approach to the Literary Text -
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Setting and Symbol in the Literary Text -
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The Nature and Function of Poetry. Translating
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BIBLIOGRAPHY..................... 182

Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 7
Introduction

Literary text analysis presupposes to ask what a
particular text means, how and why it works. The analytical
process is complex but it can be broken down into two basic
activities: first, dividing the text into its constituent parts, its
main elements and/or themes; and second, explaining how
these parts are related, both to each other and to the text as a
whole. Generally speaking, the purpose oI text analysis is to
make inIerences about the meaning oI the text, i.e. to make
explicit in one`s analysis what is merely implicit in the text.
As a discipline, literary text analysis is part oI the
broader Iield oI narratology which began to take shape in
1966, the year in which the French journal Communications
brought out a special issue entitled 'The structural analysis oI
narrative.
The term narratology itselI was coined three years
later, by one oI the contributors to that special issue, Tzvetan
Todorov
1
(1969: 9) who considered that narratology is the
theory of the structures of narrative.
There is little consensus, however, when it comes to
deIining the term narrative. Thus, Gerald Prince
2
deIines it as
'the recounting oI one or more real or Iictitious events in the
Iorm oI 'product and process, object and act, structure and
structuration (1988: 58), while Onega and Landa
3
deIine
the term as Iollows:
a. in a wider sense as 'a work with a plot (e.g. epic
poetry, tragedy, comedy), or
b. in a narrower sense as 'a work with a narrator (epic
poetry, but not drama or Iilm). (1996: 1). They go even

1
Todorov, Tzvetan (1969). Grammaire au Decameron. The Hague:
Mouton.
2
Prince, Gerald (1988). A Dictionary of Narratology. Aldershot: Solar
Press.
3
Onega, Susana and Landa, Jose Angel Garcia (eds.) (1996).
Narratology. Harlow: Longman.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 8
Iurther and combine their wider and narrower sense
deIinitions as Iollows: 'A narrative is the semiotic
representation oI a series oI events meaningIully connected in
a temporal and causal way. Films, plays, comic strips, novels,
newsreels, diaries, chronicles and treatises oI geological
history are all narratives in this wider sense. (1996: 3)
Seymour Chatman
4
claims that there is no particular
reason why 'to narrate should mean only 'to tell, and he
suggests that once 'we decide to deIine Narrative as the
composite oI story and discourse (on the basis oI its unique
double chronology), then logically, at least, narratives can be
said to be actualizable on the stage or in other iconic media.
(1990: 114)
In broad lines all theories oI narrative distinguish
between WHAT is narrated (the story`) and HOW it is
narrated (the discourse`). Some theorists, among them
Grard Genette
5
, preIer a narrow meaning oI the term
narrative`, restricting narratives to verbally narrated texts
(Genette, 1988: 17). Others, Ior example Barthes
6
, 1975,
Chatman, 1990, Pavel
7
, 1985, Bal
8
, 1985, argue that anything
that tells a story, in whatever genre, constitutes a narrative.

4
Chatman, Seymour (1990). Coming to Terms. The Rhetoric of
Narrative in Fiction ana Film. Ithaca and London: Cornell University
Press.
5
Genette, Gerard (1988). Narrative Discourse Revisitea. Trans. Jane
E. Lewin. Ithaca: Cornell UP. (Orig. Nouveau Discours au Recit.
Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1983.)
6
Barthes, Roland (1975) |1966|. 'An Introduction to the Structural
Analysis oI Narrative. New Literary History 6: 237-272.
7
Pavel, Thomas G. (1985a). The Poetics of Plot. The Case of English
Renaissance Drama. Manchester: Manchester UP.
Pavel, Thomas G. (1985b). 'Literary Narratives. Discourse ana
Literature. New Approaches to the Analysis of Literary Genres. Ed.
Teun A. van Dijk. Amsterdam: Benjamins. 85-103.
8
Bal, Mieke. (1985). Narratology. Trans. Christine van Boheemen.
Toronto: University oI Toronto Press.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 9
The distinction between narrative and story lies in the
Iollowing:
xa narrative is anything that tells or presents a story, be it
by text, picture, perIormance, or a combination oI these.
E.g. novels, plays, Iilms, comic strips, etc.
xa story is a sequence of events involving characters.
Events` include natural and nonnatural happenings like
Iloods and car accidents. Characters get involved by being
agents (causing an event), patients or beneIiciaries (being
aIIected by an event). On the basis oI this distinction
linguists make a Iurther distinction between verbs which
signal willIul (volitional`) acts (What aoes X ao? - jump
Irom a bridge, watch a show) and verbs which signal
nonvolitional acts or experiences (What aoes X experience?
- Ialling Irom a bridge, seeing an accident).
According to Ferdinand de Saussure, any linguistic
sign consists oI a signiIier` and a signiIied` - basically, a
Iorm and a meaning. For the narrative text as a complex
sign, the signiIier is the discourse` (a mode oI presentation)
and the signiIied is a story` (an action sequence). Thus,
narratological investigation usually pursues one oI two basic
orientations as Iollows:
xdiscourse narratology - analyzes the stylistic choices that
determine the Iorm or realization oI a narrative text (or
perIormance, in the case oI Iilms and plays). It also deals
with the pragmatic Ieatures that contextualize text or
perIormance within the social and cultural Iramework oI a
narrative act.
xstory narratology, by contrast, Iocuses on the action units
that emplot` and arrange a stream oI events into a trajectory
oI themes, motives and plot lines.
Our own approach to literary text analysis
encompasses both aiscourse narratology and story
narratology since in Part One oI our book (A 1heoretical
Approach to the Concept of Style) we deal with the concept
oI style in terms oI its various denotations, the elements oI a








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 10
literary style, the stylistic Iunctions, the double intention oI
language, the stylistic attitude, style investigation as well as
the social and cultural Iramework oI a narrative act, while in
Part Two (A 1heoretical Approach to the Elements of
Literary 1ext Analysis) we Iocus on the main elements oI a
literary text analysis (such as setting, character, plot, point of
view, aimensions of narrative) in view oI setting out a scheme
to Iollow when analyzing a literary text. Finally, in Part Three
(A Practical Approach to Literary 1ext Analysis), we set
Iorth ten literary analyses dwelling on Theme, Plot ana
Character - Beowulf, Theme ana Composition - 1he Battle
of Maldon, The Comic Portrait - 1oseph Andrews, Contrast
ana Graaation - 1om 1ones, Discourse-Basea Text Analysis -
A Modest Proposal, A Socio-Semiotic Interpretation of the
Literary Text - 1he Oval Portrait, The Stylistics of the
Literary Text - 1he Masque of the Red Death, A Three-Level
Approach to the Literary Text - 1he Raven and Aever More,
Setting ana Symbol in the Literary Text - Stopping by Woods
on a Snowy Evening, The Nature ana Function of Poetry.
Translating 1he Rime of the Ancient Mariner, all oI them
meant to bridge the gap between the theory and practice oI
literary text analysis.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 11
PART ONE
A 1HEORE1ICAL APPROACH 1O 1HE COACEP1
OF S1YLE

1.1Style and Stylistics

Style is the essential characteristic oI every piece oI
writing, the outcome oI the writer`s personality and his
emotions at the moment oI writing, and no paragraph can be
put together without revealing to some degree the personality
oI its author. It is universally acknowledged that every writer
has a literary style and that his style is reIlected in his writing.
In particular, style has been used to reIer to the
idiosyncratic manner oI an individual or group; or to a
small-scale Iormal property oI texts; or to a kind oI extra or
heightened expressiveness, present in non-literary language
as well; or to a decorum based on social or cultural context;
or to any one oI a number oI other concepts.
9

On account oI the Iact that style is an ambiguous
concept, trying to deIine stylistics, i.e. the study oI the
distinctive styles Iound in particular literary genres and in the
works oI individual writers, actually means starting a debate
with a view to Iinding its place as a science proper.
To begin with, there are obviously three perspectives on
the matter to be taken into consideration because oI their
inIluencing the possible deIinitions oI the concept: on the one
hand, there are some who believe that stylistics should be
included either in the Iield oI literature, or in that oI linguistics,
without any possible compromise; others, on the other hand,
regard it as an interdisciplinary science, somehow at the border
oI the two; and Iinally, members oI the third party grant it an
autonomous existence among other related sciences that it may
even include.

9
CI. Chatman, Seymour (editor) (1971). Literary Style. A Symposium.
London and New York: OxIord University Press.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 12
This direction based upon the ambiguity oI style itselI is
adopted by Katie Wales (1991) who states that stylistics is 'the
study oI style; yet, just as style can be viewed in several ways,
so there are several diIIerent stylistic approaches. This variety
in stylistics is due to the main inIluences oI linguistics and
literary criticism. |...| The goal oI most stylistic studies is not
simply to describe the Iormal Ieatures oI texts Ior their own
sake, but in order to show their Iunctional signiIicance Ior the
interpretation oI the text; or in order to relate literary eIIects to
linguistic causes` where these are Ielt to be relevant
10
.
Furthermore, David Crystal (1993) deIines stylistics
along the same lines, i.e. as 'the linguistic study oI what is
considered to be style`
11
but he also gives it a speciIic goal to
achieve. In his opinion, besides the reader`s initial aesthetic
response to the text, there is the need Ior 'some technique
which will help to clariIy the meaning oI a text. Stylistics, then,
hopes to provide just such a technique oI comprehensive
analysis
12
.
In his turn, Michael Toolan (1998) takes the same idea
and applies it mostly to literary stylistics, but his view on the
concept is similar to that oI Crystal, i.e. that it is actually con-
cerned with excellence oI technique. Moreover, 'one oI the
crucial things attempted by stylistics is to put the discussion oI
textual eIIects and techniques on a public, shared Iooting -a
Iooting as shared and established |...| as is available to
inIormed language-users. |...| The other chieI Ieature oI
stylistics is that it persists in the attempt to understand
technique, or the craIt oI writing
13
.

10
Wales, Katie (1991). A Dictionary of Stylistics. London and New
York: Longman, pp. 437-438.
11
Crystal, David, Bolton, W. F. (eds.) (1993). The English Language.
London: Penguin Books, p. 214
12
Ibidem, pp. 214-215
13
Toolan, Michael (1998). Language in Literature. An Introauction to
Stylistics. London and New York: Arnold Publishers, Preliminaries, p.
ix







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 13
Hence, in Toolan`s opinion, stylistics enables us to
perIorm a 'close examination oI the linguistic peculiarities oI a
text towards an understanding oI the anatomy and Iunctions oI
language.
From a diIIerent perspective, H. G. Widdowson (1997)
suggests a deIinition oI stylistics that takes us back to the
interdisciplinary character oI it, somewhere at the border
between literary criticism and linguistics. As he puts it, 'by
stylistics` I mean the study oI literary discourse Irom a
linguistic orientation and I shall take the view that
distinguishes stylistics Irom literary criticism on the one hand
and linguistics on the other is that it is essentially a means oI
linking the two and has (as yet at least) no autonomous
domain oI its own. |.| Stylistics, however, involves both
literary criticism and linguistics, as its morphological make-up
suggests: the style` component relating it to the Iormer and the
istics` component to the latter
14
.
Widdowson draws the conclusion that 'the purpose oI
stylistics is to link the two approaches by extending the
linguist`s literary intuitions and the critic`s linguistic
observations and making their relationship explicit
15
.
Moreover, taking the debate to one oI its extremes, I.
R. Galperin (1977) assigns stylistics to the area oI linguistics
exclusively, and gives it two main directions oI research as a
science proper. As he sees it, 'Stylistics, also called linguo-
stylistics, is a branch oI general linguistics. It deals mainly
with two interdependent tasks: a) the investigation oI the
inventory oI special language media which by their ontological
Ieatures secure the desirable eIIect oI the utterance, and b)
certain types oI texts (discourse) which due to the choice and
arrangement oI language means are distinguished by the
pragmatic aspect oI the communication
16
.

14
Widdowson, H. G. (1997). Stylistics ana the Teaching of Literature.
London: Longman, p.3
15
ibidem, pp. 4-5
16
Galperin, I. R. (1977) .Stylistics. Moscow, p.9








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 14
Leon Levichi
17
adds a modern touch to the same
interdisciplinary theory on stylistics by altering the
terminology oI what he calls a triad, i.e. author - work -
reader has become emitter - message - receiver. He notices
that, iI at the beginning the Iocus was on the author/emitter,
more attention was later paid to the work/ message, only to
lead nowadays to an ever growing interest in the reader/
receiver`s response.
ThereIore, as is the case with the concept oI style,
stylistics has no clear deIinition oI its proIile as a science, oI
its exact tasks, which only leaves a lot oI room Ior
interpretation.

1.2The Elements of Literary Style

A stylistic analysis oI any piece oI writing presupposes
that one takes into account the Iollowing elements oI literary
style which are meant to reveal to the reader, literary critic or
translator the speciIicity oI the authorial style: content, title,
character, setting, beginning, miaale, ena, conflict, theme,
resolution, text, style, parts of speech, aiction, figurative
language, sentence length, structure, ana rhythm, tone,
structure, point of view, narrator, narrative, genre, context,
iaeology, culture, history, auaience.
There are the Iollowing questions to ask in connection
with each oI the elements oI a literary text:
xIn point oI theme: What concerns or issues does the text
raise?
xIn point oI title: What is the signiIicance oI the title,
epigraphs, etc.?
xIn point oI content: What is the plot? Who does what to
whom when, where, why and how?

17
See Levichi, Leon. (1993). Manualul traauctorului ae limba
engle:. Bucuresti: Editura Teora.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 15
xIn point oI character: Who are the main characters?
Supporting characters? The protagonist? His or her
antagonists? What are their backgrounds? Their
characteristics? Their motives? What is the relationship
between them? How are they developed - through action or
dialogue?
xIn point oI setting: Where does the action take place? How
is it described?
xIn point oI beginning, middle, and end: What happens?
Does the text begin at the beginning? The end? Or in media
res? What happens at the beginning and at the end, the two
most important parts oI the text besides the climax? Is the
text Iramed in any way? II so, how? And are there any
subplots? II so, what happens in them?
xIn point oI conflict: What are the main conIlicts in the plot?
How did they arise?
xIn point oI resolution: Are the conIlicts resolved? In other
words, is there a closure? II so, how? II not, why not?
xIn point oI the text itselI: How is the text written? What
techniques are used to tell the story?
xIn point oI style: What sort oI language (in terms oI both
syntax and semantics) is used to tell the story?
xIn point oI parts of speech: What types oI nouns does the
author use? Concrete? Abstract? What types oI verbs?
Active? Passive? What types oI adjectives? Adverbs? How
oIten and when does he or she use adjectives and adverbs?
xIn point oI diction: What types oI words does the author
use? Nouns? Abstract or concrete? Monosyllabic or
polysyllabic? Words with Anglo-Saxon or Latin roots?
Which words particularly stand out? What are their
denotative and connotative meanings?
x In point oI figurative language: What types oI Iigurative
language, i.e. variation Irom the literal meaning oI words or
standard use oI language, does the author use? What does
each instance oI Iigurative language mean? How oIten and
when does he or she use Iigurative language?








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 16
xIn point oI sentence length, structure, and rhythm: What is
the general length oI the author`s sentences, and how varied
are his or her sentence lengths? What types oI sentence
structure does he or she use? Simple? Compound?
Complex? What types oI sentence rhythm does he or she
use most oIten?
xIn point oI tone: What is the author`s attitude toward the
audience? The text itselI, its plot and the characters?
xIn point oI structure: How is the story put together?
xIn point oI point of view: From what point oI view is the
text written? First person? Second-person? Third-person?
From an omniscient or limited point oI view? Obtrusive?
Unobtrusive?
xIn point oI narrator: Who narrates the text? The author or a
narrator? II there is a narrator, who is it? What is his or her
persona? Which is his or her role in the plot? Is there
distance to the rest oI the plot? Is he or she reliable?
xIn point oI narrative: How is the text narrated?
Chronologically or nonchronologically? Episodically?
Through Ilashbacks? In reverse?
xIn point oI genre: What genre does the text belong to?
Which generic conventions does the text Iollow? Which
conventions does it break? Does it borrow elements Irom
other genres? II so, how?
xIn point oI context: What is the ideological, cultural, or
historical situation in which the text was produced or
reproduced?
xIn point oI ideology: What is the text`s worldview, i.e. how
does it represent the world we live in? How is this
worldview diIIerent Irom the world we live in? What things
does it distort, change, or ignore? What assumptions,
belieIs, or values about the world does it make, especially
those on class, race, or gender?
xIn point oI culture: What culture does the text come Irom?
How does this culture or subculture inIluence the text?







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 17
xIn point oI history: What historical period does the text
come Irom? How does this historical period inIluence the
text?
x In point oI audience: What eIIect does the text have on the
reader? Does the text set up expectations? FulIill them?
ReIuse to IulIill them? Reverse them? Does it gratiIy the
reader? Irritate the reader? Insult?
While a literary analysis may examine many oI these
elements, an analytical argument (that is, a literary analysis
essay) will oIten Iocus on only one or a Iew. Hence, in order
to write an analytical essay on a literary text, one should
choose one or a Iew elements that seem particularly
interesting or salient, and then determine their relationship to
the whole. Finally, one should make inIerences about what
they mean. These inIerences are the basis oI an analytical
argument. Since a literary text holds multiple interpretations,
an argument has to be made Ior any particular interpretation.
This sort oI argument is proven by summarizing,
paraphrasing, or quoting passages that justiIy the inIerences
being made about the text and the elements being analyzed.

1.3Stylistic Functions

The concept oI stylistic Iunction relies on the interest
with which and the direction Irom which we approach a text
so as to perIorm a stylistic analysis.
Considering the Iact that linguistic stylistics is not
only very diIIicult to separate Irom the literary one, but it
also touches upon many other related domains, we shall take
into account the stylistic Iunctions suggested by Sandig and
Selting (1998):
1. 'To express one`s relation towards a situation, as, Ior
example, through the degree oI Iormality and
institutionalization oI speech activities;
2. To enable the selI-presentation oI the speaker/writer
as, Ior example, involved`, Iunny`, educated`,








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 18
member oI a certain class or group`, acting in a
certain role`;
3. To tailor (design) activities Ior particular types oI
recipients, such as children, Ioreigners, in-group
members
4. To deIine a particular (kind oI) relationship between
speaker or writer and recipient, Ior example, to
establish and maintain participant relations, as
polite`, distant`, intimate`;
5. To set apart diIIerent kinds oI activities in their
sequence
18
.
Nevertheless, such a list oI stylistic Iunctions may
never be precisely pinpointed; we must not Iorget, Ior
instance, the importance and the inIluence oI argot, jargon,
euphemisms, taboo words, etc., to mention just a Iew other
Iactors that play an important role in the shaping oI the
characteristic style oI a certain author.
ThereIore, it can be easily noticed that such an
approach leaves room Ior interpretation with respect to
meaning and, although these Iunctions do Iind their
linguistic realization at the level oI the text, they are not
always semantically explicit.

1.4Language`s 'Double Intention` and the Problem of
Style

Human language possesses two intentions` in the
sense that he who speaks does it to share his thoughts,
Ieelings, wishes or decisions, while his communication aims
at a certain range oI the people who make use oI the same set
oI linguistic symbols. To put it diIIerently, he who speaks
communicates` and at the same time communicates

18
Sandig, Barbara, Selting, Margret (1998). Discourse Styles, in
'Discourse as Structure and Process, vol. I, SAGE Publications,
London, 1998, p. 140







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 19
himselI.` From this point oI view, a linguistic act is both
reIlexive` and transitive.`
19

Language`s two intentions are inversely proportional,
i.e. the more a linguistic maniIestation is meant Ior a larger
human group, or the more its transitive value grows/increases,
the more its reIlexive value decreases.
Thus, a mathematical equation, a mechanical law, a
chemical Iormula are linguistic acts meant to be shared to any
human intelligence since they are not limited either by a
language`s national character, or the peculiarity oI the
tendencies and sensibilities oI the person who registers them.
II Ior example, one communicates that the sum oI a triangle`s
angles is equal to two right angles, one builds a linguistic act
which can be transmitted to any human intelligence, but
which communicates nothing about the person who made the
respective linguistic act.
The situation is diIIerent in the case oI a line Irom a
certain poem, Ior example, since the circulation oI such a
linguistic act is a lot more restricted. Its transitivity is limited
while its reIlexiveness is inIinite.
In the line Irom Sara pe aeal, 'Apele plng clar
izvornd n Intne, it is obvious that the reIlexive intention
oI this linguistic maniIestation surpasses by Iar its transitive
intention, Ior it is the emotive, musical meaning oI this line
that is oI interest to the reader and not the bare denotative
meaning about the way waters spring into wells. More than
this the reIlexive intention oI this line will be open only to
some oI the readers while its transitivity decreases because oI
the readers` diIIiculty to grasp the musical intention oI the
poet`s line.
In other words, the poet limited the circle oI his
authentic readers by the very depth and subjective truth oI his
expression.

19
Vianu, Tudor (1968). Stuaii ae stilistic. Bucuresti: Editura
Didactic si Pedagogic, p. 32.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 20
Similarly, Hamlet`s Iamous 'To be, or not to be
soliloquy has a purely reIlexive intention although by its
being a soliloquy, i.e. a speech in which a character talks to
himselI so that the audience knows his inner thoughts, it
should be entirely transitive. The depth and inIinite
'openness oI Shakespeare`s lines are still a matter oI
controversial debate Ior generations oI readers and literary
critics who cannot decide Ior sure whether 'the slings and
arrows oI outrageous Iortune and 'the sea oI troubles to
which Hamlet reIers are the Iruit oI his insane imaginative
mind aIIected by grieI and despair aIter having lost his dear
Iather and king, or they are the very cause oI his resolution to
revenge his Iather`s death, thus putting an end to the darkness
that had Iallen upon Denmark.
The transitivity oI Hamlet`s soliloquy which is
supposed to be a prooI oI his insanity is impaired on the one
hand by Hamlet himselI throughout the play when he
conIessed to his mother that 'I am not mad, but mad in craIt
and on the other hand by his labyrinthine actions which
Iinally have quite a deIinite goal.
From the above examples, it is to be noted, however,
that although the two already mentioned intentions (i.e.
transitive and reIlexive) oI language are quite diIIerent in
character, they are however inseparable, in the sense that the
transitive intention is represented by what the writer
apparently wants to communicate to his readers, and the
reIlexive intention is represented by the literariness oI the
respective piece oI writing which is supposed to be made up,
according to Iser, oI blanks which the reader should Iill in at
the end oI his lecturing act.
It is also worthwhile mentioning that the
preponderance oI the reIlexive intention in a literary work
such as is the case oI the surrealist writers who Iocus on the
complete and proIound character oI their writing, may lead to
the inability to communicate due to superIiciality and
conventionalism.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 21
To end with, one could say that the style oI a writer is
represented by the set oI 'adnotations which he adds to
his/her transitive expressions and through which his/her
communication becomes subjective. Enriched by these
'adnotations, the expressions oI language introduce one in
the intimacy oI the writer`s individuality, in a special way oI
understanding liIe and reality. In other words style is the
expression oI some individuality, or to use Vossler`s own
words 'style is the individual use oI language, with the
observation that the 21
st
century language researcher should
Iocus his/her attention not only on individual styles and
individual writers, but also on literary trends and groups
which carry on the respective individual styles and writers.

1.5The Stylistic Attitude

The stylistic attitude is that spiritual position oI the
reader or oI the listener Iocused on all the adnotations` oI
any oral or written communication. In any linguistic act there
is a communication nucleus and the adnotations which
accompany and speciIy it.
20

Thus, when someone says that he has read a new
material on a Iar-oII country, published in a certain magazine,
the listener/reader is to understand not only that the
interlocutor wants to communicate/transmit a bibliographical
indication, but also that he belongs to the world oI the press,
where the word 'material has begun to mean article, report,
review, etc. Thus, the locutor, who makes use oI the word
material` in such a context may also intend to transmit to his
interlocutor that he is a man oI letters, a proIessional who
deserves to be treated with due respect on account oI his
being in the know with new writings on subjects which are oI
interest to listeners/readers. On the other hand, there is also
possible that the locutor makes use oI the word material` just

20
Vianu, Tudor (1968). Stuaii ae stilistic. Bucuresti: Editura
Didactic si Pedagogic, p. 36.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 22
because he is a man oI Iashion, and as such he adequates his
vocabulary to the present-day journalistic context he Iinds
himselI in. In both situations, however, it is to be noted that
the adnotations oI the respective communication are more or
less intended by the locutor, but they enrich the
communication nucleus with supplementary inIormation
about the individuality oI the person who is making the
respective communication.
In light oI the above the stylistic attitude in the
reception oI a communication is that Iocused on all those
adnotations which say something more than the
communication nucleus, i.e. what kind oI a man the locutor is,
in what situation and with what intention he makes his
communication. That is why in order to adopt a stylistic
attitude in any kind oI conversation, one is required to have
both a large experience with his target and their whereabouts,
and a great amount oI knowledge in many domains oI
activity, all oI which allow the listener/reader/style researcher
to Iully understand the communications addressed to them.
Besides the literary Iield, there are certain proIessions
which allot a great importance to the stylistic attitude,
depending thus heavily on the reception and the interpretation
oI the communication adnotations. A judge, Ior example,
when making a cross examination, or listening to a
deposition, is paying close attention not only to the
communication nucleus, but also to the peculiarities oI
expression which arise Irom the lexic, the type oI
constructions, the intonation oI the person interrogated, which
in some cases may lead to an unconscious conIession on the
part oI the deIendant/interrogated person who Ialls victim to
the stress oI the linguistic expressions he is using in order to
hide the truth. Similarly, in the neurological and psychiatric
medicine, the doctor is supposed to analyse the patient`s
answers to his questions Irom a stylistic point oI view in order
to discover the way in which the ideas take shape in the
patient`s mind. By means oI an adequate stylistic attitude the







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 23
doctor establishes whether the patient`s reasonings are
normally built, or whether the association between them is
rashly made, or whether the association between them is quite
unexpected in the respective situational and linguistic context,
etc.
To put it diIIerently, one could say that the stylistic
attitude is represented by the listener`s/reader`s perception oI
a subtext, i.e. a set oI thoughts, Ieelings, intentions which can
be deduced Irom certain peculiarities oI the text, conscious or
unconscious on the part oI the locutor or interlocutor. More
than that, one could say that the stylistic attitude is a special
type oI attention divided between the text and the subtext.
However, when the listener`s or reader`s attention is Iocused
simultaneously on the text and the subtext, the adnotations oI
the subtext are rather blurred and diIIicult to distinguish. The
stylistic adnotations are Iormed in the shadowy periphery oI
an individual`s conscience and his conscience selI picks them
up Irom there to bring them to light in the reader`s/listener`s
mind. To conclude with, in the case oI the average
listener/reader, the stylistic attitude results Irom more or less
unconscious acts oI attention which bring the reader/listener
supplementary inIormation about the communication nucleus
provided that nothing prevents him Irom reading between the
lines 'in the very moment the communication is made.
A special type oI stylistic attitude is that oI the
language researchers or stylists who Iocus their attention
mainly on the subtext and bring out Irom there all the
inIormation consciously or unconsciously adnotated by the
locutor.

1.6Style Investigation

A Iirst principle oI any stylistic investigation is that
the peculiarities oI expression studied are not simple acts oI
ascertaining, but acts oI value appreciation. When a 21
st

language historian encounters in one oI Eminescu`s poems








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 24
the lines: 'Putut-au oare-atta dor / n noapte s se sting he
notices the archaism ,putut-au (i.e. the Iorm oI the
Romanian perIect compus` identical in the 3
rd
person
singular with the 3
rd
person plural)
21
, which represents an act
oI ascertaining, but when a language researcher analyses the
line 'Rsare blnd luna, the epithet ,blnda is not only the
object oI ascertaining, but also an object oI appreciation, in
the sense that it can be appreciated` as suitable or not
suitable as a determiner Ior the noun 'luna, capable or
incapable to render the poet`s reaction to the sight he
describes. From the above it is to be noted that the language
historian limits himselI to the communication nucleus while
the style researcher has to take into account the expressive
adnotations as well. However, this attitude on the part oI the
style researcher becomes possible only iI he/she Iully
understands and Ieels the language acts he/she analyses.
The object oI study oI the style researcher is not only
the literary language but also the language spoken by the
educated people and used in school, the media, the theatre,
etc. which eventually impose the norms oI linguistic
correctness. It is also to be noted that the popular Iorms oI
language are more pervaded by stylistic values than the
literary language expressions which tend to become neutral
Irom the point oI view oI the modality that the educated
people attach to them.
The literary language as used by the educated people
oI all proIessions also receives some stylistic adnotations, by
which the interlocutor is given some details about the locutor
oI the respective communication, such as the social category
to which he belongs, his manner oI thinking, his predominant
Ieelings about the world in general, and the content oI the
communication in particular.
Within the general Iield oI literary language, there
appear the so-called language styles, deIined by the Russian
researcher E. Riesel (1954, 7) as Iollows: 'By language style

21
Vianu, Tudor, ibid, p. 38.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 25
one understands the conIormation oI the expression in a
certain Iield oI human activity, Ior certain purposes oI the
communication. From this it results that the language styles
are as many as the Iields oI human activity. Thus, the
everyday language user/locutor Iinding himselI in a Iorest
will say Ior example: 'This Iorest contains several kinds oI
trees while the botanist or the silviculturist will say: 'This
Iorest contains a lot oI essences. Thus the communication
nucleus oI the above utterances is the same, but their stylistic
adnotations vary, indicating each time the diIIerent point oI
view Irom which the object oI communication was
considered.
The various Iorms oI language styles are not deprived
oI expressive adnotations or oI 'eIIects oI evocation (in Ch.
Bally`s terminology), although their presence is more discrete
than in the expressions oI popular language in which the
communication nucleus absorbed the expressiveness to a
greater extent. This absorption may continue, narrowing more
and more the stylistic area until there is only one
communication nucleus leIt. It is the case oI many Romanian
popular expressions Irom which disappeared all the stylistic
adnotations included once in their semantic Iield.
This process oI absorption is called by linguists
grammaticalization and is represented by such expressions as
,n mintea cuiva se ncheag un gnd whose semantic Iield
no longer includes the metaphorical simile ,un gnd se
Iormeaz n mintea cuiva si ia Iorme precise asa cum prinde
laptele cheag. Thus, these old pastoral metaphors
grammaticalized and in time the communication nucleus lost
all the stylistic adnotations associated with it.
There is also an opposed process to
grammaticalization, i.e. the process oI
expressiveness/expression development encountered in
literary creation. One can notice thus, two tendencies in
language, i.e. one which leads to the preponderance oI
communication, and other which develops the








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 26
expressiveness/expression. The Iirst establishes the meanings
oI words, Iixes the accentuations, the intonations, the correct
Iorms and constructions, or in other words, makes the
communication easier. The other develops the expressive side
oI the communication, enabling them not only to transmit
inIormation about various states oI things, but also about the
way the person who transmits them conceives and considers
them. To put it diIIerently, this latter tendency produces style
eIIects. Theoretically speaking, one could say that Ior each
communication act there is an indeIinite number oI expressive
acts or oI style eIIects.
Thus, a very simple communication act such as 'Good
aIternoon is usually pronounced with intensity accents on the
Iirst syllable oI each component word. When one does not
intend to render any expressiveness to this greeting Iormula,
he/she maintains his voice tone equal, giving each syllable the
same duration oI expression. II, on the other hand, one
intends to give some expressiveness to the same Iormula, the
voice tone is changed when pronouncing one or the other oI
the two component words and the duration oI expression may
vary as well. II we lower the voice when pronouncing the
word aIternoon`, Ior example, our greeting also expresses ill-
will, coldness or hostility. II we lengthen the duration oI each
syllable and we raise our voice when pronouncing the second
word, our greeting becomes ironical or it expresses surprise at
somebody`s unexpected coming. II we give a shorter duration
oI expression to each syllable and we keep our voice tone
equal, our greeting expresses boredom and the wish to cut the
conversation short.
From the above it is to be noted that although the
accents and the component sounds are the same, by means oI
the change in tone and duration oI expression, one may
acquire various expressive values, which iI related to other
communication acts, can become more numerous by the use
oI a greater number oI intonation means.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 27
Thus, the way in which the authorial style should be
analysed may Iollow a simple to complex path, i.e. a sound to
context stylistic approach.
A Iirst stage oI such a stylistic approach is represented
by a phonetical-stylistical analysis concerning:
a) the distribution oI sounds, their groupings (see the
phenomena oI hiatus, cacophony, alliteration,
assonance);
b) the ordinary or insistent articulation, the accentuation
and the intonation;
c) the phonetic symbolism, i.e. the expressive value
related to certain language sounds, with the
observation that sounds acquire expressiveness only in
connection with the content oI the respective
communication.
All these stylistic observations should, however, be
analysed in context Ior there may be cases when the general
observation that sounds are carriers oI stylistic values, may
lead to subjective and arbitrary conclusions on the part oI the
style researcher such as in the case oI the grouping oI three
consonants (scratch, scream, scrape) usually associated with
a negative connotation, but which may very well become
positive in such words as screen, script, etc.
Another stage oI the stylistic analysis is concerned
with the transcription oI spoken language, which also brings
about style eIIects which are to be seen in the disposition oI
the manuscript page and the type oI characters used.
From this point oI view, the style researcher should
take into consideration the Iollowing aspects:
a)there are writers who write with as many paragraphs as
possible, and others who group their communication acts
in long paragraphs; to put it diIIerently, there are writers
who intend to analyse as minutely as possible the ideas or
the Iacts presented, and there are others who wish to
convey the synthetic unity oI their thinking or the
continuity in duration oI the reality presented.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 28
b)the use oI a capital letter in the middle oI the sentence to
mark the beginning oI a noun is a means oI emphasizing its
meaning, attributing it thus a symbolic value.
c)the change oI character type, the underlining oI some
words, groups oI words, parts oI a sentence, entire
sentences, etc. which, when used, are also means oI
stylistic emphasis to be taken into consideration.
d)the study oI punctuation marks as Iollows: there are writers
who increase the number oI punctuation marks, and others
who avoid them altogether. Thus, there are cases in which
the use oI a colon beIore a Iinal clause may replace the use
oI a conjunction-based subordination or coordination
report, with the observation that the writer who uses such a
stylistic device means to make this communication more
vivid by avoiding to make use oI the respective
coordination or subordination report. Similarly, some
markers oI interpunctuation such as a comma discharging
syntactical Iunction used to indicate a suggestive pause, or
the overuse oI suspension points with some modern writers
to oblige the reader to Iill in the text`s blanks` with the
Iruits oI his/her imagination, are productive means oI
producing style eIIects that the researcher should consider.
In point oI vocabulary, the style researcher should
notice whether the authorial style is made up oI words
belonging to everyday vocabulary, or oI neologisms,
archaisms or region-speciIic words, whether in point oI
composition he/she uses simple, compound or even complex
words and phrases, whether there are predominant parts oI
speech that he/she likes to use (see, Ior example, the
abundance oI adjective noun combinations with such
writers as: Dickens, Thackeray, Poe, Virginia WoolI who
Iocus to transmit to their readers a richness oI imagery and
not actions proper), whether the words are predominantly
positive or negative in point oI semantic Ieatures, whether
they are abstract or concrete, whether any oI these vocabulary







