III.

KNOWLEDGE ACTIVATORS:
Recall titles of prose and drama that you have read.List them down and be
able to say something about these literary genres.Use the given table for your answers.

Titles of Prose Description Titles of Description

Drama
Call me Ishmael. The whole story is The Widely regarded as one of
(Moby Dick) narrated by Godfather the greatest films of all
Ishmael, one of the time, this mob drama,
sailors on the based on Mario Puzo's
Pequod and the novel of the same name,
only survivor of the focuses on the powerful
disaster Italian-American crime
family of Don Vito
Corleone (Marlon Brando).
When the don's youngest
son, Michael (Al Pacino),
reluctantly joins the Mafia,
he becomes involved in the
inevitable cycle of violence
and betrayal. Although
Michael tries to maintain a
normal relationship with
his wife, Kay (Diane
Keaton), he is drawn
deeper into the family
business.

It was the best of It opens with, “It Platoon Chris Taylor (Charlie
times, it was the was the best of Sheen) leaves his university
worst of times (A times, it was the studies to enlist in combat
Tale of Two Cities) worst of times, it duty in Vietnam in 1967.
was the age of Once he's on the ground in
wisdom, it was the the middle of battle, his
age of foolishness, idealism fades. Infighting
it was the epoch of in his unit between Staff
belief, it was the Sergeant Barnes (Tom
epoch of Berenger), who believes
incredulity, …” nearby villagers are
harboring Viet Cong
soldiers, and Sergeant Elias
(Willem Dafoe), who has a
more sympathetic view of

It was love at first A man falls for a
sight. woman, calling it,
Love at First Sight.
He splits from his
friends to go out
with her alone, but
when she questions
him about what he
really likes about
her, he gets a lesson
about what
superficiality and
real attraction is.
Comprehension Check/Tasks:
A. Create an graphic organizer that will present a review of prose and drama. Make
sure to bring out the characteristics of each genre.Be guided with the given
rubric.
prose
Prose refers to written or spoken
language that is not in poetic form,
whether in rhythm, rhyme, or structure
Prose is a form or technique of language
that exhibits a natural flow of speech and
grammatical structure. Novels, textbooks
and newspaper articles are all examples of
prose. The word prose is frequently used
in opposition to traditional poetry, which
is language with a regular structure with a
common unit of verse based on metre or
rhyme. However, as T. S. Eliot noted,
whereas "the distinction between verse
and prose is clear, the distinction between
poetry and prose is obscure";
developments in modern literature,
the locals, ends up pitting
the soldiers against each
other as well as against the
enemy.
American A tele sales operative
Beauty becomes disillusioned with
his existence and begins to
hunger for fresh excitement
in his life. As he
experiences a new
awakening of the senses,
his wife and daughter also
undergo changes that
seriously affect their family.
Critically acclaimed, this
film won Oscars for Best
Screenplay, Best Director,
Best Actor and
Best Film.
drama
Drama is a performing art in which actors
use dialogue and actions to tell a story or
convey a message to a viewing audience.
Drama is the specific mode of fiction
represented in performance: a play,
opera, mime, ballet, etc, performed in a
theatre, or on radio or television.
Considered as a genre of poetry in
general, the dramatic mode has been
contrasted with the epic and the lyrical
modes ever since Aristotle's Poetics (c.
335 BC)—the earliest work of dramatic
theory.The term "drama" comes from a
Greek word meaning "action" (Classical
Greek: δρᾶμα, drama), which is derived
from "I do" (Classical Greek: δράω, drao).
including free verse and prose poetry,
have led to the two techniques indicating
two ends on a spectrum of ways to
compose language, as opposed to two
discrete options.
Prose allows the author, depending on the
chosen point of view, to describe inner
thoughts and feelings of characters
The two masks associated with drama
represent the traditional generic division
between comedy and tragedy.
The enactment of drama in theatre,
performed by actors on a stage before an
audience, presupposes collaborative
modes of production and a collective form
of reception. The structure of dramatic
texts, unlike other forms of literature, is
directly influenced by this collaborative
production and collective reception.Mime
is a form of drama where the action of a
story is told only through the movement
of the body. Drama can be combined with
music: the dramatic text in opera is
generally sung throughout; as for in some
ballets dance "expresses or imitates
emotion, character, and narrative action".
Musicals include both spoken dialogue
and songs; and some forms of drama have
incidental music or musical
accompaniment underscoring the
dialogue (melodrama and Japanese Nō,
for example). Closet drama is a form that
is intended to be read, rather than
performed. In improvisation, the drama
does not pre-exist the moment of
performance; performers devise a
dramatic script spontaneously before an
audience.
 B. Choosing the most appropriate organizer, provide a survey of prose authors
/dramatists and their unique styles. Same rubric will be used as your guide.

