EXPLORE

UNIT 1: AN OVERVIEW OF STYLISTICS

A.1. Nature of Stylistics
The term „Stylistics‟ is derived from the word „style‟ which has several meanings. Its pre-
linguistic meaning is the manner of writing, speaking and doing. It is the means through which
human beings gain contact with others. However, style in literature is called „literary stylistics‟.
According to Halliday, Linguistic Stylistics is the description of literary texts, by methods derived
from general linguistic theory, using the categories of the description of the language as a whole.
Stylistics is the systematic scientific study of the language of literature. It is a branch of applied
linguistics. It is applied to the study of language in literary and non-literary texts. The basic
framework of stylistics is borrowed from linguistics. As linguistics studies the relationship
between the sound and meaning, Stylistics deals with the relationship between the language of
literature and the meaning of literature. Style and theme are connected in literature. Stylistic
analysis focuses on the thematic aspects of literature by analysing its language. Stylistics is
objective in the analysis of literature as it studies the literary text from the linguistic point of
view. It depends more on the linguistic evidence in the text for its interpretations of literature.
Stylistics enables understanding of literature comprehensively. Literature is basically a special
use of language. Stylistic analysis of literature should enhance our appreciation and enjoyment of
literature. Stylistics studies some special features of literature and tries to show their poetic
significance. Thus, Stylistics depends on systematic observation, classification and description of
the language of literature. Such is the nature of Stylistics.

IN PHRASE FORM, WRITE DOWN THE CHARACTERISTICS OR NATURE OF STYLSITICS:

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A.2. Goals of Stylistics

Stylistics is adaptive in nature such that its framework, as a veritable linguistic analytical
approach, deals with a whole range of human discourse: Medical religious, political, legal, social
interpersonal, group, communication, and so on. The practice of stylistics is targeted at achieving
certain goals:
  To establish discourse peculiarities:
Stylistics studied the peculiarities that characterize the discourse of a writer, speaker, period, people
or genre. Hence, stylistics could bring out certain feature of Soyinka’s works which are different from
Osofisan’s works. It could help us identify the British English style as different from the American
English style.
 To induce Appreciation of discourses:
Stylistics involves the appreciation of a discourse in order to increase our enjoyment of the discourse.
It opens the reader’s mind to the form and function of a particular discourse. Stylistics is sensitive to different
linguistics manipulations and choices in a given text. It unfolds the beauty in authorial and characters
linguistics choices and opens the reader or listener’s mind to the aesthetic appeals of such choices.
 To ascertain linguistics habits:
An author’s style is the product of a particular linguistics habit, conditioned by some social, cultural
and ideological environments. The objective of stylistics is to help determine the linguistics
background and orientation of a given writer or speaker. Thus, according to Chatman (1971), every
analysis of style can be seen as an attempt to discover the artistic principles that under pin the
choice a writer has made. As a useful tool in the interpretation of a text. This knowledge would lead
us to arrive at an objective rather than a subjective conclusion.
The knowledge of stylistics equally results in the proper analysis of speaking and
writing habits to discover patterns which characteristically differentiate one variety of language from
the other. A number of factors namely: situations, mode of communication, context, socio-linguistics
appropriateness, account for variations across genres. (Barruga)

WRITE A SIMPLE EXPLANATION OF THE THREE GOALS OF STYLISTICS:

STYLISTICS
B. 1. Rhetorics and the History of Stylistics
On
The History of Stylistics.
By
Ahmed M. Hashim
2017

 The Origins of Stylistics.

 Ancient Greeks

The history of stylistics can be traced back to the era where the
concentration was made on the oral expressions. Style, as we know today, has
its origins back to the the ancient rhetoric which was called “lexis” by the
Greeks and “elocutio” by the Romans. The ancient rhetoric was divided into five
laws. The first law was made by generating and discovering textual material.
This led to some arguments based on one of the Aristotelian proofs, logos,
ethos, and pathos. The second law was made by the use of that material for
ideal impact in any circumstances. This led to the constitution of the third law
which stylized the textual material. Last but not least the forth and fifth laws
were made by committing the material to memory and delivering it , if it was in
the form of speech.

The third law of rhetoric, which stylized the textual material, was based
on two forms: the first form investigated the clarity, accuracy, and
appropriateness of the language. The second form, on the other hand,
investigated the figures of style in the language. So, these forms were either
schemes that distorted from the syntactic level of language or tropes, which
distorted from the semantic level.

Style was also divided into three types, high, middle, and low. The high
style was dedicated to literature and poetry. The low style was dedicated to
more common performances of discourse communication. The middle style was
a mixture of both styles and was dedicated to average situations. *Burke 2014.
1-2+

2. Russian Formalism, Prague School, and American New Criticism.

In the twentieth-century, Stylistics began in 1966 when Roger Fowler

published a book he edited, called Essays on Style and Language. Stylistics, at
that time, was viewed as a logical stretching of New Criticism focusing on the
text, but actually it was against the New Criticism school in that it desires
precise and efficient treatment of language in texts. However, Stylistics was
also influenced by the Russian Formalism and Czech Structuralism. They fulfilled
magnificent works in the linguistic analysis of poetry. So, it was guided by these
two movements and their works.

The stylistic work, at that time, was mostly dedicated to poetry, and
stylisticians focused on the phonetic and grammatical structures. The results of
the works made by the stylisticians at that time was applied to poetry easily.
Stylistics was formalistically orientated and still depends on the linguistic work.
*Coyle et al 1990, 1085+

 Russian Formalism.

Stylistics was influenced and guided by Russian Formalism and its scholars,
especially Roman Jakobson, Viktor Shklovsky, and Vladimir Propp. These
scholars wanted to make literary knowledge more scientific and to discover the
things and mechanism that make poetic texts poetic.

The three scholars used their structuralist ideas to achieve their goal. Each
one of them concentrated on some specific areas. For example, Jakobson
concentrated on the poetic function of language, Propp on the elements that
constitute stories and and the universal and repetitive elements that exist
within stories, and Shklovsky on the defamiliarization theory of literature and
art.

Russian formalism eventually faded away in the 1930s but appeared in

Prague under the name Structuralism.

 Prague School

Prague school shifted from formalism to functionalism. Jakobson worked

with the Prague school and became more interested in the idea of
foregrounding. This idea was developed by a Czech scholar, Jan Makarovsky
who was one of the important figures in the school. The word Markarovsky was
employed for foregrounding and was regarded as actualization. The term
foregrounding was coined by Garvin when he translated the works of the
Prague school scholars. So foregrounding simply spots the poetic functions of
language. It is process that deviates the linguistic norm and makes textual
patterns that are based on parallelism, deviations, or repetition.

Prague school included the context in the making of textual meaning which
began the era of modern stylistics. Thus, the heart of the modern stylistics now
is the text, the context, and the reader. The contributions of Prague school
made stylistics today concerned in both language and literary studies. *Burke
2014. 41+
  American New Criticism

Stylistics can be viewed as a legitimate expansion of moves within literary

Criticism in the twentieth century to focus on studying writings instead of
writers. Nineteenth-century literary criticism, on the other hand, focused on the
writer, and in Britain the content-based criticism of the two critics, I. A. Richards
and his student William Empson, dismissed that approach to focus on the texts
themselves, and how readers were influenced by them. This approach is
frequently called Practical Criticism, and it is matched by a similar critical
movement in the USA, related with Cleanth Brooks, René Wellek, Austin Warren
and others, called New Criticism. New Criticism was constructed solely in light
of the depiction of literary works as an independent asethetic objects. However,
Practical Criticism tended to pay careful attention to the psychological facets
associated with a reader who interacts with the text. However, However, these
two critical movements shared two essential highlights:
 an emphasis on the language of the text more that its writer
 a supposition that what criticism required was accounts of important literary
works in view of the intuitional reading results of prepared and aesthetically
delicate critics.