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 29
observations match the theme oI the respective piece oI
writing.
Many stylistic observations can also be made in
connection with the morphology oI the verb and the syntax oI
the respective sentences or paragraphs. Thus, the style
researcher should notice whether the writer makes use oI the
narrative or historical present to render his actions more vivid,
whether the narrative tense is the past tense, or the past tense
interspersed with the present or the past perIect to place the
reader Iar into the past or to bring the action closer to him,
whether the modal connotations are expressed by means oI
modal verbs, or some other lexical and grammatical means oI
rendering modality (nouns, adjectives, adverbs, conditional,
subjunctive and imperative Iorms), etc. In point oI syntax, the
style observations should concern on the one hand the use oI
a proper word order, or at times oI a special emphasizing-role
word order, and on the other hand the type oI syntactic
patterns used, i.e. short or long sentences, coordination or/and
subordination reports, the use oI juxtaposition or the overuse
oI conjunctions to express the reports as clearly as possible,
short or long paragraphs, etc.
Finally, since the signiIicant limits oI thinking are the
literary contexts, the style researcher should decide whether
the respective piece oI writing Ialls under a narration, an
anecdote, a parable, a description etc, and whether the
narrative thread is made up with the help oI dialogue,
monologue, soliloquy, discourse, letter, etc.
A last stage oI the style research is represented by the
analysis oI the speciIic Iigures oI style, which by themselves
carry additional inIormation about the writer`s imaginative
capabilities, about his interest in the aesthetics oI his writing,
and also about his likes and dislikes, his do`s and don`ts
concerning the theme(s) presented.
It is also to be noted that as we mentioned earlier the
writer and his technique are not to be analysed out oI the
literary context he/she Iinds himselI/herselI in, i.e. he/she








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 30
should be analysed by comparison with his Iorerunners and
with his Iollowers so that the style researcher should notice
the additional peculiarities oI his style as compared to other
styles and the respective writer`s openness to novelty by
means oI the use oI new writing devices to improve his/her
style and at the same time to improve himselI/herselI as an
original writer.
To end with, we consider that any stylistic approach to
a piece oI writing is oI utmost importance not only Ior a
record oI the respective writer`s peculiarities in point oI his
writing technique, but also Ior a deeper understanding oI his
view on the theme in question, the world in general and their
literature in particular.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 31
PART TWO
A 1HEORE1ICAL APPROACH 1O 1HE ELEMEA1S
OF LI1ERARY 1EX1 AAALYSIS

2.1 Setting

The setting is the term we use to reIer to the general
locale and the historical time in which a story occurs. The
term is also used to reIer to the particular physical location in
which an episode or scene within which the story takes place.
The general setting oI a novel may be, Ior example, a large
city like Paris, while the setting oI the opening scene may be
a park, a cinema hall, a room oI a house belonging to one oI
the characters, etc. Some settings are relatively unimportant.
They serve simply as a decorative background helping the
reader to visualise the action and adding authenticity to the
story. Other settings are closely linked to the meaning oI the
work: the author Iocuses on elements oI setting to create
atmosphere or mood, or the setting plays a major role in
shaping the characters` identity and destiny. Broadly
speaking, there is a direct ratio between the attention given to
the setting and its importance in the total work. II the setting
is sketched brieIly, we can assume that it is oI little
importance, or that the writer wishes us to think that the
action could take place anywhere and at any time. II, on the
other hand, the passages describing the setting are extensive
and highly developed, or they are written in connotative or
poetic language, we can assume that the setting is being used
Ior more proIound or symbolic purposes. Some oI the main
Iunctions oI setting are:
x The setting may reIlect a prevailing mood or it may
reinIorce the emotions Ielt by a character; barren
landscapes may mirror despair and desolation; stormy
weather may provide a suitable background Ior emotional
turmoil. However, the setting may also be ironic or point








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 32
out to the characters` state oI mind or behaviour in an
indirect way.
x The setting oI a story oIten shapes the characters` identities
and destinies. Someone growing up in an inner city slum is
likely to have a diIIerent outlook on and approach to liIe
than someone who has grown up in wide open rural spaces,
in close contact with nature. Stories sometimes show us
characters that are direct products oI their environment,
reIlecting its moods and values. Stories also depict
characters who rebel against their restrictive settings and
Iight to break Iree oI their stiIling environment.
In light oI the above, one may distinguish among
several types oI setting usage:
Setting and character
The manner in which a character perceives the setting
may tell the reader more about the character and his or her
state oI mind than about the setting itselI. When, Ior example,
an urban landscape is described by a character as desolate`
and ominous`, the writer may be telling us more about how
the character is Ieeling rather than accurately describing the
setting. The writer is using the outer world setting to give us
an insight into the character`s inner world.
Setting and theme
The setting may also reinIorce and clariIy the theme oI
a novel or short story. The physical setting in which the action
takes place may symbolically represent the central ideas oI
the work. A solitary house in bleak, hostile surroundings may
reinIorce the theme oI man`s struggle against nature. The
action oI many modern novels takes place in what are termed
al i en settings`, where even the Iamiliar seems unIamiliar.
The characters are oIten exiles, t our i st s or expatriates, and
the inhospitable setting reinIorces the theme oI loss oI roots
and loss oI home which is common to much modern Iiction.
Setting and time
The historical period, time oI year and time oI day are
all important Ieatures oI the setting. The Iact, Ior example,







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 33
that most oI a story`s action takes place at night may create an
atmosphere oI mystery, violence or conspiracy. Authors oIten
use the traditional associations with the seasons and the cycle
oI the day to create appropriate time settings Ior their work,
Ior example spring-morning-youth.
Setting and society
While the term setting reIers to the t i me and place in
which the action occurs, the term social setting is used to
indicate the social environment in which a story takes place.
The social setting oI a novel or story may be explicitly
indicated by the author or it may be conveyed through the use
oI social or class markers, i.e. the way the characters talk,
where and how they live, the clothes they wear, how they eat,
and so on. Like the physical and temporal setting, the social
setting may be relatively unimportant or it may play a
determining role in a novel or story. In many novels
characters are presented as products oI their social class, and
many authors have explored the themes oI conIormity to or
rebellion agai nst the values and mores oI a speciIic social
setting.
The Iollowing questions should be asked when
analyzing setting within a literary text analysis:
x What is the setting oI the work in time and space?
x Is the setting brieIly sketched or is it described in detail?
x Are the descriptions oI setting based on visual images?
x Is the language used in the descriptions connotative or
poetic?
x Through whose eyes is the setting seen? Does the setting
reveal the characters` state oI mind?
x Does the setting:
a. contribute towards creating mood and atmosphere?
b. inIluence the characters` behaviour?
c. reinIorce the main themes oI the work?
x At what time oI day/year does most oI the action take








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 34
place? Is this relevant?
22


2.2 Character

Character is the element in narratives that seems the
least open to systematic analysis and as a result it remains
relatively neglected within narratological studies.
It entails an illusion` in which the reader is a creative
accomplice in the sense that he/she makes a person out oI
words. Thus, descriptions oI a Iictional person together with
descriptions oI the respective person`s actions and reactions
are suIIicient Ior a reader to conceive oI a person oI whom
these reIerences and insights are just glimpses.
In the textualist-structuralist approach, novel
characters 'are really just words`, are radically non-
representational, and should not be unthinkingly recuperated`
by means oI any direct and unguarded application oI amateur
(or proIessional) psychological analysis.
23
This viewpoint is
however controversial since such responses on the part oI the
reader to characters ignore the art and textuality oI novels, the
degree to which character, event, and everything else is a
literary production.
By contrast, the purist` approach to character asserts
the non-reIerential or non-mimetic dimension in narrative art.
A dual perspective on the concept oI character is oIIered by
Rimmon-Kenan (1983: 33) who considers that: 'In the text
characters are nodes in the verbal design; in the story they are
by deIinition non (or pre-) verbal abstractions, constructs.
Although these constructs are by no means human beings in the
literal sense oI the word, they are partly modeled on the

22
See Delaney, D., Ward, C., Rho Fiorina, C. (2005). Fielas of Jision.
Longman.
23
CI. Toolan, Michael J. (1988). Narrative. A Critical Linguistic
Introauction. London: Routledge, p. 81.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 35
reader`s conception oI people and in this they are person-
like.
24

Although the idea that characters are modelled or
partly modelled on real people is quite debated on, most novel
characters continue to be apprehended by readers as
individuals seen dimly or sharply, recognizable,
comprehensible, lisible, impenetrable, alien or hard to Iigure
out.

Character Analysis

When we analyse characters in Iiction we need to ask
some key questions about:
their relationship to the plot: do they play a major
part in the events oI the story or do they have a minor
role?
the degree to which they are developed: are they
complex characters or are they one-dimensional?
their growth in the course of story: do they remain
the same throughout the story or do signiIicant
changes in their personalities take place?

1ypes of Character

Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character oI the plot is called the
protagonist. Without this character there would be no story.
The character against whom the protagonist
struggles is called the antagonist. In many novels, however,
the antagonist is not a human being. It may, Ior example, be
the natural environment in which the protagonist lives, or
society, or illness, or even death.
The terms protagonist and antagonist do not have
moral connotations and thereIore should not be conIused with

24
Quoted in Toolan, Michael J. (1988). Narrative. A Critical
Linguistic Introauction. London: Routledge, p. 81.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 36
hero` and villain`. Many protagonists are a mixture oI good
and evil elements.
Other characters in a story may be reIerred to as major
or minor characters, depending on the importance oI their
roles in developing the plot.

Round and Flat Characters
Round characters, like real people, have a complex,
multi-dimensional personalities. They show emotional and
intellectual depth and are capable oI growing and changing.
Major characters in Iiction are usually round. Examples in
point are Scarlett O`Hara and Rhett Butler oI M. Mitchell`s
Gone with the Wina or Humbert Humbert oI V. Nabokov`s
Lolita.
Flat characters embody or represent a single
characteristic. They are the miser, the bully, the bigot, the
jealous lover, the endless optimist. They may also be reIerred to
as types or as caricatures when distorted Ior humorous purposes.
Flat characters are usually minor characters. However, the term
Ilat` should not be conIused with insigniIicant` or badly
drawn`. A Ilat character may in Iact be the protagonist oI the
story, in particular when the writer wishes to Iocus on the
dominant characteristic he or she represents. Some highly
memorable characters, particularly in satirical or humorous
novels, can be deIined as Ilat, Ior example the miser Scrooge
in Charles Dickens`s A Christmas Carol, Harpagon oI
Moliere`s LAvare, Old Costache oI Clinescu`s Otilias
Enigma, etc.

Dynamic and Static Characters
Dynamic characters change as a result oI the
experiences they have. The most obvious examples can be
Iound in initiation novels which tell stories oI young people
who grow into adults. However, dynamic characters can be
Iound in many other types oI stories. Major characters in novels
are usually dynamic, such as John the Savage oI A. Huxley`s







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 37
Brave New Worla and Jay Gatsby oI F.S. Fitzgerald`s Great
Gatsby.
Static characters remain untouched by the events oI the
story. They do not learn Irom their experiences and
consequently they remain unchanged. Static characters are
usually minor characters, but sometimes a writer makes a static
character the protagonist oI his story, because he wishes to
analyse a particular type oI personality. Static characters also play
major roles in stories that show how Iorces in liIe (such as the
social environment or the Iamily) sometimes make it hard Ior
people to grow and change. An example can be Iound in Mr.
Collins oI Jane Austen`s Priae ana Prefuaice.
Means of Conveying Character

Another important aspect oI character analysis is
determining how the author presents and establishes a
character. There are two basic methods Ior conveying
character: telling and showing.
A narrative never provides a perIect copy oI the reality
constituting its subject. A person who narrates what has
happened to him will always summarize, expand, embellish,
and leave out certain aspects oI his experience. Since a
narrative text is restricted to language, it will never show
reality directly. On the stage, certain events can be shown, but
this hardly applies to a novel. All this relates to the age-old
distinction between what Plato called mimesis and diegesis.
25

Mimesis evokes reality by staging it. This is evident in
the theater, but narratives too have moments that tend toward
mimetic representation, Ior instance literally quoted
conversations. In this case the narrative almost literally shows
what was said in the reality evoked by the text, and yet a
complete overlap between narrative representation and the
'real conversation is out oI the question. Short phrases like

25
CI. Rimmon-Kenan, Shlomith (1983). Narrative Fiction.
Contemporary Poetics. London: Methuen, pp. 106-108.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 38
'he said already indicate an intervention by the narrator.
Furthermore, chances are high that the time necessary Ior the
reader to process the conversation in the text will not exactly
coincide with the duration oI the original conversation. The
latter even applies when reading a text meant Ior the stage,
which aIter all approximates mimesis. There will probably be
a major diIIerence between the duration oI the perIormance
and the time necessary to read the text it was based on.
Diegesis summarizes events and conversations. In such
a summary the voice oI the narrator will always come
through. He colours narrated events, which are thereIore no
longer directly available.
The diIIerence between aiegesis and mimesis equals the
diIIerence, in the Anglo-American tradition beIore
structuralism, between telling and showing, between
summary and scene.
In 'The Art oI Fiction (1884) and other theoretical
writings, Henry James established his preIerence Ior a
narrator whom the reader can barely see or hear and who tries
hard to show as much as he can.
26

In The CraIt of Fiction (1968), Percy Lubbock Iavoured
showing to telling under the inIluence oI James`s novels.
27
A
mimetic novel usually contains a lot oI action ana aialogue.
In strongly aiegetic texts, on the other hand, the narrator

26
In James Miller`s edition on the writings on poetics (Theory of
Fiction. Henry James, ed. James E. Miller |Lincoln: University oI
Nebraska Press, 1972|), Henry James states that 'the scenic method is
my absolute, my imperative, my only salvation (180). However, this
does not imply at all that the author`s personality has to be erased. It
remains present in the way it shows reality and thereIore showing is
not an objective method. In The Art of Fiction (1884) James stated
that 'the deepest quality oI a work oI art will always be the quality oI
the mind oI the producer (43), clariIying thus his point oI view
according to which narratorial invisibility must not be conIused with a
neutral representation oI social reality.
27
Lubbock, Percy (1968). The Craft of Fiction. London: Jonathan
Cape, pp. 110-123







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 39
ostentatiously places himselI between the related scenes and
the reader. In postmodern narratives narrators can behave in
such an extremely diegetic way that the reader starts to
distrust them.
This combination oI mimesis and diegesis has been
typical oI the novel Irom its very beginnings. On the one
hand, the novel is a diegetic genre, and in that sense it Iorms
the opposite oI drama which does not lend itselI directly to
narrative analysis, and thereIore it is no coincidence that
narrative theory has developed along with the novel. On the
other hand, novelists oIten deIined their new art by pointing to
the mimetic properties oI their texts. Authors such as Daniel
DeIoe and Samuel Richardson wrote introductions to their
novels in which they presented their 'new way oI telling as
a Iorm oI the 'old showing. Whatever Iound its way into
their books was not supposed to be an imaginary summary by
a narrator but rather a truthIul representation oI scenes that
actually happened.
A structuralist view on the concepts oI telling and
showing reveals that telling involves direct intervention and
commentary by the author. He interrupts the narrative to
comment on the character`s personality, thoughts or actions.
The guiding hand oI the author is clearly evident as he helps us
to Iorm opinions about the character. An example oI the telling
technique can be Iound in this short extract Irom D.H.
Lawrence`s novel Sons ana Lovers, in which the author
describes the protagonist oI his novel:
Arthur Morel was growing up. He was a quick, careless,
impulsive boy, a gooa aeal like his father. He hatea
stuay, maae a great moan if he haa to work, ana
escapea as soon as possible to his sport again.
When an author uses the technique oI showing, he
steps aside and allows the characters to reveal themselves
through what they do and say. His voice is silent. The reader is
asked to inIer character Irom the evidence provided in the
dialogue and action oI the story. When the author chooses the








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 40
showing method, the revelation oI character is generally
gradual. The reader must be attentive and receptive, and use
his intelligence and memory to draw conclusions about the
character`s identity. Modern authors tend to Iavour showing
over telling, but most writers use a mixture oI both methods.

1extual Markers for Character Analysis

There are the Iollowing textual markers Ior character
analysis: aialogue, action, setting, names and appearance.
Dialogue
In real liIe what people say reveals a lot about who they are
and what they think. Similarly, in Iiction, what a character says
can help us to understand basic elements oI his personality. A
character`s attitude towards others may also emerge Irom the
dialogue. Important inIormation about his origin, education,
occupation or social class may also be revealed by what he says
and how he says it. However, characters in stories do not always
say what they really think. Just like people in real liIe, they can
be deceptive and create a Ialse image oI themselves.
Action
We can learn a lot about a character`s emotions,
attitudes and values by examining what he does in the course oI
the story. We should try to understand the motives Ior the
character`s actions, and discover the underlying Iorces that
make him behave the way he does.
Setting
The time and place in which the story unIolds may
provide useIul inIormation about the characters. II events take
place during a particular historical period (the Middle Ages, the
French Revolution, World War II) the characters` ideas and
actions may be shaped by important external events. The
characters` physical surrounding (where they grew up, where
they choose to live) may help us to understand their
psychological make-up.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 41
ReIerences to the respective social setting may also give
us some helpIul insight as to whether the characters share or
reject the values associated with their social background.
Names
Occasionally a character`s name may provide clues to his
personality. Emily Bronte`s choice oI HeathcliII as a name Ior
the hero oI her novel Wuthering Heights conveys the
character`s wild, rugged, almost primitive nature. (Heath wild,
uncultivated land; cliII high rocky land that usually Iaces the
sea)
Appearance
Although in real liIe it is not advisable to judge a person
by his appearance, in Iiction how a character looks oIten
provides important inIormation about his personality.
ReIerences to the clothes a character wears may, Ior example,
indicate his social and economic status. Details oI a
character`s physical appearance may prove useIul in
determining his age and the general state oI his physical and
emotional health. And an example in point is King Richard oI
W. Shakespeare`s Richara III.

Character 1raits and Attributes

In many modern narratives, the basic role or Iunction
oI a character, i,e. what the character aoes, in the plot - turns
out to be Iar less interesting to the reader than what the
character is like.
What a character does in a story may be essential Ior
the text to count as a well-Iormed narrative, but what interests
us is what kind oI Sherlock Holmes-like superhero is shown
to be, and just how he conducts himselI in the course oI some
particular scenes and episodes. Details oI characterization,
oIten irrelevant to the story, are oIten just what the reader
Iinds captivating in a text. In deciding these judgments oI
type and manner oI character conduct we are inevitably very
much guided by data from reality or extratextual








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 42
situations. We carry to our reading plentiIul knowledge
gleaned Irom various sources about doctors, detectives,
crimes and human entanglements. We may have ideas about
more marginal aspects too, that are relevant to a Holmes
story, such as the nature oI housekeepers, oI pedestrian
traditional policework, and oI Victorian beggars as well as
about social stratiIication in general.
To put it diIIerently, in our making sense oI any
particular text, we have extensive resources oI knowledge
(sometimes called extratextual knowledge, or knowledge
of the world), which we can use Ior our interpretation oI the
text under scrutiny. This usage oI extratextual knowledge
will vary Irom reader to reader in at least two broad ways:
a. depending on the quality (depth, accuracy) oI a
reader`s knowledge, and
b. the interpretive-evaluation the reader makes oI that
knowledge.
We might summarize these two components oI
background knowledge as facts and ideology.
The importance oI this extratextual knowledge is to be
seen, Ior example, in the Iollowing text:
It is August 1880, ana the prosperous streets of
Lonaons West Ena are busy with the carriages of
laaies on leisurely shopping expeaitions. The afternoon
is warm ana sunny, but in the shaaea aoorway of a
house off Regent Street can be aiscernea the crouching
form of a beggar.
28

In the Iinal words here an individual has been speciIied
and, potentially at least, we have encountered the Iirst
introduction oI an important character. But even without
reading on, a certain Ileshing out oI that single descriptive
phrase, a beggar`, takes place. The reader has some ideas

28
Toolan, Michael J. (1988). Narrative. A Critical Linguistic
Introauction. London: Routledge, p.86.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 43
about what beggar` is or means, but also about what a
London beggar in approximately 1880 would be like, based
on his own knowledge oI late Victorian social history, Irom
whatever sources.
That knowledge is partial - in two senses, the Iactual
and the ideological. The partial factual knowledge means
that the reader cannot bring to mind a depth oI knowledge,
and perhaps understanding, oI the beggar that is available to
someone Iamiliar with the details oI the economic, social,
spiritual, etc. liIe oI Victorian beggars. The ideological
partiality means that the reader may have a certain view oI
Victorian beggars in general; he/she may regard them as the
victims oI inhuman neglect, a living prooI oI a moral
degeneracy in the larger society. Ideologically, that is just one
way oI looking at Victorian beggars, and other readers may
alternatively assume that the dysIunction lies principally
within the beggars themselves.
By comparison, consider what may happen
interpretively iI the text instead ends in this way:
in the shaaea aoorway ... can be aiscernea the
crouching form of a Buaahist monk.
Now a rather diIIerent body oI extratextual knowledge
is revealed by a reader`s probabilistic characterization.
Among other things, they might note greater incongruity here,
on the assumption that Buddhist monks were rare in the
London oI 1880. But, despite the Iact that Buddhist monks
rely on begged donations oI Iood, to live, the text has not
called this individual a beggar nor is the reader likely,
ideologically, to take the monk`s begging as the primary issue
to have a view on. (cI. idem)
To sum up, one could notice that some readers will
have Iuller extratextual knowledge than others, or ideologies
more congruent with the narrator`s than other readers have,
but we cannot predetermine the relevance oI those Iacts and
views. More than that, there are cases when the








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 44
knowledgeable reader may read too much into a marginal
reIerence or character.
To put it more brieIly, one should ask the Iollowing
questions when analyzing a character within a literary text
analysis:
x Is he a mafor or a minor character? Is he the
protagonist/antagonist oI the story?
x Is he a rouna or a flat character?
x Is he aynamic or static?
x Does the author reveal the character through showing or
telling, or does he use both techniques?
x What does the way the character speaks reveal about his
character?
x What inIormation does the way the character behaves
provide?
x Is he similar to or diIIerent Irom other characters in the story?
How does he relate to the other characters?
x Has the setting shaped the character`s personality? Does the
setting reIlect his mood or emotional state?
x Does the character`s name have any importance, relevance or
associations?

2.3 Plot

Generally speaking, the term plot (which might Iind its
equivalent in the Romanian intrig) reIers to an author`s
arrangement oI the events that make up a story (Rom.
poveste, povestire). The plot oI a work is not necessarily the
same as the story. When we tell a story we generally start at
the beginning and continue in a chronological order until we
come to the end. Plots, however, do not always Iollow this
pattern. Many writers choose to mix events up in order to
provoke speciIic responses in the reader. They may, Ior
example, start in the middle oI things (in meaias res) and use
Ilashbacks or dialogue to reIer to previous events. The
author`s choices regarding plot do not stop simply at







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 45
organising the events oI his tale. He must also decide when
the story begins, which events should be dealt with at length,
which aspects oI the story can be quickly summarised and
when the story should end. Time is entirely subjective. The
events oI several years can be condensed into a paragraph,
while a complete chapter may be dedicated to a particularly
signiIicant moment. The author`s aim in writing a story will
direct the choices he makes, and thereIore analysing these
aspects oI plot gives us a clearer insight into the meaning oI
his work.
The Iirst to have introduced the distinction between
story and plot is the novelist and theoretician E. M. Forster
29

(1879-1970). Thus, according to him story is the
chronological sequence of events, while plot reIers to the
causal connection between those events. Forster exempliIies
the distinction between story and plot with the Iollowing
sequence oI utterances:
x Story: The king aiea ana then the queen aiea.
x Plot: The king aiea ana then the queen aiea of grief.
The story-plot distinction is related to the distinction
between temporal and causal connections which is not easy
in the sense that human beings tend to interpret events
succeeding each other in time as events with a causal
connection. This is best exempliIied by Shlomith Rimmon-
Kenan
30
in the Iollowing joke about Milton: 'Milton wrote
Paraaise Lost, then his wiIe died, and then he wrote Paraaise
Regainea in which the chronological order oI events

29
Forster, E.M. (1990). Aspects of the Novel. Harmondsworth:
Penguin, p. 87 quoted in Vervaeck, Bart, Herman, Luc (2005).
Hanabook of Narrative Analysis. Lincoln and London: University oI
Nebraska Press, p. 11-12. Forster`s Aspects of the Novel was Iirst
published in 1927 and represented his lectures on the English
language novel at trinity College, Cambridge in 1927.
30
RimmonKenan, Shlomith (1983). Narrative Fiction.
Contemporary Poetics. London: Methuen, p. 17.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 46
apparently gives rise to an unspoken causal connection
between the death oI the wiIe and the rediscovery oI paradise.
Commenting on the same example, Vervaeck &
Herman (2005)
31
consider that the example shows the
importance oI the reader who interprets the sentence about
Milton and thus turns the story into a plot, all oI which stand
prooI oI the Iact that the distinction between plot and story is
by no means absolute.
The sequence oI events is always the work oI the
reader, who makes links between the story`s several incidents.
This provides the plot with its dynamics and it also gives rise
to the idea that something is in Iact happening. Just like the
sequence oI events, the event itselI turns out to be dependent
on the reader`s input. A plot thereIore depends not on causal
connections but rather on a wealth oI relevant connections
that transcend chronology and are always inIerred by the
reader.
The sequence oI events is called the narrative order:
x The most common type oI narrative order in children`s
books is chronological. In this case, the events are
told in the order they happen.
x A flashback occurs when the author narrates an event
that took place beIore the current time oI the story.
Flashbacks are uncommon in children`s literature
because the passage oI time is diIIicult Ior children to
understand. The opposite eIIect, a flash forward, is
even rarer.
x A time lapse occurs when the story skips a period oI
time that seems unusual compared to the rest oI the
plot. There is no standard amount oI time that might
constitute a time lapse; it depends upon the reader`s
sense that a longer than usual period oI time has
passed since the previous episode.

31
CI. Vervaeck, Bart, Herman, Luc (2005). Hanabook of Narrative
Analysis. Lincoln and London: University oI Nebraska Press, p. 12.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 47
Plot Construction

Plot reIers to the series oI events that give a story its
meaning and eIIect. In most stories, these events arise out oI
conflict experienced by the main character.
Conflict, which is the driving Iorce behind many
plots, is the struggle between the protagonist and an opposing
Iorce. It may come Irom:
x outsiae. the main character may be in conIlict with
external Iorces such as his
Iamily, society, physical hardship or nature;
x within. the character may be Iorced to make a diIIicult
choice, or he may have
to question his values and belieIs.
There are several types of conflict:
x Internal conflict, or person-against-self, which
occurs when the protagonist struggles within himselI
or herselI. The protagonist is pulled by two courses oI
action or by diIIering emotions. This is oIten
considered a characteristic oI Iine literature because it
Irequently leads to a dynamic change in the
protagonist.
x Interpersonal conflict, or person-against-person,
pits the protagonist against someone else.
x ConIlict oI person-against-society happens when the
protagonist is in conIlict with the values oI his or her
society. This is a diIIicult concept Ior small children to
grasp.
x ConIlict oI person-against-nature takes place when
the protagonist is threatened by an element oI nature.
x ConIlict oI person-against-fate occurs when the
protagonist must contend against a Iact oI liIe or death
over which people have little control, such as death or
disability. Some literary critics, however, see this
conIlict as a type oI person-against-nature.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 48
Several types oI conIlict may be present in any one
story. Sometimes it is diIIicult to distinguish between two
types oI conIlict. II a teenager is arrested by a policeman Ior
breaking the law, the conIlict is probably person-against-
society. II, however, a personal animosity develops between
the two, so that the boy taunts the policeman and the
policeman harasses the boy because they dislike each other,
the conIlict becomes person-against-person. Likewise, iI a
character is attacked by a strange dog, the conIlict is person-
against-nature. But iI the dog knows and dislikes the
character, it could be considered person-against-person. II the
protagonist is diagnosed with a Iatal disease, he or she has a
conIlict with Iate or nature, but also probably has an internal
conIlict in learning to accept his or her Iate.

1he Elements of Plot

Most plots have certain common elements:
x A story commonly begins with exposition, an
explanation oI the situation and the condition oI
the characters. In children`s books, the exposition
is usually woven into the action.
Exposition is a literary technique by which
inIormation is conveyed about events that have occurred prior
to the beginning oI a novel, play, Iilm or other work oI
Iiction. This inIormation can be presented through dialogue,
description, news reports, or even directly through narrative.
Because exposition generally does not advance plot and may
impede present-time action, it is usually best kept in short and
succinct Iorm, though in some genres, such as the mystery,
exposition is central to the story structure itselI.
When the presentation oI exposition becomes
awkward or wordy, it is sometimes reIerred to by the
pejorative expressions plot aump and info aump. In written
Iiction, the term is additionally used to indicate giving
inIormation by exposition rather than revelation through







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 49
action and dialogue; iI such passages are well-written and
intriguing, they may be described as 'info-aumping with no
pejorative intent. This method has long been used in classic
drama and modern productions where the plot is the
consequence oI preceding events that would either weigh
down the production or would reveal too much, spoiling the
mystery. Exposition is also necessary in some dramas since it
is can be Irom the point oI view and perception oI a character,
and may or may not accurately reveal the Iacts. An example
oI such well done exposition is represented by Shakespeare`s
Hamlet.
An early Iorm oI exposition known as the 'prologue
was practiced in theatre, Ior example, the Greek tragedy.
Many oI the plays by Shakespeare begin with a character
coming Iorward and speaking the prologue to set the scene.
The term is usually invoked in a derisive sense,
however. Plot aumps at the beginning oI a Iilm are oIten
tolerated as a necessity Ior setting the premises oI the plot.
However, a plot dump expressed by characters in dialogue
during the course oI the movie is oIten taken to be indicative
oI an inIerior narrative. Examples oI the latter sense oIten
take the Iorm oI one character explaining elaborate details
regarding another character that would seem exaggerated and
out-oI-place in real-liIe conversation.
A stereotypical and exaggerated example oI inferior
plot aump would be:
1oe. Whos at the aoor?
Mary. Oh, its my uncle, who was releasea from prison
yesteraay after serving ten years for stealing the family fewels
from this very house, although the fewels themselves have
never been founa ana are rumourea to be buriea in a secret
chamber guaraea by the ghost of my late granamother.
x A plot usually begins with a problem which the
protagonist must meet or solve. During the story,
tension is built through a series oI complications,
incidents which either help or hinder the








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 50
protagonist in Iinding a solution. This is the rising
action.
x In some stories the main plot is accompanied by a
subplot which develops a second story that is
complete in its own right.
Plot as the connection oI events in a temporal or
metaphorical line is distinct Irom action (events themselves),
and when a work oI Iiction has both a central plot and a
second set oI connected actions that is separate Irom that plot,
it is said to have a subplot.
Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and
place or in thematic signiIicance. Subplots oIten involve
supporting characters, those besides the protagonist or
antagonist.
A subplot is sometimes reIerred to as a 'B story or a
'C story and so on, with the 'A story, being the main plot.
For example, in William Shakespeares Henry IJ, Part
II, the main plot concerns Henry`s growth Irom 'Hal the
prince to 'Henry the king and the reconquest oI the French
territory. A subplot, however, concerns FalstaII`s
participation in the battles. FalstaII and Henry meet at several
points, and FalstaII is a Iamiliar oI Henry`s, but his plot and
Henry`s do not mix. Even though they may be thematically
connected, they are not connected in action.
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main
plot consists oI Gatsby`s attempt to gather the admiration oI
his old love, Daisy, but a subplot develops concerning the
romance oI their Iriends, Nick Caraway and Jordan Baker.
x The climax is the peak or turning point oI the
action; at this point we know the outcome.
In classical culture, perhaps reIlecting in part low
literacy levels, analysis oI Iictional narratives Iocused on
drama, and identiIied patterns Ior comeay (in the sense oI
drama with a 'happy ending) and trageay (in the sense oI
drama with an 'unhappy ending). The principles involved







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 51
generally remain important in modern narrative literature, and
include identiIication oI the climax.
In a prose work oI Iiction, the climax oIten resembles
that oI the classical comedy, occurring approximately two-
thirds to three-quarters oI the way through the text or
perIormance, aIter the rising action and beIore the Ialling
action. It is the moment oI greatest danger Ior the hero(s) and
usually consists oI a seemingly inevitable prospect oI Iailure,
Iollowed by a hard-to-anticipate recovery.
x The dnouement or falling action is the part aIter
the climax. It gives any necessary explanation and
ends with resolution, the sense oI at the end oI the
story that it is complete.
In literature, a dnouement consists oI a series oI
events Iollowing the climax, thus serving as the conclusion oI
the story. ConIlicts are resolved, creating normality Ior the
characters and a sense oI catharsis, or release oI tension and
anxiety, Ior the reader. Etymologically, the French word
aenouement is derived Irom the Old French word aenoer, 'to
untie, and noaus, Latin Ior 'knot. Simply put, a
dnouement is the unravelling, or untying, oI the complexities
oI a plot.
A classic example oI dnouement is the Iinal scene oI
Shakespeares comedy As You Like It; couples marry, an
evildoer repents, two disguised characters are revealed Ior all
to see, and a ruler is restored to power.
There are, however, works in which the dnouement is
absent, mainly due to a quick, surprise ending (such as Lora
of the Flies).
x The ending oI the story may be either open or
closed:
In a closed ending, the most usual one in children`s
books, readers Ieel that they know what will happen. The
various parts oI the plot are tied together satisIactorily, and
the reader Ieels a sense oI completion.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 52
In an open ending, readers must draw their own
conclusions; they do not know what will happen.
A cliffhanger is an abrupt ending at an exciting and
oIten dangerous time in the plot. Its purpose is to keep the
reader reading. It is usually Iound at the end oI a chapter, but
occasionally a book will end this way. (Not all open endings
are suspenseIul enough to be called cliIIhangers.) Recently,
books in some science Iiction and Iantasy series have ended
in cliIIhangers, which encourages the reading oI the other
books in the series.
Other elements which may be Iound in plots include:
x Suspense is a state oI tension, a sense oI uncertainty,
an emotional pull which keeps the reader reading. All
plots need some suspense to sustain interest. Creating
suspense generally involves denying the reader
immediate access to inIormation which is essential to
the Iull understanding oI the story. The clearest
example oI this can be Iound in detective stories,
where the author does not reveal the identity oI the
murderer until the very last moment. Suspense is oIten
created through the careIul ordering oI events in the
story.
x Foreshadowing is the planting oI hints about what
will happen later in the story. It prepares readers Ior
the outcome and reassures them when the suspense is
very high. Good Ioreshadowing is subtle and oIten
contributes to high quality in a story.
x Coincidence, the concurrence oI events which happen
by chance, is a Iact in real liIe. However, real liIe is
not a plot that moves Irom problem to climax to
resolution. In Iiction, coincidence seems contrived; it
weakens the plot. Coincidence in a plot is acceptable iI
it is careIully but subtly Ioreshadowed.
x Inevitability is the sense that the outcome is necessary
and inescapable. It had to happen, given these







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 53
characters and this situation; it is not contrived. It is a
sign oI high quality in writing.
x Sensationalism is unrelieved suspense; it oIten
includes violence and may produce Iear in the reader.
Readers oIten like it, as the popularity oI horror books
and Iilms attest, but it is usually considered a sign oI
poor quality.
x Sentimentality is the opposite oI sensationalism; it is
the overuse oI sentiment (a natural concern Ior another
person) that produces a tear-jerker. It is dwelling too
much on the 'cute and the 'precious. Like
sensationalism, it is a sign oI poor quality but is oIten
popular. Movies such as Love Story and 1he
Anonymous Jenetian are examples oI sentimentality.
To sum up, there are the Iollowing basic
questions to be asked when analysing plot:
x Are the events in the plot chronological? Does the plot
begin at the start oI the story or in meaias res? What
eIIect do these choices have on the story?
x Is the story based on conIlict? Does the conIlict come
Irom outside or inside? What are the conIlicting
Iorces?
x Is suspense created in the plot? II so, how?
x Are there any subplots? What are their Iunctions?