Author/ dramatist
William Best known for: King Lear, Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet
Shakespeare (1564 An English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the
-1616) greatest writer in the English language. Shakespeare wrote 39
plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and a few other
verses. His plays have been translated into every major living
language and are performed more often than those of any other
playwright. His early plays were primarily comedies and
histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever
produced of this type. He then wrote mainly tragedies including
Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth until about 1608, when
he wrote tragicomedies.
Fyodor Dostoevsky Best known for: Crime and Punishment, Demons, The Idiot
(1821-1881) A Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist and
philosopher. Dostoyevsky’s works explore human psychology in
the troubled times politically, socially and spiritually in 19th-
century Russia. His work involves philosophical and religious
themes. Dostoevsky wrote 11 novels, three novellas, 17 short
stories and numerous other works that have influenced future
authors both in and outside of Russia. Many literary critics rate
him as one of the greatest psychologists in all world literature
genres. His 1864 novella Notes from Underground is considered
to be one of the first works of existentialist literature.
Leo Tolstoy (1828- Best known for: War and Peace, Anna Karenina, A Confession
1910) Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer famous for
his realist fiction. He first achieved literary acclaim in his
twenties with his semi-autobiographical work. Tolstoy also
wrote short stories, several novellas as well as plays and
numerous philosophical essays. Tolstoy’s ideas on non-violent
resistance, which he wrote about in The Kingdom of God Is
Within You, were to have a profound impact on Mohandas
Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and James Bevel.
Victor Hugo (1802- Best known for: Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame,
1885) Odes et Ballades
One of the greatest French writes, Hugo was a poet, novelist, and
dramatist of the Romantic movement. Many of his works have
inspired music, both during his lifetime and after his death,
including the musicals Notre-Dame de Paris and Les Misérables.
He also campaigned for social causes such as the abolition of
capital punishment. Later in life Hugo became a passionate
supporter of republicanism, after years of being a committed
royalist, and his work touches upon most of the significant
political and social issues and the artistic trends of his time.
 C. Using another graphic organizer, present a review of critical literary views and
theories. See to it that the theories and views match to known authors. To
accomplish the task, refer to the given rubric.