These critics did not analyze the text language that much, but, rather,
focused on the language of the texts when they read them and afterward
depicted how they comprehended them and were influenced by them.

This approach is still exceptionally influential in schools and universities in

the western world, for almost a hundred years, and gives rise to the types of
critical essay where writers make a claim about the meaning of the text,or how
it influences them, and afterward quote and discuss a textual sample to clarify
the view of argument. This could maybe be known as the 'Claim and Quote' way
to deal with scholarly criticism.
*http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/projects/stylistics/introduction/history.htm+

 Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis, and Cognitive Analysis and Critical

Discourse Analysis.
3.1 Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis

Stylistics has a mutual relationship with pragmatics and discourse analysis.

These three fields have a common goal. Their common goal is to investigate the
structure of language in use naturally and formally. So, the domains of these
branches will interfere with each other. In other words, the studies of these
branch will participate in each other. *Leech 2008. 147+
 3.2 Cognitive Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis.

Stylistics, cognitive analysis and critical discourse analysis match together

as a theoretical approach that analyzes texts. Critical discourse analysis is
concerned with the study of text and its style. *Abushihab 2015. 2+ The same is
true for Cognitive analysis. These two fields and their studies overlap with
stylistics. The overlapping between these fields results new methods that
combine discourse analysis, and cognitive analysis with stylistics, and the result
is Cognitive Stylistics and Critical Stylistics.

References:
Abushihab, Ibrahim. 2015. A Pragmatic Stylistic Framework for Text Analysis.
International Journal of Education V. 7 N. 1
Burke, Michael. (Ed.) 2014. The Routledge Handbook of Stylistic. Routledge.
Coyle, M., Garside, P., Kelsall, M., and Peck, J. (Eds.). 2002 .Encyclopedia of
literature and criticism. Routledge
Leech, G. N. 1983. Pragmatics, discourse analysis, stylistics and “the celebrated
letter”.

FILL-OUT THE TIMELINE ON THE HISTORY OF STYLISTICS:

C. Influences: Analogists (Caesar) vs. Anomalists (Cicero)

In ancient Greece the use of language can be seen mainly as an effort to create speeches.
Thus we may recognise a practical function of language in political and judicial speeches, and an
aesthetic function in ceremonial ones. The art of creating speech was called Rhetoric (from the
Greek techne rhetorike) and was taught as one of the main subjects in schools. The aim was to train
speakers to create effective and attractive speeches. Another language activity was the creation of
poetic works. The process of artistic creation was called Poetics. Its aim was to study a piece of art,
and, it focused on the problems of expressing the ideas before the actual moment of utterance. The
work of Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C.) entitled Poetics is considered to be a pioneer publication in this
field. The third field of language use was the art of creating a dialogue. The study of creating and
guiding a dialogue, talk or discussion, as well as the study of methods of persuasion, was
called Dialectics. The “dialogue technique” as was introduced and supported by Socrates. This
method is still known as the “dialogical” or “Socrates’ method”.

The further development of Stylistics was based on the three above mentioned sources from
which Poetics went its own way and created the field of study known at present as Literary Criticism.
Rhetoric and Dialectics developed into Stylistics.

The development of Stylistics in ancient Rome, that is about 300 years later, brought the
distinction of two different styles in speech represented by Caesar and Cicero.

CAESAR CICERO
And the Analogists And the Anomalists

• stressed regularity and • aimed at the creation and development of ‘Ornate

system rules Dicere’ that is flowery language
• focused on facts and • used unnatural syntactic patterns, sought for
data innovative often artificial sentence structures
• their aim was to create • created anomalies on all language levels
simple, clear and • due to their approach, where the true message and
straightforward speeches communicated content were secondary to the form of
• other representatives presentation, Rhetoric was called the “mother of lies”
were • Cicero built his theory of rhetoric on the distinction
Seneca and Tacitus between three styles: high, middle and low

D. What is Style?
The term “STYLE” originated from the Latin “stilus” which means a pen used by the
Romans for writing on wax, tablets. In the course of time it developed several meanings, each one
applied to a specific study of language elements and their use in speech.
Stylistics can simply be called as the study of style. It is yoking together of style and linguistics.
Style is defined as:
The effective use of language, especially in prose, whether to make
statements or to rouse emotions. It involves first of all the power to
put fact with clarity and brevity. (Lucas, 1955:9)
D.1. Norm
Norm – is an invariant, which should embrace all variable phonemic, morphological, lexical,
and syntactic patterns with their typical properties circulating in the language at a definite period
of time
Norm is a regulator that controls the set of variants (Makayev). It’s most characteristic and
essential property is flexibility Though it is very hard to draw a line of demarcation between the
norm and its violation ( director, творог; e.cummings:” footsteps on the sand of war”, “
below a time”, but “the ors and ifs”) – is quite acceptable. Some people think that one has to
possess what is called “a feeling for the language” in order to be able to understand its norms and
variations. But this feeling is deeply rooted in the knowledge (often unconscious) of the language
laws and history. As soon as the feeling of the norm is instilled in the mind one begins to
appreciate its talented fluctuations. The norm may be perceived and established only when there
are deviations from it, it happens so to say against their background. While studying style we come
across the problem of language-as-a-system and language-inaction, that actually reflects the
opposition of language and speech (discourse), lange and parole.
All rules and patterns of language collected in the textbooks on grammar, phonetics and
lexicology first appear in language–in-action where they are generalized, then framed as rules and
patterns of language-as-a-system. The same happens with SDs. Born in speech they gradually
become recognized facts of language-as-a-system.
D.2. Individual Style
Individual style implies the peculiarities of a writer’s individual manner of using language
means to achieve the effect he desires. The speech of any individual, which is characterized by
particular elements, is called an idiolect that reveals his breeding and education. A writer will try to
avoid showing his idiolect, instead he would leave room for genuine SD. Alexander Block once said
that the style of a writer is so closely connected with the content of his soul that the “
experienced eye can see the soul through his style.”
The components of individual style are the following:
 composition of phrasal units
 rhythm and melody of utterances
 system of imagery
 preference for definite stylistic devices and their correlation with neutral language media
 interdependence of the language means employed by the author and those characteristic to his
personages.
In discussing the problem of the individual style one should make it clear from the outset
that this problem constitutes the common ground for literature and literary stylistics the latter
being the part of poetics (the science of the composition of literary works and the system of
aesthetic means used in them).
D.3. Functional Style
Functional Style is a system of interrelated language means serving a definite aim in
communication. It is the coordination of the language means and stylistic devices which shapes
the distinctive features of each style and not the language means or stylistic devices themselves.
Each style, however, can be recognized by one or more leading features which are especially
conspicuous. For instance the use of special terminology is a lexical characteristics of the style of
scientific prose, and one by which it can easily be recognized.
A style of language can be fined as a system of coordinated, interrelated and inter-coordinated
language means intended to full-fill a specific function of communication and aiming at a defined
effect. Style of language is a historical category.
They are:
 1) Official(documents and papers);
 2) Scientific (brochures, articles, other scientific publications);
 3) Publicistic (essay, public speech);
 4) Newspaper style(mass media);
 5) Belles-lettres style(genre of creative writing);
Each of mentioned here styles can be expressed in two forms: written and oral.
Stylistics is a side that examines the complex of stylistically marked elements of any language level.
 1) scientific style is employed in professional communication to convey some information. It’s
most conspicuous feature is the abundance of terms denoting objects, phenomena and
processes characteristics of some particular field of science and technique. Also precision
clarity logical cohesion.
 2) Official style is the most conservative one. It uses syntactical constructions and archaic
words. Emotiveness is banned out of this style.
 3) Publicistic style is famous for its explicit pragmatic function of persuasion directed at
influencing the reader in accordance with the argumentation of the author.
 4) Newspaper style – special graphical means are used to attract the reader’s attention.
 5) Belles-lettres style – the richest register of communication besides its own language
means, other styles can be used besides informative and persuasive functions, belles-lettres
style has a unique task to impress the reader are aesthetically.