2.4 Narrator and Point of View

In Iiction the author does not address the reader directly,
but he creates a narrator whose voice we hear as we read the story.
It is Irom the narrator`s point oI view that we see events unIold.
The narrator may be a strong presence in the text commenting
on and interpreting the material he presents or he may be almost
invisible, simply allowing the story to present itselI.
Narrators are divided into two broad categories: first-
person narrators and third-person narrators. The category








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 54
oI third-person narrators is divided into three
subcategories: omniscient, limited and dramatic objective.
Stream of consciousness, a relatively recent
development in narrative technique, may be an extension oI
either Iirst or third-person narratives.

First-person narrator

First-person narrators, who reIer to themselves as I`, tell
stories in which they are directly involved. In a Iirst-person
narrative the reader`s vision oI the story, or point oI view, is
limited to what the narrator himselI knows, experiences, inIers
or has learned Irom others.
First-person narratives are, by deIinition, subjective.
The only thoughts and Ieelings that Iirst-person narrators
experience directly are their own. The reader can never expect to
see characters and events as they actually are, but only as they
appear to the I` narrator. ThereIore special attention should be
paid to the personality oI the Iirst-person narrators in the sense
that one should wonder whether they are reliable or they have
biases and prejudices that may inIluence how they tell the
story.
In certain Iirst-person narratives the reader can
understand more than the narrator himselI. This is oIten the
case when the narrator is a child or a not very perceptive
adult. By contrasting t he narrator`s perception oI events and
the reader`s more inIormed views, the author can create humour
or irony. The Iirst-person narrative is commonly associated with
non-Iictional literary Iorms such as biographies, memoirs or
diaries. When used in Iictional works it lends authent icit y to
the story. It is also perhaps the most eIIective Iorm oI storytelling
Ior getting the reader intellectually and emotionally involved.
The Iirst person provides total subjectivity and all the
immediacy, intimacy, and urgency oI a single individual`s
conIlicts. The Iirst person also shows a character`s awareness
at telling a story. For example, Charles Dickens`s Davia







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 55
Copperfiela (1849-1850) is narrated by the title character and
opens as Iollows: 'Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of
my own life, or whether that station will be hela by anyboay
else, these pages must show.
The Iirst person allows the author to write in the voice
oI a particular character. In his novel Huckleberry Finn
(1884), which is narrated by the character Huck, Mark Twain
not only wrote Irom Huck`s point oI view, but he wrote in the
voice that Huck would use iI he were a real person. This
approach gives Huck authenticity as a real character. Twain
began chapter one oI the book as Iollows:
'You aont know about me without you have reaa a
book by the name of The Aaventures of Tom Sawyer, but that
aint no matter. That book was maae by Mr. Mark Twain, ana
he tola the truth, mainly. There was things which he
stretchea, but mainly he tola the truth. That is nothing. I never
seen anyboay but liea one time or another, without it was
Aunt Polly, or the wiaow, or maybe Mary. Aunt PollyToms
Aunt Polly, she isana Mary, ana the Wiaow Douglas is all
tola about in that book, which is mostly a true book, with
some stretchers, as I saia before.`
Some novelists use the Iirst person in more complex
ways. In The Souna ana the Fury (1929), William Faulkner
tells the story oI the Compson Iamily Irom Iour points oI
view, three oI which are Iirst person. The narrative begins
Irom the point oI view oI a developmentally disabled man,
Benjy. It then moves to the point oI view oI his intellectual
brother, Quentin, and then to the point oI view oI another
brother, Jason. The Iinal section is told by an omniscient
narrator.

Third-person narrator

When a story is told by someone outside the action, he
is called a third-person narrator (because he reIers to everybody
in t he story in the third person: he`, she`, they`. In this Iorm








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 56
oI narration t he person who is telling the story is like an
observer who has witnessed what has happened, but plays no
part in the events.
Omniscient Point of Jiew
The omniscient thi rd person narrator is all-
knowing. He knows everything about the Iictional world he has
created: he can read other characters` innermost thoughts, he
is able to be in several places at once, he knows exactly what is
going to happen and how each character will behave. He is Iree to
tell us as much or as l i t t l e as he wishes.
An omniscient third-person narrator who interrupts the
narrative and speaks directly to the readers is called obtrusive.
He may use these intrusions to summarise, philosophise,
moralise or to guide the reader`s interpretation oI events. This
kind oI narrator was particularly popular in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. II the narrator does not address the reader
directly he is reIerred to as non-obtrusive.
In a novel written Irom the point oI view oI an
omniscient narrator, the reader knows what each character
does and thinks. The reader maintains this knowledge as the
plot moves Irom place to place or era to era. An omniscient
narrator can also provide the reader with direct assessment oI
action, character, and environment. For example, Carson
McCullers`s The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940) opens with
this description:
'In the town there were two mutes, ana they were
always together. Early every morning they woula come out
from the house where they livea ana walk arm in arm aown
the street to work. The two frienas were very aifferent. The
one who always steerea the way was an obese ana areamy
Greek. In the summer he woula come out wearing a yellow or
green polo shirt stuffea sloppily into his trousers in front ana
hanging loose behina. When it was colaer he wore over this a
shapeless gray sweater. His face was rouna ana oily, with
half closea eyelias ana lips that curvea in a gentle, stupia
smile. The other mute was tall. His eyes haa a quick,







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 57
intelligent expression. He was always immaculate ana very
soberly aressea.`
The omniscient narrator can assume a Iamiliar tone
with the reader, because the narrator is not bound by the
scope oI the story. Many oI the earliest novels used the
omniscient narrator in such a Iashion. In Tom Jones (1749),
Henry Fielding provides brieI overviews at the beginning oI
each major section. Most novelists simply set Iorth the time
Irame oI the section ('Containing a portion oI time somewhat
longer than halI a year), but others give a more detailed
overview:
'Containing the most memorable transactions which
passea in the family of Mr. Allworth, from the time when
Tommy Jones arrivea at the age of fourteen, till he attainea
the age of nineteen. In this book the reaaer may pick up some
hints concerning the eaucation of chilaren.`
The omniscient point oI view has advantages and
disadvantages. Using an omniscient narrator allows a writer
to be extremely clear about plot developments. This point oI
view also exposes the reader to the actions and thoughts oI
many characters and deepens the reader`s understanding oI
the various aspects oI the story. However, using an
omniscient narrator can make a novel seem too authoritarian
and artiIicial, because in their own lives people do not have
this all-knowing power. II clumsily executed, providing thick
detail may cause the reader to lose sight oI the central plot
within a mass oI scenes, settings, and characters.
Limited Omniscient Point of Jiew
When an author uses a limited omniscient narrator,
he chooses a character in the story and tells the story Irom hi s
point oI view. This character becomes the centre oI revelation
and the reader sees the events and other characters Irom his
viewpoint. II the narrator moves back and Iorth between an
omniscient viewpoint and the viewpoint oI the Iocal
character, we reIer to the narrative technique as free indirect
style` realized through free indirect discourse.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 58
Free indirect discourse (FID) can be deIined as a moae
of speech ana thought representation which relies on
syntactic, lexical and pragmatic Ieatures
32
. On the syntactic
level, passages oI FID are constituted by non-subordination
and (iI applicable) temporal shiIting in accordance with the
basic tense oI the report Irame:
'Orlanao WALKED through the house with his elk
hounas following ana FELT content. He haa matter now, he
THOUGHT, to fill out his peroration. Perhaps it WOULD be
well to begin the speech all over again.` (Virginia WoolI,
Orlanao)
Since the Irame is in the past tense (walkea), the verbs
in Orlando`s thoughts rendered in FID need to be aligned
temporarily, with simultaneity designated by the past tense
(haa) and posteriority by means oI the conditional (woula). In
addition, the reIerential parameters oI the Iraming discourse
remain intact as they do in indirect discourse, too. Thus, He
|i.e. Bob| woula love to ao it may be a report about Bob`s
subjective willingness to do it` which he himselI would
express as I`d love to do it`.
The passage also illustrates the lexical retention oI
proximal deictics (now) and subjective epistemics related to
the perspective oI the reported speaker or consciousness
(perhaps). Finally, the pragmatic quality oI FID readings can
be demonstrated by a passage such as the Iollowing:
'She haa come that aay, he thought later, not for
passion, but to save him, to veer him to some reality. If
anyone knew where Clara was, she aia.` (Michael Ondaatje,
In the Skin of a Lion)
The italicised passage can be read as a representation
oI Patrick`s thoughts when Alice comes to visit him, hoping
against hope that she might point the way to where his lost

32
Monika Fludernik, Universitat Freiburg, "Free indirect discourse" in
The Literary Encyclopeaia |online database| ProIile Iirst published
20/10/2001 |cited 28 Nov. 2005|; available Irom World Wide Web
http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rectrue&UID444







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 59
Clara has gone. In this reading the sentence reIers to Patrick`s
thought act on the plot level. However, the passage can also
be read as Patrick`s later justiIication Ior Alice`s visit,
implying that Alice may have wanted to help him by telling
him where Clara had gone. In this case, we would have an
implied speech or thought act attributed to Alice. Finally, the
sentence could also just be the narrator`s Iactual inIormation
about Alice`s knowledge, with no precise attribution oI a
speech or thought act implied; the narrator is merely noting
Ior the beneIit oI the reader that Alice was the only person
likely to know oI Clara`s whereabouts. In this case no Iree
indirect discourse exists, we are dealing with narrative report
pure and simple.
FID passages, unless clearly marked by syntactic or
lexical Ieatures, are thereIore ambiguous concerning the
question oI whether in a given passage there is speech or
thought representation implied and, iI there is, who might be
the author oI that speech or thought act and whether the
represented discourse was uttered aloud or merely part oI a
sequence oI internal thoughts.
Free indirect style is perhaps the most widely-used
mode oI narration in modern Iiction. Limited omniscient
narration involves the reader more than pure omniscient
narration. By associating the narrating voice with one oI the
characters in the story, the author gives it an i dent i t y and
thereIore makes it more interesting Ior the reader. Also,
because much oI the story is told Irom the partial viewpoint
oI one oI the characters, the reader gets the idea that anything
can happen in the course oI the novel, just as it can in real
liIe.
Like the omniscient and Iirst-person narrators, the
third-person-limited narrator allows the reader access to the
thoughts oI the main character. Unlike the omniscient
narrator, however, the third-person-limited narrator can only
relay one character`s perspective to the reader. In this way the
third-person-limited narrator is like the Iirst-person narrator in








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 60
the sense that the viewpoint recreates how an individual
experiences the world.
Henry James employed the third-person-limited point
oI view to great eIIect in books such as Daisy Miller (1879)
and The Portrait of a Laay (1881), with the central character
acting as a person who can evaluate the signiIicance oI events
and in turn convey that evaluation to the reader. In Daisy
Miller, the character Winterbourne serves this purpose. Early
in the novel, Winterbourne relates his Iirst impressions oI
Daisy:
'She was bareheaaea, but she balancea in her hana a
large parasol, with a aeep boraer of embroiaery, ana she was
strikingly, aamirably pretty. 'How pretty [Daisy ana her
parasol{ are'` thought Winterbourne, straightening himself
in his seat, as if he were preparea to rise.`
When using a character as a voice oI limited
omniscience, the author may describe the character`s
experiences only in terms that the character would use, or the
author may take a more authoritative approach and describe
the character`s liIe as an outside observer would. In Ulysses
(1922), James Joyce uses the Iirst approach when describing
the character Gerty MacDowell. Gerty, a sentimental girl oI
limited understanding, expresses her narrow range oI
perceptions within her own limitations, and the reader sees
the world very much through her eyes. By contrast, in the
sections oI Maaame Bovary (1857) that Emma Bovary
narrates, Gustave Flaubert adopts a broader perspective when
he explains Emma`s thirst Ior romance, excitement, and
grandeur in terms that Emma herselI would not be able to
express.
Dramatic or Objective Point of Jiew
When an author uses a dramatic or objective point of
view, the story seems to be told by no one. This narrative
technique is commonly compared to a videocamera leIt
running. The narrator does not mediate between the story and
the reader. He steps aside and allows the story to present







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 61
i t sel I through setting, action and dialogue. The reader is
never taken inside the minds oI the characters. He is
presented with material which he alone must analyse and
interpret. Although the narrator does not actively participate
in the storytelling, he does have an important role to play in
this type oI narrative. It is the narrator who decides when to
turn the videocamera on and oII and where to point it. He
decides what material to present, and his choices will
obviously aIIect the reader`s response. The dramatic point oI
view is widely used by modern writers because oI the
impersonal and objective way it presents experience.
Stream of Consciousness
Stream of consciousness, Iirst denominated as such in
the late 19th century, was employed to evince subjective as
well as objective reality. It reveals the character`s Ieelings,
thoughts, and actions, oIten Iollowing an associative rather
than a logical sequence, without commentary by the author.
The earliest precedent oI any literary work using this
technique is possibly Ovid's Metamorphoses in ancient Rome.
Sir Thomas Browne's discourse The Garaen of Cyrus (1658)
with its rapid, unconnected association oI objects, geometrical
shapes and numerology, may be considered one oI the earliest
examples oI stream oI consciousness writing. Some oI the
works oI Gyula Krudy (The Adventures oI Sindbad) also
employ a technique that can be considered the Iorerunner oI
stream oI consciousness. Further examples oI the
development oI this style are The Life ana Opinions of
Tristram Shanay, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne (1760), The
Narrative of Arthur Goraon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan
Poe (1837/1838).
As a narrative technique, stream oI consciousness is
oIten conIused with interior monologue, but the latter
technique works the sensations oI the mind into a more
Iormal pattern: a Ilow oI thoughts inwardly expressed, similar
to a soliloquy. The technique oI stream oI consciousness,
however, attempts to portray the remote, preconscious state








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 62
that exists beIore the mind organizes sensations.
Consequently, the re-creation oI a stream oI consciousness
Irequently lacks the unity, explicit cohesion, and selectivity oI
direct thought.
Lately, stream oI consciousness is the term applied to
any attempt by a wr i t er to represent the conscious and
subconscious thoughts and impressions in the mind oI a
character. This technique takes the reader inside the narrating
character`s mind, where he sees the world oI the story
through the thoughts and senses oI the Iocal character.
Interior Monologue
At the beginning oI the twentieth century, some
authors, notably James Joyce, Virginia WoolI and Wi l l i am
Faulkner, developed a stream oI consciousness technique
called interior monologue. The term is borrowed Irom
drama, where monologue reIers to the part in a play where an
actor expresses his inner thoughts aloud to the audience. In
Iiction, an interior monologue is a record oI a character`s
thoughts and sense impressions.
As people do not think in complete, well-Iormed
logical sentences, Joyce, WoolI and Faulkner abandoned
traditional syntax, punctuation and logical connections in
order to represent the Ilow oI a character`s thoughts. For
example, in Joyce`s Ulysses (1922) the reader Iinds himselI
with a transcript oI one oI the characters` thoughts which
contains no commas, Iull stops or capital letters. The stop,
start, disjointed and oIten illogical nature oI interior
monologue makes it a challenge Ior the reader to interpret.
One oI the most Iamous examples Ior interior
monologue is James Joyce's last chapter in Ulysses (1922) in
which there is no punctuation and the current oI thought is
depicted as associative rather than strictly logical and
coherent. Page aIter page, this section presents Molly Bloom's
consciousness to the reader entirely in interior monologue:
'[...{ if his nose bleeas youa thing it was O tragic ana
that ayinglooking one off the south circular when he sprainea







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 63
his foot at the choir party at the sugarloaf Mountain the aay I
wore that aress Miss Stack bringing him flowers the worst ola
ones she coula fina at the bottom of the basket anything at all
to get into a mans bearoom with her ola maias voice trying to
imagine he was aying on account of her to sever see thy face
again though he lookea more like a man with his beara a bit
grown in the bea father was the same besiaes I hate
banaaging ana aosing when he cut his toe with the ra:or
paring his corns afraia hea get blooa poisoning [...{` (Joyce,
Ulysses, 'Penelope')
To sum up, one should ask the Iollowing questions
when analyzing narrative technique in point oI narrative point
oI view:
Does the author use a first-person or thira-person narrator?
Is the thira-person narrator omniscient?
x xx x II the thira-person narrator is limited, does he see the
story Irom the point oI view oI one oI the characters in the
story?
x xx x Is the point oI view aramatic or obfective?
x xx x Does the author try to represent the thoughts oI a character?
What technique does he use to achieve this eIIect?
x xx x What eIIect does the author`s choice oI narrator have on
the impact oI the story?

2.5 Narrative Dimensions

The structuralist distinction between the text as it appears
and its division into levels oI underlying patterns stems Irom
the Russian literary theorists who made a distinction between
the abstract chronology oI events and their concrete sequence
in a narrative text where they oIten do not Iollow each other
in chronological order.
Structuralism is characterized by the gap between
surIace and deep levels. In the collection What Is
Structuralism? Todorov explains that structuralism does not
deal with the literary text as it presents itselI to the reader but








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 64
rather with an abstract deep structure.
33
From this point oI
view, the science oI narratology, rather than investigating the
surIace, should study that which is Iundamental to narrative.
This approach has led to the division oI the narrative
text into three levels as Iollows: narration, narrative ana
story.
Genette
34
describes the surIace level with the term
narration. Narration reIers to the concrete and directly visible
way in which a story is told. Word choice, sentence length,
and narrating agent are all elements that belong to this level.
Genette situates the second level slightly under the
surIace and calls it recit in French, which we will be translated
as narrative in English. Narrative is concerned with the story
as it plays out in the text. Whereas linguistic Iormulation was
central to narration, the organization oI narrative elements is
central to narrative. Narrative does not concern the act oI
narration but rather the way in which the events and
characters oI the story are oIIered to the reader. For instance, a
novel starts with the death oI the male protagonist and then
looks back to his Iirst marriage Irom the vantage point oI his
son, aIter which it looks Iorward to the end oI that marriage
Irom the perspective oI his second wiIe. So the level oI
narrative has to do with organizational principles such as
chronology and perspective.
Genette`s Iinal and deepest level is histoire, which we
translate as story. This level is not readily available to the
reader. Instead it amounts to an abstract construct. On this
level, narrative elements are reduced to a chronological series.
The story oI the example above would Iirst have the man`s
Iirst marriage, then the end oI that marriage, and Iinally the
man`s death. Here the protagonist does not appear as a

33
In Ducrot, Oswald, et. al. (1968). Quest-ce que le structuralisme?
Paris: Seuil, p. 102.
34
CI. Genette, Grard (1980). Narrative Discourse. Ithaca NY:
Cornell University Press, p. 27.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 65
concrete character but as a role in an abstract system. The
setting is reduced on this level to abstract characteristics such
as high or low and light or dark.

Narrative

The level oI narrative no longer concerns the abstract
logic oI sequences but rather the concrete way in which
events are presented to the reader. The analysis oI narrative
consists oI three main parts: time, characteri:ation, and
focali:ation.

A. Time
Structuralism analyzes time by studying the relation
between the time oI the story and the time oI narrative. For
instance, a central event in the story may well remain untold
in the narrative; or an event that takes very long in the story
might be mentioned brieIly and casually in the narrative. In
order to systematize the various aspects oI time, Genette uses
three criteria: auration, oraer, and frequency.
35


1. Duration
Duration is measured by comparing the time
necessary to read the account oI an event to the time an event
takes on the level oI the story.
The Iirst oI these two dimensions builds on the act oI reading
in order to determine how long an action or event lasts on the
level oI narrative. Since these actions and events take place in
the narrative as it is being told, this dimension is usually called
the time of narration (abbreviated as TN), even though what
really matters here is the time oI reading.
The second dimension is usually called narratea time
and reIers to the duration oI events on the level oI the story,
which is why it is abbreviated as ST (story time).

35
CI. Genette, Grard (1980). Narrative Discourse. Ithaca NY:
Cornell University Press, pp. 33-160.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 66
Bal
36
distinguishes Iive possible relations between TN
and ST, represented as Iollows:

ellipsis acceleration scene deceleration pause
I I I I I
ST n ST~TN ST TN ST TN ST 0
TN 0 TN n
ST~TX
STTN

At the ellipsis pole, an event that does happen in the
story is absent Irom the narrative. As a result, story duration
becomes inIinitely longer than duration in the narrative.
Events that remain untold can be very important. A crime
novel, Ior instance, will eIIect more suspense when the
execution oI a planned murder or assault does not appear in
the narrative. In a psychological novel, things that remain
unsaid can be essential because they may point to repressed or
dismissed traumas.
Acceleration is another term Ior summary. An event that
takes a long time can be summarized in one sentence, so that
the time oI narration is shorter than story time.
Scene indicates an almost perIect overlap oI the duration
oI an event with that oI its representation or reading. A
dialogue that appears word Ior word in a novel will take almost
as long in the text as in the story. The equation sign, however,
is oI course a Iiction since the time oI narration and narrated
time are never entirely identical. For instance, it is almost
impossible to make pauses in the story conversation last
equally long in the text. A brieI line such as, 'The
conversation came to a stop, is an example oI acceleration
rather than a scene.
Deceleration occurs when the time necessary to read
the description oI an event turns out to be longer than the event

36
Bal, Mieke. (1997) Narratology. Introauction to the Theory of
Narrative. Toronto: University oI Toronto Press, p. 102.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 67
itselI. A text can halt, Ior instance, at the moment a killer
points his gun at his victim. This would take merely a second
in the story, but it can be described in dozens oI pages.
Deceleration, thereIore, is very useIul to create or decrease
suspense. Thus an almost description oI a Iight may be
Iollowed by a deceleration in which the narrator enters at
length into a brieI event such as the arrival oI the police.
Pause represents an extreme Iorm oI deceleration.
Nothing happens anymore, the story comes to a standstill, and
the narrator instead oI continuing the action brings it to a halt
sometimes with a description which may take dozens oI pages,
aIter which he brings the reader back to the action which he
should have continued pages beIore.
The combination oI ellipsis, acceleration, scene,
deceleration, and pause determines the rhythm oI the
narrative and contributes to suspense or monotony. Narrative
texts with continuous acceleration or deceleration create a
much more dynamic impression than texts that always have the
same type oI duration.
When trying to establish duration, the deIinition oI the
time oI narration presents a major problem in the sense that
one does not know how to measure the time the narrative
devotes to an event as either the time required to describe the
event or to read about it. Usually, reading time Iunctions as
the norm, but this speed obviously diIIers Irom reader to
reader. Structuralists then appeal to a purely quantitative
element, that is the number oI pages. Forty pages to describe
one minute means deceleration, while one page to describe a
year comes down to acceleration. This means that time is
reduced to space, more speciIically 'the amount oI space in
the text each event requires.
37

Another problem with duration is the deIinition oI narrated time.
Some narrative texts, such as the nouveau roman and postmoaern

37
Bal, Mieke. (1997) Narratology. Introauction to the Theory of
Narrative. Toronto: University oI Toronto Press, p. 100.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 68
encyclopeaic novels, make it very diIIicult to reconstruct the
story or establish the duration oI the events. II this does not
work, it also becomes impossible to search Ior the relation
between the time oI these events and that oI their description,
which means the structuralist deIinition oI duration does not
apply here.

2. Order
Order is determined on the basis oI the relation between
the linear chronology in the story and the order oI events in
the narrative. II it is impossible to reconstruct story events and
to order them into a clear chronology, order in a narrative text
cannot be assessed by using the structuralist method. II it is
possible to order events nicely on the story level, Ior instance
in a sequence Irom one to Iive, then one can see how the
narrative complicates that order, Ior instance into the
sequence Iour, two, Iive, one, three.
Genette speciIies order with reIerence to three
categories: direction, distance, and reach. SpeciIication
always depends on a clear primary narrative. The primary
narrative is not the same as the story because it is visible in
the text and does not contain all the events. However, iI a
novel does not allow the reader to establish its primary
narrative, one cannot apply the criterion oI order at all.
Two directions are possible with regard to the primary
narrative: Iorwards and backwards. II the primary narrative,
Ior instance, shows the last three weeks in the liIe oI the
protagonist, all memories oI his youth and all anticipations oI
liIe aIter death would Iall outside this narrative. Such a
memory would be an example oI analepsis (or flasback), and
such an anticipation an example oI prolepsis (or flash forwara).
II the analepsis or prolepsis concern the element in the
Ioreground oI the primary narrative, Genette calls them
homodiegetic. For instance, iI a dying man remembers a
moment Irom his own liIe, this would constitute a
homodiegetic analepsis. II, however, he remembers







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 69
something about a person who does not appear or has only a
minor role in the primary narrative, then the analepsis is
heterodiegetic. The dying man may remember a boyhood
Iriend who has disappeared, which may lead to a story about
that Iriend and some related details concerning him, none oI
which the dying man has experienced himselI.
The situation becomes more complex when the
various memories are not clearly dated. Many
autobiographical novels contain a whirl oI memories and
anticipations that connect associatively and are very hard to
locate. In such a case, the reader does not know whether
memory A goes backwards or Iorwards with respect to
memory B. Genette uses the term achrony Ior passages that
cannot be dated. Prolepsis and analepsis, on the other hand,
only exist iI they can be clearly located in time. They are
examples oI anachrony, which is a departure Irom the
chronology in the primary narrative.
Order is not just a matter oI direction, but also oI
distance, which concerns the temporal gap between primary
narrative on the one hand and prolepsis or analepsis on the
other. The dying man may remember an event that took place
two days ago, which thereIore Ialls within the primary
narrative; or he may remember something that happened IiIty
years ago, which clearly remains outside the primary
narrative. II the remembered or anticipated period Ialls within
the primary narrative, Genette speaks oI an internal analepsis
or prolepsis. External analepsis or prolepsis is when this
period Ialls outside the primary narrative. Mixea analepsis or
prolepsis covers a memory starting beIore the primary
narrative but ending within it, or an anticipation beginning
within the primary narrative and ending outside it.
Apart Irom direction and distance, order is also
characterized by reach. This term reIers to the stretch oI time
covered by the analepsis or prolepsis. II the memory
concerns one particular event, then the analepsis is punctual.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 70
II it comprises an entire period, the Ilashback is durative or
complete.
Using the notion oI narrative distance as a starting
point, Genette presents the Iunctions oI the narrator (1980,
pp. 255-256) in the Iorm oI Iive Iunctions that also reveal the
degree to which the narrator intervenes in his narrative,
based on the desired degree oI detachment or involvement.
1. 1he narrative function: The narrative Iunction is a
Iundamental one. Any time we have a narrative, this role
(detachment) is assumed by the narrator, whether present in
the text or not.
2. 1he directing function: The narrator perIorms a directing
Iunction when he interrupts the story to comment on the
organization or articulation oI his text (involvement).
3. 1he communication function: The narrator addresses the
narratee directly (that is, the text's potential reader) in order
to establish or maintain contact with him or her
(involvement).
4. 1he testimonial function: The narrator aIIirms the truth oI
his story, the degree oI precision in his narration, his
certainty regarding the events, his sources oI inIormation,
and the like. This Iunction also comes into play when the
narrator expresses his emotions about the story, that is, the
aIIective relation he has with it (involvement).
5. 1he ideological function: The narrator interrupts his story
to introduce instructive comments or general wisdom
concerning his narrative (involvement).

3. Frequency
Frequency reIers to the relation between the number oI
times an event occurs in the story and the number oI times it
occurs in the narrative. Obviously, there are three possibilities
here: less often, more often, ana fust as often.
a. When the event occurs just as oIten in the story as it
does in the narrative, Genette uses the term singulative.
Something that happens once and is described once, is a







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 71
simple singulative, while a reoccurrence in the story that is
described just as oIten in the text is a plural singulative.
b. Very oIten such an exact coincidence does not seem
appropriate. II you describe something that happens regularly
every time it happens, the iteration text may become
monotonous or endless. For story events that happen
repeatedly but are only presented once in the text, Genette
uses the term iteration. The Iirst sentence oI Marcel Proust`s
Remembrance of Things Past oIIers a good example oI this
second type oI Irequency: 'For a long time I used to go to bed
early. The Iormulation, 'Ior a long time, probably covers
thousands oI days on which the protagonist went to bed early.
Iteratives can be combined with singulatives. A party
described singulatively can contain an iterative such as 'He
repeatedly harassed his neighbour, until she could not take it
any longer and leIt the table. Genette calls this an internal
iterative since it remains within the temporal limits oI the
singulatively described party. II it were to Iall outside these
limits, Genette would call it external. For instance, the
description oI the party could contain a sentence such as the
Iollowing: 'That is what he would do Ior the rest oI his liIe:
harass people who did not ask Ior it.
c. Genette calls the third type oI Irequency repetition by
which he means the repeated description in the text oI an event
that takes place only once on the level oI the story. Repetitions
oI this kind oIten embody various standpoints, that is to say,
the same event is considered by various characters. With post-
modern novels it can be hard to decide whether the various
standpoints relate to a single event or various events, or
whether they are just inventions.

B. Characterization

Next to time, characteri:ation makes up the second
dimension oI narrative. While story deals with abstract roles,
narrative involves their concretization. The central question in








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 72
this respect concerns the way in which a character is
represented in narrative. This question not only calls Ior a list
oI characteristics but also Ior ways in which these
characteristics can be woven into the text.
According to Rimmon-Kenan,
38
we can discern three
methods:
a. Firstly, a character can be described directly (or
explicit characterization in Bal`s terminology). This type oI
characterization occurs in many traditional novels that
introduce a character with an enumeration oI character traits.
These traits may relate to psychological states as well as to
outward appearance. Direct characterization always takes the
Iorm oI speciIying and evaluative statements such as the
Iollowing: 'Mister Hoorn was a warm and honest individual,
though his casual conversation and jokes could not be called
brilliant. But stupid, no, that he was not.
Direct characterizations belong to the most
straightIorward strategies to inIorm the reader, but they can
easily be (ab)used to send the reader in the wrong direction.
At the beginning oI the story, 'A Rose Ior Emily, by William
Faulkner, the characterization oI 'noble Emily is
emphatically positive, but the reader soon realizes that those
positive statements are mistaken and misleading.
b. The second type is indirect characterization (or
implicit characterization in Bal`s terminology). It is based on
characterization metonymy, that is, it works with elements that
are contiguous with the character. In broad lines, indirect
characterization is achieved through actions oIten Iollowing
naturally Irom a character`s identity, through discourse which
says a lot, literally and Iiguratively, through the words and style
used by a character which betray his social position, his
ideology, and his psychology and, Iinally, through the

38
RimmonKenan, Shlomith (1983). Narrative Fiction.
Contemporary Poetics. London: Methuen, pp. 59-70.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 73
character`s physical appearance and his environment which
can also be telling.
To put it brieIly, indirect characterization shows things
that reveal the personality oI a character. There are Iive
diIIerent methods oI indirect characterization:
1. by speech: What does the character say? How does the
character speak?
2. by thoughts: What is revealed through the character`s
private thoughts and Ieelings?
3. by effects on others toward the character: What is revealed
through the character`s eIIect on other people? How do other
characters Ieel or behave in reaction to the character?
4. by actions: What does the character do? How does the
character behave?
5. by looks: What does the character look like? How does the
character dress?
c. Thirdly, characters can be described with the help oI
analogy, which leads to metaphor instead oI metonymy. The
Iact that metaphors oIten reIer to a speciIic ethic or ideology
also appears in Theodor Adorno`s
39
study oI the images

39
CI. Adorno, Theordor W. Notes on KaIka in Prisms, Cambridge:
MIT Press, 1981. Theodor W. Adorno was one oI the most important
philosophers and social critics in Germany aIter World War II.
Although less well known among anglophone philosophers than his
contemporary Hans-Georg Gadamer, Adorno had even greater
inIluence on scholars and intellectuals in postwar Germany. In the
1960s he was the most prominent challenger to both Sir Karl Popper's
philosophy oI science and Martin Heidegger's philosophy oI
existence. Jrgen Habermas, Germany's Ioremost social philosopher
aIter 1970, was Adorno's student and assistant. The scope oI Adorno's
inIluence stems Irom the interdisciplinary character oI his research
and oI the FrankIurt School to which he belonged. It also stems Irom
the thoroughness with which he examined Western philosophical
traditions, especially Irom Kant onward, and the radicalness to his
critique oI contemporary Western society. He was a seminal social
theorist and a leading member oI the Iirst generation oI Critical
Theory.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 74
KaIka uses to describe his characters. KaIka oIten compares
his characters to animals and objects, and this metaphorical
typiIication shows how unhuman humankind has become.

For Rimmon-Kenan
40
, the name is an example oI
characterization through analogy. To the extent that the name
points to an aspect oI the character or to a contiguous element
pertaining to it, we believe it still belongs to metonymic
characterization. Thus, the names Goodman and Small
describe metonymically, whereas Castle or Roach do so
metaphorically. In the Iormer case, elements are put Iorward
that belong to the semantic domain oI humankind, while in
the latter case, other domains come into play. A character
called Castle may well be weak, in which case his name is
ironic.
Similar to the name, the alter ego or second selI presents
a borderline case between metonymical and metaphorical
characterization. While the connection between the protagonist
and a witness may be called contiguous, the blending oI Jekyll
and Hyde brings about a metaphorical osmosis oI two diIIerent
personalities. Metonymical characterization does not lead to
osmosis, but its metaphorical counterpart does. The borderline
between the two is not always clear. Two supposedly distinct
characters may resemble each other in so many ways that one
could still speak oI identiIication or blending.
The structuralist treatment oI characterization almost
reaches the level oI semantic, content-related analysis. Since
structuralism has wanted to develop a largely Iormal approach,
it does not come as a surprise that characterization does not
belong to the more detailed or innovative domains oI
structuralist narratology. The concrete description oI a
character diIIers Irom text to text, and thereIore it does not
really appeal to a structuralist, who is out to expose general
principles and procedures.

