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Unit I Lecture 1

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Unit I Lecture 1

Hi

Uploaded by

baniagakit16
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION

Lesson 1: Meaning and Purpose of Stylistics

This lesson discusses the meanings and purposes of stylistics in order to orient the
students and gain understanding about stylistics.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students must have:

1. defined and explained key concepts of stylistics;


2. narrated the history of stylistics;
3. enumerated the linguistic and stylistic categories.
4. picked-out examples of deviation.
5. Identified the linguistic and stylistic categories and deviation from the text.

Warm Up

Sing the song (if you know the melody) or read the lyrics of the song composed and
popularized by John Denver.

Annie’s Song
John Denver
You fill up my senses like a night in a forest,
Like the mountains in springtime,
Like a walk in the rain, like a storm in the desert,
Like a sleepy blue ocean.
You fill up my senses, come fill me again.
Come let me love you, let me give my life to you,
Let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms.
Let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you
Come let me love you, come love me again.
Let me give my life to you,
Come let me love you, come love me again…

What have you noticed with the lyrics of the song?


Lesson

What is Stylistics?

Stylistics, which emerged in the late 1970s, is a method of textual interpretation in


which primacy of place is assigned to language. It is an approach which analyzes the features
of literary language to develop students’ sensitivity to literature. This includes the
unconventional structure of literature, especially poetry, where language often is used in a
non-grammatical and loose manner.

It is a study of the particular choices an author makes from the available materials,
choices that are largely culture oriented and situation bound. It is the scientific study of
style, which can be viewed in several ways. It is the study of the linguistic features of a
literary text—grammatical, phonological, lexical, syntactical, discursive devices—which
directly affects the meaning of an utterance.

Stylistics is interested in language as a function of texts in context, and it


acknowledges that utterances (literary or otherwise) are produced in a time, a place, and in
a cultural and cognitive context. It is a branch of linguistics which studies the principles and
effect of choice and usage of different language elements for rendering thought and emotion
under different conditions of communication

What is Style?

In its most general sense, style is a specific characteristic of human activity arising as a
result of choice, within the accepted norms, of a definite mode or manner of conducting this
activity.

Style is indicative of the actor’s social role, of the social group to which he belongs or
strives to belong, as well as of his individual features and psychological state.

Style is understood as a mark of character or personality. It is a product of individual


choices and patterns of choices among linguistic possibilities.

Style is one of the distinctive varieties of language, language subsystem with a


peculiar vocabulary, phraseology, and constructions.

Style is a set of characteristics by which we distinguish one author from another or


members of one subclass from members of other subclasses.
Purposes of Stylistics

 The stylistic approach is relevant because it clarifies one of the rationales for teaching
literature: to highlight the aesthetic value of literature and provide access to the
meaning by exploring the language and form of the literary text with a focus on
meaning.

 It explores language, and, more specifically, explores creativity in language use.

 Doing stylistics thereby enriches one’s ways of thinking about language and, exploring
language offers a substantial purchase on one’s understanding of literary texts.

 It sheds light on the very language system it derives from.

 It tells us about the ‘rules’ of language because it often explores texts where those
rules are bent, distended or stretched to breaking point.

Brief History of Stylistics

 Stylistics is a sub-discipline which grew up in the second half of the twentieth century:
It’s beginnings in Anglo-American criticism are usually traced back to the publication
of the following books:

 Essay on Style in Language by Roger Fowler

 Linguistics and Literary Style by Donald Freeman

 A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry by Geoffrey Leech

 Style in Language by Thomas Sebeok

 These books are collections of articles, some of which were either conference papers
or articles published in journals.

 Perhaps the most influential article is Closing statement: Linguistics and poetics by
Roman Jacobson who is an important figure who contributed in the development of
Stylistics.

 Nowadays, however, stylisticians study various kinds of texts, such as manuals,


recipes, as well as novels and advertisements.
 In addition, in the recent years, so called ‘media discourses’ such as films, news
reports, song lyrics and political speeches have all been within the scope of interest of
stylistics.

Activity 1: Answer the following questions:

1. What did you understand about stylistics and style?


2. What does stylistics look into in the study of a literary piece?
3. Read again the lyrics of “Annie’s Song”, and pay attention to its style. List down your
observation.
4. Now, try to interpret the meaning conveyed in the song by answering the questions
below.
a. How does the persona addressed in the song affect the emotional state of the
speaker? Cite words from the song to support your interpretation.
b. What kind of relationship do you think the speaker and the persona have? What
words from the song reveal such relationship?

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