PUBLICIST STYLE. NEWSPAPER STYLE. BELLES-LETTERS STYLE

The literary communication, most often (but not always) materialized in the written form, is not
homogeneous, and proceeding from its function (purpose) we speak of different functional styles. As
the whole of the language itself, ‘functional styles are also changeable.
Their quantity and quality change in the course of their development. At present most scholars
differentiate such functional styles: scientific, official, publicist, newspaper, belles-lettres.

Scientific style is employed in professional communication. Its most conspicuous feature is the
abundance of terms denoting objects, phenomena and processes characteristic of some particular
field of science and technique. Scientific style is also known for its precision, clarity and logical
cohesion which is responsible for the repeated use of such clichés as: “Proceeding from…”; “As it
was said above…”; “In connection with…” and other lexico-syntactical forms emphasizing the logical
connection and interdependence of consecutive parts of the discourse
.
Official style, or the style of official documents, is the most conservative one. It preserves cast-iron
forms of structuring and uses syntactical constructions and words long known as archaic and not
observed anywhere else. Addressing documents and official letters, signing them, expressing the
reasons and considerations leading to the subject of the document (letter-all this is strictly regulated
both lexically and syntactically. All emotiveness and subjective modality are completely banned out of
this style.
Publicist style is a perfect example of the historical changeability of stylistic differentiation of
discourses. In ancient Greece, e.g., it was practiced mainly in its oral form and was best known
as oratorio style, within which views and sentiments of the addresser (orator) found their expression.
Nowadays political, ideological, ethical, social beliefs and statements of the addresser are prevailingly
expressed in the written form, which was labelled publicist in accordance with the name of the
corresponding genre and its practitioners. Publicist style is famous for its explicit pragmatic function
of persuasion directed at influencing the reader and shaping his views, in accordance with the
argumentation of the author. Correspondingly, we find in publicist style a blend of the rigourous logical
reasoning, reflecting the objective state of things, and a strong subjectivity reflecting the author’s
personal feelings and emotions towards the discussed subject.

Newspaper style, as it is evident from its name, is found in newspapers. You should not conclude
though that everything published in a newspaper should be referred to the newspaper style. The
paper contains vastly varying materials, some of them being publicist essays, some-feature articles,
some-scientific reviews, some-official stock-exchange accounts etc., so that a daily (weekly)
newspaper also offers a variety of styles. When we mention “newspaper style”, we mean informative
materials, characteristic of newspaper only and not found in other publications.
To attract the reader’s attention to the news, special graphical means are used. British and
American papers are notorious for the change of type, specific headlines, space ordering, etc. We find
here a large proportion of dates and personal names of countries, territories, institutions, individuals.
To achieve the effect of objectivity and impartiality in rendering some fact or event, most of
newspaper information is published anonymously, without the name of the newsman who supplied it,
with little or no subjective modality. But the position and attitude of the paper, nonetheless, become
clear from the choice not only of subject-matter but also of words denoting international or domestic
issues.

Belles-lettres style, or the style of creative literature may be called the richest register of
communication: besides its own language means which are not used in any other sphere of commu-
nication, belles-lettres style makes ample use of other styles too, for in numerous works of literary
art we find elements of scientific, official and other functional types of speech.
Besides informative and persuasive functions, also found in other functional styles, the belles-lettres
style has a unique task to impress the reader aesthetically. The form becomes meaningful and carries
additional information as you must have seen from previous chapters. Boundless possibilities of
expressing one’s thoughts and feelings make the belles-lettres style a highly attractive field of
investigation for a linguist.
Speaking of belles-lettres style most scholars almost automatically refer to it prose works, regarding
poetry the domain of a special poetic style. Viewed diachronically this opinion does not seem
controversial, for poems of previous centuries, indeed, adhered to a very specific vocabulary and its
ordering.

CLASSIFICATION OF FUNCTIONAL STYLES, BELLES-LETTRES STYLE

A functional style of language is a system of interrelated language means which serves a definite aim
in communication.
In the English literary standard Galperin distinguishes the following major functional styles (FS):
belles-lettres; publicistic literature; newspaper; scientific prose; official documents.
The belles-lettres FS has the following substyles: style of poetry; of emotive prose; of drama. The
publicistic FS comprises the following substyles: style of essays; of oratory; of feature articles in
newspapers and journals.
The newspaper FS falls into: style of brief news items and communiqu?s; of newspaper
headlines; of notices and advertisements.
The scientific prose FS also has three divisions: style of humanitarian sciences; of ‘exact’
sciences; of military documents.
The official documents FS can be divided into four varieties: style of diplomatic documents; of
business documents; of legal documents; of military documents.
The belles-lettres style rests on certain indispensable linguistic features which are:
1. Genuine, not trite, imagery, achieved by purely linguistic devices.
2. The use of words in contextual and very often in more than one dictionary meaning, or at least
greatly influenced by the lexical environment.
3. A vocabulary which will reflect to a greater or lesser degree the author’s personal evaluation of
things or phenomena.
4. A peculiar individual selection of vocabulary and syntax, a kind of lexical and syntactical
idiosyncrasy.

FILL-OUT AND DIFFERENTIATE THE THREE TYPES OF STYLES

DEFINE STYLE : NORM -

INDIVIDUAL STYLE –

FUNCTIONAL STYLE –
E. Denotative vs. Connotative

Connotation and Denotation are two principal methods of describing the meanings of words.
Connotation refers to the wide array of positive and negative associations that most words naturally
carry with them, whereas denotation is the precise, literal definition of a word that might be found in a
dictionary. Connotation is the emotional and imaginative association surrounding a word. Denotation is
the strict dictionary meaning of a word.

Connotation and denotation are not two separate things/signs. They are two aspects/ elements
of a sign, and the connotative meanings of a word exist together with the denotative meanings]. −
Connotation represents the various social overtones, cultural implications, or emotional meanings
associated with a sign. − Denotation represents the explicit or referential meaning of a sign.
Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word, the ‘dictionary definition.’

For example, the name ‘Hollywood’ connotes such things as glitz, glamour, tinsel, celebrity, and
dreams of stardom. In the same time, the name ‘Hollywood’ denotes an area of Los Angeles,
worldwide known as the center of the American movie industry.

Words have both denotations (literal meanings) and connotations (suggestive meanings). Fungus
is a scientific term denoting a certain kind of natural growth, but the word also has certain
connotations of disease and ugliness. Connotations can be both positive and negative; for example,
lady carries a hint of both elegance and subservience. The influence of connotative meaning can also
change the denotative meaning, one example being the thoroughly transformed word gay.

Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word, the "dictionary definition."¨ For example, if
you look up the word snake in a dictionary, you will discover that one of its denotative meanings is
"any of numerous scaly, legless, sometimes venomous reptiles having a long, tapering, cylindrical body
and found in most tropical and temperate regions." • Connotation, on the other hand, refers to the
associations that are connected to a certain word or the emotional suggestions related to that word.
The connotative meanings of a word exist together with the denotative meanings. The connotations
for the word snake could include evil or danger.
Loaded Words: Using Denotation and Connotation Directions:
Read each list of words below. Each word has a different connotation, but has the same general
denotation. Decide what the general denotation is for each group. Write your answer on the line
provided. Then, number the words in each group from most positive connotation to most negative
connotation.