40
RimmonKenan, Shlomith (1983). Narrative Fiction.
Contemporary Poetics. London: Methuen, pp. 68-69.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 75
C. Focalization

Focalization reIers to the relation between that which
is Iocalized - characters, actions, and objects oIIered to the
reader - and the Iocalizer, the agent who perceives and who
thereIore determines what is presented to the reader. To put it
diIIerently, it is the relation between the object and the subject
oI perception.
As Genette and others demonstrate, most studies oI
point oI view (or narrative perspective) tend to blur the
distinction between two related but diIIerent questions - the
question oI who speaks (who narrates) and the question oI
who sees (who Iocalizes).
ManIred Jahn
41
(1999) approaches the concept oI
Iocalization by means oI a recording oI the diIIerent theories
lying at the basis oI the term focalisation as used by Gerard
Genette. According to Jahn, Ior his deIinition oI Iocalization,
Genette draws on Iour traditional approaches: Brooks and
Warren`s
42
(1959/1943) point oI view approach, Pouillon`s
43

(1946) vision approach, Blin`s
44
(1954) Iield approach, and
Todorov`s
45
(1966) knowledge approach. Brooks and Warren
build on the question 'Who sees the story? (1959, 659);
Pouillon (1946, 69-114) distinguishes three main vision
modes, vision avec ('vision with, i.e., vision through a

41
Jahn, ManIred. (1999). 'More Aspects oI Focalization: ReIinements
and Applications. In: Pier, John, ed. GRAAT. Revue aes Groupes ae
Recherches Anglo-Americaines ae LUniversite Franois Rabelais ae
Tours 21: 85-110. (Recent Trends in Narratological Research: Papers
Irom the Narratology Round Table, ESSE 4 - September 1997 --
Debrecen, Hungary).
42
Brooks, Cleanth, and Robert Penn Warren. (1959 |1943|).
Unaerstanaing Fiction. 2nd ed. New York: Appleton.
43
Pouillon, Jean (1946). Temps et roman. Paris: Gallimard.
44
Blin, Georges (1954). Stenahal et les problmes au roman. Paris:
Corti.
45
Todorov, Tzvetan, 1966. 'Les catgories du rcit littraire.
Communications 8, 125-51.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 76
character`s eyes), vision par aerrire ('vision Irom behind,
i.e., Irom an omniscient narratorial vantage) and vision au
aehors ('vision Irom outside); Blin (1954, part II) treats
Stendhal`s use oI subjectively restricted Iields |restrictions ae
champ|; and Todorov asks whether the narrator knows more
than, as much as, or less than the character (1966, 126).
Genette`s own contribution to this is, roughly,
IourIold. First, he introduces a sharp Iocalization-narration
distinction by setting ,who sees? against ,who speaks?.
Second, he deIines Iocalization by combining and adjusting
the Iour pre-narratological models just listed; third, he details
a typology comprising three major types (zero, internal, and
external Iocalization), roughly equivalent to Pouillon`s vision
and Todorov`s knowledge categories. Fourth, he explicates
two main types oI alterations, that is, deviations Irom normal
restrictions, such as a text`s providing Ior too much or too
little inIormation.
Post-Genettean Iocalization theory is largely
inIluenced by Bal`s
46
(1983 |1977|) critique oI Genette and
her introduction oI various new terms and deIinitions.
Basically, Bal proposes three major modiIications:
(1) she rejects Genette`s category oI external Iocalization -
mainly, she argues, because it rests on a conIusion oI subject
and object, a conIusion oI ,who sees? and ,what is seen?;
2) she adds the concepts oI ,external and ,internal
Iocalizers, in eIIect re-introducing narratorial point oI view
(via the external Iocalizer);
(3) she initiates an inquiry into the nature and epistemological
restrictions oI perceptible and imperceptible objects.
Bal reminds us that whenever events are presented to
the reader, they are always presented Irom within a certain
vision that is not necessarily that oI the narrating voice;
whether 'real historical Iacts or Iictitious events are

46
Bal, Mieke. (1997) Narratology. Introauction to the Theory of
Narrative. Toronto: University oI Toronto Press.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 77
concerned, they are always seen Irom a certain angle. And
while it is possible to try to give an 'objective picture oI the
Iacts, oIten that only involves trying to present what is seen or
perceived in some other way. Thus it is essential that when
we read, we attempt to see 'Irom where we are 'viewing
the text or, in narratological terms, that we be able to
determine the Iocalization as well as the narration oI the text,
to make an explicit distinction between the vision through
which the elements oI the story are presented and the identity
oI the voice that is verbalizing the vision.
Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan
47
sums up narration and
Iocalization as Iollows:
1. In principle, Iocalization and narration are distinct
activities.
2. In so-called 'third person centre oI consciousness
(James`s The Ambassaaors, Joyce`s Portrait), the
centre oI consciousness (or 'reIlector) is the
Iocalizer, while the user oI the third person is the
narrator.
3. Focalization and narration are also separate in Iirst-
person retrospective narratives.
4. As Iar as Iocalization is concerned, there is no
diIIerence between third-person centre oI
consciousness and Iirst-person retrospective narration.
In both, the Iocalizer is a character within the
represented world. The only diIIerence between the
two is the identity oI the narrator.
5. However, Iocalization and narration may sometimes
be combined .
Narratives are Iocalized not only by someone (the
Iocalizer, the vehicle oI Iocalization) but also on someone or
something. Focalization has thus both subject and object. The
subject (the Iocalizer) is the agent whose perception orients

47
RimmonKenan, Shlomith (1983). Narrative Fiction.
Contemporary Poetics. London: Methuen, p. 73.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 78
the presentation; the object (the Iocalized) is what the
Iocalizer perceives.
Focalizations are oI diIIerent types, with slight
variations in typologies according to the particular critic.
According to Genette, Ior example, there are three kinds oI
Iocalization:
1. Zero focalization: The narrator knows more than the
characters. He may know the Iacts about all oI the
protagonists, as well as their thoughts and gestures. This is the
traditional "omniscient narrator".
2. Internal focalization: The narrator knows as much as the
Iocal character. This character Iilters the inIormation provided
to the reader. He cannot report the thoughts oI other
characters.
3. External focalization: The narrator knows less than the
characters. He acts a bit like a camera lens, Iollowing the
protagonists' actions and gestures Irom the outside; he is
unable to guess their thoughts.
By examining the characteristics oI a narrative
instance and the particulars oI the narrative mood, we can
clariIy the mechanisms used in the narrative act, and identiIy
exactly what methodological choices the author made in order
to render his/her story. The use oI diIIerent narratological
processes creates diIIerent eIIects Ior the reader. For example,
one could have a hero-narrator (autoaiegetic narrator) who
uses simultaneous narration and internal Iocalization and
whose speech is oIten in reported Iorm. This would
undoubtedly produce a strong illusion oI realism and
credibility.
Bal (reworking Genette) and Rimmon-Kenan
(reworking Uspensky
48
) consider that in general, types oI

48
Uspensky, Boris. (1973). A Poetics of Composition. Trans.
Valentina Zavarin and Susan Wittig. Berkeley: University oI
CaliIornia Press.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 79
Iocalization are related to two criteria: a. position relative to
the story and b. degree oI persistence.
a. II we consider position relative to the story,
Iocalization may be either external or internal. Since the
vantage point oI external Iocalization brings itselI close to the
narrating agent, its vehicle is oIten called the narrator-
Iocalizer.
External focalization is most commonly Iound in
third-person narratives, but it can also occur in Iirst-person
narratives 'either when the temporal and psychological
distance between narrator and character is minimal (as in
Camus`s L' etranger) or when the perception through which
the story is rendered is that oI the narrating selI rather than
that oI the experiencing selI (Rimmon-Kenan, 74).
Internal focalization, by contrast, is located inside the
represented events, and its vehicle generally takes the Iorm oI
a character-Iocalizer. It can also become (as in many oI the
novels oI Robbe-Grillet) simply an unpersoniIied textual
stance. Both Barthes and Genette have suggested that a test
Ior distinguishing between external and internal Iocalization
is to attempt to 'rewrite the given passage in the Iirst person
(Barthes 20; Genette 210). II this is Ieasible, the passage is
internally Iocalized; iI not, then the Iocalization is external.
In point oI characteristic Ieatures, external focali:ation
is Ielt to be close to the narrating agent, and its vehicle is
thereIore called narrator-Iocalizer` (Bal, 1977, 37). This is
the type oI Iocalization predominant in Fielding`s Tom Jones
(1749), Balzac`s Le Pre Goriot (1834), and Forster`s A
Passage to Inaia (1924). But external Iocalization can also
occur in Iirst person narratives, either when the temporal and
psychological distance between narrator and character is
minimal (as in Camus`s LEtranger, 1957) or when the
perception through which the story is rendered is that oI the
narrating selI rather than that oI the experiencing selI.
Internal focali:ation places the reader inside the
represented events. It generally takes the Iorm oI a character-








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 80
Iocalizer, like Pip the child in many parts oI Great
Expectations. There are also cases when i nt er nal Iocaliza-
tion no longer takes the Iorm oI a character-Iocalizer and is
only a textual stance, a presence which tends to be endowed
by readers with the qualities oI a character. Here is an
example Irom Robbe-Grillet`s Jealousy:
' Now A . . . has come i nt o the bearoom by t he
i nsi ae aoor opening onto the central hallway. She aoes not
look at the wiae open winaow through which - from the aoor -
she woula see this corner of the terrace. Now she has turnea
back towara the aoor to close it behina her. . . .
The heavy hana-rail of the balustraae has almost no
point left on top. The gray of the wooa shows through,
streakea with tiny longituainal cracks. On the other siae of
this rail, a gooa six feet below the level of the veranaa, the
garaen begins.
But from the far siae of the bearoom the eye carries
over the balustraae ana touches grouna only much further
away, on the opposite slope of the little valley, among the
banana trees of the plantation. The sun cannot be seen
between their thick clusters of wiae green leaves. However,
since this sector has been unaer cultivation only recently, the
regular criss-crossing of the rows of trees can still be clearly
followea. The same is true of almost all the property visible
from here. . . .` (1965, pp. 39-40. Orig. publ. in French
1957)
49

There is no personiIied Iocalizer here (or anywhere
else in Jealousy), and at Iirst sight the Iocalization may seem
external. However, expressions like she would see this
corner` Irom the Iar side oI the bedroom the eye carries over
the balustrade`, the property visible Irom here` imply a
position within the story Irom which things are observed.

49
The Literary Encyclopeaia |online database| ProIile Iirst published
20/10/2001 |cited 28 Nov. 2005|; available Irom World Wide Web
http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rectrue&UID444







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 81
Morrissette
50
(1963) was the Iirst to imply that the eye` is
that oI the jealous husband whose vision colours` the
inIormation conveyed in the text.
One test Ior distinguishing between external and
internal Iocalization is the attempt to rewrite` the given
segment in the Iirst person. II this is possible - the text
(Iragment) is internally Iocalized, iI not - the Iocalization is
external (Barthes 1966, 20; Genette 197 2, 210).
Just as the Iocalizer can be external or i nt er nal to the
represented events, so the Iocalized can be seen either Irom
without or Irom within.
An external focalizer may perceive an object ei t her
Irom without or Irom within.
In the case oI the external focalizer perceiving the
object Irom without, only the outward maniIestations oI the
object (person or thing) are presented, as is the case with the
Iollowing Iragment Irom Genesis in which although Abraham
is about to sacriIice his son, yet only his external actions are
presented, his Ieelings and thoughts remaining opaque:
'Ana Abraham rose up early in the morning, ana
saaalea his ass, ana took two of his young men with him, ana
Isaac his son, ana clave the wooa for the burnt offering, ana
rose up, ana went unto the place which Goa haa tola him.`
(Genesis 22: 3)
II the object is perceived Irom within, the external
focalizer (narrator-Iocalizer) penetrates his Ieelings and
thoughts. This is what happens in the Iollowing passage Irom
Lawrence`s Sons ana Lovers:
'She [Miriam{ aia not at bottom believe she ever
woula have him. She aia not believe in herself primarily,
aoubtea whether she coula ever be what he woula aemana of
her. Certainly she never saw herself living happily through a
lifetime with him. She saw trageay, sorrow ana sacrifice
aheaa. Ana in sacrifice she was proua, in renunciation she

50
Morrissette, Bruce (1963). Les romans ae Robbe-Grillet. Paris:
Minuit.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 82
was strong, for she aia not trust herself to support everyaay
life. She was preparea for the big things ana the aeep things,
like trageay. It was the sufficiency of the small aay-life she
coula not trust.` (1962, p. 265. Orig. publ. 1913)
Similarly, an internal focalizer may perceive the
object Irom within, especially when she herselI is both
Iocalizer and Iocalized, like Molly Bloom in Joyce`s Ulysses
(1922), but his or her perception may also be conIined to the
outward maniIestations oI the Iocalized, as in the passage
quoted Irom Jealousy and in many narratives by KaIka and
Hemingway.

Jerbal Indicators of Focalization

Although in i t sel I Iocalization is non-verbal (i.e. it
cannot be associated with a word or phrase, but rather with
the eIIect oI the respective word(s) or phrase(s) on the
reader), like everything else in the text, it is expressed by
language. The overall language oI a text is that oI the
narrator, but Iocalization can colour` it in a way which
makes it appear as a transposition oI the perceptions oI a
separate agent. Thus, both the presence oI a Iocalizer other
than the narrator and the shiIt Irom one Iocalizer to another
are signalled by language.
An interesting example oI such signalling is naming.
As Uspensky shows (1973, 20-43), the use oI various names
Ior Napoleon in Tolstoy`s War ana Peace betrays diIIerences
as well as changes oI attitude toward him. In the early stages,
the Russians call him Bonaparte`, emphasizing his
nationality, or even Buonaparte`, doubling his Ioreignness by
stressing that he is not even French. The French, on the other
hand, call him Napoleon` and later L`empereur Napoleon`.
With the progress oI his conquests, most Russians switch to
Napoleon` and those who do not, thereby make a strong
national point.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 83
ShiIts in naming can indicate a change oI Iocalizer
within the same paragraph or sentence. Here is an example
Irom the encounter between Napoleon and Prince Andrey
who lies wounded on the Iield oI Austerlitz:
'He [Anarey{ aia not turn his heaa ana aia not see the
men who, fuaging from the voices ana the thua of hoofs, haa
riaaen up to him ana stoppea.
They were Napoleon ana two aafutants escorting him.
Bonaparte, making a tour of the fiela of battle . . . was
inspecting the aeaa ana wounaea. . . .` (1971, p. 310. Orig.
publ. in Russian 1864-9)
According to Uspensky, We may suspect a
t r a ns i t i on Irom the point oI view oI a detached observer
(who uses t h e name Napoleon`) to the point oI view oI
Pr i nc e Andrey (who would use the name Bonaparte`
because it corresponds to his changed at t i t ude toward
Napoleon at this moment oI the narrative).` (1973, p. 31) .
Another example oI naming, and implicitly oI change
oI attitude towards the character, is represented by the
multitude oI epithets and metaphorical compounds (kennings)
attributed to BeowulI, which describe his evolution Irom the
oIten reckless impetuosity oI youth to the quiet wisdom oI old
age: '.great among Geats, the mightiest man of valour, the
bola one (III), the stateliest, a hero (J), bola, Bola-in-battle,
gooa youth (JI), hero (IX), valiant man (X), haray hero,
hero, the haray Hygelac-thane, he who of men in might was
strongest (XI), haray ana wise (XII), no other . more
valiant, none more worthy to rule, kina (XIII), hero, of
heroes best (XIJ), brave (XJII), famea (XJIII), hero (XXI),
lora of rings, warrior, fiercest of fighting men (XXII),
mighty, fearless in fight, of fame renowea haray hero (XXIII),
warrior famous, hero of war, aoughty atheling (XXJ), strong
of main, wary in mina, wise in woras, hero (XXJI), most
excellent of the sons of men (XXJII), the haray one (XXJIII),
remarkea for mighty aeeas ana acts of honour (XXXI),
atheling brave, sharer of rings (XXXIII), hero-king (XXXIJ),








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 84
sturay champion, warrior chief, survivor of many a victory-
fiela, sturay king, hero-kina, Ecgtheows honourea heir, folk-
commanaer (XXXJ), folk-aefenaer, hero, great in aeeas,
atheling steaafast (XXXJI), wise in his thought, winsome lora
(XXXJII), famous chief, wise ola man (XXXJIII), bola-in-
battle (XL), man of might ana valour, king belovea, wise ola
man, worthiest warrior, man belovea (XLII), master aear,
master friena (XLIII).` (Levichi, 1973, 36)
Jonathan SwiIt also makes use oI naming while
describing to the reader oI Gullivers Travels the style and
manner oI expression peculiar to the people oI Lilliput when
talking about their emperor: 'Golbasto Momaren Evlame
Gurailo Shefin Mully Ully Gue, most mighty Emperor of
Lilliput, aelight ana terror of the universe, whose aominions
extena five thousana blustrugs (about twelve miles in
circumference) to the extremities of the globe, monarch of all
monarchs, taller than the sons of men, whose feet press aown
to the centre, ana whose heaa strikes against the sun, at
whose noa the princes of the earth shake their knees, pleasant
as the spring, comfortable as the summer, fruitful as autumn,
areaaful as winter.` (1726, p. 52)
Comparing these two last examples oI naming, one
could say that in Beowulf the anonymous author makes use oI
the technique oI upgraaing naming as a verbal indicator oI
Iocalization, while in Gullivers Travels Jonathan SwiIt uses
the reverse technique, that is aowngraaing naming Ior the
same purpose. More than that, Irom a stylistic point oI view
the upgrading naming technique also serves the anonymous
author`s intention to express as metaphorically as possible the
rare qualities oI BeowulI as a tragic hero whereas the
downgrading naming serves SwiIt`s intention to satirize the
emperor oI Lilliput by attributing him as many exaggerated
qualities as possible to obtain a reverse satirical eIIect.
However, names are not the only verbal means oI
i ndi c a t i ng Iocalization. For example, in James Joyce`s
Araby ( 1 9 6 1 , orig. publ. 1 9 1 4 ) an adult narrator tells







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 85
about himselI as a child (oI an unspeciIied age). His language
is sometimes coloured` by his perceptions at the time oI
narration (external f ocal i :at i on) , sometimes by those oI
his younger sel I (internal f ocal i :at i on) , and sometimes
remains ambiguous between the two. A sentence like I haa
never spoken to her, except for a few casual woras, ana yet
her name was like a summons to all my foolish blooa betrays
the adult narrator as Iocalizer through the evaluative adjective
Ioolish`. Similarly, although the lexis and syntax oI I forgot
whether I answerea yes or no could easily be attributed to a
child by virtue oI its simplicity, Iorgetting can only be
possible with reIerence to the past. The words I Iorgot` thus
point to an external Iocalizer by signalling temporal and
mental distance Irom the event. On the other hand, the
comparison oI the silence oI the deserted bazaar to that oI a
church - I recogni:ea a silence like that which pervaaes a
church after a service - reIlects the child`s association
between the world oI religion within which he was brought up
with the world oI the bazaar which he endowed with a quasi-
religious dimension. For the child, the disappointment is
similar when both rituals are over. Another indicator oI an
internal child-Iocalizer is the emotive Iormulation oI the
causal explanation in the Iollowing passage:
'I founa a few paper-coverea books, the pages of
which were curlea ana aamp. The Abbot by Walter Scott,
The Devout Communicant, ana The Memoirs of Jiaocq. I
likea the last best because its leaves were yellow.`
The r e ar e a l s o c as e s whe n c hoi c e between
an external and an i nt e r na l Iocalizer is problematic` or
impossible. For example, in I imaginea that I bore my
c hal i c e s af el y through a throng of foes the language is
that oI t he narrator, but the I ocal i zer can be either the
narrator or t he chi l d. As the vi si on oI the child, the stress
is on the world oI religious ceremonies in which the child
imagines himselI a hero. As the vi si on oI t he narrator, t he








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 86
stress is on the clich-like nature oI the child`s imagination,
and the tone is ironic.
Similarly, in the last sentence: Ga:ing up i nt o
aarkness I saw myself as a creature ariven ana aeriaea by
v ani t y, ana my eyes burnea with anguish ana anger the
al l i t er at i on in driven and derided`, anguish and anger` is
obviously that oI t he narrator, as is the choice oI gazing`
which echoes the description oI the houses in the opening
paragraph (gazed at one another`) and the link established
between the blindness` oI the child and the blind street` oI
the beginning. What is hard to determine, however, is whether
the selI-awareness (I saw myselI) is that oI the child in the
time oI the experience or that oI the adult years later.
Another example oI child-like language as an indicator
oI Iocalization are the opening lines oI Joyce`s A Portrait of
the Artist as a Young Man (1914-15):
'Once upon a time ana a very gooa time it was there
was a moocow coming aown along the roaa ana this moocow
that was coming aown along the roaa met a nicens little boy
namea baby tuckoo ..
His father tola him that story. his father lookea at him
through a glass. he haa a hairy face.
He was baby tuckoo. The moocow came aown the roaa
where Betty Byrne livea. she sola lemon platt.
O, the wild rose blossoms
On the little green place.
He sang that song. This was his song.
O, the green wothe botheth.
When you wet the bea, first it is warm then it gets cola.
His mother put on the oilsheet. That haa the queer smell.
His mother haa a nicer smell than his father. She
playea on the piano the sailors hornpipe for him to aance.
He aancea.
Tralala lala
Tralala tralaladdy
Tralala lala







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 87
Tralala lala.
Just like in Araby, there is a mixture oI adult language
represented by the correct syntax oI the narration and the
(chrono)logical succession oI events which are indicative oI
the Iocalizer (narrator), and child language represented by the
childish lexis oI the discourse and its simplicity (moocow,
nicens, baby tuckoo).
The outcoming result is that the narrator places himselI
in two narrative stances. First, he is both narrator and
Iocalizer, employing such indicators as once upon a time`,
the narrative past tense, the narrative present, punctuation
marks, 'correct syntax etc., and second, he is only the
Iocalizer, distant Irom his Iormer selI, while narrating Irom
the perspective oI the child as the new narrative voice.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 88
PART THREE
A PRAC1ICAL APPROACH 1O LI1ERARY 1EX1
AAALYSIS


Theme, Plot and Character - Beowulf

Beowulf has a composite texture oI Iolktale, history
and legend superadded with later Christian belieI in the
punishment oI evil and reward oI good by the supreme Being.
The depiction oI the great Ieats oI valour oI a warrior
hero, Iighting at impossible odds with all manner oI evil -
natural or supernatural Ior the salvation oI his nation or oI
his kin in neighbouring or Iar-oII lands, always ready to die
Ior his noble cause is the main theme oI this epic while it
unIolds its Iour lays:
a. Beowulfs fight with Grenael,
b. Beowulfs fight with the Dame,
c. Beowulfs return to his country ana his rule as a wise,
respectea king for 50 years,
d. Beowulfs fight with the fire-belching aragon ana his
consequent aeath.
A typical epic hero, 'himselI a halI-mythical, halI-
historical Iigure (supposedly a Swedish prince who lived in
the Iirst halI oI the 6
th
century),
51
BeowulI possesses rare
qualities oI valour in battle, loyalty, generosity and honour.
His actions are triggered oII by the most praised possession oI
his hierarchical aristocratic society, the so-called warrior`s
code which imposed it on a thane to deIend his lord and his
land, oIten with noble acceptance oI death as his wyra.
His exceptional moral portrait is drawn with the help
oI a multitude oI epithets and metaphorical compounds

51
Levichi, Leon. (1973). Literatura Engle: ae la Inceputuri pan la
1648, Vol. I. Bucuresti: Centrul de Multiplicare al Universitii din
Bucuresti, p.33.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 89
(kennings) which also describe his evolution Irom the
impetuosity oI youth to the quiet wisdom oI old age: '.great
among Geats; the mightiest man oI valour; the bold one (III);
the stateliest; a hero (V); bold; Bold-in-battle; good youth
(VI); hero (IX); valiant man (X); hardy hero; hero; the hardy
Hygelac-thane; he who oI men in might was strongest (XI);
hardy and wise (XII); no other . more valiant; none more
worthy to rule; kind (XIII); hero; oI heroes best (XIV); brave
(XVII); Iamed (XVIII); hero (XXI); lord oI rings; warrior;
Iiercest oI Iighting men (XXII); mighty; Iearless in Iight, oI
Iame renowed hardy hero (XXIII); warrior Iamous, hero oI
war, doughty atheling (XXV); strong oI main; wary in mind;
wise in words; hero (XXVI); most execellent oI the sons oI
men (XXVII); the hardy one (XXVIII); remarked Ior mighty
deeds and acts oI honour (XXXI); atheling brave; sharer oI
rings (XXXIII); hero-king (XXXIV); sturdy champion;
warrior chieI; survivor oI many a victory-Iield; sturdy king;
hero-kind; Ecgtheow`s honoured heir; Iolk-commander
(XXXV); Iolk-deIender; hero; great in deeds; atheling
steadIast (XXXVI); wise in his thought; winsome lord
(XXXVII); Iamous chieI; wise old man (XXXVIII); bold-in-
battle (XL); man oI might and valour; king beloved; wise old
man; worthiest warrior; man beloved (XLII); master dear;
master Iriend (XLIII).
52

a. In the Iirst part we are told how Heorot, the great mead
hall oI King Hrothgar oI the Danes, is terrorized by a
nightmarish creature halI-beast, halI-man, 'born oI the
hatred oI Cain.
Night by night, Ior twelve years, this Iiend crosses over
Irom his subterranean sea lair into the realm oI men to kill
and devour up to thirty oI Hrothgar`s warriors in a single
raid.
While King Hrothgar and his people stoically suIIer the
monster`s depradations in a paralysis oI Iear and awe, the
tidings oI his plight reach across the sea the land oI the

52
Ibid, p. 36.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 90
Geats in Sweden. On hearing the terrible story, BeowulI,
the nephew oI the king oI the Geats, Hygelac, and
Iourteen oI his mighty warriors sail across the sea to
Denmark to Hrothgar`s aid.
Once presented to Hrothgar, and contested by UnIerth,
jealous oI his intentions, BeowulI makes an oral display oI
his Iormer exploits in the good tradition oI epic battle
boasting: how he became blood-Ilecked Irom Iive Ioes he
had killed in battle or how he had slaughtered nine nicors
and other sea monsters during a seven day swimming
match across the sea with his childhood Iriend Breca.
Next, BeowulI shames UnIerth, reminding him that he has
Iought and killed his own kin, a capital sin, instead oI
Iighting his real enemies or Grendel.
AIter King Hrothgar and his wiIe, Queen Wealhtheow
Ieast BeowulI and his Iourteen warriors in Heorot,
BeowulI requests them to be leIt to sleep with his
companions in Heorot, vowing to Iight Grendel and 'do
an earl`s brave deed, or end the days/ oI this liIe oI mine
in the mead-hall here. (637-638)
In the darkest hour oI the night, the hellish creature crawls
in the hall and kills a Geat who, like the others, has
uncautiously Iallen asleep. Then the monster turns on
BeowulI seizing him with his Iiendish claw. In his turn
BeowulI locks the monster`s claw-bearing arm in the
powerIul grip oI his hand, while his companions
unsuccessIully try to penetrate Grendel with their swords
since 'he was saIe, by his spells, Irom sword oI battle,
Irom edge oI iron. (806-807)
In the end the hero wrenches Grendel`s arm Irom the
shoulder, and the beast, mortally wounded, slinks back to
his lair to die.
b. The Iollowing day is a Ieast day. Hrothgar heaps praise on
BeowulI and pledges to heartily love him as his own son.
The rich giIts BeowulI receives on the occasion such as
'a gold-wove banner, guerdon oI triumph, broidered battle







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 91
Ilag, breastplate and helmet, a splendid sword (1024-
1026) and also 'coursers eight (1039) or the song and
music in his honour are commensurate to his ego which is
Iully satisIied.
But the rejoicing is shortlived. While BeowulI and his
companions are absent Irom the mead hall the next night,
Grendel`s mother, 'monster oI women, invades Heorot,
'gloomy and grim, to avenge the death oI her son. She
kills Aeschere, Hrothgar`s sage adviser, and drags him
into her lair under the sea. The next day BeowulI Iollows
her down there where numerous sea-beasts come to her
aid, trying to tear and rip at his mail which is miraculously
kept intact by 'holy God (1560).
Following a terrible clash oI sword and dagger between
BeowulI and Grendel`s mother, he seizes a huge sword
hanging on the wall oI her lair, a weapon which had once
belonged to the giants inhabiting the earth, and with a
supreme eIIort he deals a Iatal blow at her neck killing
her. He then severs the head oI the dead Grendel and
returns in triumph to Heorot with his trophy.
c. AIter more rejoicing, although Hrothgar entreats BeowulI
to remain in his country Iorever, he returns laden with
giIts to the court oI his uncle Hygelac. In his turn,
Hygelac rewards BeowulI with a large estate. AIter the
death oI Hygelac and his son in battle, BeowulI becomes
king oI the Geats in Sweden.
d. AIter BeowulI has reigned over the Geats Ior IiIty years, a
great terror spreads across the realm oI the Geats. A Iire-
belching dragon leaves its lair and lays waste the
countryside in vengeIul anger over the theIt by a run-away
slave oI a gem-studded goblet Irom a centuries-old
treasure trove it had been guarding. Old BeowulI still Ieels
obliged to Iight evil and, seconded by his loyal shield-
bearer WiglaI, engages the dragon in battle, while the
other ten attendants accompanying him Ilee in terror.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 92
BeowulI, aided by WiglaI, kills the dragon but dies Irom a
poisonous wound aIter he sees a piece oI the dragon`s
treasure and names WiglaI his successor.
BeowulI`s body is burnt on a Iuneral pyre amid the
lamentations oI his warriors. The treasure itselI is buried
in a mound oI earth and stones.
New dangers loom on the horizon wars with other
tribes, including the Franks and the Frisians who had been
raided by Hygelac and his men. A messenger Iorecasts the
destruction oI the Geats by these avenging nations Iollowing
the hero`s death.
An interesting subplot oI Beowulf is that unIolding the
thin thread oI the Ieminine character`s actions. The very
presence oI the Iive mothers, Mothrytho, Grendel`s mother,
Hildeburh, Hygd and Wealhtheow is remarkable enough iI we
are to take into consideration the usual neglectIul, even
hostile patriarchy that practically obscures mothers and
motherhood in the majority oI Anglo-Saxon texts. All these
mothers in the poem can be interpreted on the basis oI their
reIerential maternal perIormances. From this point oI view it
is only Wealhtheow who succeeds maternally, although the
other Iour also try hard to protect their oIIsprings Irom the
violent world oI the poem.
Also called 'Sea-WolI and 'monster oI mothers,
Grendel`s mother is in a way a tragic Iigure, who is wrongly
presented and interpreted as some maniIestation oI the evil
principle since she basically acts on impulse, according to the
instinctive maternal principle oI Iighting back Ior the
protection and then death oI her son. Mothrytho, the
ultimately good queen is prevented by her masculine
perIormance to have an oIIspring. Hildeburh, 'the
peaceweaver, Iails as a mother by not avenging the death oI
her child and husband, thus vindicating the patriarchal Ieud
that killed them. Hygd tries to protect her son by
unsuccessIully oIIering her kingdom to BeowulI, placing the
security oI her son over his social and political eminence.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 93
Wealhtheow is the only mother in the poem who succeeds to
keep her sons oII the throne, thus ensuring them a more
optimistic Iuture.
At a closer reading, however, the poem has a more
complicated structure as it may seem Irom the apparent
concentration on the hero BeowulI. The poem is also 'a wide-
ranging comment on secular man in Germanic society Irom
. an Augustinian point oI view.
53

Speaking about BeowulI`s pagan extraction, Daiches
54

considers it an Odyssey-like heroic poem on the surIace,
'celebrating the exploits oI a great warrior whose characters
and actions are held up as a model oI aristocratic virtue.
Further on, the same author Iinds a number oI similarities
between the two poems as Iollows:
1. the grave courtesy with which men of rank are receivea
ana aismissea;
2. the generosity of rulers ana the loyalty of retainers;
3. the thirst for fame through the achievement of aeeas of
courage ana enaurance;
4. the solemn boasting of warriors before ana after the
performance;
5. the interest in genealogies ana priae in a whole hereaity.
Paganism is everpresent throughout the poem.
BeowulI himselI is a pagan warrior in a pagan society in
which the symbiotic relationship between a king and his
thanes is paramount Ior everybody`s survival, both in the
hostile physical world and in the world oI their society riddled
with Iaction, Ieud, jealosies, greed, and the like. In such a
society the king provides Ior his men according to valour and

53
Cross, J.E. (1970). Sphere History of Literature in the English
Language, The Miaale Ages, edited by W.F. Bolton, London: Sphere
Books Ltd., p. 51.
54
Daiches, David (1969). A Critical History of English Literature,
Second Edition. London: Secker & Warburg, p. 9.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 94
allegiance and in return, the thanes are always under a noble
obligation to Iight and die Ior the king and his land.
Kinship is the keystone oI such society. When one`s
kin is killed, it is the remaining relative`s duty to have the
killer pay Ior his death, either with his own liIe or the
payment oI wergila (the 'man price).
For example, BeowulI slays DaeghreIn and destroys
his warband to avenge Hygelac`s death by the Frisians. He
also helps Eadgils take the Swedish throne in revenge Ior
Onela`s attack on his own recalcitrant nephews who had
reIused to accept Onela`s kingship and sought reIuge among
the Geats.
However, there is some inconsistency in the collective
behaviour in Beowulf as Iar as blood Ieud is concerned,
especially in the Heorot Iight with Grendel and his mother.
Thus, in the part oI the poem dealing with Grendel`s Mother`s
attack, the warriors irresponsibly settle down to sleep in
Heorot aIter the huge celebration oI BeowulI`s victory over
Grendel, never thinking oI the Iact that Grendel`s kin may
come to avenge his death. There is also no 'artistic
sympathy expressed Ior a mother who has lost her son, which
points to the possible demythiIication oI the Heroic Age
always presenting 'warriors as paragons oI virtue to be
Iollowed through ages and even cherishingly reincarnated in
Rambo or Terminator-like superstars oI the Television Age.
Finally, there is the recurrence oI the pagan ideas oI
Iate and courage. The men populating Beowulf strongly
believe that Iate controls their lives. BeowulI constantly tests
Iate and believes that he will live in the memory oI his people
through his deeds oI valour.
The story oI Beowulf is also permeated by a vein oI
Christian philosophy: that man survives only through the
deserved protection oI God, that all earthly giIts come Irom
God, and that humbleness, unselIishness and humility are the
proper attributes oI a good Christian. There`s also a sense oI
mystical protection accompanying all oI BeowulI`s actions







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 95
and there are many occasions when such divine protection is
mentioned, as is, Ior example, the episode oI the Iair-ancient
great-sword hanging on the wall oI the cave, when God is
given credit Ior BeowulI`s perception oI the weapon:
'.ana holy Goa
wielaea the victory, wisest Maker.
The Lora of Heaven allowea his cause,
Mia the battle-gear he saw a blaae triumphant.
(1559-1562)
The main Christian elements present in the poem reIer
to the Creation, the story oI Cain and Abel and the Deluge.
Cross,
55
besides emphasizing the control oI God over the
characters in Beowulf, mentions homicide, especially murder
oI kinsmen, as such a Christian theme 'which begins with the
sin oI Cain as existing in his descendants the Danish
monsters, and recurs at intervals in UnIerth, Heremod etc. to
give point to BeowulI`s curious selI-consolation that no one
may charge him with the murder oI his kinsmen, while
Daiches
56
mentions those 'concerned with large elemental
Iacts such as God`s creation and governance oI the world and
such Old Testament stories as that oI Cain`s murder oI Abel.
The contrast between good and evil in the biblical
sense is also present in the poem. Grendel and his mother,
reIerred to as descendants oI Cain, the biblical 'kin killer,
represent evil:
'Grenael this monster grim was callea,
march-riever mighty, in moorlana living,
in fen ana fastness, fief of the giants
the hapless wight a while haa kept
since the Creator his exile aoomea.
On kin of Cain was the killing avengea
by sovran Goa for slaughterea Abel.
Ill farea his feua, ana far was he ariven,
for the slaughters sake, from sight of men

55
Cross, J.E., op. cit., pp. 49-51.
56
Daiches, David, op. cit., p. 11.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 96
Of Cain awoke all that woful breea,
Etins ana elves ana evil-spirits,
as well as the giants that warrea with Goa
weary while. but their wage was paia them' (102-
114)
The ravages caused by Grendel to Heorot and the
slaughtering by him oI Hrothgar`s thanes are seen as
punishment Ior their sinIul idolatry while their heart was
looking towards Hell:
'.twas Hell they thought of
in mooa of their mina. Almighty they knew not,
Doomsman of Deeas ana areaaful Lora,
nor Heavens-Helmet heeaea they ever,
Wielaer-of-Wonaer. -- Woe for that man
who in harm ana hatrea hales his soul
to fiery embraces, - nor favour nor change
awaits he ever. But well for him
that after aeath-aay may araw to his Lora,
ana frienaship fina in the Fathers arms' (179-188)
BeowulI, who represents good, relies on his great
strength which God has given him and he also relies on God
Ior Iavour, comIort and help:
'In truth, the Geats prince glaaly trustea
his mettle, his might, the mercy of Goa. (670-671)
D.I. Cenuser
57
considers that 'With Beowulf we are in
a transition period in which the Christian elements cannot
Iully contribute to the making up oI a really determining and
deIining heroic ethos, as is the case in later years oI the heroic
poems with a Christian substratum or even a Christian subject
matter. (our tr.)
Further on in the same study, Cenuser insists on the
dual heroic and Biblical character oI the protagonist`s
grandeur, by also associating the vengeIul havoc worked by
the Iire-belching dragon upon old BeowulI`s people and their

57
Cenuser, D.I. (2000). Beowulf in Despre Poemul Epico-Eroic
Meaieval. Sibiu: Saeculum, p. 20.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 97
lands with Judgment Day, in the sense that it anticipates 'that
Iinal passing oI mankind through brimstone smoke and Iire
portended by the Bible. In Iact, a certain parallel with the
Bible can always be extended in this case to the number oI
those who accompany BeowulI to the dragon`s lair no more
no Iewer than eleven IaithIul companions (the thirteenth
member oI the expedition being the one who had triggered oII
the drama by stealing the gem-studded goblet.). The epic
moment is incredibly moving, with an aged BeowulI going to
meet his Iate not trying to evade it, but, on the contrary,
assuming it, while trying in this way to maintain himselI in a
state oI harmony, at peace with his inner selI, and in unison
with the outside world and the onslaught oI its requirements
against him. The protagonist`s grandeur here is really heroic,
iI not Biblical as well, by the way in which BeowulI meets his
destiny, once the leisure period oI the IiIty years passed since
the decisive conIrontation with Grendel and his mother is
over.
58
(our tr.)
A most comprehensive presentation oI the pagan and
religious symbolism oI Beowulf was given by Dan Duescu
(1969, 9) in the preIace to his co-translation into Romanian oI
the poem: 'The poem has been given diIIerent symbolic
interpretations: the conIlict between good and evil; the
opposition between youthIul and old age; man`s struggle with
natural elements. In a mythological interpretation, the
monsters represent the hostile septentrional sea, and BeowulI
is a divine creature Iighting the sea Ilooding the coastal
lowlands in spring; BeowulI`s peaceIul reign corresponds to
peaceIul summer; conIronting the dragon, he withstands the
storms in autumn; winter come BeowulI dies.
59
(our tr.)