Example: 3. thin ___ imprison ___ uprising

4. bony ___ relocate ___ riot
1. slim ___ incarcerate ___ demonstration
5. anorexic ___ intern ___ unlawful gathering
2. slender ___ evacuate ___ protest
____thin____ (general ___ detain ___ disturbance
denotation) ___ lock-up _______ (general denotation)
___ confine
________ (general denotation)
___ prisoner ___ guerrilla ___internment camps
___ evacuee ___ freedom fighter ___detention camps
___ internee ___ mercenary ___assembly centers
___ detainee ___ soldier ___concentration camps
___ inmate ___ terrorist ___prison camps
________(general denotation) ________ (general denotation) ___relocation centers
___temporary detention centers
________ (general denotation)

F. Linguistic vs. Extralingual Contexts

A linguistic context is the encirclement of a language unit by other language units in speech.
Such encirclement makes the meaning of the unit clear and unambiguous. It is especially important in
case with polysemantic words.

An extralingual (situational) context is formed by extralingual conditions in which

communication takes place. Besides making the meaning of words well-defined, a situational context
allows the speaker to economize on speech efforts and to avoid situationally redundant language
signs.
EXAMPLE: The commands of a surgeon in an operating room, such as "scalpel",
"pincers" or "tampon", are understood by his assistants correctly and without any additional
explanations about what kind of tampon is needed.

Extralingual context can be physical or abstract and can significantly affect the communication.
A conversation between lovers can be affected by surroundings in terms of music, location, and the
presence of others. Such surroundings form a physical context. A dialogue between colleagues can be
affected by the nature of their relationship. That is, one may be of higher status than the other. Such
nature forms an abstract context.

F.1. Microcontext is the context of a single utterance (sentence).

F.2. Macrocontext is the context of a paragraph in a text.
F.3. Megacontext is the context of a book chapter, a story or the whole book.
G. Expressiveness vs. Emotiveness
Expressiveness – a kind of intensification of an utterance or a part of it.
Emotiveness – the emotions of writer or speaker.
Expressiveness is broader than emotiveness. Emotiveness occupies a predominant position in
expressiveness. There are media in language, which aim at logical emphasis of a certain part of
utterance. They evoke no feelings but serve the purpose of verbal actualization of the utterance.

H.1. Expressive Means

Expressive Means – phonetic, morphological, word-building, lexical, phraseological and syntactical
forms which exist in language-as-a-system for the purpose of logical and/or emotional intensification
of the utterance. All these forms have neutral synonyms.
 Phonetic expressive means: pitch, melody, stress, whispering, manner of speaking, pauses,
etc.
 Word-building expressive means: suffixes and productive patterns of word formation.
 Lexical expressive means: words, which obtain inherent expressiveness, perceived without
any context. There are words with emotive meaning only, words which have both referential
and emotive meaning, slang, vulgar, poetic and archaic words, set-phrases and phraseological
units.
 Morphological expressive means: grammatical forms (tenses, pronouns, articles, modal verbs)
which obtain inherent expressiveness, perceived without any context.
 Syntactical expressive means: constructions, which reveal a certain degree of logical and
emotional emphasis.

H.2. Stylistics Devices

Stylistic Device is a conscious and intentional intensification of some typical structure and/or
semantic property of a language unit (neutral or expressive) promoted to a generalized status
and thus becoming a generative model. Stylistic devices function in texts as marked units
and always carry additional information.
Most stylistic devices display an application of two meanings: the ordinary one,
which has already been established in the language-as-a-system, and a special meaning
which is attributed to the unit by text, i.e. a meaning which appears in the language-in-action.
Example: “The night has swallowed him up”
I. R. Galperin’s classification based on the level-oriented approach:
 Phonetic expressive means and stylistic devices.
 Graphical expressive means and stylistic devices.
 Lexical expressive means and stylistic devices.
 Syntactical expressive means and stylistic devices.

Phonetic Expressive Means and SD

Onomatopoeia – the use of words whose sounds imitate those of an object or action: hiss, murmur.
A message with an onomatopoeic word carries not only the logical information, but also supplies the
vivid portrayal of the situation described.
There are two varieties of onomatopoeia:
 Direct onomatopoeia – words that imitate natural sounds, e.g. ding-dong, burr, bang, cuckoo.
 Indirect onomatopoeia – a combination of sounds the aim of which is to make the sound of
 the utterance an echo of its sense.
And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain.
 Alliteration – the repetition of consonants, usually in the beginning of words, e.g., Muck and
money go together; Safe and sound.
 Assonance – the repetition of similar vowels, usually in stressed syllables. e.g. Dreadful young
creatures – squealing and squawking.
 Rhyme is the repetition of identical or similar terminal sound combination of words. Rhyming
words are generally placed at a regular distance from each other. In verse they are usually
placed at the end of the corresponding lines.
 Rhythm is the pattern of interchange of strong and weak segments. It's a regular recurrence
of stressed and unstressed syllables that make a poetic text.

Graphical Expressive Means and SD

 Sound is foregrounded mainly through the change of its accepted graphical representation.
This intentional violation of the graphical shape of a word used to reflect its authentic
pronunciation is called graphon.
 Graphon – effective means of supplying information about the speaker's origin, social and
educational background, physical or emotional condition, etc.

The main functions of graphon are:
 to express the author's attitude to the characters, e.g. butler Yellowplush impresses his
listeners with the learned words pronouncing them as " sellybrated" (celebrated),
"bennyviolent" (benevolent).
 to show the physical defects of the speakers, e.g. the stuttering "The b-b-b-b-bas-tud - he
seen me c--c-c-c-coming“,
 to convey the atmosphere of authentic live communication, of the informality of the speech
act, e.g. "gimme" (give me), "lemme" (let me), "gonna" (going to), "gotta" (got to), etc.

Graphical changes may reflect not only the peculiarities of pronunciation, but are also used to convey
the intensity of the stress, emphasizing and thus foregrounding the stressed words.
To such purely graphical means we should refer
 all changes of the type (italics, capitalization),
 spacing of graphemes (hyphenation, multiplication) and of lines, e.g. “Help. Help. HELP”; “He
was grinning like a chim-pan-zee”; “Alllll aboarrrrrd”.

UNIT 2: LITERARY PROSE AND DRAMA STYLISTICS

A. Review of Prose and Drama

Prose is a type of writing that is quite close to the manner in which a person speaks, but is organised
into grammatically correct sentences and paragraphs which identify groups of information that are
related. Among the three, it is the only form with a strict set of rules for how it is organised. Today,
what we see in our minds as prose is something that has evolved by design over several centuries of
learning and experimentation.
Prose: Prose is not about rhyming or using ornamental words.
 It is simple but expressive.
 It expresses the feelings in a way which is easy to read and understand.
 There are no verses or stanzas, sentences take their place in prose.
 It is straightforward.
 Authors sometimes dabble between the two to give a good combination. Shakespeare uses
both in some plays.
 Short stories, novels, plays etc usually fall under this type of literature.

Drama, as opposed to prose rather than as a type of, is any writing that is intended for performance
rather than the experience of reading it. As in poetry, there are no hard and fast rules. Often, drama
is not even recorded in its whole linguistic state, but when it is, it tends to include a mix of
information intended for performers and/or collaborators you will never see in the performance but
have an equal influence on the audience’s experience. The language itself can be in either poetry or
prose or resemble neither at all. Often, dramatic writing more closely resembles natural speech than
the other two forms.

PROSE VS. DRAMA

Prose refers to written or spoken language that is not in poetic form, whether in rhythm,
rhyme, or structure. Drama is a performing art in which actors use dialogue and actions to tell a story
or convey a message to a viewing audience. In most cases, dramatic works are written down so that
the performers can memorize and rehearse the lines before performing them live. The written form of
a drama takes the structure of a script. While prose is written in paragraph form, dramatic scripts are
written as lines of dialogue, with the speaker's name clearly designated before each line. Instructions
for the director about the set or for the performers about their actions are written in notes, usually
set in italics, before or between the lines of dialogue. These notes are usually quite sparse, because
the director will determine a significant amount of the choreography and will teach it to the actors
during rehearsals. Thus, when one reads the script of a drama instead of seeing it performed, one
misses out on a great deal of description that would explain the characters' movements and
expressions. Prose allows the author, depending on the chosen point of view, to describe inner
thoughts and feelings of characters. Drama requires that characters' thoughts either be spoken aloud
or portrayed via body language and movement.

Another factor to consider when differentiating between drama and prose is that dramatic
scripts can be written in either prose or verse or in a combination. William Shakespeare wrote much
of his drama in iambic pentameter. However, he often alternated between prose and poetry in his
plays, with the lines of lower-class characters written in prose and those of upper-class characters
written in poetry. A scene that contained great import might use more obvious rhyme and meter,
while a less significant scene would be written in more prosaic language.
LIST DOWN THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PROSE AND DRAMA IN SHORT PHRASES ONLY:

PROSE DRAMA
B. SURVEY OF PROSE AUTHORS/DRAMATISTS AND THEIR UNIQUE STYLES

Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway. Quite possibly one of the most well-known
authors of all time. While I personally am not a huge fan of his
work, Hemingway changed the game in a major way. He
pioneered concise, objective prose in fiction—which had, up
until then, primarily been used in journalism.
She’s just having a bad time. The initial labor is usually
protracted. She’s only having a bad time. Afterward we’d say
what a bad time and Catherine would say it wasn’t really so
bad. But what if she should die? She can’t die. Yes, but what if
she should die? She can’t, I tell you. Don’t be a fool. It’s just a
bad time.
-Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

It’s no surprise that Hemingway learned this direct style as a reporter for The Kansas City Star. But his
preference for objective writing was strengthened after he returned from World War I. While 19th century
European (read: English) writing styles had been generally revered and imitated by authors all over the world, the
war put a sour taste in the mouths of many creatives.
In the 1920s, immediately after the war, a group of American authors who became “The Lost Generation” rejected
the flowery, descriptive language of European literature in favor of straightforward, to the point stories.
Hemingway spearheaded this movement by publishing novels and short stories using “The Iceberg Theory.” He
believed the facts of the story, which appeared on the surface, hinted at the symbolism that was lying
underneath—which didn’t have to be explained.
His style is still widely used by authors and journalists alike, and he even has an editing app named after him!
Being Like Hemingway
His style was informed by his time as a journalist and his disillusionment after the war.
It’s hard for your experiences not to inform the art you create. While we all want to be as brilliant and succinct as
Hemingway, if your experiences have influenced a specific writing style, don’t deny yourself that.
Perhaps you grew up reading poetry, so you have a tendency to write descriptive, symbolic language. Write what
you know and be yourself. That’s what Hemingway did.

JK Rowling
When I told my mom I was writing this article, she said, “Are
you going to talk about JK Rowling? You have to talk about her.” So,
Mom, this is for you … but also because Rowling does actually
demonstrate a style of writing that is important to consider (since,
you know, she’s a billionaire author).
Rowling’s writing style is not often analyzed because it falls
under “commercial fiction,” rather than literary fiction. Literary
critics don’t tend to spend time analyzing works that aren’t doing
anything experimental with their writing style. Commercial fiction is
transparent in its prose and its intent—to entertain and to tell a
good story. Its main focus is on pleasing the audience.
 Rowling wrote Harry Potter for children. The main characters began their journey at 11 years old. She
obviously was not creating some profound literary masterpiece. She knew what audience she wanted to write for
and she went for it.
She drew upon her knowledge of classical literature and languages to build a world around the idea, but otherwise,
she wrote an accessible work of fiction that could be read by as many people as possible. Her style definitely
reflects her education and background, and the idea may be considered revolutionary, but her writing style is
certainly not.
Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with
hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly
twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden
fences, spying on the neighbors.
– JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Being Like Rowling

What makes Rowling so successful is her ability to reach her intended audience. As I mentioned with
Morrison, your style will have to reflect who you’re writing for. If you want to write a literary masterpiece that
critics will revere for decades, you won’t be able to write about a boy wizard or teenage vampires. Though you can
certainly try.
If you’ve identified your audience, but not the style, try mimicking writers who are already established in that
genre. If you can pick up on techniques that they use, you can incorporate bits and pieces of their style into yours
to create something new.

William Shakespeare

I don’t think there’s another playwright’s work more prone to

terrible productions than old Willy Shakes. Perversely, he’s one of the
most produced playwrights in all of theater history, but particularly
now since his plays are in the public domain.

There’s a reason, however, you typically see productions

of Romeo and Juliet on the high school or community theater level.
That particular play is Shakespeare’s easiest to digest, and it’s such a
prevalent work, I wonder if we’re not born with awareness of its
narrative. Boy and girl from warring families fall in love, parents
disapprove, boy and girl act like irrational teenagers, try to stage
suicides, end up offing themselves for real, and the parents are left to
contemplate their own folly. Tragic love story, bada bing, bada boom.

Yet even R&J, for all its simplicities, features linguistic complexities that most modern theatrical
practitioners and patrons miss. Still, it is the most accessible and dramatic of Shakespeare’s work, so let’s not talk
about that one anymore. Let’s talk about the Bard’s second-most popular play, Hamlet.
If we could speak right out of the womb, we might launch into the famous “To be or not to be”
soliloquy. Hamlet is just as much ingrained in culture as its angsty teen counterpart, and perhaps it is tackled just
as often on stage. I would argue, however, that only the most seasoned of directors and actors pull it off remotely
well, and only those audiences acutely attuned to listening can ever really experience the total meaning of this
work.
 For one, Hamlet is loaded with monologues, particularly in the beginning, when Shakespeare has to give the
audience a ton of backstory. Two, there’s a bit of a language gap these days, and while listening to these
monologues you can surely get the gist of the speaker’s information, but you would be better served to read (and
most likely re-read) the passage for deeper meaning. Here’s one of the first monologues from Horatio, delivering a
bit of exposition to the other characters and to us:
That can I,
At least, the whisper goes so. Our last king,
Whose image even but now appear’d to us,
Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway,
Thereto prick’d on by a most emulate pride,
Dar’d to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet–
For so this side of our known world esteem’d him–
Did slay this Fortinbras; who, by a seal’d compact,
Well ratified by law and heraldry,
Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands
Which he stood seiz’d of, to the conqueror...