58
Ibid., p. 57.
59
***, Beowulf, Tlmcire si preIa de Dan Duescu si Leon
Levichi, Note de Virgiliu SteInescu-Drgnesti. Bucuresti: Editura
pentru Literatur Universal, 1969, p. 9.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 98
Theme and Composition - 1he Battle of Maldon

Also called Byrhtnoths Death, this second great Old
English poem, which only partially survived, extolls some oI
the noble values oI the Anglo-Saxon age as reIlected in the
tragic Iight oI the great ealdorman Byrhtnoth against the
marauding viking Danes at Maeldune (now Maldon - Essex)
in 991.
The actions and attitudes oI some oI Byrhtnoth`s men
on the battleIield also stand prooI oI the slow deterioration oI
the Anglo-Saxon society aIter its moments oI glory during the
reign oI King AlIred the Great.
The dramatic conIrontation in the poem between a
Christian eoldorman deIending his and his king`s (King
Ethelred II, the Unready, 978-1016) land at the price oI his
own liIe in terms oI the Anglo-Saxon warrior`s code oI
honour spelling pride, scorn oI expediency, reliance on both
Fate and God`s will, shame in deIeat as well as abhorrence oI
cowardice and the pagan invaders was inspired by historical
truth. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Ior 991 mentions the
landing oI the invading Danes on the Southeast coast oI
England as Iollows: They came 'with ninety-three ships to
Folkestone, plundered the neighbourhood and sailed on to
Sandwich, whence they went to Ipswich, overran the whole
countryside, and then proceeded to Maldon. Ealdorman
Byrhtnoth came against them with the fyra (the home levies)
and Iought them, but they killed the Ealdorman there and had
possession oI the battleIield.
60

The historical Byrhtnoth was made in 956 an
ealaorman oI the East Saxons in Essex, which dignity made
him the king`s deputy in all the Iunctions oI government. The
Iight he lost was yet another tragic consequence oI the
weakening and decadence oI the Anglo-Saxon state and

60
Kermode, F., Hollander, J., General Editors (1973). The Oxfora
Anthology of English Literature. vol. I. New York: OxIord University
Press, p. 104.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 99
society under the ignominous rule oI King Ethelred II, the
Unready riddled with treachery and betrayal, with the divided
local nobility oIten buying oII their security Irom the enemy.
While thematically the poem gives heroic dimensions
to the exemplary verbal and physical behaviour oI ealdorman
Byrhtnoth and part oI his retinue during the battle, in their
dying moments or in the moments Iollowing the ealdorman`s
tragic death, in contrast with Odda`s, Godrinc`s and Godwig`s
cowardly running away Irom battle, structurally it is marked
by the nine encouraging and exhorting speeches (boasts)
delivered by seven diIIerent speakers: Byrhtnoth himselI,
ElIwine, OIIa, LeoIsunu, Dunnere, Eadweard the Long and
Byrhtwold.
The poem opens with OIIa`s urge Ior a young warrior
to dismount and join the other Iighters, in this way making his
kinsman realize that the battle is going to be a liIe-and-death
one and no retreat Irom it is morally acceptable.
Next, Eadric makes the Iirst 'boast in which he
reaIIirms his devotion to 'his lord by promising to
protectively battle beside him.
To all this, Byrhtnoth answers by a whole display oI
verbal and physical military prowess: he rides his horse to
review his arrayed warriors, gives them precise technical and
tactical instructions, and heartens them with encouraging
words. He then gives them a personal example oI courage and
disdain Ior danger oI death by lighting down and joining his
'truest and best retainers.
In the next moment a Viking herald shows up on the
other side oI the branch oI the river separating the two armies
and 'boastIully (threateningly) asks in the name oI his leader
Ior a ransom oI gold in exchange Ior 'goodwill and 'peace.
Byrhtnoth`s answer is commensurate with the enemy`s
vainglorious attitude:
Hear you, sea-rover, what my people say?
The tribute theyll sena you is tribute of spears,
Ancient swora-eage ana poisonea point,








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 100
Weapons availing you little in war'
Pirate messenger, publish this answer,
Proclaim to your people tiaings more grim.
Here stanas no ignoble eorl with his army
Guaraing my lora Ethelreas country ana coast,
His lana ana his folk. The heathen shall fall
In the clash of battle. Too shameful it seems
That you with our tribute shoula take to your ships
Unfought, when thus far youve invaaea our lana.
You shall not so easily take our treasure,
But swora-eage ana spear-point first shall aeciae,
The grim play of battle, ere tribute is grantea. (44-
58)
For quite some time aIter Byrhtnoth`s proud,
belligerant answer to the Vikings` request Ior ransom, the two
sides Iight Irom a distance, with occasional deadly wounds
inIlicted on one another by arrows or by one-one close
encounters at this end oI the causeway across the Iord.
The next moment oI the battle is a most controversial
one. Historically speaking, since it was essential to the
English that the decisive battle be Iought right then and there,
Byrhtnoth had his men withdraw and take what he considered
an advantageous position at the head oI a slope, thus allowing
the enemy horde to cross the separating Iord by way oI the
narrow causeway at water level. This move proved to be an
uninspired one and he lost the battle, not so much because oI
tactical error as oI indecision, cowardice and running-away-
Irom-battle among his own divided army.
But what the anonymous poet wanted to point out is
Byrhtnoth`s exemplary behaviour oI nobly accepting the Iight
against unIavourable odds, rather than cowardly avoid it:
'There is a strong element oI heroic pride in his action, and
the Maldon poet emphasizes this dimension. The word that he
uses to characterize it ofermoa is generally translated
'rashness, but it more likely means 'magnanimity, noble
warrior`s pride, scorning expediency, relying on Iate and







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 101
Iorce oI arms to settle the matter. The poem is, indeed, Irom
Iirst to last a presentation, the most richly compact and
striking in Anglo-Saxon literature, oI the heroic ideal oI the
Germanic peoples and its implications: the acceptance by the
lesser nobility oI the obligation oI service to the lord, whose
responsibility it was to provide the materials oI combat,
generous giIts oI clothing, ornament and property,
entertainment and protection, in return Ior unIlinching service
in peace and war. In this code, deIeat was shame, even though
it had involved no drawing back: cowardice, consequently,
was an abomination. It is perIectly summed up in the words
oI Byrhtwold at the end oI the poem:
Heart must be braver, courage the bolaer,
Mooa the stouter, as our strength grows less. (305-
307)
61

The actual battle is given mythical dimensions, being
described in terms oI the ancient tragedy and epic: Doomea
men must fall. A ain arose./Raven ana eagle were eager for
carnage,/There was uproar on earth. (101-103) . There was
slaughter on earth. (120)
Warriors Iall on both sides, with the young ones
tragically 'choosing the slaughter bed (110) instead oI an
alluded nuptial bed which would have awaited them in times
oI peace.
The crucial moment oI the battle is represented by the
wounding oI Byrhtnoth caused by a 'southern spear cast by
a 'shipman. The anonymous poet is very explicit at this
moment about the heroic stand oI Ealdorman Byrhtnoth
Iighting on Ioot and engaging the enemy in close combat and
the cowardly way he is hit Irom a distance by the Viking Ioe
with a 'southern spear, which subtly alludes both to the
alleged superior craItsmanship oI the southern people (the
Anglo-Saxons, especially) but also to the idea oI betrayal by
one`s own kith and kin.

61
Ibid, pp. 105-106.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 102
Byrhtnoth retaliates valiantly and drives his dart
through 'the pirate`s throat, killing him. In spite oI his
wound, he then assumes a cheerIul mood in order to morally
sustain his warriors, while thanking God Ior his help in battle.
Another Ilying spear pierces through Byrhtnoth`s side and
aIter some more Iierce sword Iighting with several enemies,
he is no longer able to hold and wield his gold-hilted sword.
His last words to his men beIore dying are words oI
encouragement Ior brave conduct in battle, while those
addressed to God are prooI oI his Christian inner being: he
dutiIully thanks the divinity Ior the earthly joys he has had
and asks Ior eternal peace in the heavenly kingdom, away
Irom the Iiends oI hell:
Once more he spoke,
The agea ruler ralliea his men,
Baae them go forwara ana bear them well.
No more coula he stana firm on his feet,
But he lookea to heaven. .

I give Thee thanks, O Goa of men,
For all the foys I have haa on earth.
O Lora of mercy, I have most neea
That now Thou wilt grant me gooa to my soul,
That my spirit may come into Thy kingaom,
O Prince of angels, aeparting in peace
Into Thy power. To Thee I pray
No fiena

of hell may have hola upon me. (161-173)
AIter Byrhtnoth`s death, things go Irom bad to worse
Ior his surviving warriors. First, 'the sons oI Odda run away
Irom battle, Iorgetting their 'brave boasts oI allegiance and
loyalty to their lord. Godric, one oI them, rides away on
Byrhtnoth`s own horse, accompanied by his two brothers,
Godrinc and Godwig, causing panic and conIusion among the
Anglo-Saxon warriors who, Ior a moment, have the wrong
impression that their leader is cowardly leaving them behind.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 103
In the Iollowing moments, in spite oI ElIric`s,
ElIwine`s, OIIa`s, LeoIsune`s, etc. 'boasts and personal acts
oI courage, urging the remaining Anglo-Saxons warriors 'to
combat, while hand may bear,/Good sword and spear .
(229-230), they Iall one aIter the other, not beIore they have
avenged the death oI their 'gracious lord by doing a lot oI
killing among the Danes.
The end oI the poem shows a morally reborn Godric,
who, returned to the battleIield, atones Ior his moments oI
Iear and weakness by dying a heroic death aIter a Iierce
unequal Iight with the Viking horde.
Like BeowulI`s, Ealdorman Byrhtnoth`s moral portrait
is drawn by the use oI numerous metaphorical compounds
(kennings): 'The lord (71), 'Byrhthelm`s son (88), 'the
battle hard (123), 'the lord oI warriors (128), 'the proud
man (140), 'Ethelred`s princely thane (144) and, Iinally,
'the aged ruler (162).
From an artistic point oI view, the poem displays
many oI the characteristics oI all heroic poetry: concentration
on the theme in question, i.e. honour and loyalty as opposed
to dishonour and treachery in a heroic age; the presentation oI
the hero by exemplary Ieats oI daring and generosity in liIe
and in death; the nostalgic comparison oI a decaying present
with a more glorious past.
The style is characterized by 'a rigorous restraint in
language and in incident. Concentration and severity are the
keynotes oI the style, and a deliberate avoidance oI richness
in vocabulary and rhetoric. The battle resolves itselI into a
series oI Iormal exchanges oI insults, Iollowed by
descriptions oI single combat. Nowhere in the whole corpus
oI Anglo-Saxon poetry is there such a complete and satisIying
artistic success.
62


62
Ibid, p. 106.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 104
John Hill
63
oI U.S. Naval Academy has a diIIerent
view Irom the traditional approach to Anglo-Saxon heroic
story as the embodiment oI conventional virtues (generosity,
bravery, boasting), obligations (to kin and lord) and conIlicts
oI loyalty. He declares his a contrary view stressing 'the
political nature oI those stories whether in prose or poetry
and argues, essentially, Ior the reIormation oI traditional
codes and obligations. That reIormation has 'the
strengthening oI lordship and, ultimately, oI kingship in
mind and he also considers that 'the reshaping oI traditional
codes begins in the literary record during the period oI
AlIred`s Iather and grandIather, early to mid-eighth century,
and continues down to the end oI the eleventh century.
Further on in his study, John Hill quotes himselI with
his 2000 new study, The Anglo-Saxon Warrior Ethic.
Reconstructing Loraship in Early English Literature in which
he enumerates what he calls 'the major areas Ior political
reIorm as Iollows:
a. kinship ties ana obligations (especially regarding the
Ieud);
b. the transferable nature of retainer loyalty (that one might
leave the service oI a particular lord and seek service with
another);
c. the potentially autonomous nature of warriorhooa;
d. the nature ana weight first of loraship then of kingship.
Consequently, in Hill`s own opinion, such political
reIormation implies diminishing the demanding role oI
kinship as well as the elimination oI the possibility oI a Iree
warrior liIe, 'as reIlected in BeowulI both in the allusion to a
roving, legendary Sigemund (along with Fitela, his nephew)
and in BeowulI`s Ireedom to act independently oI Hygelac`s
wishes. And it requires a rediIining oI lordship to both loyalty

63
Hill, John (2000). Shaping Anglo-Saxon Loraship in the Heroic
Literature of the Tenth ana Eleventh Centuries, in The Heroic Age,
Issue 3, Summer 2000.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 105
and kingship. Accordingly, the places oI honor and glory, as
well as the Iocus oI revenge, shiIt. Honor and glory become
less the concerns oI the independent, kinship-obligated,
provisionally aIIiliated individual this regarding the
warband and more those oI a great lord`s absolutely loyal
retainer.
As again compared to Beowulf later on, The Battle of
Malaon is seen by Hill as much more polemical in that it
politically appropriates heroic Iormulae and themes by
oIIering arguments regarding entirely justiIied violence
serving the Iollowing processes:
1. the aefining ana asserting of sacrosanct loraship ana
kingship,
2. the erecting of a mythologically, legislatively,
genealogically, ana ecclesiastically inclusive kingship,
3. or else the aramatic, speech ennoblea shaping of that
fewel in the crown of triumphant loraship the iaeal of
transcenaent, sacrificial, retainer loyalty.
This new ideology oI triumphant lordship imposing a
new ideology oI retainership is noticeable in Byrhtnoth`s
battleIield actions and more or less grounded motives Ior
them in the moments Iollowing his death, with his loyal
retainers successIully reordering and redeIining themselves in
a group eIIort alongside triumphant lordship. Seeing their
lord, Byrhtnoth, dead, surrounded by the loyal dead, the
remaining retainers will regroup under a new deIinition oI
loyalty:
Offa spoke ana branaishea his ash-spear.
Now hast thou, lfwine, heartenea us all
In the hour of neea. Now our lora lies aeaa,
Our eorl on earth, there is neea that we all,
Each of us here embolaen the others,
Warriors to combat, while hana may bear
Gooa swora ana spear, ana hola hara blaae.
This sneaking Goaric, Oaaas son,
Has betrayea us all, for when he roae off








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 106
Sitting on horse, on our loras proua steea,
Many men weenea that it was our lora.
On the fiela of fate now the folk is aiviaea,
The shiela-heage is shatterea, cursea be his aeea
That he causea so many to flee from the fight. (224-237)
...................
Ana Goaric to battle heartenea them all,
thelgars son hurlea many a spear

At the Jiking horae. First in the front
He hackea ana hewea till he fell in the slaughter.
He was not the Goaric who flea from the fight. . . . (314-318)









Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 107
The Comic Portrait - 1oseph Andrews

Fielding`s comic art in drawing Joseph`s portrait can
only be seen iI one compares it to Fanny`s portrait in chapter
12 oI Book II, a chapter which not only brings the three
heroes together Ior the Iirst time, but it is the chapter in which
Fielding takes oII the parodic coat and starts putting into
practice his own idea oI Iictional comic writing. Frederic
Ogee
64
comments on the surprise meeting between Joseph
and Fanny who Iaints at hearing him singing out his sad love
song in an adjoining room oI the inn at which she and Parson
Adams have put up Ior the night and she is brought back to
liIe by Joseph`s 'numberless kisses on her lips, without
considering who were present as Fielding`s 'necessity to
restore Joseph`s image as a hero aIter the damaging Iirst
chapters oI the book, by giving him a more autonomous
identity, away Irom the shadow oI his literary sister. In this
chapter, he no longer is the nave and silly Iarm boy whining
in deIense oI his own chastity, but turns out to be a cultivated
lover, capable not only oI singing convincing love songs, but
also oI Ieeling the natural physical attraction oI a lover Ior his
beloved, without thinking that he has to write to his parents
about it. The combination oI the love song and oI the
numberless kisses he imprints on Fanny`s lips operates as a
kind oI remasculation, which will allow him to become a
credible sentimental hero Irom then on. Finally, Adams`
jumping up and throwing away his Aeschylus into the Iire to
rescue Fanny (who has Iainted our note) is the conIirmation
oI the victory oI liIe over books.
The whole operative Iorce oI Fielding`s change oI
direction also relies on the liIe-like realistic portrait oI Fanny
symbolically opposed to the one he made to Joseph in the
previous chapter. From the very beginning Fielding lets

64
Ogee, Frederic (1992). Against Metaphysical Rubbish. The Real
Beginning oI Joseph Andrews` in Stuaies on Joltaire ana the
Eighteenth Century (ISSN 0435-2866), 1992, V 305, p. 1365.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 108
known that in spite oI the Iact that she is 'delicately shaped
she is not 'one oI those slender women who seem rather
intended to hang up in the hall oI an anatomist than Ior any
other purpose. Instead, Fielding gives liIe to a real Ilesh and
blood young girl whose beauty relies equally on Ieminine
physical accomplishments and on such little Ilows in her
physical traits as will make her really unique and
unIorgettable. By comparison, Joseph`s portrait is
underratingly suggestive oI Narcissus in his song who 'With
his eyes he beheld his loved charms / Yet was he beheld the
Iond boy / More eagerly wish`d in his arms.
'. The exact shape oI her arms denoted the
Iorm oI those limbs which she concealed; and though
they were a little reaaenea by her labour, yet, iI her
sleeve slipped above her elbow, or her handkerchieI
discovered any part oI her neck, a whiteness appeared
which the Iinest Italian paint would be unable to reach.
Her hair was oI a chestnut brown, and nature had been
extremely lavish to her oI it, which she haa cut, ana on
Sunaays usea to curl aown her neck, in the moaern
fashion. Her Iorehead was high, her eyebrows arched,
and rather full than otherwise. Her eyes Iull and
sparkling; her nose just inclining to the Roman; her
lips red and moist, and her unaer lip, according to the
opinion oI the ladies, too pouting. Her teeth were
white, but not exactly even. The small-pox haa left one
only mark on her chin, which was so large, it might
have been mistaken Ior a dimple, had not her leIt
cheek produced one so near a neighbour to it, that the
Iormer served only Ior a Ioil to the latter. Her
complexion was Iair, a little infurea by the sun, but
overspread with such a bloom that the Iinest ladies
would have exchanged all their white Ior it: add to
these a countenance in which, though she was
extremely bashIul, a sensibility appearea almost
increaible, ana a sweetness, whenever she smilea,







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 109
beyona either imitation or aescription. To conclude
all, she haa a natural gentility, superior to the
acquisition of art, and which surprised all who beheld
her. (our italics)
Apart Irom what we have said, it is to be noticed that
Fielding is true to his word and he renounces burlesque and
uses a style 'where sentiments and characters are natural and
he speaks oI Fanny`s sensibility which appears 'whenever she
smiles and about her 'natural gentility, superior to the
acquistion oI art. On the contrary, he Iinishes Joseph`s art-
like portrait in bathos ironically saying that Joseph has about
him a would-be air oI nobility, only perceived by 'those who
have not seen many noblemen.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 110
Contrast and Gradation - 1om 1ones

In Tom Jones Fielding exploits the comic possibilities
oI contrast whenever he announces some dramatic change in
the course oI events or the appearance oI a main protagonist.
In Chapter 4 oI Book I, Ior example, he resorts to the usual
mock-heroic simile to introduce Mrs. Deborah`s redeeming
meeting with Jenny Jones, the supposed mother oI the
abandoned inIant on Mrs. Allworthy`s threshold. It is to be
remarked Irom the very beginning that although the device is
always the same, Fielding uses gradation in the use oI
language itselI varying Irom high the scene oI Sophia`s
entrance to middle Joseph`s entrance to Lady Booby`s
chamber and to low as is the case in Mrs. Deborah`s
'swooping on the Irightened-to-death villagers:
Enter Sophia: 'Hushed be every ruder breath.
May the heathen ruler oI the winds conIine in iron
chains the boisterous limbs oI noisy Boreas,
65
and the
sharp-pointed nose oI bitter-biting Eurus.
66
Do Thou,
sweet Zephyrus,
67
rising the charms Irom the Iragant
bed, mount the western sky, and lead on those
delicious gales, the charms oI which call Iorth the
lovely Flora
68
Irom her chamber, perIumed with pearly
dews, when on the 1
st
oI June, her birth day, the
blooming maid, in loose attire, gently trips o`er the
verdant mead, where every Ilower rises to do her
homage, till the whole Iield becomes enamelled, and
colours contend with sweets which shall ravish her
most.
So charming may she now appear! and you the
Ieathered choristers oI nature, whose sweetest notes not even
Handel can excel, tune your melodious throats to celebrate

65
the ancient Greek personiIication oI the north wind.
66
the ancient Greek personiIication oI the east and southeast wind.
67
the ancient Greek personiIication oI the west wind.
68
the Roman Godess oI Ilowers.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 111
her appearance. From love proceeds your music, and to love it
returns. Awaken thereIore that gentle passion in every swain:
Ior lo! adorned with all the charms in which nature can array
her; bedecked with sweetness Irom her rosy lips, and darting
brightness Irom her sparkling eyes, the lovely Sophia comes!
Enter Joseph: 'Now the rake Hesperus had called Ior
his breeches, and having well rubbed his drowsy eyes,
prepared to dress himselI Ior all night; by whose
example his brothers rakes on earth likewise leave
those beds in which they had slept away the day. Now
Thetis,
69
the gooa housewife, began to put on the pot,
in order to regale the gooa man Phoebus
70
aIter his
daily labours were over. In vulgar language, it was in
the evening when Joseph attended his lady'` orders.
(our italics)
Enter Mrs. Deborah: 'Not otherwise than when a kite,
tremendous bird, as beheld by the Ieathered generation
soaring aloIt, and hovering over their heads, the
amorous dove, and every innocent little bird, spread
wide the alarm, and Ily trembling into their hiding-
places. He proudly beats the air, conscious oI his
dignity, and meditates mischieI.
So when the approach oI Mrs. Deborah was
proclaimed through the street, all the inhabitants ran
trembling into their houses, each matron dreading lest the
visit should Iall to her lot. She with stately steps proudly
advances over the Iield: aloIt she bears her towering head,
Iilled with conceit oI her own pre-eminence, and schemes to
eIIect her intended discovery.
One can readily notice the high-to-low gradation in the
above three quotations, with elevation oI language and style

69
The daughter oI Nereus, the old man oI the sea, and oI Doris, the
daughter oI Oceanus, who was Iorced by Zeus to marry a mortal,
Peleus with whom she conceived Achilles.
70
Appollo as the sun god.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 112
in the Iirst, a comic mixture oI high-Ilown rhetoric with
highly colloquial language in the second and the vernacular
employed in the third which introduces a character oI
similarly low moral traits and intentions. V.S. Pritchett
71

comments on Fielding`s extensive employment oI contrast as
a result oI his previous playwriting career. He notices that the
reader`s strong impression is that oI dramatic handling oI
scene and act, with the chapters being thought oI as 'scenes,
and a single book as an 'act; the sharp silhouetting oI
characters and their grouping in such a manner as to avoid
any conIusions even in so populous a drama; the bright
lighting oI the individual episode; the swiIt pacing oI scenes
so that they Ilash past Ior the eye and ear at the same time that
they maintain a clear system of witty contrast (our italics);
and above all, the strict conceptualizing oI the Iunction oI
each scene, in relation to the larger unit oI the 'act (or book)
and to the over-all unit oI the drama (the novel), as well as the
objectiIying oI the individual scene as a subject in itselI, a
subject clear and signiIicant in its own right.
Van Ghent
72
analyses Fielding`s contrasting oI scenes
and characters in Book I oI Tom Jones and points out three
deIinite shiIts oI scene (and time and place), which are
correlated with three deIinite groups oI characters. Fielding
preIaces each shiIt with a brieI sharp delineation oI the new
character, or characters, who are to contribute a new direction
to the action. In the Iirst scene, the Iinding oI Tom in Mrs.
Allworthy`s bed is ironically contrasted with a short
description oI Squire Allworthy, and a Iuller account oI Miss
Bridget Allworthy, in the second scene Mrs. Deborah`s selI-
righteous descent as investigator oI morals is accompanied by
Jenny Jones`s ironic presentation and in the third, the BliIils

71
Pritchett, V.S. (1947). The Living Novel. New York: Reynal and
Hitchcock, quoted in Van Ghent, Dorothy (1961). The English Novel
Form ana Function. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, p. 72.
72
in op. cit., p. 73.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 113
group is introduced to the Squire and his sister, with a
corresponding 'short sketch oI the characters oI the two
brothers.
Van Ghent also notices 'the multiple ironic
signiIicance oI 'Mr. Allworthy`s compassionate and honest-
hearted reaction to the discovery oI the Ioundling which 'is
set in almost instant contrast with Mrs. Deborah`s Iurious
descent upon the village and upon the supposed erring
mother. Indeed, Mr. Allworthy`s genuinely humane attitude
oI compassion Ior just a Ioundling is set into contrast with
Mrs. Deborah`s servile accepting oI the child against her
convictions and with Miss Bridget`s selI-accusatory, comic
vituperation on 'the poor unknown mother, whom she called
an impudent slut, a woman hussy, an audacious harlot, a
wicket jade, a vile strumpet, with every other appellation with
which the tongue oI virtue never Iails to lash those who bring
a disgrace on the sex. 'Thus Irom scene to scene, and in the
interplay oI scenes, contrast is eIIected, character is exposed,
masks slip, wholly under the impetus oI social inter-action
or, in aesthetic terms, 'plot; and we see the Squire, in whom
'nature (again as instinctive Ieeling, but particularly as
biological drive) has been suIIocated under the mask oI
appearance and thereIore dwarIed and distorted.
73

Next Van Ghent returns to Chapter 3 oI Book I to
analyse 'the internal contrasts within the scene itselI and their
Iunction in realizing the subject matter oI the novel ('human
nature), in deIining the theme (the contest between
instinctive Ieeling and Iormulary appearances), and in
illustrating the theme in style. It is the scene oI the discovery
oI the baby in his bed by Mr. Allworthy who has conveniently
been missing Ior a 'Iull quarter oI a year, a sly innuendo by
the author which allows the more attentive reader to raise a
questioning brow at Miss Bridget`s odd display oI Ieelings.

73
ibid., p. 74.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 114
'Mr. Allworthy had been absent a Iull quarter
oI a year in London, on some very particular business,
though I know not what it was; but judge oI its
importance by its having detained him so long Irom
home, whence he had not been absent a month at a
time during the space oI many years. He came to his
house very late in the evening, and aIter a short supper
with his sister, retired much Iatigued to his chamber.
Here, having spent some minutes on his knees a
custom which he never broke through on any account
he was preparing to step into bed, when upon
opening the clothes, to his great surprise he beheld an
inIant, wrapt up in some coarse linen, in a sweet and
proIound sleep, between his sheets. He stood some
time lost in astonishment at this sight; but, as good
nature had always the ascendant in his mind, he soon
began to be touched with sentiments oI compassion Ior
the little wretch beIore him. He then rang his bell, and
ordered an elderly woman-servant to rise immediately,
and come to him; and in the meantime was so eager in
contemplating the beauty oI innocence, appearing in
those lively colours with which inIancy and sleep
always display it, that his thoughts were too much
engaged to reIlect that he was in his shirt when the
matron came in. She had indeed given her master
suIIicient time to dress himselI, Ior out oI respect to
him, and regard to decency, she had spent many
minutes in adjusting her hair at the looking-glass,
notwithstanding all the hurry in which she had been
summoned by the servant, and though her master, Ior
aught she knew, lay expiring in an apoplexy, or in
some other Iit.
It will not be wondered at that a creature who had so
strict a regard to decency in her own person should be
shocked at the least deviation Irom it in another. She thereIore
no sooner opened the door, and saw her master standing by







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 115
the bedside in his shirt, with a candle in his hand, than she
started back in a most terrible Iright, and might perhaps have
swooned away, had he not now recollected his being
undressed, and put an end to her terrors by desiring her to stay
without the door till he had thrown some clothes over his
back, and was become incapable oI shocking the pure eyes oI
Mrs. Deborah Wilkins, who, though in the IiIty-second year
oI her age, vowed she had never beheld a man without his
coat. Sneerers and proIane wits may perhaps laugh at her Iirst
Iright; yet my grave reader, when he considers the time oI
night, the summons Irom her bed, and the situation in which
she Iound her master, will highly justiIy and applaud her
conduct, unless the prudence which must be supposed to
attend maidens at that period oI liIe at which Mrs. Deborah
had arrived, should a little lessen his admiration.
The contrast in the above scene is in character which is
revealed by the quite opposite reactions oI the two people
involved in the scene. On the one hand it is Mr. Allworthy`s
good nature as exemplary oI Fielding`s understanding oI
'human nature that prevails upon his unquestionable
impecable sense oI decorum and he remains lost in
'contemplating the beauty oI innocence and 'those lively
colours with which inIancy and sleep always display it,
while Iorgetting he is in his shirt when 'the matron comes in.
Perplexity at the sight oI such perIection oI nature, total
ignoring oI the extraordinary presence oI the inIant in his own
'chaste bed and oI possible connections to his own
whereabouts and an Adamsean touch oI absent-mindedness
are simultaneously displayed by the good squire, while the
eIIect on the reader is still comic caused by his surprising
behaviour when conIronted with what appeared to be the
result oI some degrading whoring than oI a mythical love
aIIair between a mortal and an immortal. Mrs. Deborah, on
the other hand, a calculating, ill-meaning hypocrite, takes her
time in adjusting her hair at the looking-glass 'out oI respect
Ior him, and regard to decency although 'Ior aught she








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 116
knew on account oI the hurry in which she had been
summoned, her master 'lay expiring in an apoplexy, or in
some other Iit. Next, 'the ironic contrast oI character is
carried, by a Iew sly words (such as 'good nature and
'respect to him and 'regard to decency), beyond the
individuals and made into an extensive contrast between
generous, uncalculating Ieeling and calculation oI
appearances and consequences. The second paragraph caps
this original contrast with the shock Mrs. Deborah suIIers
Irom seeing the squire in his night shirt; she is so shocked by
his appearance (which his Ieeling has made him Iorget) that
she would have swooned away, no matter what might be the
'nature oI the circumstances which had caused him so to
neglect appearances, iI he had not immediately had the good
nature to clothe himselI in order to alleviate her Iright. For
Mrs. Deborah 'vowed, we are told, 'she had never beheld a
man without his coat, and in the innocent word 'vowed lies
another sly play upon nature and appearance, Ior one may
'vow much to keep up appearances. More ironically explicit,
her 'pure eyes are 'pure as Iar as appearances go 'pure
Ior instance, as she adjusts her hair beIore the looking glass
but with a dubious purity in as much as she cannot see the
innocent helplessness and human diIIiculty oI the
circumstances in Iront oI her.
74



74
ibid., p. 76.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 117
Discourse-Based Text Analysis - A Modest Proposal

In order to exempliIy the semiosis oI the discourse-
based text, we will make a discourse-centred interpretation oI
Jonathan SwiIt`s A Moaest Proposal based on SwiIt`s bitingly
ironic attempt to capture the attention oI a widely-recognized
indiIIerent audience by means oI a series oI morally
untenable proposals, while sarcastically protesting against the
utter ineIIicacy oI the Irish political leadership and the
reIormers` orientation toward economic utilitarianism.
Starting Irom the title (A Moaest Proposal for
Preventing the Chilaren of Poor People in Irelana from Being
a Buraen to Their Parents or Country, ana for Making Them
Beneficial to the Public) to the very last sentence SwiIt`s
pamphlet is meant to express on the one hand his pity Ior the
oppressed, ignorant and hungry Catholic peasants oI Ireland,
and on the other hand, his anger at the rapacious English
absentee landlords, who were bleeding the country white`
with the silent approbation oI Parliament, ministers, and the
Crown.
Since none oI the above mentioned intentions is to be
'read overtly throughout the text, in the Iollowing we will
point out SwiIt`s special and various discursive strategies in
view oI drawing the reader`s attention Iirstly on his own
'double discourse or anti-discourse, secondly on the
literariness oI the text resulted Irom the change oI
perspective, and thirdly on its modernism and actuality in
point oI themes and message.
In point oI Iorm the essay is an argumentative
pamphlet-like type oI text which expresses the author`s and/or
the narrator`s adherence to a certain viewpoint or position
(stated in the title: A Moaest Proposal for Preventing the
Chilaren of Poor People in Irelana from Being a Buraen to
Their Parents or Country, ana for Making Them Beneficial to
the Public) and his intention to eliminate or reject others
which are considered wrong or Ialse (in our case the squalor








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 118
state oI the predominantly Catholic Iamilies who are too poor
to keep their children Ied and clothed).
The argumentative character oI the text as opposed to
a narrative or descriptive character in R.de Beaugrande & W
Dressler`s (1981)
75
terminology is to be seen in the presence
oI some markers oI cohesion and emphasis (such as
repetition, parallelism and the paraphrase) as well as in the
plan-like global pattern oI the text in which the locutor
expresses his intentions and tries to convince his audience as
to their veracity.
The author`s and/or the narrator`s discourse` is
organized in Iour main sections, that is an introductory
section in which he sets Iorth his intentions and his modest`
proposal ('It is a melancholy .the charge of nutriment ana
rags having been at least four times that value .`), two other
sections (section 2: '. I shall now therefore humbly propose
my own thoughts . ana thus the country ana themselves are
happily aeliverea from the evils to come.; section 3: '. I
have too long aigressea . I compute that Dublin woula take
off annually about twenty thousana carcasses, ana the rest of
the kingaom (where probably they will be sola somewhat
cheaper) the remaining eighty thousana.`) which are meant
as an argument Ior the proposed initial discursive intention,
and a Iourth section ('.I can think of no one that will
probably be raisea against this proposal.I have no chilaren
by which I can propose to get a single penny, the youngest
being nine years ola, ana my wife past chila-bearing.`) which
in the Iorm oI a non-discourse points on the one hand to the
real purpose oI SwiIt`s (the narrator`s) bitter satire, and on the
other hand to the class oI oppressors who have caused the
writing oI this essay.