Imagine listening to an actor deliver these lines. For one, the complexity of the language would certainly
demand our utmost attention, which tasks the actor with carefully choosing his or her operative word-—the most
important word in each line of dialogue—and enunciating with skill. If the actor is doing his or her part, and the
audience is paying attention, we can understand the basic information of this dialogue. Here’s how SparkNotes’ No
Fear Shakespeare interprets the text:
I can. Or at least I can describe the rumors. As you know, our late king, whom we just now saw as a ghost,
was the great rival of Fortinbras, king of Norway. Fortinbras dared him to battle. In that fight, our courageous
Hamlet (or at least that’s how we thought of him) killed old King Fortinbras, who—on the basis of a valid legal
document—surrendered all his territories, along with his life, to his conqueror.
Now, looking at the texts in succession, I’m sure you see the difference. Shakespeare’s version looks like
poetry. That’s because it is. I’m sure you studied his sonnets in junior high as a primer for reading and
understanding poetry. His plays are no different.
Look at the placement of words ‘Hamlet,’ ‘him’ and ‘compact,' placed in succession at the end of their respective
lines. Clearly, there is meaning here: the name of the prince, also the title of the play; the word him, defined as
“often used in place of ‘he’ after the verb ‘to be’”—or, ‘not to be’?; and compact, or contract, a legally binding
document. Long before Hamlet’s famous soliloquy appears, Shakespeare is already setting up notions of existence
in our minds—Hamlet is a ‘him’ or a man in official terms, but what does it mean to be a man? What does it mean
to exist?
Also, Hamlet, as the son of the deceased king, has not ascended the throne for legal reasons—specifically, his
uncle Claudius’ marriage to the widowed Queen Gertrude, a union more of convenience and political posturing
than love (also, it turns out, Claudius killed the king). This arrangement between uncle and mother drives most of
Hamlet’s brooding and plotting.
Shakespeare is more or less telling us the plot of the play with these three words. Hearing an actor deliver this
speech—if he or she is to emphasize these words—we might come to this same realization, but likely if this does
occur it would be on a subconscious level, because we cannot see these three words spatially grouped on a page.
Therefore, I believe reading Hamlet, as opposed to watching it, gives audiences a greater opportunity to
understand Shakespeare’s subtext.
And this coming from a bit of exposition at the beginning of the play! There are loads of twisty, meaty
wordplay moments throughout Hamlet—including, of course, the “To be or not to be” speech. If you’ve only ever
seen Shakespeare performed, but never read him, there is a wealth of information to discover and enjoy. Or, if
you’re the opposite—only read, never seen—seek out some taped performances or film adaptations, and
compare. Which narrative experience holds more informational and subtextual satisfaction ?
 Neil LaBute
Throughout the 1960s and beyond, theater as a medium took a
shift away from its ties with literature. Companies like The Living
Theatre and The Open Theatre were exploring more
improvisational pieces and generally viewing plays as ‘happenings,’
or an event which exists only once in time. They were correct to
note that no two performances, even when executed exactly the
same way both times, could ever actually be the same. Guys like
Sam Shepherd were winning Pulitzers for scripts written with the
sole intent of performance, rather than publication and readability.
I don’t mean to suggest that Shepherd’s works are
incomprehensible on the page, but rather that they subvert Albee’s
notion that ALL plays are better read than seen; with Shepherd, his
words, the rhythm of his language, and the sparring between two
characters need to be heard to appreciate their full dynamic.
With screenwriting becoming a more lucrative venture for dramatic
writers, these days there isn’t much difference between a
screenplay and a play, in that both feature terse, realistic dialogue
metered with short, image-driven descriptions of events.
Neil LaBute is a prime example of this. He often employs a ‘slash’ method of writing. His only performance
note for his 2003 play The Mercy Seat states: “A / denotes a suggested point of overlap between that line and the
next actor’s line.” In this way, while reading the play, you can understand each written line for its own sake, but
the true experience of the author’s intent emerges in performance when the actors begin talking over each other.
A quick note—The Mercy Seat takes place in a NYC condo on September 12, 2001. The entire stage is covered in
dust and ash. Footage of the attacks on World Trade Center play silently on a TV screen throughout. Ben and Abby
both worked in Tower 2, but they (luckily) had ducked out of work for a tryst at Abby’s apartment in the nick of
time. Everyone knows Abby is okay, but Ben is presumed dead, and he thinks this is a prime opportunity to escape
his dull, married life and run away with Abby. It’s a barrel full of laughs and joy.
Okay, here’s an example of LaBute's slash method:
ABBY
...That was a test, by the way...to see if you have a decent fucking bone in your body. / Which you failed.
BEN
I just... / I’m sorry, Abby, but...
ABBY
What? You what...? Tell me.
BEN
I just can’t right now.
ABBY
“Can’t?”
BEN
No...not at the moment.
ABBY
“Can’t” what? Be human?!
BEN
No. I can’t, no. / Not at this time.
ABBY
Jesus, you’re amazing... / Seriously, you are.
BEN
I’m just telling you how it is...
ABBY
Oh great. Thanks, Ben, thanks a bunch.
 If you ignore the slashes, the interplay between the two characters is still perfectly comprehensible. But we
as a species often talk over each other, we get the timing of our words wrong and railroad the person we’re
speaking to, particularly in a heated situation like Abby and Ben are in. I had the fortune of directing this play back
in college, and it was difficult at first for the actors to find the appropriate rhythms. We ended up not exactly
following every dash, but once they latched onto it and began sparring with each other, it was a kind of magic that
transcended my own imagination.
So, if LaBute’s work isn’t writing for the sake of writing, if it’s written to be performed but not necessarily read,
then why am I wasting time talking about him? Sure, aspiring playwrights and screenwriters should check him out
for obvious reasons, but what benefit can LaBute and authors like him offer the novelists and short story writers
out there?
The answer to this question should be obvious as well: the dialogue! Look at the passage above again, and tell me
that doesn’t sound close to arguments you’ve had in your own life. LaBute earns his ‘literary’ card for crafting
realistic, taught dialogue, and fiction writers everywhere could learn a thing or two (or seven) from his work. What
better way to learn dialogue writing than from people who do nothing but that for a living?
Besides this, we use the term ‘fiction writer’ to mean anyone engaging with the written word on a narrative level,
but it’s an inaccurate term. Is a play not ‘fiction’? A film? Do these mediums not offer us stories with a beginning,
middle, and end? The means by which stories are told might be different from the page, the stage, and the screen,
but they all share the same goal: to tell great stories. We can learn just as much about narrative structure, good
plot points, great twists, and outstanding characters from any one of these mediums.
As storytellers, we shouldn’t limit ourselves to just one. As William Faulkner said, “Read, read, read. Read
everything—trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice
and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it.” He may have meant ‘literature’ only, but I say throw it all in the
pot. A well-rounded background won’t hinder you.

MAKE A SUMMARY OF THE WRITING STYLES FOR EACH AUTHORS:

PROSE AUTHORS DRAMA/PLAYWRIGHTS
Ernest Hemingway J. K. Rowling William Shakespeare Neil Labute
C. CHARACTERISTICS OF PROSE AND DRAMA
C.1. Characters
The characters that form a part of the story are interwoven with the plot of the drama.
Each character in a play has a personality of its own and a set of principles and beliefs. Actors in the
play have the responsibility of bringing the characters to life. The main character in the play who the
audience identifies with, is the protagonist. He/she represents the theme of the play. The character
that the protagonist conflicts with, is the antagonist or villain. While some characters play an active
role throughout the story, some are only meant to take the story forward and some others appear
only in certain parts of the story and may or may not have a significant role in it. Sometimes, these
characters are of help in making the audiences focus on the play’s theme or main characters. The
way in which the characters are portrayed and developed is known as characterization.

C.2. Setting
The time and place where a story is set is one of its important parts. The era or time in which
the incidents in the play take place, influence the characters in their appearance and personalities.
The time setting may affect the central theme of the play, the issues raised (if any), the conflict, and
the interactions between the characters. The historical and social context of the play is also defined
by the time and place where it is set. The time period and the location in which the story is set,
affect the play’s staging. Costumes and makeup, the backgrounds and the furniture used, the visuals
(colors and kind of lighting), and the sound are among the important elements of a play that dictate
how the story is translated into a stage performance. The Merchant of Venice has been set in the
16th century Venice. Romeo and Juliet has been set in the era between 1300 and 1600, perhaps the
Renaissance period which is the 14th and 15th centuries .

C.3. Point of View

Point of View is simply who is telling the story. *To determine POV ask, “who is telling the
story”, and “how much do they know?”
Omniscient POV- The story is told in third person by a narrator who has unlimited knowledge of
events and characters.
Third Person Limited POV- The story is told in third person but from the view point of a character in
the story. POV is limited to the character’s perceptions and shows no direct knowledge of what
other characters are thinking, feeling, or doing.
First Person POV- The author disappears into one of the characters. Shares the limitations of third
person limited. Uses the pronouns “I” and “we”.
Second Person POV- Uses the pronoun “you”. Infrequently used.

C.4. Plot
The order of events occurring in a play makes its plot. Essentially, the plot is the story that
the play narrates. The entertainment value of a play depends largely on the sequence of events in the
story. The connection between the events and the characters in them form an integral part of the
plot. What the characters do, how they interact, the course of their lives as narrated by the story,
and what happens to them in the end, constitutes the plot. A struggle between two individuals, the
relation between them, a struggle with self, a dilemma, or any form of conflict of one character with
himself or another character in the play, goes into forming the story’s plot. The story unfolds through
a series of incidents that share a cause-and-effect relationship. Generally, a story begins with
exposing the past or background of the main and other characters, and the point of conflict, then
proceeds to giving the central theme or climax. Then come the consequences of the climax and the
play ends with a conclusion.

C.5. Theme
The theme of a play refers to its central idea. It can either be clearly stated through dialog or
action, or can be inferred after watching the entire performance. The theme is the philosophy that
forms the base of the story or a moral lesson that the characters learn. It is the message that the
play gives to the audience. For example, the theme of a play could be of how greed leads to one’s
destroyal, or how the wrong use of authority ultimately results in the end of power. The theme of a
play could be blind love or the strength of selfless love and sacrifice, or true friendship. For example,
the play Romeo and Juliet, is based on a brutal and overpowering romantic love between Romeo and
Juliet that forces them to go to extremes, finally leading them to self-destruction.

C.6. Prose and Dramatic Techniques

Literary techniques are used in literature for a variety of purposes. Certain literary techniques are
used to increase the dramatic tension in a novel or short story. This can be done by placing the
characters in time-sensitive situations, diverting the reader's attention or appealing directly to the
reader's emotion to elicit sympathy for the main character.
a. Cliffhanger
The cliffhanger was popularized with serialized fiction and occurs when characters are left in
precipitous situations, or have a revelation, as an episode of the serial ends. For example, at the end
of an episode of Thomas Hardy's 1873 serial novel "A Pair of Blue Eyes," a main character is left
literally hanging off a cliff.
b. Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing, also referred to as Chekhov's gun or formal patterning, is a literary technique in
which a reference is made to something that will play an important role in future events of the story.
Foreshadowing can be as subtle as an unrelated reference to a loaded gun on the wall or occur
through the use of an oracle, as in Sophocles' oracles in "Oedipus the King."
c. Pathos
Pathos is a literary technique in which the author directly appeals to the emotion and imagination
of the reader to elicit sympathy for a character in the story or the writer's perspective. For instance,
Charlotte Bronte uses pathos in "Jane Eyre" when the protagonist must leave her lover for moral
reasons as soon as their affair begins.
d. Plot Twist
A plot twist occurs when a sudden, unexpected change happens that has a direct impact on the
outcome of the story. A plot twist can occur during any portion of the narrative, but it also frequently
happens as a surprise ending.
e. Ticking Clock Scenario
The ticking clock scenario elicits dramatic tension by placing a character in a dangerous, or
otherwise intense situation, in which time is of the essence. As time passes, the stakes of the
outcome of the story are raised, increasing dramatic tension.
f. Red Herring
A red herring is a literary technique in which the reader's attention is drawn to insignificant
details in order to divert attention from what is actually occurring in the plot. The red herring is
commonly used in mystery fiction and can lead to a plot twist at the end of the work of literature.

D. STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF PROSE

Below is a sample of stylistic analysis of a short story:

Stylistic Analysis of the Short Story “The Tell-Tale Heart”by Edgar Allan Poe
Shamaila Amir

The Literary and Rhetorical Devices in the Story Symbolism: Poe is famous for his use of
symbolism. In most of his poems and short stories he has used symbolism to have an idea of his own
views about various things such as life, love, religion death etc. His work, through use of symbolism,
clearly mirrors his opinions. (Phillips, 2008) In the story he has used various things which carry
symbolic significance.

The Old man’s Eye:

The eye is a symbol of narrator‟s paranoia and insanity as there was no obvious reason to kill
the old man. The narrator only wanted to get rid of the eye. “One of his eyes resembled that of a
vulture.” The eye also indicates less visual clarity and simplicity of the old man, “…a pale blue eye,
with a film over it” that he generally did not trust people. Eyes are the windows to the soul and the
narrator describes it as the eye of a vulture. Vultures, which feed upon the dead, are always present
and diligent and see everything, symbolizing penetration. He is frightened that the old man will see
deep into his fears. (Turner, 2013)
The eye, as the conscience of the narrator, knows well about his evil plans and pricks him
from time to time, but he does not follow his conscience’s path and decides to destroy it. He
connects old man‟s eye with an image of death when he calls it vulture’s eye. “Whenever it fell upon
me, my blood ran cold . . . .” The eye further has been described in separation from the old man
because he is a kind man himself and this separation has been done by the narrator in his extreme
insanity because when it is separated, it becomes an object which should be murdered. The eye is
not the reason of narrator‟s insanity. He is already mad, not aware of the fact that insanity makes
him to interpret the abnormal-looking eye in a wrong way. In his confusion, he needs to get rid of old
man‟s sight. The narrator is not wise either as he claims to be because he is unable to see virtues in
the old man. What he sees is only eye as a murderous hallucination and he is driven made when
lantern‟s light falls on that eye. In the end, his inability to see clearly results in his own betrayal. In
his obsessive blindness, he calls policemen villains and proves that he is as evil as the old man‟s eye
(Literary devices in “The Tell - Tale Heart, 2017).

The Watch:
Watch is visual and auditory representation of time, used several times symbolized as the
approaching death. The narrator has full control over the time of old man‟s death and that is why he
compares himself to a watch's minute hand. Watch represents the journey towards death whether it
be a watch itself, a death watch in the wall, the period of seven days, or the many times the narrator
describes how “very, very slowly” he moved (ibid.).

The Lantern:
The Lantern has been mentioned as a counter to darkness as well as a source to light to see
the evil in its full force. The narrator finally kills the old man once the light is fully shed upon his evil
eye because he has seen the full force of the eye. If the eye is a representation of narrator‟s evil or
insanity, he must destroy that eye which is a reflection of him. The lantern also represents the truth
that the old man was never evil (ibid.).

The Bed and the Bedroom:

A bedroom is a place to feel safe where no threat is present but for Poe a bedroom is a place
of murder and the bed is a weapon (ibid.).

Midnight:
Midnight is the darkest hour and enforces the evil tone of the story. As dark is associated with
evil, the story is about doing evil things at evil hour. As it is still dark at 4‟ O clock in the morning as
midnight, that indicates that midnight is not only reflecting the evil actions but evil inside the narrator
himself (ibid.).

Bell:
The bell represents the end of the old man and end of the narrator‟s sanity also. It also
represents the end of the narrator‟s quest. Poe also wrote a poem about bells and the theme of that
poem was life, being young, growing old and finally dying (ibid.).

The Heartbeat:
It symbolizes the narrator‟s guilt or fear which ultimately torments him to the point that he
admits the murder. He thinks it is the heartbeat of the old man he is hearing but actually his own
heart, beating after the old man is suffocated, dismembered and then shoved under floorboards. As a
symbol of narrator's insanity, the beating heart might only exist in his imagination not in real. The use
of short sentences by Poe also creates a rhythm like a heartbeat (ibid.)

Amplification:
The amplification, repeating of a word or phrase adding more detail to it so that it might not go
unnoticed otherwise, is found in the story:
“I talked more quickly –more vehemently; but the noise steadily increased. I
arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations;
but the noise steadily increased.”
Through using “but the noise steadily increased,” the narrator is trying to convince about his
sanity. He is however he is not able to convince anybody as the story goes on. He merely delves
deeper into insanity (Anastasiia, 2005).