75
de Beaugrande, R. (1980). Text, Discourse ana Process, Norwood,
New York: Ablex.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 119
Section I
SwiIt`s opening paragraph oIIers a starkly realistic,
although compassionate, portrait oI Iamilies oI beggars in
Ireland. The Iirst sentence gives a Iairly straightIorward and
non-ironic impersonal-like description, but by the second
sentence the author begins to oIIer Iirst person-narrated
judgments and explanations about some rampant beggary: the
mothers are unable to work, and have been 'Iorced into their
current poverty and disgrace. It is to be noted, however, that
SwiIt's language here reverses the prevailing sentiment oI his
day, which held that iI beggars were poor, it was their own
Iault.
The reader is unsure at this point whether to take
SwiIt's proIessed compassion Ior the beggars as earnest or
ironic. In this passage as well as throughout the whole essay,
he is at pains to appear as not taking sides; his stance is one oI
general exasperation with all parties in a complex problem.
SwiIt is generous` with his disdain, and his irony works both
to censure the poor and to criticize the society that enables
their poverty. The remark about Irish Catholics who go to
Spain to Iight Ior the Pretender oIIers a good example oI the
complexity oI SwiIt's judgments: he is commenting on a
woeIul lack oI national loyalty among the Irish, and at the
same time criticizing a nation that drives its own citizens to
mercenary activities. He makes a similar stab at national
policies and priorities since the poor Irish children will not
Iind employment, since 'we neither buila Houses,...nor
cultivate Lana.
AIter the Iirst paragraph, the reader is inclined to
identiIy themselves with the author-'proposer, in part
because SwiIt has given no reason, at this point, not to. His
compassion in the Iirst paragraph, the matter-oI-Iact tone oI
the second, his seeming objectivity in weighing other
proposals, and his moral outrage at the Irequency oI abortion
and inIanticide speak out in his Iavour as a potential reIormer.
Yet the depersonalizing vocabulary he employs in his








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 120
elaborate computations is meant to give the reader some
consideration: 'The number of souls in this kingaom being
usually reckonea one million ana a half, of these I calculate
there may be about two hunarea thousana couple whose
wives are breeaers, from which number I subtract thirty
thousana couples who are able to maintain their own
chilaren, although I apprehena there cannot be so many,
unaer the present aistresses of the kingaom, but this being
grantea, there will remain an hunarea ana seventy thousana
breeaers. I again subtract fifty thousana for those women who
miscarry, or whose chilaren aie by acciaent or aisease within
the year. There only remains one hunarea ana twenty
thousana chilaren of poor parents annually born. the
question therefore is, how this number shall be rearea ana
proviaea for, which, as I have alreaay saia, unaer the present
situation of affairs, is utterly impossible by all the methoas
hitherto proposea.
Further on, he describes a newborn child as 'fust
aroppea from its Dam and identiIies women as 'Breeders.
By comparison the word 'souls (which ought to make sense
as a way oI talking about hapless human beings) seems out oI
place when applied to Ireland's now strictly statistical
population. This kind oI language oIIers an early indication oI
the way the author's proposal reduces human beings
alternately to statistical entities, to economic commodities,
and to animals.
However, quickly enough it becomes clear that this
will be an economic argument, although the proposal will
have subtle moral, religious, political, and nationalistic
implications. Despite his own moral indignation, when the
author suggests that most abortions are occasioned by
Iinancial rather than moral considerations, he assumes that
people`s motivations are basically materialistic. This is not, oI
course, SwiIt`s own assumption; he presents a shockingly
extreme case oI cold-blooded 'rationality in order to make
his readers reexamine their own priorities. SwiIt parodies the







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 121
style oI the pseudo-scientiIic proposals Ior social engineering
that were so popular in his day. His essay as a whole is partly
an attack on the economic utilitarianism that marked so many
oI these proposals. Although himselI an astute economist,
here he draws attention to the incongruity between a ruthless
(though impeccably systematic) logic and a complexly human
social and political reality. Part oI the eIIect will be to make
the reader feel that the argument is bad, without knowing
quite where to intervene as well as to oppose moral judgment
to other, more rigidly logical kinds oI argumentation.
Section 2
The irony oI SwiIt`s second section is based on the
assumption that his audience, regardless oI their national or
religious aIIiliations or their socio-economic status, will all
agree to the Iact that eating children is morally reprehensible:
'I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts,
which I hope will not be liable to the least obfection. I have
been assurea by a very knowing American of my
acquaintance in Lonaon, that a young healthy chila well
nursea is at a year ola a most aelicious, nourishing, ana
wholesome fooa, whether stewea, roastea, bakea, or boilea,
ana I make no aoubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or
a ragout.
It is at this very moment that the attentive reader will
be Iirst shocked by the proposal and will recognize that a
literal reading oI SwiIt`s pamphlet will not do. SwiIt is clearly
not suggesting that the people oI Ireland will actually eat their
children, and so the task becomes one oI identiIying his actual
argument. This involves separating the persona oI the
'proposer Irom SwiIt himselI. The Iormer is clearly a
caricature; his values are deplorable, but despite his cold
rationality and his selI-righteousness, he is not morally
indiIIerent. However, he seems to have a single blind spot
regarding the reprehensible act oI eating children, but he is
perIectly ready to make judgments about the incidental moral
beneIits and consequences oI his proposal. The proposer








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 122
himselI is not the main target oI SwiIt`s angry satire, though
he becomes the vehicle Ior some biting parodies on methods
oI social thought.
In terms oI discursive roles it is to be noted that Irom
this point on the emitter-author and the emitter-narrator are no
longer one and the same person and the reader is supposed to
Iollow the emitter-narrator`s message so as to be able to
decipher the emitter-author`s intentions. The reader in his turn
is no longer a simple reader Iollowing a plot, but an involved
reader who will have to rely on his own experience so as to be
able to decode the author`s discourse out oI the narrator`s
discourse and, Iinally, build up his own reading-resulted
discourse as to the message oI the text as a whole.
Thus, the proposal draws attention to the selI-
degradation oI the nation as a whole by illustrating it in
shockingly literal ways. The idea oI Iattening up a starving
population in order to Ieed the rich casts a grim judgment on
the nature oI social relations in Ireland. The language that
labels people as livestock becomes even more prevalent in
this part oI the proposal and it also serves to Irame a critique
oI the domestic values in the Irish Catholic Iamilies, who
regard marriage and Iamily with so little sanctity that they
eIIectively make breeding animals oI themselves. SwiIt draws
on the long-standing perception among the English and the
Anglo-Irish ruling classes oI the Irish as a barbaric people
while neither conIirming nor negating this assumption
altogether. He indicts the Irish Catholics Ior the extent to
which they dehumanize themselves through their baseness
and lack oI selI-respect. He also, however, admonishes those
who would accuse the poor Ior their inhumane lack oI
compassion. Finally, he also criticizes the barbarism oI a
mode oI social thought that takes economic proIitability as its
only standard.
With the introduction oI the idea oI child-Ilesh
eaters`, a number oI associated insinuations come into play.
SwiIt makes an analogy between eating people and other







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 123
ways in which people, or a nation, can be devoured. The
British oppression amounts to a kind oI voracious
consumption oI all that is Irish - humans devouring humans in
a cannibalism oI injustice and inhumanity. But Ireland`s
complicity in its own oppression translates the guilt oI
cannibalism to a narrower national scale; this is not only
humans being cruel to other humans, but a nation consuming
themselves and their own resources. SwiIt`s contention that
the wealthy Irish landlords had already 'devoured most oI
the poor parents voices a protest against their exploitation oI
the peasants.
One oI SwiIt`s discursive techniques is to let abstract
ideas resonate in multiple ways. The word 'proIit, Ior
example, reIers at various points to economics, morality, and
personal indulgence. When SwiIt looks at who stands to proIit
Irom the sale oI inIant Ilesh, he includes not only the Iamily
that earns the eight shillings, but also the landowner who will
earn a certain social status by serving such a delicacy, and the
nation that will obtain relieI Irom some oI its most pressing
problems. In this way, SwiIt keeps reminding his reader oI the
diIIerent value systems that bear on Ireland`s social and
political problems.
Section 3
Although the author identiIies himselI as a member oI
the Anglo-Irish ruling class, who were predominantly
Anglican, his picture oI the Anglicans Iorced to leave the
country is an ironic one since SwiIt is denouncing the practice
oI absenteeism among Irish landlords, who oIten governed
their estates Irom abroad, thus extracting all the Iruits oI Irish
peasant labour out oI the Irish economy and into the English
coIIers. The proposer`s loyalty is to the interests oI the
wealthy, and it is at the upper classes that he aims his sharpest
satire. SwiIt`s contempt Ior the irresponsibility, greed, and
moral indiIIerence oI the wealthy is matched only by his
disgust at the utter Iailure oI Ireland's political leaders. SwiIt
begins moving away Irom the so-called economics oI child-








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 124
breeding in order to dwell on the realities oI Ireland`s
economic crisis. Many oI the arguments the proposer
advances here have to do with the very real problem oI
building a viable Irish national economy. SwiIt reveals that
his objection is not so much with the basic mercantilist idea
that the people are the most valuable resources oI a nation,
but rather with Ireland`s Iailure to value that resource in any
meaningIul and nationally constructive way.
Section 4
Finally, the author's account oI his long and exhausting
years oI wrestling with Ireland's problems might be taken as
SwiIt`s own. His record oI supposedly unrealistic alternative
solutions marks a turning point in the pamphlet and a break in
the satire while at the same time causing a Iinal change oI
perspective Irom the narrator`s account to the author`s anti-
discursive account. The ideas the proposer rejects represent
measures that SwiIt himselI had spent a great deal oI energy
advocating as Iollows: 'I can think of no one that will
possibly be raisea against this proposal, unless it shoula be
urgea that the number of people will be thereby much
lessenea in the kingaom. This I freely own, ana it was inaeea
one principal aesign in offering it to the worla. I aesire the
reaaer will observe, that I calculatea my remeay for this one
inaiviaual Kingaom of Irelana, ana for no other that ever
was, is, or, I think, ever can be upon earth. Therefore let no
man talk to me of other expeaients. Of taxing our absentees at
five shillings a pouna. Of using neither clothes, nor
househola furniture, except what is our own growth ana
manufacture. Of utterly refecting the materials ana
instruments that promote foreign luxury. Of curing the
expensiveness of priae, vanity, ialeness, ana gaming in our
women. Of introaucing a vein of parsimony, pruaence, ana
temperance. Of learning to love our country, wherein we
aiffer even from Laplanaers, ana the inhabitants of
Topinamboo. Of quitting our animosities ana factions, nor
act any longer like the Jews, who were muraering one







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 125
another at the very moment their city was taken. Of being a
little cautious not to sell our country ana conscience for
nothing. Of teaching lanaloras to have at least one aegree of
mercy towaras their tenants. Lastly, of putting a spirit of
honesty, inaustry, into our shopkeepers, who, if a resolution
coula now be taken to buy only our native gooas, woula
immeaiately unite to cheat ana exact upon us in the price, the
measure ana gooaness, nor coula ever yet be brought to make
one fair proposal of fust aealing, though often ana earnestly
invitea to it.
It is to be noted that all these unrealistic solutions`
are a set oI steps by which the Irish might hope to break out
oI their cycle oI victimization without the need Ior England's
cooperation. That is why SwiIt`s own program Ior the Iuture
is a program oI civic-minded, patriotic, and principled
behaviour designed to cause change Irom the inside. The
audience is conIronted with the Iact that there are real and
practicable solutions to Ireland`s national discomposure, oI
which they themselves, in their greed and selI-indulgence, are
to blame.
Further on, in emphasizing that this remedy is
designed only Ior Ireland, SwiIt is calling attention to the
extremity oI his country`s backwardness, as an index oI how
bad things were. The author`s statement that much oI the
population would have been better oII dead is exaggerated,
perhaps, but not ironic; it is meant as testimony to the dire
national consequences oI such obvious civic neglect. Only in
Ireland, he seems to say, could a policy oI cannibalism
possibly be considered a social improvement.
The closing statement oIIers a last scathing indictment
oI the twisted ethics oI convenience and personal gain. We
are urged to believe in his disinterestedness not because oI his
moral standards or his high-mindedness, but because he
happens not to be susceptible to the particular Iiscal
temptation that might compromise his position. The manner
oI his assertion reminds us that the author`s unquestioned








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 126
assumption throughout the entire proposal is that anyone with
children would in Iact be perIectly willing to sell them. This
declaration also undercuts, once again, the separation between
the level-headed, wealthy, Protestant author and the Catholic
masses and points to the Iact that what unites the unruly and
unscrupulous mob with the social planner is the Iact that their
priorities are basically economic.
To end with, we would like to make the Iollowing
discourse-related conclusions on Jonathan SwiIt`s A Moaest
Proposal:
x xx x in point oI Iorm it is an argumentative type oI
pamphlet mostly realized by means oI the so-called
'black humour satiric device;
x xx x the Iirst-person author-narrator manipulates the reader
transposing him in the middle oI a Iantastic-like
Iictional country (the country oI the child-Ilesh
eaters`) resembling Irom this point oI view one oI the
countries` in Gullivers Travels;
x xx x the literariness oI the pamphlet is realized by means
oI the change oI perspective as Iollows: in section 1 -
the author and the narrator seem to be one and the
same person, in section 2 and section 3 - the author is
to be diIIerentiated Irom the narrator, and Iinally, in
section 4 - the author takes the Iloor once again so as
to send a clear-cut message as to the intentions oI his
pamphlet to the involved and at the same time
cultivated reader to whom the narrator had addressed
earlier, with the observation that each oI the two
locutors chooses the anti-discourse as their narrative
technique.
x xx x the matter-oI-Iact tone oI the author/narrator as
opposed to a pamphlet-like virulent tone is meant to
baIIle his reader by Iacing him with an apparently
absurd reality in which what seems to be Iiction (the
idea oI women-breeders, child-Ilesh eaters, people
seen as livestock, etc.) stands in Iact Ior the actual







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 127
non-Iictional reality (i.e. the incapacity oI Ireland`s
politicians, the hypocrisy oI the wealthy, the tyranny
oI the English, and the squalor and degradation in
which most oI the Irish people were living);
x xx x in point oI theme it is a social, political as well as a
religious pamphlet which by its subject-matter
anticipates George Orwell`s 1984 with reproductory
laboratories and women acting like some kind oI
breeding tubes, especially selected as early as their
earliest age, or Samuel Butler`s Erewhon country
(Erewhon being an anagram Ior nowhere) in which
children were to blame Ior allowing themselves to be
born, illness was considered a crime, sick or sad
people were thrown in jail since sickness and sadness
were their own Iaults, while people who robbed or
murdered, were treated kindly and taken to the
hospital to recover.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 128
A Socio-Semiotic Interpretation of the Literary
Text - 1he Oval Portrait

Nida`s (1982)
76
sociosemiotic approach takes into
consideration various aspects oI the philological, linguistic,
communicative, and other approaches oI translation, and
extends considerably the base Ior recognizing the
meaningIulness oI both lexical content, rhetoric Iorm and the
cultural-social value.
The sociosemiotic approach helps one understand
better not only the meanings oI words, sentences and
discourse structures, but also the symbolic nature oI
distinguishing between designative and associative meanings.
It also emphasizes the Iact that everything about a message
carries meaning.
The theoretical basis Ior the sociosemiotic approach is
Halliday`s (1973)
77
sociosemiotic theory oI language. He
emphasizes the unity oI the text (language), context
(linguistic or non-linguistic), and social structure and
advocates that language is a unique system oI signs with a
social Iunction, capable oI expressing the meaning oI all the
other sign systems. However, Peter Newmark`s (1995)
78

classiIication oI the Iunctions oI language into expressive
function, informative function, vocative function, aesthetic
function, phatic function and metalingual function is much
superior to Halliday`s classiIication into iaeational function,
interpersonal function and textual function. The core oI this

76
Nida, Eugene A. (1982). Translating Meaning. Gouangzhou:
English Language Institute.
77
Halliday, M.A.K. (1973). Explorations in the Functions of
Language. London: Edward Arnold.
78
Newmark, Peter (1995). A Textbook of Translation. Hemel
Hempstead: Phoenix ELT.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 129
approach is Charles Morris`s (1946)
79
semiotic approach to
meaning. He treats a sign as a tripartite entity and classiIies
meaning in three dimensions oI semantics, syntax and
pragmatics, namely designative/reIerential meaning, linguistic
meaning and pragmatic/associative meaning. The most
signiIicant part oI this approach is that social semiotics does
not just concern itselI with what people say and do and how
they do it; it also Iocuses on when (in what context) and why,
i.e. the large-scale social consequences oI such words and
actions.
The semiotic approach to the study oI meanings
implies, in Nida`s opinion (in agreement with the same theory
Iirst developed by Charles Peirce (1931-1935, 1958)
80
), at
least three levels oI interpretation as Iollows: the first level
which represents the immediate understanding and the
evaluation oI a discourse, without any act oI reIlection. In
other words, this Iirst level deals with the spontaneous
reception oI a text. The secona level envisages the analytic
study oI the text, oI its structure and oI its context. The thira
level oI interpretation is reached only when the text is
regarded Irom the point oI view oI its symbolic signiIicance,
oIten in light oI its universal implications. (our transl.)
81

According to the sociosemiotic approach to meaning,
the text is a semantic unit with meaning and Iunction. It is a
product in the sense that it is an output, something that can be
represented in systematic terms. It is also a process in the
sense oI ongoing semantic choices, a movement through the

79
Morris, Charles (1946). Signs, Language ana Behaviour. New
York: Prentice Hall.
80
Peirce, C. S., Writings of Charles S. Peirce. A Chronological
Eaition, edited by Max Fisch, Edward C. Moore, Christian J. W.
Kloesel et al. (1982). Bloomington (Indiana): Indiana University
Press.
81
Nida, Eugene A. (2004). Traaucerea sensurilor. Iasi: Institutul
European, p. 49.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 130
network oI potential meanings, with each set oI choices
constituting the environment Ior a Iurther set. A novel/short
story actually is a unity oI meaning, style (how to convey
meaning) and Iunction (why to convey meaning) which we
cannot discuss separately.
Most prose Iiction works may contain all three types
oI meaning and the Iive Iunctions mentioned previously,
through which Iictional translators can easily and thoroughly
analyze the SL prose Iiction and have a better understanding
oI the authorial and text style oI the novel/short story, thus
achieving equivalence in meaning and similarity in style and
Iunction in the translation.
The message, including meaning, style and Iunction,
is what the prose fiction author wishes to convey through
his/her Iiction in the order oI pragmatic level (intention oI the
author or the theme oI the Iiction), semantic level (choice oI
words), syntactical level (choice oI sentence patterns, etc.)
and aiscourse level (integrating the Iormer three levels into
the entire discourse). This is the process by which the Iiction
writer encodes his/her message.
Since our own interest lies on the one hand in the
semiosis oI reading and literary meaning and in the way in
which they contribute to the construction oI the narrative, in
the Iollowing we aim at making a socio-semiotic approach to
Edgar Allan Poe`s The Oval Portrait by means oI Nida`s
three levels oI interpretation, i.e. the first level which
represents the immediate understanding and the evaluation oI
a discourse, without any act oI reIlection, the secona level
envisaging the analytic study oI the text, oI its structure and
oI its socio-cultural context, and Iinally, the thira level which
is an interpretative one reached only when the text is regarded
Irom the point oI view oI its symbolic signiIicance.
In light oI the above, a basic cursory reaaing oI Poe`s
short story reveals an apparently simple plot: a narrator in a
wounded condition and his valet are spending the night in a
chteau where the narrator cannot help admiring the gallery







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 131
oI paintings displayed on the walls oI the chteau. His
admiration is accompanied by the 'perusal oI a small volume
which had been Iound upon the pillow, and which purported
to criticize and describe them. Next the narrator turns about
the candelabrum hanging Irom the ceiling and discovers with
the help oI its light the existence oI a painting portraying a
young girl 'just ripening into womanhood. Quite impressed
by this oval-shaped portrait aIter a mere hurried glance at it,
the narrator replaces the candelabrum in its Iormer position
and reads the story oI the portrait as presented in the volume
he Iound on that pillow. It is the story oI a young maiden who
married a passionate, studious and austere painter who was so
preoccupied with his portraying his beautiIul wiIe that he
Iailed to notice that the Iinishing oI the portrait came along
with her dying little by little, both physically and emotionally,
because oI her own inability to prevail over her husband`s
other 'love, that is Art itselI.
This basic reading leaves room to several questions
which even a proIicient or learned reader would Iind diIIicult
to answer without at least a rereading oI the text Iollowed by
a more thorough stage oI interpretation:
a. Why is the narrator so deeply impressed by this painting
in particular out oI all the paintings hanging on the walls
oI the chteau?
b. What distinguishes this painting Irom the others? Is it its
style, its shape, its content?
c. How could he give so minute details about the physical
characteristics oI the young maiden on the one hand and
about the style oI the painting on the other hand aIter a
mere glance at it?
d. What is the relevance oI the story oI the painting
presented in that volume Ior him?
e. Who is the narrator? Is he the author himselI?
I. II the narrator is the author himselI, is there any chance
Ior the painting to represent a beloved person in his liIe or
someone who sometime made a great impression on him?








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 132
g. What is the meaning to be decoded Irom the Iinal remark
in the story, i.e. 'She was aeaa?
A secona reaaing or rereaaing implying a careIul
semantic analysis will certainly reveal to the trained reader
several details that his Iirst content-oriented reading Iailed to
provide.
This second, vocabulary-oriented rereading will reveal
the Iact that the text abounds in aafectives, aaverbs and
nouns, with verbs used only to designate the actions that place
the narrator Iirst in the chteau, then in the apartment in the
turret and Iinally in Iront oI the much admired painting. This
analysis may be Iurther detailed by taking into consideration
the meanings oI the already mentioned predominant parts oI
speech. Thus, it may be noted that most oI the aafectives and
nouns denote the objects in that apartment on the one hand,
and on the other various technical Ieatures oI the oval portrait
(the least sumptuously furnishea apartments, manifola ana
multiform armorial trophies, rich golaen arabesque, the
frame was oval, richly gilaea ana filigreea in Moresque etc.).
The aaverbs on the other hand are only meant to emphasize in
one way or the other the meanings oI some verbs (Long, long
I reaa ana aevoutly, aevoutly I ga:ea) or some adjectives
(aesperately wounaea conaition, unusually great number of
very spiritea moaern paintings, etc.). In as Iar as the
meanings oI the adjectives and nouns are concerned, we could
pinpoint the Iact that both the adjectives and the nouns have
positive semantic connotations (describing as we have
mentioned beIore either the grandeur oI the chteau or the
splendour oI the oval painting) with the exception oI the
adjective black in fringea curtains of black velvet which, iI
analyzed in context, loses much oI its possibly negative
connotation due to the Iact that at the time the black velvet
stood Ior something stylish and classy usually associated with
various decorations characteristic oI a large residence such as
a chteau. More than that the very use oI the noun chateau
with the French spelling and not with the English spelling







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 133
which tends to replace the French sound [a{ with a circumIlex
accent on it with the English sound |a| contributes itselI to the
general idea oI bon got grandeur that the narrator wants to
induce to his reader.
Poe`s 'artistic vocabulary range is described by
Silvia Simone Anspach in Poes Pictoric Writing (1985-
1987:17). In her own words the pictorial elements oI Poe`s
writing are 'more vivid and powerIul than words so that the
latter Iail to capture the Iormer`s communicative value and
only manage to translate them into Ieebler and more
restrictive signs ... .
82
By constructing the story with these
particular elements, Anspach Ieels that Poe wanted to reveal
that perception is manipulated by the object that is seen, as
well as by what is seen in relation to it.
Another semantic observation concerns the use oI such
technical painting terms such as Moresque, vignetting and
lifelikeliness of expression which, besides drawing the
reader`s attention to the particular style oI painting that
impressed him so, are also meant to raise his curiosity as to
the motiI Ior such a preciseness oI technical description on
the part oI the narrator.
A Iurther semantic analysis will reveal that the
predominant positive connotations pertaining to the
vocabulary used at the beginning oI the story oI the oval
portrait gradually become negative. Thus, what begins as a
radiant story by the mentioning oI her beauty and her glee
(She was a maiaen of rarest beauty, ana not more lovely than
full of glee) continues quite tragically by the very mentioning
oI the word evil in connection with the hour when she had
seen, loved, and wedded the painter (Ana evil was the hour
when she saw, ana lovea, ana weaaea the painter). Further on
the narrator makes ample use oI antithesis in order to present
to the reader the tragicality oI the plot: '(.) He, passionate,

82
Anspach, Silvia Simone. Poes Pictoric Writing in Estuaos Anglo-
Americanos 9-11 (1985-1987): 17.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 134
stuaious, austere, ana having alreaay a briae in his Art, she a
maiaen of rarest beauty, ana not more lovely than full of glee,
all light ana smiles, ana frolicsome as the young fawn, loving
ana cherishing all things, hating only the Art which was her
rival, areaaing only the pallet ana brushes ana other
untowara instruments which aeprivea her of the countenance
of her lover. It was thus a terrible thing for this laay to hear
the painter speak of his aesire to portray even his young
briae. But she was humble ana obeaient, ana sat meekly for
many weeks in the aark, high turret-chamber where the light
arippea upon the pale canvas only from overheaa. But he, the
painter, took glory in his work, which went on from hour to
hour, ana from aay to aay. Ana he was a passionate, ana
wila, ana mooay man, who became lost in reveries, so that he
woula not see that the light which fell so ghastly in that lone
turret witherea the health ana the spirits of his briae, who
pinea visibly to all but him. Yet she smilea on ana still on,
uncomplainingly, because she saw that the painter (who haa
high renown) took a fervia ana burning pleasure in his task,
ana wrought aay ana night to aepict her who so lovea him,
yet who grew aaily more aispiritea ana weak (.)`. Again in
point oI vocabulary it is to be noted that the antithesis holds
true in this respect as well since the narrator makes use oI
only positively charged words to render her reactions and
actions and oI negatively charged words to describe his state
oI mind.
From the above it is to be noted that this second
reading or rereading reveals some inIormation about the
narrator in the sense that he is obviously an art-addict, who
not only understands art but also consumes it, and who, Iaced
with such a work oI art as the oval portrait, is capable oI
sensing its moral value by a mere glance at it. As Iar as the
narrator`s readership is concerned, his story is not addressed
to the common ingenuous reader who would just consider it
simple and boring, but to the elevated reader who would
automatically be in the know as to who Mrs. RadcliIIe (whom







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 135
the narrator mentions in the beginning) is and besides his
knowing her by name knows that her name can easily be
associated with the Gothic novel, which by its deIinition is a
type oI romance very popular Irom the 1760s onwards until
the 1820s and which was oI much importance in the evolution
oI the ghost story and horror story. This type oI knowledge
helps the learned reader to understand Irom the very
beginning that there must be a terriIying subplot beyond the
main story which he must disclose during the process oI
rereading.
What the reader may Iail to grasp, however, aIter this
cursory semantic analysis, is the motiI which lies behind the
narrator`s admiration Ior this work oI art and which is much
more than the art lover`s veneration oI Art.
In order to make the Iinal semantic decoding oI the
SL text or, to put it diIIerently, to 'see even beyond the deep
structure oI the text, the reader has to approach the text Irom
the point oI view oI Poe`s general and more particular
narrative mode.
Thus, any trained reader oI Poe`s should be aware oI
the Iact that life and aeath, and especially aeath are the
predominant themes oI Poe`s writings. Starting Irom this, the
reader should ask himselI whether the association oI a work
oI art with the tragic end oI a young maiden, and more than
that the tragic end caused by an art-maker, are pure
coincidence or they are the very purpose oI such a minute and
yet tragic description oI events.
The answer to this potential question may be Iound in
the opinion oI Robert N. Mollinger and Shernaz Mollinger
who, in their Eagar Allan Poes The Oval Portrait`: Fusion
of Multiple Iaentities, consider that 'Poe, the narrator, the
artist, the artist`s wiIe, Poe`s mother, and Poe`s wiIe are all
inter-connected to the tale oI The Oval Portrait`. According
to them, these parts oI Poe`s come together, creating the
whole which is revealed in The Oval Portrait`. They suggest
that Poe's tale describes his own artistic dilemma, that art








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 136
imitates liIe and that artists are destroyers as well as creators:
'Artistic creation is, in a sense, murder.
83
Despite the deaths
oI those he loved, in Iact, because oI their deaths, Poe lived
on and continued to create just as the artist in his tale did.
Mollinger reports that this inescapable Iusion oI liIe, death,
and creation is what Poe depicts in his tale.
Their theory is sustained by Sylvie L. F. Richards in
The Eye ana the Portrait. The Fantastic in Poe, Hawthorne
ana Gogol: 'Art is no longer just an enterprise or a
perception, but it becomes an actual woman who will rival
with the young woman who serves as model Ior the aIIection
oI the painter. Along with the personiIication oI Art, there
occurs a de-personiIication oI the woman ... . The copy
becomes the reality, thereby achieving the ultimate oI man's
ego Iantasies: the need to preserve himselI, and that which he
loves, against the ravages oI time, to create a stasis, but at the
same time to enclose and capture the ephemeral beauty oI
liIe. Thus the inanimate painting gains liIe Irom the living
model through the eIIorts oI the artist who is responsible Ior
the model`s expiration.
84

Another question that is to be answered aIter the Iirst
and second readings oI the text is why the narrator, whom we
have already identiIied with Poe himselI, is so impressed by
the portrait oI the young maiden besides its artistry. In order
to answer this question the trained reader should get in touch
with the social and cultural context in which Poe-the narrator
wrote his story. In In the Prostitution of Paris. Late Capital of
the Twentieth Century, Michael Rothberg considers that Poe`s
tale contains three themes as Iollows: 'representation and

83
Mollinger, Robert N. and Shernaz Mollinger. Edgar Allan Poe`s
The Oval Portrait: Fusion oI Multiple Identities` in American Imago
36 (1979): 147-153.
84
Richards, Sylvie L. F. The Eye ana the Portrait. The Fantastic in
Poe, Hawthorne ana Gogol` in Stuaies in Short Fiction 20 (Fall
1983): 307-315.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 137
mechanical reproduction, representation and the city, and
representation and sexual diIIerence. (1992:5)
85
From this
point oI view Rothberg Ieels that The Oval Portrait` is an
allegory which reveals how the public sphere operates on
representation oI the individual which takes autonomy away
Irom the individual and leads to negation or death. In
particular, Rothberg notes that women in Poe's time were
barred Irom the public sphere altogether and were thus denied
power and identity. Further on he shows how Baudelaire and
Godard expand on these themes in their works and he cites a
Godard Iilm Jivre Sa Jie in which men exploit women in
order to proIit in the marketplace while women have no
control over their exploitation and allow themselves to be
drained oI their own liIe so that men may prosper. Even the
body oI the woman - as in Poe`s story - becomes public
domain in the selling oI it as art.
Thus, in light oI the above, the ingenuous reader`s
impression aIter the Iirst and second readings according to
which the tale is nothing more than a successIul description oI
a young maiden`s portrait is proven wrong by the Iact that
possibly the narrator`s admiration is directed towards the
painting as an work oI art and not towards the splendour and
the beauty oI the young maiden. More than that, we could
say that the woman does not really exist Ior him, since she
was only a tool that helped the painter give his painting liIe
and eternal beauty. This latter theory may also be sustained
by the Iact that at a closer look the text abounds more in
technical art descriptions than in the description oI the
womanish Ieatures oI the young maiden.
Another theory belongs to G.R. Thompson, in
Dramatic Irony in The Oval Portrait`: A Reconsiaeration of
Poes Revisions, who considers The Oval Portrait a
psychological tale that depicts the imbalance between reason

85
Rothberg, Michael. The Prostitution of Paris. Late Capital of the
Twentieth Century in Founa Obfect 1 (Fall 1992): 2-22.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 138
and madness. His theory is based on the Iact that the Iirst
version oI the tale entitled Life in Death had a lengthy
introduction in which the narrator conIesses that he has eaten
opium to oIIset painIul injuries sustained by an attack.
However, in the second version this introduction is eliminated
and the narrator admits only that he is suIIering Irom Iever,
all oI which make Thompson consider that the perceptions oI
the narrator in the second version seem more grounded in
reality than they would have been iI he had been under the
inIluence oI a narcotic. Further on, he mentions that Poe`s
Iirst intention was to paint a portrait oI a disturbed
imagination, which 'does not, however, necessarily lead to
the view that because Poe reduced the obviousness oI his
narrator's imbalance oI mind he had shiIted his intent Irom
the psychological to the occult. The Oval Portrait` may be
read, just as it stands, as an ironic, Iully dramatized,
psychological portrait. (1968:108)
86

To end with, we consider that the trained elevated
reader-translator should adopt at least some iI not all oI the
already Iormulated theories since any text is the sum total oI
all the interpretations or readings given to it along the
centuries, all oI which leaves room Ior Umberto Eco`s Iinal
remark at The Italian Acaaemy for Aavancea Stuaies in
America that 'between the mysterious process oI textual
production and the uncontrollable driIt oI its Iuture readings,
the text qua text still represents a comIortable presence, the
point to which we can stick. (1996)


86
Thompson, G. R.. Dramatic Irony in The Oval Portrait. A
Reconsiaeration of Poes Revisions in English Language Notes 6
(Dec. 1968): 107-114.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 139
The Stylistics of the Literary Text - 1he Masque of
the Red Death