Apophasis:
Apophasis, which asserts or emphasizes something apparently by ignoring or denying, it occurs
throughout the short story because the narrator is trying to deny his madness (ibid.).
 “TRUE! –nervous –very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but
why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses –not
destroyed –not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I
heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.
How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily –how calmly I can
tell you the whole story.”

Epithet:
Another rhetorical device which is found in the story is epithet which is an adjective or
adjective phrase and names an important characteristic of a character. Thus the adjective phrase “
dreadfully nervous” is naming the important characteristic of the narrator (ibid.).

Parenthesis:
Parenthesis, the use of words into text, is to elaborate something. It is found in the story as,
“I undid the lantern-oh, so cautiously – cautiously (for the hinges creaked) –I undid it just so much
that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye.” Poe has used parenthesis to explain the narrator‟s
reason for using lantern so cautiously (ibid.).
“His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness (for the
shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers), and so I knew that he
could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily,
steadily.”
Thus Poe is explaining the reason of being so dark in the room and also some additional
information about the victim (ibid.).

Rhetorical questions:
Rhetorical questions are not answered by the writer, but they their answers are clear. Usually
the answer to a rhetorical question is only yes or no. These questions are used to give emphasis or
provoke or simply to drive conclusion from the facts available (ibid.).
“Would a madman have been so wise as this?”
“Why would you say that I am mad?”
“For what had I to fear?”
Answers to these questions are very clear that the narrator who claims to be sane is actually
mad (ibid.).

Hyperbole:
The use of hyperbole, an exaggeration, helps to understand the mind process of a person who
is completely mad. He says, “I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in
hell”, “It took me an hour to place my whole head…”, “For a whole hour I did not move a muscle…”
(ibid.).

Metaphor:
Metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things saying one thing is something else not using
like or as. The eye of the old man resembled a vulture‟s eye. This comparison shows that narrator‟s
scary feeling about the eye. As the vulture is associated with evil in most of the literature, the
narrator thought that it was the Evil eye. Later the movement of the narrator compared with “A
watch's minute hand” shows how cautiously he was opening the bedroom door (ibid.).

Anaphora:
Anaphora is such word or phrase which is repeated to impart emphasis, unity and balance, at
the beginning of a clause (ibid.). In “The Tell-Tale Heart,” anaphora has been used many times:
“I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell.”
“With what caution–with what foresight, with what dissimulation, I went to
work!”
“He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been
saying to himself,” “It is nothing but the wind in the chimney; it is only a
mouse crossing the floor.”
“It is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp.” “It grew louder – louder
– louder.”
“Yes he was stone, stone dead,” “How stealthily, stealthily….” “Slowly –
very very slowly,” “steadily, steadily”
“They heard! – they suspected! – they KNEW! – they were making a mockery
of my horror!”
The anaphoric use of words helps to intensify the situation and makes the atmosphere more
intense and frightful. The reader waits for the next lines and events and very deeply understands the
narrator‟s state of mind and his nervousness. Poe uses repetitions at the beginning of the story to
show tension while insanity at the end of it. In this way both style and content mirror each other
through use of anaphora first in the beginning and then at the end. Within the story, the use of
repetitions creates a frenzied tone that makes it clear that the narrator is not stable mentally. He
even does not tell what he did to hide his crime. His repetition of “no” tells that he erased the old
man completely. “There was nothing to wash out–no stain of any kind–no blood-spot whatever”
(ibid.).

Personification:
Personification is when an animal, object or idea is given human characteristics by the author.
In this short story, Death is personified as a person, “All in vain; because Death is approaching him,
had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped his victim.” This personification has
helped to develop the mood. It further tells that the narrator is extremely afraid of dying and
considers Death‟s victim powerless in its hand. The unknown disease he is suffering from may be the
fear of death. Moreover, the “Evil eye” is also a personification of the eye because eye cannot be
evil (ibid.).

Simile:
Simile is a comparison between two unlike things. It uses words “like” “as”. The ray and
thread comparison has been made using “like”:
“So I opened it–you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily–until at
length a single dim ray like the thread of the spider shot out from the crevice
and fell upon the vulture eye.”
The comparison of heartbeat to a drumbeat has been done using “as” in “It increased my
fury as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into courage.” The comparison of darkness with
pitch is done with regards to the bedroom of the old man as in, “His room was as black as pitch with
the thick darkness. . . .” (ibid.).

Flashback:
Flashback means to take the readers back into past by interrupting ongoing scene to give
background information. From this point of view the whole story is a flashback as the narrator is
confessing his crime. “… observe how healthily .. how calmly, I can tell you the whole story” (ibid.).

Foreshadowing:
Foreshadowing is the hints and clues that are provided by the write that suggest future events
in a story. It is used to create suspense in the story:
“But ere long, I feel myself getting pale and wished them gone. My
head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ear….”“and so by degrees, very
gradually, I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid
myself of the eye forever.”
Foreshadowing clues in the story hint that the narrator killed the old man out of paranoia:
“I have told you that I am nervous: so I am.”
“I smiled - for what had I to fear?”
“It was a low, dull, quick sound - much such a sound as a watch makes when
enveloped in cotton.”

Paradox:
Paradox is an absurd and contradictory statement that can be true. “I was never kinder to
the old man than during the whole week before I killed him” (ibid.).

Alliteration:
Alliteration is repetition of same sounds and words with less distance between:
“Hearken! and observe how healthily, how calmly, I can tell you the whole
story.”
“Meanwhile, the hellish tattoo of the heart increased.”
“It is the beating of his hideous heart!” (ibid.).

Irony:
Irony means when opposite of what is expected happens. In “The Tell-Tale Heart” Poe has
used many types of irony successfully to depict the events of the story. After killing the old man, the
narrator hides his heart beneath the floorboards along with rest of the body parts. When the police
arrive, the guilt of killing causes his own undoing, and here irony is when he admits killing of the old
man (Ramirez, 2005).
Verbal irony means that a character knowingly exaggerates something but in fact he means
something else. The verbal irony depicts that he was “never kinder to the old man than during the
whole week” before killing him. He calls himself calm, logical and sane but in fact he is really insane
and agitated who confesses his crime as a reaction to ticking sound of the old man‟s heart beat as
he claims. Thus through his words he claims he is not insane but through his actions it is clear that
he is insane. At the end of the story another example of verbal irony is present when agitated by the
ticking sound he shrieks, “Villains”… “Dissemble no more!” (ibid.).
The situational irony in “The Tell – Tale Heart” tells that madmen are not reasonable but in
the story justice seemingly bothers him a lot. He successfully completes the murders and hides that
body in such a perfect manner that policemen do not suspect him. The situation is fully under his
control but he merely confesses because he “hears” the old man‟s heartbeat. The line “I loved the
old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire” also
depict situational irony because he only wanted to kill the old man due to his own madness and
nothing else (ibid.).
Dramatic irony means when something happens in the story that is more meaningful to the
reader then the characters because the reader knows something and characters do not know. It is
ironical that the police do not know about the murder while the reader knows (ibid.). The dramatic
irony is at its peak as in the story it reads:
“I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from
their fatigues, while I myself, …placed my own seat upon the very spot
beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim.”
Yet it is that the policemen remain unaware and have no suspect on the criminal. Also in the
beginning, the reader becomes aware of the fact that the narrator is insane but the narrator himself
claims that he is not mad. “But why will you say that I am mad? The disease has sharpened my
senses” (ibid.).

DISCUSSION BOARD
UNIT 1: AN OVERVIEW OF STYLISTICS
1. What is Stylistics?
2. What are the school of thoughts that developed the study of Stylistics?
3. What is style? How does it affect or influence the authors’ experiences?
4. What are the commonly used Stylistics devices?
UNIT 2: LITERARY PROSE AND DRAMA STYLISTICS
1. How do you differentiate prose from drama?
2. What are the elements of prose and drama and its characteristics?