Poe`s short stories as a whole are considered 'Gothic
literature. Although this term originally applied only to stories
set in Gothic or medieval period, it has been extended to
include a certain type oI writing observing the Iollowing
requirements: Iirst it must set a tone that is gloomy, dark and
threatening and then the events that take place must be
strange, melodramatic, or evil.
In the title oI an 1840 edition oI his collection 'Tales
oI the Grotesque and Arabesque Poe divided his short stories
into these two categories, employing such terms which are
oIten used in art, especially painting. Thus, grotesque art
involves monsters and wilderness, whereas arabesque art
usually involves a complex and geometric pattern. In relation
to Poe`s tales, then, the grotesque could reIer to more realistic
stories with human interaction (e.g. 'The Cask oI
Amontillado and 'The Purloined Letter), while the
arabesque are stories that involve very Iew people but many
ideas, and are Irequently set in abstract locations (e.g. 'The
Fall oI the House oI Usher, 'The Masque oI the Red Death,
'The Pit and the Pendulum).
'The Masque oI the Red Death is a special case oI
Iinding symmetry and unity in art, which in his case is
realized by the concentrated action oI every word, every line,
every paragraph on the reader. In a Iamous study oI his on
Hawthorne, Poe says that there must be in all words the
intention, direct or indirect, to Iollow a purpose settled
beIorehand.
87

As Ior the point oI view Irom which it was written, it
is an impersonal third person narrative in which the author
uses heavy symbolism to convey the underlying theme oI the

87
Buranelli, V. (1966). E. A. Poe. Bucuresti: Editura pentru Literatur
Universal, p. 105.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 140
story which is the inevitability oI death and the Iutility oI
trying to escape it, which as a matter oI Iact is revealed Irom
the very beginning by the author`s blunt statement in the
opening oI the Iirst paragraph: 'The Read Death` had long
devastated the country.
The story does not have characters in the proper
manner beside Prince Prospero and Death itselI. The Iirst line
opens with the word 'death which is going to be the clue
word in the story to which Poe adds the qualiIying adjective
'red although red is the colour oI blood, which actually
means liIe; or, iI not, anger, danger, horror.
Blood, the very substance oI liIe, becomes the mark oI
death as it bursts through the pores. Death, as Poe implies
Irom the very beginning, then, is not an outside protagonist to
be Ieared and walled out as Prince Prospero attempts to do;
but instead it is a part oI each oI us. Its presence is Ielt in our
imagination as we become aware oI the control that time has
over our lives. Poe succeeds in transmitting to the reader this
awareness oI death Irom the Iirst paragraph which is
characterized by short and concise sentences and phrases, all
oI which stand prooI oI Poe`s dislike oI excess and
exaggeration: 'The Red Death` had long devastated the
country. No pestilence had ever been so Iatal, or so hideous.
Blood was its Avatar and its seal the redness and the horror
oI blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and
then proIuse bleeding at the pores with dissolution. The
scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the Iace oI
the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out Irom the aid
and Irom the sympathy oI his Iellow-men. And the whole
seizure, progress, and termination oI the disease, were the
incidents oI halI an hour.
In point oI composition, the Iirst paragraph consists oI
more abstract nouns than concrete ones, with the observation
that Poe`s intention was to subordinate concreteness` to







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 141
abstraction`
88
with the intent oI increasing the atmosphere oI
terror and horror by means oI such a terror and horror register
as: 'death, 'pestilence, 'blood, 'Avatar, 'redness,
'horror, 'pains, 'dizziness, 'Iellow-men, 'seizure,
'progress, 'termination, 'disease.
Another stylistic observation concerns Poe`s talent to
oIIer his readership a great visual description which is
realized on the one hand by adjectives belonging to the same
register as the nouns, emphasizing the horror eIIect: 'Iatal,
'hideous, 'sharp, 'proIuse, and on the other hand by
adjectives oI colour which in their turn bring visual imagery
alongside some nouns suggesting the same thing: 'red,
'blood, 'redness, 'bleeding. It is also to be noted that the
writer does not Ieel the need to use verbs Irom the same
register, since he considers that the nouns and the adjectives
describe best the gothic atmosphere he wanted to portray. The
adverbs on the other hand, although Iew in number,
powerIully emphasize the horror eIIect oI some adjectives,
sometimes even as part oI hyperboles: 'had long devastated,
'ever . so Iatal (hyperbole), 'so hideous (hyperbole).
Another characteristic oI Poe`s style in this Iirst
paragraph is the coordination oI sentences by means oI the
coordinating conjunctions 'or and 'and, obtaining thus an
increased stylistic eIIect oI horror eIIect on the reader by the
cumulative eIIect oI a quantitative hendyadis: 'There were
sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then proIuse bleeding
at the pores wit dissolution. The cumulative eIIect oI the
conjunction 'and is reinIorced even more by Poe by means
oI the two commas placed beIore the two cumulative 'and
conjunctions. On a linguistic level, there is quite a great
number oI prepositions (10), mainly prepositions oI place and
direction ('at, 'upon, 'Irom, 'oI, etc.), all oI which stand
Ior Poe`s intent to locate and direct the imminence oI death as

88
Leech, GeoIIrey, Short, Mick. (1981). Style in Fiction. A Linguistic
Introauction to English Fictional Prose. New York: Longman, p. 84.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 142
close as possible to the reader`s reality so that the awareness
oI death be undoubtedly Ielt as real.
In point oI style, one could also say that Poe`s is a
very new and diIIerent one Ior his time. He cuts his sentences
short, he uses dashes Ior the sake oI cohesion with parallelism
and capitalization as main means oI emphasizing: 'Blood was
its Avatar and its seal the redness and the horror oI blood.
Another stylistic means by which Poe distinguishes himselI is
the ample use oI metaphors Ior the same word: thus, death is
'horror oI blood, 'Red Death, 'gigantic clock oI ebony,
etc.
As to Poe`s overuse oI the dash ('Blood was its Avatar
and its seal the redness and the horror oI blood), it is
apparent that he oIten employs it to stand in Ior metanoia. In
his 'Marginalia (1844-1849), he himselI states that the dash
is exploited to represent 'a second thought an emendation,
all oI which he Iully illustrates all through his prose pieces.
As we mentioned in the beginning Poe`s declared
intention was to Iind symmetry and unity in art, which he
reinIorced by his categorizing 'The Masque oI the Red
Death as an arabesque story with a geometrical pattern iI we
are to associate the meaning oI the term used in painting with
Poe`s using it in connection with his story. It results, then,
that Irom the very beginning, the reader should be aware oI
the Iact that Poe constructed his story according to a
geometric pattern which is to be seen, Ior example, iI we
analyse the Iirst paragraph syntactically: the sentences are
declarative, complex, or coordinated ones while their length
goes as Iollows: the Iirst three sentences are shorter, the next
two are longer and the last one is short again as iI closing a
circle.
Another stylistic peculiarity concerns the extensive use
oI the anaphorical deIinite article 'the instead oI some other
determiners, which introduces the reader directly into the
Iictional world as iI he or she were already Iamiliar with the







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 143
surroundings, or in Leech`s opinion
89
as iI he or she was 'an
inhabitant oI the Iictional world. However, the use oI the
deIinite article in the Iirst sentence ('The Red Death) is quite
unusual Ior the reader who is not Iamiliar with this world. A
possible explanation to this use would be again Poe`s intent to
emotionally involve the reader Irom the very Iirst sentence in
the plot oI the story and to give it the Ieeling that it is not a
Iictional reality as any other, but his/her own reality which
involves liIe but also death, the Read Death. This theory is
Iurther sustained by Leech who considers that 'the use oI the
deIinite article is part oI a more general strategy oI
sympathetically involving the reader.
90

The second paragraph is a bit longer and it introduces
the reader to the main character in the story, Prince Prospero
and along with him into the atmosphere. Compared to the Iirst
paragraph, this contains more concrete archaic nouns such as
'knights, 'dames, 'Prince, 'court, 'castellated abbey,
'courtiers, with the observation that what contemporary
dictionaries register as archaisms may not have had this
character at the time, all oI which prevents us Irom
considering them a style characteristic oI Poe`s second
paragraph, but rather a stylistic make-believe technique. The
other concrete nouns are not common either, some oI them
belonging to the scientiIic jargon oI common households or
oI strongholds or castles such as 'gates oI iron, 'Iurnaces,
'hammers, 'bolts and they Iunction (towards the end oI the
paragraph) alongside with such abstract nouns symbolizing
the happy atmosphere that Poe wants in a way to oppose to
the gloomy, death-imprinted one in the Iirst paragraph:
'appliances oI pleasure, 'buIIoons, 'improvisatori,
'ballet-dancers, 'musicians, 'Beauty, 'wine. However,
Poe does not abandon the Gothic atmosphere that he
accustomed the reader with Irom the very beginning, since the

89
in op. cit., p. 96.
90
ibid, p. 97.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 144
last sentence brings out again the main character oI the story,
i.e. the Red Death ('Without was the 'Red Death.)
Adjectives are not so Irequent in this passage either
and the ones present reIer to psychological attributes:
'happy, 'dauntless and sagacious, 'light-hearted, or
physical attributes: 'castellated, 'strong, 'loIty, 'massy,
and the same evaluative, qualiIying attributes: 'extensive,
'magniIicent, 'eccentric, 'august, 'sudden.
In point oI backward or Iorward movement oI the
story, it is to be noted that Poe uses dynamic verbs such as:
'summoned, 'brought, 'welded, 'ingress, 'egress most
oI them in their past tense Iorms.
From the above one can conclude that in this
paragraph Poe conveys a Ialse sense oI security with his Iirst
description oI the abbey and it is due to his special technique
that the reader can actually visualize Prince Prospero`s abbey
by means oI Poe`s suggestive choice or words, which makes
it look so big and impressive: 'This was an extensive and
magniIicent structure, the creation oI the prince`s own
eccentric yet august taste. A strong and loIty wall girdled it
in. This wall had gates oI iron. AIter describing the
impressiveness oI Prince`s Prospero`s abbey, Poe needed to
awake his reader Irom the realm oI dreaming such an abbey
might induce one into, and to do this he implies that there was
no way one could get in or out oI that castle by the suggestive
use oI the verbs 'ingress and 'egress, oI the negative
adverbs 'neither and 'nor. AIter the courtiers enter the
abbey, the gates are welded shut which in the prince`s belieI
is enough to keep the Red Death out, but in Poe`s description
to the reader, this is to understand that the whole atmosphere
oI protection and saIe living created by the prince is Ialse and
the masqueraders are actually sealing their Iates when they
seal the gate oI the abbey.
The use oI modals: 'might bid deIiance and 'could
take care is meant to reinIorce the idea oI Ialsity as concerns
the security within the walls oI the abbey by the modality







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 145
nuance oI possibility` which they lend to the inIinitive Iorms
aIter them. Another technique which Poe uses is the
parallelism 'there were and 'there was which is meant to
give both rhythm to the paragraph, but also a strong
opposition between the saIety oI what used to be and what is
no longer saIe. The same technique is used in the end oI the
paragraph, this time with a diIIerent purpose, that is the
separation oI the two worlds, one within the gates, apparently
the saIer one, and the one outside, the dangerous one, which
is realized also by means oI the antonymic adverbs 'within
and 'without: 'All these and security were within. Without
was the Red Death.
In the next paragraph Poe encloses the two opposite
realities that he compares, i.e. the world outside the gates
which was in grieI since 'the pestilence rages most Iuriously
abroad, and the world inside with Prince Prospero
organizing 'a masked ball oI the most unusual magniIicence.
The striking contrast is emphasized even more by means oI a
cleIt-sentence that Poe uses (i.e. It was toward the close oI the
IiIth or sixth month oI his seclusion, and while the pestilence
raged most Iuriously abroad, that the Prince Prospero
entertained his thousand Iriends at a masked ball oI the most
unusual magniIicence) in view oI drawing the reader`s
attention on the one hand to the period oI time that had
elapsed since the beginning oI the seclusion (with the
observation that the ordinal numeral the IiIth` oI the sixth
month` is the Iirst time reIerence in the story) and on the other
hand to the cruel reality oI the outside world pointed out by
an unusually placed temporal clause (and while the
pestilence raged most Iuriously abroad`).
In what Iollows, aIter long descriptions, the reader is
Ior the Iirst time introduced to the narrator who is disclosed
by a Iirst person address: 'But Iirst let me tell oI the rooms in
which it was held. The story takes place in seven connected
but at the same time careIully separated rooms. A long
description oI the rooms Iollows, each one diIIerent Irom the








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 146
other in colour and placement, having a 'Gothic window oI
'stained glass which varied in accordance with the
decorations oI the chamber into which it opened. The seven
rooms are laid out Irom east to west, reminding one oI the
course oI the sun which measures the earthly time: 'That at
the eastern extremity was hung, Ior example in blue - and
vividly blue were its windows. The second chamber was
purple in its ornaments and tapestries and here the panes were
purple. The third was green throughout, and so were the
casements. The Iourth was Iurnished and lighted with orange
the IiIth with white the sixth with violet. The seventh
apartment was closely shrouded in black tapestries that hung
all over the ceiling and down the walls, Ialling in heavy Iold
upon a carpet oI the same material and hue. But in this
chamber only, the colour oI the windows Iailed to correspond
with the decorations. The panes were scarlet a deep blood
colour.
From the above description one may notice that Poe
used on the one hand the symbolism oI the number seven and
on the other hand the symbolism oI the colours associated
with each oI the seven rooms possibly to suggest that the
seven rooms represent the seven stages oI one`s liIe, Irom
birth to death, through which the Prince pursues a Iigure
masked as a victim oI the Red Death, only to die himselI in
the Iinal chamber oI eternal night
91
, but also possibly the
seven Biblical deadly sins looming in the background oI the
seven virtues ignored by one throughout one`s liIe (also seven
planets governing one`s birth-liIe-death cycle, or seven
heavens).
The rooms are described by using parallelism and
colour symbolism as Iollows: the Iirst was blue, the second
purple, the third green, the Iourth orange, the IiIth white, the
sixth violet and the seventh black.

91
cI. Martha Womack, The Poe Decoaer,
http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 147
A close analysis oI the way in which Poe describes
each room reveals that Irom the very beginning he
diIIerentiates between the seventh chamber and the rest by
means oI the adversative conjunction 'but and the adverb
'only ('But in this chamber only.) which are meant to
suggest to the reader that this chamber is not like the rest in
that its windows are not matching its black colours like it had
been the case in the other six rooms. The sharp diIIerentiation
and description oI the last room as compared to all the others
gives the reader the Ieeling that this room is to be oI
importance later in the story. Its black colour stands Ior death
and destruction on account oI the Iact that the story is Iocused
on a deadly disease and black is a tangible depiction oI the
destruction the disease caused. Unlike in the description oI
the rooms, Poe uses another symbolic colour to complete the
eIIect caused by black, and this colour is the deep red colour
oI the windows which are no longer oI the same colour as the
rest oI the room. One may speculate that while black
symbolizes death, red may stand Ior how death came in the
sense that the read death causes blood to Ilow Irom the
oriIices oI a person`s body, which points to Poe`s
purposeIully using the red colour as an imagery oI blood.
92

In order to enhance the reality oI its description Poe
makes use oI concrete nouns such as: 'scene, 'room(s),
'place, 'door, 'wall, 'duke, 'bizarre, 'apartment,
'yard, 'right, 'leIt, 'window, 'corridor, 'glass,
'colour, 'decoration, 'chamber, 'ornament, 'tapestries,
'panes, etc., whose meaning he reinIorces by such
evaluative attributes as: 'voluptuous scene, 'imperial suite,
physical attributes: 'Iolding doors, 'tall and narrow Gothic
window, 'heavy tripod, 'closed corridors, 'stained glass,
colour attributes:: 'velvet tapestries, 'a deep blood colour,
'dark hangings, 'golden ornaments, 'black chamber,

92
cI. Colour Symbolism in Edgar Allan Poe`s The Masque of the Rea
Death, http://www.writing.com/main/view.item.php?id?639375









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 148
'blood tinted panes, visual attributes: 'gaudy and Iantastic
appearances. These adjectives noun phrases also stand Ior
several Iigures oI speech that Poe uses to contrast Ior the
reader`s sake the gaiety oI the Iirst six rooms as compared to
the last seventh room, while creating the Gothic-like
atmosphere that Poe intended Irom the very beginning: the
metaphor 'brazier oI Iire used to express the rays oI light,
the epithets 'gaudy and Iantastic appearances used Ior the
Iigures Iormed by the light, the metaphor 'blood-tinted
panes used to replace the scarlet colour oI which Poe makes
ample use in the story, the metaphor 'to set Ioot within used
instead oI the verb 'to enter, and Iinally the hyperbole 'so
wild a look.
Another Ieature oI Poe`s style in this paragraph is the
use oI dashes or metanoia: 'There were seven an imperial
suite., . in blue and vividly blue ., the Iourth was
Iurnished and lighted with orange the IiIth with white the
sixth with violet, 'The panes here were scarlet a deep
blood colour.
Although Poe takes the reader on a virtual tour
through the rooms Irom the eastern to the western wing
describing minutely all the ornaments, tapestries and
decorations, which actually gives the reader the impression oI
moving together with the narrator, this paragraph is a static
one with no verbs or nouns to suggest movement, thus
acquiring the quality oI a painting.
The length oI the diIIerent parts oI sentences diIIers
with one another, the Iirst part short and complex, Iollowed
by a long adverbial clause, such as a purpose clause
introduced by 'so that: 'In many palaces, however, such
suites Iorm a long and straight vista, while the Iolding doors
slide back nearly to the walls on either hand, so that the view
oI the whole extent is scarcely impeded. The last sentence is
a long, complex one beginning with the adversative
conjunction 'but ending in a grim and gloomy atmosphere
with the adverb 'at all. This grim and gloomy atmosphere is







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 149
in Iact announced by Poe beIorehand by his placing the
adjective 'bizarre in italics in order to emphasize the idea
that the whole ball and seclusion in the palace, extraordinary
as they might appear, were anything but unusual.
The next paragraph is dedicated entirely to a minute
description oI 'a gigantic clock oI ebony, yet another symbol
that Poe uses as a metaphor Ior death on account oI the
clock`s unIorgiving ticking one hourly into inexorable death
and extinction.
93

The relationship between the Red Death and time is
also a key to understanding the symbolic meaning oI the
story. The symbol oI time is 'the gigantic clock oI ebony,
draped in black velvet and located in the Iinal room,
Ioreboding the coming oI death. Although it is but an object
used to measure time, in the story it assumes human
characteristics as the author describes it as having a Iace` and
lungs` Irom which comes a sound 'exceedingly musical but
'so peculiar that the 'dreams are stiII-Irozen as they stand,
in a momentary 'rigor mortis that anticipates the Iinal,
everlasting one.
In point oI style one can notice that Poe begins this
paragraph with the same introductory it` construction in
order to give continuity to the text. There are two kinds oI
nouns that Poe uses, i.e. concrete nouns such as 'clock oI
ebony, 'pendulum, 'clang, 'minute-hand, 'hour,
'clock, 'sound, 'lapse, 'musicians, 'orchestra,
'waltzers, 'chimes, 'echoes, 'minutes, etc which reIer
to the passing oI time, - and abstract nouns such as:
'evolutions, 'disconcert, 'company, 'meditation,
'nervousness, 'tremulousness, 'Iolly, 'vows, 'emotion
which are used to reIer to the particular mood and state oI
mind that the clock oI ebony and the unIorgiving passing

93
cI. Martha Womack, The Poe Decoaer,
http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 150
measured by it oI time should arise in the inhabitants oI
Prince Prospero`s palace.
As compared to the other paragraphs, this one is
diIIerent in that there is a lot oI sound suggested by using
verbs and nouns which call Ior the reader`s auditory
perception, by comparison with the previous paragraph, Ior
example, when Poe appealed to the reader`s visual perception.
To obtain this auditory eIIect Poe uses two kinds oI devices,
i.e. verbs in the past tense which either express various sound
eIIects or render movement, and nouns which semantically
express sound eIIects: 'heavy monotonous clang, 'the hour
was to be stricken, 'there came . a sound which was clear
and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, 'to hearken the
sound, 'the chimes oI the clock rang, 'the echoes has Iully
ceased, 'a light laughter pervaded, 'whispering vows, etc.
The particular structuring oI the paragraph is another
device that Poe uses to render the same inevitable elapsing oI
time which Iinally brings in the Red Death. Compared to the
previous paragraph Ior example which had 21 sentences this
paragraph has only three very long sentences, each oI them
made up oI several clauses separated by a semicolon and
introduced mainly by the cumulative conjunction 'and
which is meant to enhance Ior the reader the same kind oI
panic brought about by the elapsing oI the sixty minutes
which represent 'three thousand and six hundred seconds oI
the Time that Ilies. The inevitability oI the passing oI Time
and its symbolic signiIicance Ior the understanding oI Poe`s
story is also rendered by the writing oI the word 'Time in
capital letters, alongside with the other two symbols in the
story, i.e. the Red Death and Beauty.
In the next three paragraphs Poe makes a thorough
description oI the Duke`s 'Iine eye Ior colours which is to be
seen Irom the presentation oI the ball and oI the
'embellishments oI the seven chambers, upon occasion oI this
great Ite.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 151
While describing the prince`s tastes in matter oI
embellishments oI the chambers, with all the 'glitter and
piquancy and phantasm, Poe introduces again the symbol oI
the ebony clock which, striking enough, makes everybody be
quiet and all the dreams 'stiII-Irozen, but aIter the echoes
oI chimes disappear, everything comes back to liIe 'and the
dreams live.
In point oI paragraph structure, it is to be noted that
whenever there are long paragraphs, Poe tries to cut them
into small sentences using either a comma or a semicolon.
For example, in the paragraph that Iollows Poe uses
semicolon to show that even though the sentences are not
related, they play an important part on the whole and they
are illustrators oI time ('Ior the night is waning away),
atmosphere ('and there Ilows a ruddier light through the
blood-colored panes), and image ('and the blackness oI the
sable drapery appals).
Further on, the metaphor 'muIIled peal is used to
express the quiet clang oI the clock heard by everybody who
are away Irom the room with the clock but are still aware oI
its presence. The word their in italics (in the original text)
is meant to show there was a diIIerence between the ears oI
the masqueraders and the prince`s because the Iormer were
mere participants in the prince`s show and they were aware
and aIraid oI death whose presence was so close. What is
also noticeable here is the use oI the pronoun who instead oI
which as a personiIication oI the ears. In the ball apartments
'beat Ieverishly the heart oI liIe, but when midnight came
and the clock started chiming the gay atmosphere is again
interrupted by 'the sounding oI midnight upon the clock.
And the music ceased, as I have told you; and the evolutions
oI the waltzers were quieted; and there was an uneasy
cessation oI all things as beIore.
In point oI perspective, we notice here the presence
oI the narrator in the Iirst person, which is quite unexpected,
because all through the story he appears only three times and








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 152
this is one oI them. When the clock starts ringing everything
stands still. The dancers stop their dance, the orchestra
stops, the people cease talking and laughing as iI they Ielt
the presence oI something. But this time the clock strikes
twelve times, so everybody has time enough to think and
analyse their situation. It is at the last stroke that a masked
Iigure is noticed 'which had arrested the attention oI no
single individual beIore. Nobody really notices this presence
until the clock strikes twelve times, and everybody starts
whispering and this bu::, or murmur gradually drives the
crowd Irom surprise to terror, horror and aisgust.
II its presence was only Ielt, now death appears in the
costume oI the Red Death and the Iigure in question had
out-Heroded Herod, and gone beyond the bounds oI even
the prince`s indeIinite decorum. Everybody stared at the
corpse-like Iigure and they believed 'that in the costume
and bearing oI the stranger neither wit nor propriety
existed. The characterization oI this personage is very
suggestive: 'The Iigure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded
Irom head to Ioot in the habiliments oI the grave. The mask
which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble
the countenances oI a stiIIened corpse that the closest
scrutiny must have had diIIiculty in detecting the cheat.
When everybody realises that this presence is the
very Red Death, and when this reaches to the prince`s ear,
'His vesture was dabbled in blooa - and his broad brow,
with all the Ieatures oI the Iace, was besprinkled with the
scarlet horror. There are two words here that express the
red colour so oIten used in this story: blooa which is written
in italics Ior better notice and the epithet scarlet which
expresses the anger and Iury oI the prince who could not
believe that the very thing he had been hiding Irom Iound
him and was ready to take him.
When the prince saw the ghostly appearance
metaphorically described as a 'spectral image, which is
put between brackets by the writer to emphasize its







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 153
appearance '(which, with a slow and solemn movement,
as.iI more Iully to sustain its rle, stalked to and Iro among
the waltzers) the prince 'was seen to be convulsed and
his anger grew Irom terror or distaste to rage in the end. It
is interesting to notice on the one hand the use of the
passive voice to emphasize his madness and on the other
hand oI the French word 'rle` in italics symbolizing the
attitude oI the personage who looked and acted just as death
itselI, playing the role that he was dressed up Ior.
For the Iirst time in this story Poe uses direct speech
to show how grave and desperate the situation became:
'Who aares - he demands hoarsely oI the courtiers who
are stading nearby him who dares insult us with this
blasphemous mockery? Seize him and unmask him - that
we may know whom we have to hang, at sunrise, Irom
the batllements!`' Symbolically, the prince was in the blue
room, the eastern one, when he shouted, and his words 'rang
throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly.
Poe presents the two powerIul characters
consecutively, approaching each other: '...there was a slight
rushing movement oI this group in the direction oI the
intruder, who, at the moment was also near at hand, and
now, with deliberate and stately step, made closer to the
speaker. It is very interesting to observe how the
hyperbolised 'vast assembly...shrank Irom the centres oI
the rooms to the wall, meaning that they turned small when
conIronted with this Iigure whose presence made them
shiver. The description oI the intruder`s way through the
seven chambers is very well illustrated by the parallelism
through the ... to the and the dashes that Poe uses Ior
achieving a cohesion eIIect: '... he made his way
uninterruptedly, but with the same solemn and measured
step which had distinguished him Irom the Iirst, through the
blue chamber to the purple - through the purple to the green
- through the green to the orange - through this again to the








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 154
white - and even thence to the violet, ere a decided
movement had been made to arrest him.
This very elaborate phrase takes us together with the
figure through the rooms, at his own pace, solemnly and
undisturbed by the surroundings. The repetition oI the words
through the... to the might be annoying in some other
context, but here it creates an eIIect oI calmness and comIort.
'It was then that the prince could not stand this
shame anymore and he started running through the seven
chambers by himselI though, because 'a deadly terror ... .had
seized upon all. The epithet aeaaly terror suggests the
Ieeling that overcame everybody at the sight oI the Red
Death.
The Iight between the two seems very real and Poe
describes it like a wrestle between two persons with the
same strength and skills using a lot oI commas to introduce
new Iacts or simply to emphasize others. In Iact, Prince
Prospero does not realize that he is actually Iighting his
own Iaith and destiny: He bore aloIt a drawn dagger, and
had approached, in rapid impetuosity, to within three or Iour
Ieet, oI the retreating Iigure, when the latter, having attained
the extremity oI the velvet apartment, turned suddenly and
conIronted his pursuer. 'There was a sharp cry and Prince
Prospero died on the sable carpet, having learnt that no one
can escape death.
In the last paragraph each sentence opens with the
same conjunction ana, to reIlect the connection between all
these things, the cause and the eIIect oI them: 'Ana now
was acknowledged the presence oI the Red Death. He had
come like a thieI in the night. Ana one by one dropped the
revellers in the blood-bedewed halls oI their revel, and died
each in the despairing posture oI his Iall. Ana the liIe oI the
ebony clock went out with that oI the last oI the gay. Ana
the Ilames oI the tripods expired. Ana Darkness and Decay
and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all. Even
though everybody present knew or Ielt the presence oI the







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 155
intruder, nobody spoke a word about it, only now in the
Iinal the presence oI the Red Death 'was acknowledged.
The elliptical construction 'And was acknowledged...
without the pronoun it announces the inevitable end, there is
no need Ior another subject since Rea Death has
conquered. The comparison 'like a thieI in the night,
reminding one oI the Iamous 'night-stalker Grendel in
Beowulf, is concurrent with the stopping oI the clock when
it strikes midnight as a means and symbol oI death Ior the
revelling iI not sinIul party. Actually, the dead clock and the
lights extinguished acquire the symbolic meaning oI the end
oI all liIe. The last sentence is very rich in stylistic Ieatures;
Iirst there are the capital letter words Darkness, Decay and
Rea Death, all oI them beginning with the letter D, all three
Ioreboding while they 'held illimitable dominion over all,
that Death will have his will.
Death is not a physical entity that abides by earthly
rules. No one is capable oI locking death out as death
resides in each individual. It is the constant companion,
which travels with everyone down the seven stages oI one`s
liIe. This knowledge brings with it the quality oI
acceptance. With Prospero`s demise and the truth
uncovered about the masked man they 'acknowledged the
presence oI the Red Death. The revellers would have to
accede that death would come to them all. They would no
longer indulge in activities to take their mind oII oI that
Iact. The masqueraders would also understand that death
could come suddenly. That it would catch them when they
least expected it 'like a thieI in the night. It is a maturation
process, associated also with age. As one grows older, one
Iaces the constant realization that one`s days are numbered
and that any day could be one`s last.
Death is an unavoidable and inevitable reality, one
that all members oI mankind must Iace, and consequently
each person develops his/her own attitudes out oI
realization to this knowledge.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 156
In The Masque of the Rea Death Edgar Allan Poe
presents three such attitudes. Prospero symbolizes the deIiant
arch rebels who believe that somehow they can avert the
mortality clause oI mankind`s contract. The masqueraders
are those who live in a state oI denial, they recognize death
yet wish to blot out that knowledge through diversion. The
third attitude toward death is to be seen in the
masqueraders` reaction to death, which is one oI
understanding and acceptance because the ignorance that
shrouded their eyes has been removed. With understanding
which comes when one becomes closer to death one may
adopt the third attitude which Bhagavad Gita has, 'Death is
as sure Ior that which is born, as birth is Ior that which is
dead. ThereIore grieve not Ior what is inevitable.
94

To end with, we consider that beIore any attempt to
translate a piece oI prose it is the translator`s permanent and
diIIicult, to say the least, task to have a Iull understanding
both oI the literariness oI the SL text and also oI the
maniIold accompanying aspects oI it, including here on the
one hand the text style (with its pragmatic, semantic,
syntactic and discourse level characteristics which
sometimes as in Poe`s case are the result oI a philosophy oI
composition`), and on the other hand the authorial style (with
its social, cultural and ideological Iactors which are either
the result oI one`s education (Poe used as sources oI
inspiration the Bible the story has a Christian background
represented by the inevitability oI death and man`s
incapacity to escape it, Shakespeare`s The Tempest Irom
which he borrows the name oI the title character, possibly
John Donne`s Iamous line: No man is an islana, which may
represent the moral oI Poe`s short story) or the result oI

94
cI. Lit Cigar, Deathly Demeanor, Symbolism ana Attituaes in The
Masque of the Rea Death,
http://www.litcigar.com/essays/masque20oI20the20red20death
20(the).htm








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 157
one`s going with the times (the Black Death had been a
reality in the history oI England and Europe between 1346-
1350 when England may have lost as much as halI its
population, with severe long-term consequences, and later on
in 1665 the Great Plague aIIlicted London, carrying oII at
least 70,000 victims.).
Our contention, thereIore, is that a proper way Ior a
translator to get in close touch with the text`s textual and
authorial Ieatures is via a stylistic analysis meant to disclose
to him/her as much as possible about the language, the
author and the technique oI writing oI the SL text.
From this point oI view, in our study we make a point
oI the necessity oI any translator oI Poe to perIorm a stylistic
analysis in order to be aware oI the Iollowing textual
Ieatures:
x the theme oI death is rendered at three levels: a
pragmatic level (the author-narrator announces his
theme via the title, the Iirst sentence, the last
sentence, or each and every paragraph), a semantic
level (death is present in every paragraph by means
nouns, adjectives, adverbs standing Ior death in the
Iorm oI epithets, metaphors, personiIications,
hyperboles, etc.), a syntactic level (there is a
geometrical pattern oI short and very long sentences
that Poe uses to render a death-Ioreboding
atmosphere).
x the vocabulary used is mostly a static one represented
by nouns qualiIied by adjectives negatively charged
in most oI the cases, or by verbs qualiIied by adverbs
with a negative meaning, which results in the horror
eIIect that Poe wanted to obtain by the gothic-like
atmosphere he portrayed in this shortstory.
x each paragraph is a short story in itselI and adds a
new Iacet to the horror-intended eIIect both through
its theme and through its structure.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 158
x each sentence is constructed in such a way as to
contribute semantically and syntactically to the
author`s intention to render step by step man`s
inability to escape death.
x Each word is chosen to increase or at least to maintain
the tragicality oI the plot.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 159
A Three-Level Approach to the Literary Text - 1he
Raven and Aever More

Ranging between the 'lyric poet in Yeat`s opinion,
the 'jingle man in Henry James` and the rather vague,
disorderly perverse or simply monotonous poet with other
literary critics oI the time, Edgar Allen Poe has come to be
considered an original artist oI high distinction. More than
that, Poe has generally been hailed as the Iounder oI modern
French poetry, especially oI symbolist poetry, all oI which is
to be seen in the works oI such poets as Baudelaire (who was
even accused oI plagiarism and oI taking too much oI Poe`s
aesthetic ideas), Mallarm who conIessed to have been
inIluenced by Poe in reaching 'pure poetry, Valry whose
poetic theory was supplied by Poe`s 'philosophy oI
composition and, Iinally, Verlaine whose connection with
Poe, although not conIessed, is to be Iound in his style oI
poetry writing.
Our study intends to prove that Poe, the poet who
explored the chaos and terror oI psychological disintegration
and madness, and Verlaine, the sensuous poet, seem to have
much more in common than an apparent similitude.
To begin with, in their works The Poetic Principle
(1850) and Art Poetique (1882), Poe and Verlaine agree that
music and poetry should not be separated. Thus Poe declares
that: 'Since music brings us close to the supernal, the musical
elements oI verse, meter, rhythm and rhyme are essential.
(.) In the union oI poetry with music we shall Iind the
widest Iield Ior the poetic development.
95

Similarly in his Art Poetique Verlaine states that: 'De
la musique avant toute chose,/ Et pour cela prIere

95
Poe, E.A., The Poetic Principle, in Foerster, M., Grabo, S.N., et al.,
editors (1970). American Poetry ana Prose, 5
th
Edition, in Three
Volumes, Volume 1. Boston: Houghton MiIlin Company, p. 650.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 160
l`impair/Plus vague et plus soluble dans l`air/Sans rien en lui
qui pese ou qui pose.
96

To Poe rhythm and rhyme contained by music (which
was considered so vast a moment in poetry) are absolutely
necessary. On the other hand, Verlaine believes that rhythm is
the true music oI poetry, yet rhyme is just 'un bijou d`un
sou. That is why he preIers l`impair` as it is more Iluid and
it just Ilows like a musical sentence. Both poets are in Iavour
oI employing alliterations, assonances and internal rhyme.
Poe deIined poetry as 'the Rhythmical Creation oI Beauty
which he made the sole province oI the poem that was to
excite the soul. Verlaine wanted to create poems that should
blend the deIinite and the indeIinite. It was a poetry that
lacked description, where the colour was replaced by the
nuance, an allusive poetry par excellence, whose idea was
hidden and only slightly suggested. They both agree that the
eIIect oI poetry should be some kind oI harmony oI the senses
that makes one dream.
Unlike Poe who leIt us precise inIormation about his
own manner oI writing in his Philosophy of Composition,
Verlaine made no comments on his works, his style and
manner oI writing being leIt to the thorough analysis oI
literary critics.
Bearing all this in mind we shall try to provide suitable
evidence in Iavour oI Poe`s possible inIluence on Verlaine by
making a lexically, grammatically and stylistically-levelled
approach to two oI their poems, that is Poe`s The Raven and
Verlaine`s Never more, taking into consideration only three
stanzas oI the Iirst poem (due to its length) and the whole oI
the last poem.
As regards the Iirst poem, Poe himselI supplies the
reader with the Iollowing: 'It was written with the precision

96
Verlaine, P., Art poetique, in Choix ae Pomes ae Jerlaine. Paris:
Librairie Larousse, 17, Rue de Montparnasse, Boulevard Raspail, 114,
p. 66.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 161
and rigid consequence oI a mathematical problem.
97
. Poe
established Iirst its climax and thus it begins 'at the end
where all works oI art should begin
98
. It is in the Philosophy
of Composition that Poe points out that the poem should be
neither too long nor too short and that it should have unity
and eIIect.
A lexically-levelled analysis oI the two poems reveals
that the vocabulary used is a simple one containing words
belonging to the common vocabulary. In Poe`s case, they
belong to a rather descriptive vocabulary and render the
speciIic place and circumstance when the tale, which is a
'simple narrative in Poe`s opinion, is told. The same can be
said about Verlaine`s Never more. Yet the words are shorter
and tend to hide ideas. They do not overtly express the
narrator`s Ieelings standing Ior the essence behind the
appearance. The theme is the same with both poets, that is the
melancholy and sadness produced by a remote love story.
The nouns used by the two poets are both concrete and
abstract, standing Ior the real world (the concrete ones) and
the inner world (the abstract ones). Yet in Poe`s poem the
abstract nouns seem to appear in a greater number whereas in
Verlaine`s poem the two types oI nouns occur equally.
In The Raven the concrete nouns reIer precisely to the
objects in 'the chamber whilst the abstract ones reIer to
speech acts, perceptions and Ieelings belonging to the narrator
such as: wora, Hope, stillness, Disaster, song.
Similarly in Verlaine`s work the concrete nouns make
reIerence to the place and time oI the tale, that is: lautomne,
le bois whilst the abstract ones denominate the emotive state
oI mind oI the two protagonists and most oI them express
perceptions: souvenir, regara, voix, sourire.
Mention should also be made oI some capitalized
nouns used by Poe such as: Hope, Disaster, Raven out oI
which it is only Hope which has a positive connotation

97
Poe, E.A., The Philosophy of Composition, in ibid., p. 663.
98
Ibid.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 162
compared to Raven and Disaster which either by their
Iigurative meaning (raven) or by their proper meaning
(aisaster) are negatively 'charged words. Poe`s placing the
word Hope between Raven and Disaster is meant to destroy
any idea oI Hope, thus giving the reader a glimpse oI the
general atmosphere oI sadness and melancholy which,
according to Poe, 'is the most legitimate oI all poetical
tones.
99

A closer analysis oI the adjectives points out that
they are mostly attributive adjectives such as: unhappy
master, unmerciful aisaster, saa soul, lair atone, rayon
monotone, regara emouvant, bois faunissant, denominating
emotive and psychological states oI sadness and oppression.
In Poe`s poem the negative connotations are even more
emphasized by the use oI the preIix un- in the above
mentioned adjectives (unhappy, unmerciful) alongside with
such negative words as: no, not, nothing, nevermore. As
regards the same negative connotations, mention should also
be made oI Poe`s using three-consonant words such as: aptly,
farther, stillness which as a rule are negative words,
expressing thus once more the narrator`s pessimism. This is
not however the case with Verlaine who preIers to express
visual images, colours and emotions without using negative
words.
A verb-levelled analysis oI the two poems reveals that
the verbs used belong to diIIerent categories. Thus, in The
Raven they are rather stative and reIer to the state oI mind oI
the narrator, or to his or the Raven`s speech acts as: sitting,
spoke, outpour, utterea, mutterea, saia, being outnumbered
by nouns, adjectives and adverbs, all oI which stand Ior the
Iact that the action does not play a major part, the emphasis
being laid on the emotion-like consequences oI the Iormer
actions.
In Verlaine`s Never more verbs range between
Iactitive (faisait voler), dynamic (marchions, baisait) and

99
ibid., p. 661.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 163
stative (etions) and are in a greater number due to the length
oI the poem than in Poe`s poem where adverbs are preIerred.
The adverbs used by both writers express manner such
as: lonely, scarcely, aptly, faster, souaain, aevotement. Their
Iunction is a cumulative one, emphasizing the narrator`s
explicit turmoil in The Raven and implicit sadness in Never
more. More than that, nature is not so hostile like the tempest
in Poe`s poem which Iorces the narrator to retreat and live in
isolation. 'L`automne and 'le bois jaunissant suggest the
Iading away oI love, the melancholy and the memory oI a
passed love.
The pronouns employed by the two poets diIIer Irom
one poem to another in that in The Raven only one oI the
lovers appears under the heading oI the Iirst person pronoun I
alongside with he which stands Ior the Raven and not Ior the
beloved one, whereas in Nevermore the two lovers are present
by the mentioning oI the two personal pronouns moi and elle,
that is nous, expressing thus a closer relationship oI the two
compared to Lenore`s relationship with The Raven narrator
which is still a matter oI controversy.
A grammatically-levelled approach to these poems
reveals that both authors make use oI statements but also oI
questions and exclamations, bringing Iorth a varied range oI
Ieelings. Sentences are mostly independent in both cases and
coordinated by means oI the conjunctions but and et. It is to
be noted that in Poe`s poem the conjunction but plays the
same cumulative role as the French conjunction et, both oI
them rendering the continuous Ilux oI inner turmoil with Poe
and the happy memories with Verlaine. The same
conjunctions are meant to assure the cohesion oI the tale
which is Iurther realized by means oI the repetition oI some
words and phrases (out oI which the words nevermore and
soul are the most relevant) or by employing slightly changed
patterns.
Poe preIers to constantly place subordinate clauses
beIore main clauses especially at the beginning oI each stanza








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 164
as well as a reverse word-order, that is adverbial modiIiers
placed beIore the subject and the predicate stressing even
more the various states oI mind and soul the respective
adverbials denominate. To the same purpose he makes use oI
inversion such as in: Nothing farther then he utterea, One
wora aia he outpour.
The tenses employed are the past tense simple which
is characteristic oI any narrative in English and its French
counterpart le pass simple. They both render the story related
by the narrator with the observation that the French pass
simple also implies a quicker development oI the story
bringing the tale closer to the moment oI speaking, that is the
present oI the narrator. Besides the already mentioned tenses,
the two poets also use the past tense continuous with its
French counterpart l`imparIait pondering thus the action and
even suspending it, all oI which are characteristic oI
descriptions.
Another tense used is the present simple tense which is
somehow diIIerently used by the two writers in the sense that
Poe uses it to render the narrator`s own words, enabling one
to speak oI a direct speech in a direct speech` situation
whereas Verlaine uses it in order to render the words oI the
narrator`s beloved and not his own. More than that, with
Verlaine the same present tense simple has the value oI a
general truth in the last stanza, with the purpose oI giving one
the impression oI an impersonal poetry meant to enter
universality which is in Iact a conIessed aim with Poe.
Both poets make Irequent use oI nonIinite clauses, that
is ing and ea clauses as: Fancy unto fancy, thinking what
this ominous bira of yore ., But the Raven sitting lonely on
that placea bust spoke only. , Startlea at the stillness broken
by reply so aptly spoken, Doubtless saia I, Then, upon the
velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking. with their French
ant and past participle Iorm equivalents (tournant, en rvant,
faunissant, vivant), some oI them Iunctioning as adjectives
(murmure charmant). Taking all these nonIinite constructions







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 165
into consideration we can notice that in both languages they
denominate sadness, melancholy, a particular Iluidity, a slow
'coulement, an implicit music and vagueness which go
hand in hand with the two narrators` state oI mind.
The use oI the Iirst person pronouns I and moi is
speciIic to the Iirst person narrative more seldom used in
novels than in tales which is why The Raven 'provides an
obvious transition Irom the poems to the tales, Ior its themes
are typical oI the poems. Yet its narrative structure and its
narrator are characteristic oI a sensitive and initially stable
mind.
100
This idea is obviously reinIorced by the
introductory Iormula once upon and a gradual development oI
the story. We can easily distinguish the author and the
narrator the moment the narrator`s words are reproduced.
With Verlaine things are diIIerent. The so-called story is
triggered by the narrator`s direct addressing the 'memory
which makes it impossible to clearly distinguish between the
narrator and the poet.
The two poems end diIIerently to a certain extent in
the sense that Poe`s poem carries us to a precise ending which
he indicates to us as is the case with any tale whereas
Verlaine by the use oI a general statement leaves room Ior
Iurther interpretation and Ior an open ending being in a way
the Iorerunner oI the modern open-end novel.
The last part oI our analysis takes into consideration
the Iigures oI speech used by the two poets. Thus, it can be
easily noticed that the most Irequent Iigure oI speech is
repetition either oI the same word (soul, one, chamber aoor,
but, bira) or oI a set oI words (frienas have flown before,
Hopes have flown before, ominous bira of yore, ominous bira
of yore etc.) Poe employs it at the end oI each stanza, trying
to remind the reader the main idea as his poem is rather long
and there is the risk Ior the reader to Iocus more on the

100
Foerster, N., Grabo, S.N., et al., editors (1970). American Poetry
ana Prose, 5
th
Edition, in Three Volumes, Volume 1. Boston:
Houghton MiIlin Company, p. 620.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 166
development oI the tale than on the moral oI it. Verlaine also
makes use oI repetition but not to such a great extent since his
poem is shorter and he succeeds in suggesting the Ieelings oI
melancholy and sadness throughout the repetition oI such
words as souvenir, voix, sa.
Another Irequently used Iigure oI speech is alliteration
achieved through the repetition oI such sounds as |I|, |g|, |s|,
|b| such as in: followea fast ana followea faster., startlea by
the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken., what this
grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt ana ominous bira of yore.,
other frienas have flown before (.) his songs one buraen
bore ., in front of bira ana bust ana aoor., souvenir,
souvenir., sa voix aouce et sonore., fe baisai sa main
blanche., les premires fleures quelles sont parfumees .
etc.
The well-known principle oI musicality proclaimed by
Poe and Verlaine is rendered by the repetition oI the nasals
|| and ||, or ing and ant Iorms as well as oI the liquids
|l| and |r|. Besides musicality, the same means express the
idea oI vagueness and indeIinite states oI mind.
In Poe`s own words 'As Iar as the reIrain nevermore is
concerned, one can say that it was careIully chosen Ior its
universality and most oI all Ior the monotone oI its sound. It
. must be sonorous and susceptible oI emphasis (.) and
these considerations inevitably led me to the long 'o as the
most sonorous vowel in connection with 'r as the producible
consonant.
101
These are the same vowels and liquids
Irequently used by Verlaine Ior their Iorce oI suggesting
sadness and indeIinite states oI mind. The obsessive repetition
oI the reIrain could lead one to the conclusion that the two
poems might be reduced to this signiIicant nevermore having

101
Poe, E.A., The Philosophy of Composition, in Foerster, N., Grabo,
S.N., et al., editors (1970). American Poetry ana Prose, 5
th
Edition, in
Three Volumes, Volume 1. Boston: Houghton MiIlin Company, p.
662.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 167
diIIerent values. Thus, we may speak oI an implicit
symbolism with Verlaine and oI an overt symbolism with Poe
who makes use oI speciIic symbols such as the Raven, the
Chamber, Pallas whereas Verlaine lets the reader Iree to
interpret his poem and Iind symbols that best suit him.
From the above stylistic analysis one may conclude
that Poe`s inIluence on Verlaine`s philosophy oI
composition` is unquestionable not only throughout the
symbolistic part oI his writings but also through his similar
theme and principles oI writing.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 168
Setting and Symbol in the Literary Text - Stopping
by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Inaugural poet oI the United States on his seventy-IiIth
birthday, Iour times winner oI the Pulitzer Prize Ior poetry
and highly praised by President Kennedy, a Pulitzer Prize
winner himselI with Profiles in Courage, as 'the great
American poet oI our time, Robert Frost (1874-1963) was at
the time oI his death in January oI 1963 the best known and
most celebrated oI all modern American poets. And,
ironically enough, although he never graduated Irom college,
he was twice made a Master oI Arts, three times a Doctor oI
the Humanities and twelve times a Doctor oI Letters, holding
proIessorships and Iellowships at several renowned American
universities, Harvard included.
Robert Frost`s huge success with the American literary
criticism and society, at a time when many other Iive-star
American poets such as Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot and Carl
Sandburg were at the height oI their literary creation, was
rather critically explained by Malcolm Cowley as 'the growth
in this country oI a narrow nationalism that has spread Irom
politics into literature (although its literary adherents are
usually not political isolationists). They demand, however,
that American literature should be aIIirmative, optimistic,
uncritical and truly oI this nation.` They have been looking
round Ior a poet to exalt; and Frost, through no Iault oI his
own (but chieIly through the weaker qualities oI his work),
has been adopted as their symbol.
102

Yvor Winters is even more critical oI Frost`s pedestal-
like stand in the conscience oI the American people declaring

102
Cowley, Malcolm in Frost. A Dissenting Opinion, New Republic,
CXI (September 11 and 18, 1944, 312-313, 345-347 quoted in
Greenberg, A., Robert, James, G., Hepburn. (1961). Robert Frost, an
introauction, poems, reviews, criticism. New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, p. 110.








Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 169
in his study oI 1957 Robert Frost, Or the Spiritual Drifter as
Poet that a kind oI literature like that oI Frost`s gloriIying the
average is 'sentimental rather than classical.
103
Then he goes
on to criticize Frost`s almost exclusive concentration on rural
subjects pointing out that 'the American reader oI our time
has an aIIection Ior rural subjects which is partly the product
oI the Romantic sentimentalization oI 'nature, but which
predominated in this nation a generation or two ago; the rural
liIe is somehow regarded as the truly American liIe. I have no
objection to the poet`s employing rural settings; but we
should remember that it is the poet`s business to evaluate
human experience, and the rural setting is no more valuable
Ior this purpose than any other or than no particular setting,
and one could argue with some plausibility that an exclusive
concentration on it may be limited.
And rural settings did Robert Frost choose Ior his
poetic expression oI the never ending drama oI human
existence, and Ior quite a considerable period oI time the New
England oI his poems became the New Jerusalem oI
America`s new return to Nature Iirst proclaimed by
Emerson`s Iamous essay Nature oI 1836. And it was Irom
Emerson that Frost took over the idea that natural Iacts are
symbols oI spiritual Iacts and, consequently, the New
England Iarms, snowstorms, winds, birds, rivers became as
many indiIIerent or even menacing settings Ior the discrete
drama oI man`s passage through liIe and death.
As a general rule, Robert Frost writes two kinds oI
poems. The one kind is a very personal statement in which the
poet himselI is quite obviously the speaker. In these poems
Frost usually takes some action or thought oI his own as the
occasion Ior a poem, an action or thought that involves an
aspect oI his immediate world. The reader thus enters into
both the poet`s world and the poet`s mind. Typical are the

103
Winters, Yvor (1957). 'Robert Frost, Or the Spiritual DriIter as
Poet in ibid., p. 135.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 170
poems Unharvestea, Gathering Leaves and Stopping by
Wooas on a Snowy Evening.
The other kind oI poem, usually quite long, tells a
story in a dramatic way that is, by means oI a dialogue
between the persons involved. The poems oI this kind are
concerned with the people oI rural New England. In most
cases there is a story that unIolds or is implied. Examples Ior
this second kind are The Witch of Cos, Home Burial, and
The Fear whose common theme is that oI tragic Iate and oI
human liIe broken into some kind oI abnormality.
Stopping by Wooas on a Snowy Evening (1923) is but
one oI the many poems by Frost in which the wood
symbolizes nature itselI with its permanent challenge and
Iascination. In the poem Into My Own, belonging to Frost`s
Iirst published volume oI verse in London entitled A Boys
Will, the poet Ieels a compelling urge 'to steal away into
'the vastness oI some 'dark trees, while consciously
realizing the danger oI such a total withdrawal Irom the world
oI man.
In The Souna of the Trees again the poet is tempted to
'make the reckless choice and set Iorth deep among the
tossing trees. Also, in New Hampshire, the same Iascination
oI woods and trees is held in check by some Iear oI
overstepping the line separating the world oI man, that is oI
liIe, and the world oI nature, Ioreboding oI death, because he:
'. knew too well for any earthly use
The Line where man leaves off ana nature starts,
Ana never oversteppea it save in areams.`
It is speciIically this Iascination which gives Frost`s
poetry a distinct romantic quality, with the poetic spirit asking
Ior solace and eternal peace into the deepest corner oI nature
and yet not being able to leave the world oI man to which he
is still committed.
Allegedly, Stopping by Wooas on a Snowy Evening
came to Frost aIter he had been working all night on his long
poem entitled New Hampshire. He went outside to look at the







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 171
sun and it came to him. 'I always thought, he explains, 'it
was the product oI autointoxication coming Irom tiredness.
As to the poem itselI, Frost is also quoted to have said
(Holt, et al., ibid., 12) that Stopping by Wooas on a Snowy
Evening contains 'all I ever knew and that structurally, it is
made up oI 'a series oI almost reckless commitments. I Ieel
good in having guarded it so.
At a Iirst reading the poem evokes a common human
experience oI the beauty oI nature in winter time, when nature
is at its best: deep dark and lovely woods Iilling up with
snow, while an easy wind and downy Ilakes seem to be
lulling it to eternal sleep. The rhythmic iambic beat employed
by the poet which is Ior a short time arrested by the apparent
assonance at the end oI every third line in each stanza, equally
suggests quick and purposeIul movement towards some
destination in space, but also the idea oI peaceIul rest and
cogitation. The traveller apparently has guilty second
thoughts about his trespassing some unknown person`s
property while still taking delight in the beauty oI it, such as
is completed by the Ialling snow and Irozen lake nearby. The
image created is Ior a moment quite realistic and the
inattentive reader is cunningly taken in. It is just the case oI a
weary traveller and horse company stopping some place to
have a short rest beIore covering the last leg oI the journey.
The traveller`s inner remarks are quite antipoetic at the
beginning: he is aware oI the economic value oI the woods
and oI their practical purpose as belonging to somebody else
who might take oIIence at the possible trespassing and he also
makes a casual inventory oI the place with the eye oI the
economic man he is: Irozen lake across the woods, Ialling
snow and restIul horse.
His whimsical remarks about the horse point towards
its conditioning to a routine unexplainably interrupted at the
wrong place and at the wrong time. And it is only in the
Iourth stanza that the traveller remarks directly, but brieIly,
upon the appearance and quality oI the woods: 'the woods are








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 172
lovely, dark and deep, which considerations he hurries to
minimalize with his decision to leave the scene and be getting
along in order to go about his business and responsibilities.
However, at a second and more attentive reading, the
reader will become aware oI the poet`s essential duplicity and
a seemingly simple narration oI a similarly-simple incident
will suggest meanings Iar beyond anything speciIically
reIerred to in the narrative. The reader will also notice how
the incident oI this poem reveals itselI as the root oI a
metaphor, while the poem`s movement goes Irom the speciIic
to the general, illustrating in a most simple way the basic
Iormulas oI all good poetry. As it unIolds, the poem creates
emotional tension and at one point this created tension
resolves itselI into the mental Iocus oI a metaphor. Two
planes oI reIerence are soon discovered, and the reader
becomes aware oI words and images which Iace two way at
once. The overt and easy gestures depicted in the poem, such
as a traveller and horse stopping to rest by some snowy
woods and Irozen lake and the indirect way in which he
mentions the beauty oI the place and his commitments
elsewhere, remain in one plane oI reIerence, while such
words as 'promises, 'miles, 'dark, 'deep and 'sleep are
projected on a second plane oI reIerence which gives a Iar
deeper meaning to the little incident. Next, it is readily clear
that the poem is not primarily the description oI natural
scenery, but the dramatic utterance oI a person on the
occasion oI experiencing that scene, which implicitly allows
him to generalize on both the signiIicance oI that scene and oI
his journey, which then appears as any other human being`s
journey Irom past-to-present-and-Iuture as a commitment to
liIe and a rejection oI death until his time really came. There
are three elements that work dramatically upon the traveller:
there is Iirst his relation to the world oI the owner; there is his
relation to the instinctive world oI the horse; and the
indiIIerent, rather threatening presence oI the physical world,
on 'the darkest evening oI the year, with deep, dark woods,







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 173
Irozen lake and the snow engulIing across all the orders oI
liIe, the man`s, the owner`s, and the horse`s. Next, the
vaguely suggested village becomes the village oI mankind
Iorever threatened by the oncoming winter oI death and
IorgetIulness. The owner himselI appears as both the
representative oI the reality oI the village nearby and as the
representative oI mankind Irom which the traveller (that is the
poet) Iinds himselI separated. The story then becomes one oI
separation, return and reunion, symbolic oI a newer and sager
person who has accumulated experience at almost the price oI
his own liIe.
The short, luring and almost unresistible attraction oI
the 'lovely, 'dark and 'deep woods, symbolic now oI
beautiIul and comIorting death, appears as treacherous
weakness present both in the heroic evolution oI epic heroes
and in man`s passing through liIe, when one is tempted to
abandon the Iight with one`s commitments and Iind easy
solace in death.
The Iinal line, repeated twice, speaks then oI one`s
new resolve to reunite with one`s own kind and carry on with
the demanding business oI liIe.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 174
The Nature and Function of Poetry. Translating
1he Rime of the Ancient Mariner

BeIore any possible comment on how Coleridge is to
be translated or, in our case, how we have gone about
translating his narrative ballad The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner, which was published by Institutul European
Publishing House with an honouring introductory study by
proIessor SteIan Avdanei, we think it is worth mentioning a
Iew things in connection with the poet`s own piece oI mind
about the nature and Iunction oI poetry on the one hand, and
on the other, on the way he put or rather had put into practice
his theoretical notions in the Iramework oI the poem, in the
idea that most oI his theoretical approach to poetry was made
in Biographia Literaria nineteen years later than its 1798
publication in Lyrical Ballaas.
A Iirst glimpse oI what Coleridge intended to achieve
by his poem is the agreement he had established with
Wordsworth during their daily communion in the year 1797
to contribute to Lyrical Ballaas poetic pieces in which to
achieve wonder by the violation oI natural laws and the
ordinary course oI events and to use incidents and agents
which were to be 'in part at least supernatural. And true to
his word, Coleridge did write a startling, ballad-like, romantic
narrative poem oI mystery and magic in which are exploited
to advantage people`s old time pagan and religious
superstitions. The Cain Biblical story and the popular and
literary story (recorded by Matthew Paris 13th century, and
Shelley in Queen Mab) oI the Wanaering Jew who having
mistreated Jesus Christ in his way to the cross was
condemned to a liIe oI wandering till Judgement Day were
turned by Coleridge in a martyrdom oI sin, punishment and
expiation oI a hero preIiguring such more deIiant and
unrepentant arch-outlaws oI Romanticism as Byron`s
ManIred and Shelley`s Prometheus.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 175
Coleridge is even clearer about his intentions in the
Latin epigraph to the poem taken over Irom Thomas Burnet`s
Archaelogia Philosophiae, in which he shows his
preocuppation with contemplating in the mind 'as on a tablet,
the image oI a greater and better world, lest the intellect,
habituated to the petty things oI daily liIe, narrow itselI and
sink wholly into trivial thoughts.
As to the making and intended Iunction oI poetry in
general and oI a poem in particular, Coleridge has more to say
in Biographia Literaria. While admitting that the ultimate
aim oI a prose or metrically composed literary work is
'pleasure oI the highest and most permanent kind he
becomes more speciIic by adding that the use oI a metrical
pattern imposes that all the other parts must be consonant
with it. 'They must be such as to justiIy the perpetual and
distinct attention to each part which an exact correspondent
recurrence oI accent and sound are calculated to excite.
104

Coleridge`s deIinition oI a legitimate poem which, we
might add, is also Coleridge`s message to any translator oI
his, is that 'it must be one the parts oI which mutually support
and explain each other; all in their proportion harmonizing
with, and supporting the purpose and known inIluences oI
metrical arrangement . The reader should be carried
Iorward, not merely or chieIly by the mechanical impulse oI
curiosity, or by a restless desire to arrive at the Iinal solution,
but by the pleasurable activity oI mind excited by the
attractions oI the journey itselI. Like the motion oI a serpent,
which the Egyptians made the symbol oI intellectual power;
or like the path oI sound through the air; at every step he

104
Biographia Literaria in Abrahams H., Donaldson, Talbot et al.
(1973). The Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. II, Romantic
Poetry ana Prose. London: OxIord University Press, pp. 1118-1119.








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 176
pauses and halI recedes, and Irom the retrogressive movement
collects the Iorce which again carries him onward.
105

And Coleridge does seem to have achieved a
consonant match between the rhythmic beat oI his alternative
metrical pattern oI 8-6, 8-6 syllable quatrains amounting to
106 (the very Iirst stanza going 8-6; 9-6) interspersed with
thirty-six Iive-line or six-line stanzas (with one nine line
stanza as well stanza 48) oI such rather diIIerent metrical
syllable patterns as 8, 6, 8, 8, 7 (V, 13 - 345-349: 'I fear thee,
ancient Mariner'`/'Be calm, thou Weaaing-guest'/Twas not
those souls that flea in pain,/Which to their corpses came
again,/But a troop of spirits blest,), 8, 6, 8, 9, 6 (V, 16 -
358-362: 'Sometimes a-aropping from the sky/I heara the
sky-lark sing,/Sometimes all little biras that are,/How they
seemea to fill the sea ana air/With their sweet fargoning'); 8,
6, 9, 6, 8, 6 (V, 11 335-340: 'The helmsman steerea, the
ship movea on,/Yet never a bree:e up blew,/The mariners all
gan work the ropes,/ Where they were wont to ao,/They
raisea their limbs like lifeless tools - / We were a ghastly
crew.); 8-7; 8-6; 8-7 (V, 20 - 377-382: 'Unaer the keel nine
fathom aeep,/ From the lana of mist ana snow,/The spirit slia.
ana it was he/That maae the ship to go./The sails at noon left
off their tune,/Ana the ship stooa still also.) and Iinally 8-7; 8-
8; 8-8 (V, 21 383-388: 'The sun, right up above the
mast,/Haa fixea her to the ocean./But in a minute she gan
stir,/With a short uneasy motion - /Backwaras ana forwaras
half her length/With a short uneasy motion.), with the
dramatic ups and downs oI the tribulations oI the hero and the
consequent varying mood and tone oI the poem. A single two
line stanza is an exception represented by lines 422-423 ('
But why arives on that ship so fast,/Without or wave or
wina?).

105
Biographia Literaria in Abrahams H., Donaldson, Talbot et al.
(1973). The Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. II, Romantic
Poetry ana Prose. London: OxIord University Press, pp. 1119.







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 177
The rhyme pattern oI the poem is another challange to
be Iaced by the translator by its great degree oI variation,
including here the interior rhyme within a relatively great
number oI lines.
'Ana he shone bright, ana on the right ...` (line 27)
'Nor shapes of men, nor beasts we ken ... ` (line 57)
'It crackea ana growlea ana roarea ana howlea ... `
(line 61), etc.
Thus, in the Iour-line stanzas lines two and Iour
rhyme, lines one and three having a Iree rhyme (Ior example
I, 6 21-24: 'The ship was cheerea, the harbour
clearea,/Merrily aia we arop/Below the kirk, below the
hill,/Below the lighthouse top.), in the Iive-line stanzas line
two rhymes with line Iive and line three rhymes with line Iour
(III, 10 185-189: 'Are those her ribs through which the
sun/Dia peer, as through a grate?/Ana is that Woman all her
crew?/Is that a Death? ana are there two?/Is Death that
womans mate?). In the six-line stanzas the rhyme goes 2-4-6
(II, 3 91-96: 'Ana I haa aone a hellish thing,/Ana it woula
workem woe./For all averrea, I haa killea the bira/That
maae the bree:e to blow./Ah wretch' saia they, the bira to
slay/That maae the bree:e to blow' with line Iive unrhymed
and also 1-3-5 (VII, 9 550-555: 'Stunnea by that loua ana
areaaful souna,/Which sky ana ocean smote,/Like one that
hath been seven aays arownea/My boay lay afloat,/But, swift
as areams, myself I founa/ Within the Pilots boat.).
From a prosodic point oI view another 'consonantic
element oI which Coleridge made ample use was alliteration
which added to the interior rhyme device gives sonorous
signiIicance to the rich visual details or cadence to the
dramatic unIolding oI the story.
For example, the abundance oI Iricative sounds in
Iront position such as |s| used seven times, |I| once and |5|
twice in VI, 13 lines 460-463 are used to advantage in order
to suggest both the whistling sound oI the wind in the sails oI
the ship and the swishing noise made by the prow oI the ship








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 178
through the water, while the voiced plosive consonant |b|
used three times in the last two lines points to the gentleness
oI the breeze while cooling the Iace oI the ancient mariner.
e.g. 'Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship,
Yet she sailea softly too.
Sweetly, sweetly blew the bree:e
On me alone it blew.`
Finally, a last noteworthy prosodic device, apart Irom
the predominant iambic stress on every other second syllable
in the eight syllable and the Iollowing six syllable lines,
which sonorous pattern both suggests the coil-uncoil
movement mentioned by Coleridge himselI and also when
each oI the two lines are considered as a phonetic whole, the
resulting eIIect gives one the image oI the halting movement
oI a rowing boat with a long and hard strain during the rowing
act and a shorter easier one when the rowman brings the oars
back through the air in a new rowing position, is the word
stress which in a great majority oI cases is in Iront position
just because so many words belonging to the Anglo-Saxon
stock used by the poet are one syllable words or it stays in
Iront in more than one syllable words:
'He holas/ him with/ his skinny hana, (I, 3, 9-10)
There was/ a ship/, quoth he.`
On other occasions the Iirst iambic eight syllable line
is Iollowed by a six line dactylic one:
'The ship/ was cheerea,/ the harbour clearea, (I, 6,
21-22)
Merrily/ aia we arop.`, which is prooI enough oI the
nearly impossible task oI a translator to translate such
complicated prosodic pattern which seems so easy in a
synthetic language like English, but quite impossible to
Iollow in Romanian which is essentially an analytical
language.
Yet another prosodic diIIiculty Ior a translator oI the
poem is the diIIerence in length between the great majority oI
the English key words oI the poem, which in most cases are







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 179
one syllable or two syllable words while their Romanian
semantic equivalents are constantly longer. Since the
avoidance in translation oI such words as kin (rua), feast
(osp), ship (corabie, vas` being quite neutral semantically
speaking), will (voin), speak (vorbi), kirk (capel), bright
(luminos, strlucitor), sea (mare), mast (catarg), breast
(piept), briae (mireas), groom (mire), wing (arip), prow
(pror), bow (pup), foe (auman), mist (cea), snow
(:paa), ice (ghea), cliff (stanc), beast (fivin), crack
(crpa), roar (urla), roar (vasl, vasli), soul (suflet), Goa
(Dumne:eu), Christ (Christos), split (aespica), steer (vira),
perch (cocoa), night (noapte), shoot (sgeta) would be
unacceptable, we decided to willingly ignore the almost
uniIorm 8-6 syllable metrical pattern oI the English variant in
Iavour oI a Ireer one in between 7-9 as a general rule with
occasional 10-12 syllable patterns Ior the more descriptive
passages, while totally preserving the intricate rhyme pattern
as well as the interior rhyme pattern.
Special attention has been given by us to alliteration,
so we came out with such alliterative patterns as in lines 21-
24 (I, 6):
'Cu pan:a-n vant, ne-am luat avant
Din port spre-ntinsu-nvolburat,
Pe lang aealu cu capel
Si faru manaru luminat.` where the repetition oI the
voiced Iricative |v| is meant to suggest the sound oI the wind
in the sails, while the liquid lateral consonant |l| is suggestive
oI the exhilarating rippling sound made by the ship through
Iriendly waters.
A diIIerent use is given to the accumulation oI the
Iricative |v| in alternation or succession with the rolling
sound |r| Iollowing it or other initial consonants to
sonourously suggest the roaring wind and the Iorced
movement oI the ship through the water in lines 45-50 (I, 12):
'Cu prora aaanc br:aana tala:ul,
Corabia mersul i-l grbete,








PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 180
Dar vant hain o urmrete
Calcanau-i umbra-n val lsat,
Zbura ca o nluc, cu vant vrfma ain pup,
Spre sua intr-una astfel alungat.`
Two other examples, we think, are worth mentioning.
First, the accumulation oI the liquid lateral sound |l| in line
206 (III, 14) to suggest the soothing, glittering oI the stars:
'Pe bolt pale stele-n salb` and the accumulation oI the
sibilant Iricative sounds |s| and |5| or the accumulation oI |s|,
|r|, |m| and |n| in lines 367-372 (V, 18) to suggest the gentle
presence oI the wind in the sails oI the ghost ship comparable
with the murmuring sleepy running oI a hidden brook in the
Iorest:
'Si s-a oprit, totuyi in pan:e
A aastat un cant auios,
Un yopot molcom ae i:vor
Ascuns sub pat ae frun:e gros,
Ce noaptea-n somn ine paurea,
Cu susur-murmur somnoros.`
In light oI the above we just hope that by employing
these prosodic means we have come close to Coleridge`s
opinion that 'the recurrence oI accent and sound should
excite Ieelings oI pleasure in the readership whose mind
should have 'a pleasurable activity while journeying through
the poem`s narrative.
A Iinal great challenge Ior the translator oI The
Ancient Mariner is its lexical level which should be
adequately translated into Romanian or adequated, in the
more recent terms oI the theory oI translation. We will restrict
ourselves to the very title oI the poem which is an almost
impossible translation challenge since the word 'rime with
its meaning oI a piece oI poetry employing 'rhyme has no
one word correspondent in Romanian so we have decided on
the term 'balad in Romanian and not 'poveste which we
only have used Ior rhyme purposes in two stanzas such as in
I, 5:







Literary 1ext Analysis (From 1heory to Practice) 181
Nuntau pe-un tpan se las
Si-ascult fr vrerea lui,
Povestea celui om btran,
Balaaa marinarului. in order to anticipate the
poem`s ample use oI myth, popular superstition and oI the
supernatural, not to mention here the very title Lyrical
Ballaas to which 'The Rime belongs.
And no decent one word translation can be given to
the English term 'ancient either in the sense oI 'belonging to
the distant past and no longer in existence, which so
brilliantly points to the ghost-like, spectre-like appearance oI
the mariner. That is why we used the more neutral term
'btrn in Romanian, i.e. 'Btrnul marinar, then in the
Iirst translated stanza employed the term 'ghiuj which in
regional Romanian denominates both an old man in bad
condition and also one who can also be bad.
On the whole, in our Romanian version oI the poem
we have tried to keep much oI the possible world oI the
English poem created with a late 18
th
century vocabulary and
archaic verb endings into the new re-created possible world in
Romanian, by employing a suitable vocabulary which in part
can be traced back to the years 1830-1850 in Romanian letters
or in regional versions oI the language. Mention can be made
oI such terms as: arume, cea, sfaa, fratec, :von, tpan,
nunta, ison, ceter, ugnit (uimit), auhos, aeochi, nevreanic,
scarbavnic, starv, contur (contur), miluiete, Maic
Preacurat, uier, opot, hoain, Sfanta Fecioar, Necuratu,
auh, molcom, Mantuitoru, alean, intirim, luntre, Dracu,
sihastru, arute, vecernie, rug, fecior, fecioar, and many
others.









PROCOPIE P. CLONEA 182
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