Traditional Academic literary criticism prior to the rise of “New Criticism” in the
Literary United States tended to practice traditional literary history: tracking
Criticism influence, establishing the canon of major writers in the literary
periods, and clarifying historical context and allusions within the text.
Literary biography was and still is an important interpretive method in
and out of the academy; versions of moral criticism, not unlike the
Leavis School in Britain, and aesthetic (e.g. genre studies) criticism
were also generally influential literary practices. Perhaps the key
unifying feature of traditional literary criticism was the consensus
within the academy as to the both the literary canon (that is, the books
all educated persons should read) and the aims and purposes of
literature. What literature was, and why we read literature, and what
we read, were questions that subsequent movements in literary theory
were to raise.
Formalism “Formalism” is, as the name implies, an interpretive approach that
and New emphasizes literary form and the study of literary devices within the
Criticism text. The work of the Formalists had a general impact on later
developments in “Structuralism” and other theories of narrative.
“Formalism,” like “Structuralism,” sought to place the study of
literature on a scientific basis through objective analysis of the motifs,
devices, techniques, and other “functions” that comprise the literary
work. The Formalists placed great importance on the literariness of
texts, those qualities that distinguished the literary from other kinds of
writing. Neither author nor context was essential for the Formalists; it
was the narrative that spoke, the “hero-function,” for example, that
had meaning. Form was the content. A plot device or narrative strategy
was examined for how it functioned and compared to how it had
functioned in other literary works. Of the Russian Formalist critics,
Roman Jakobson and Viktor Shklovsky are probably the most well
known.
Marxism and Marxist literary theories tend to focus on the representation of class
Critical conflict as well as the reinforcement of class distinctions through the
Theory medium of literature. Marxist theorists use traditional techniques of
literary analysis but subordinate aesthetic concerns to the final social
and political meanings of literature. Marxist theorist often champion
authors sympathetic to the working classes and authors whose work
challenges economic equalities found in capitalist societies. In keeping
with the totalizing spirit of Marxism, literary theories arising from the
Marxist paradigm have not only sought new ways of understanding the
relationship between economic production and literature, but all
cultural production as well. Marxist analyses of society and history
have had a profound effect on literary theory and practical criticism,
most notably in the development of “New Historicism” and “Cultural
 Materialism.”
Structuralis Like the “New Criticism,” “Structuralism” sought to bring to literary
m and studies a set of objective criteria for analysis and a new intellectual
Poststructur rigor. “Structuralism” can be viewed as an extension of “Formalism” in
alism that that both “Structuralism” and “Formalism” devoted their
attention to matters of literary form (i.e. structure) rather than social
or historical content; and that both bodies of thought were intended to
put the study of literature on a scientific, objective basis.
“Structuralism” relied initially on the ideas of the Swiss linguist,
Ferdinand de Saussure. Like Plato, Saussure regarded the signifier
(words, marks, symbols) as arbitrary and unrelated to the concept, the
signified, to which it referred. Within the way a particular society uses
language and signs, meaning was constituted by a system of
“differences” between units of the language. Particular meanings were
of less interest than the underlying structures of signification that
made meaning itself possible, often expressed as an emphasis on
“langue” rather than “parole.” “Structuralism” was to be a
metalanguage, a language about languages, used to decode actual
languages, or systems of signification. The work of the “Formalist”
Roman Jakobson contributed to “Structuralist” thought, and the more
prominent Structuralists included Claude Levi-Strauss in
anthropology, Tzvetan Todorov, A.J. Greimas, Gerard Genette, and
Barthes.
New “New Historicism,” a term coined by Stephen Greenblatt, designates a
Historicism body of theoretical and interpretive practices that began largely with
and Cultural the study of early modern literature in the United States. “New
Materialism Historicism” in America had been somewhat anticipated by the
theorists of “Cultural Materialism” in Britain, which, in the words of
their leading advocate, Raymond Williams describes “the analysis of
all forms of signification, including quite centrally writing, within the
actual means and conditions of their production.” Both “New
Historicism” and “Cultural Materialism” seek to understand literary
texts historically and reject the formalizing influence of previous
literary studies, including “New Criticism,” “Structuralism” and
“Deconstruction,” all of which in varying ways privilege the literary
text and place only secondary emphasis on historical and social
context. According to “New Historicism,” the circulation of literary and
non-literary texts produces relations of social power within a culture.
New Historicist thought differs from traditional historicism in literary
studies in several crucial ways. Rejecting traditional historicism’s
premise of neutral inquiry, “New Historicism” accepts the necessity of
making historical value judgments. According to “New Historicism,”
we can only know the textual history of the past because it is
“embedded,” a key term, in the textuality of the present and its
concerns. Text and context are less clearly distinct in New Historicist
practice. Traditional separations of literary and non-literary texts,
“great” literature and popular literature, are also fundamentally
 challenged. For the “New Historicist,” all acts of expression are
embedded in the material conditions of a culture. Texts are examined
with an eye for how they reveal the economic and social realities,
especially as they produce ideology and represent power or subversion.
Like much of the emergent European social history of the 1980s, “New
Historicism” takes particular interest in representations of
marginal/marginalized groups and non-normative behaviors—
witchcraft, cross-dressing, peasant revolts, and exorcisms—as
exemplary of the need for power to represent subversive alternatives,
the Other, to legitimize itself.
Louis Montrose, another major innovator and exponent of “New
Historicism,” describes a fundamental axiom of the movement as an
intellectual belief in “the textuality of history and the historicity of
texts.” “New Historicism” draws on the work of Levi-Strauss, in
particular his notion of culture as a “self-regulating system.” The
Foucaldian premise that power is ubiquitous and cannot be equated
with state or economic power and Gramsci’s conception of
“hegemony,” i.e., that domination is often achieved through culturally-
orchestrated consent rather than force, are critical underpinnings to
the “New Historicist” perspective. The translation of the work of
Mikhail Bakhtin on carnival coincided with the rise of the “New
Historicism” and “Cultural Materialism” and left a legacy in work of
other theorists of influence like Peter Stallybrass and Jonathan
Dollimore. In its period of ascendancy during the 1980s, “New
Historicism” drew criticism from the political left for its depiction of
counter-cultural expression as always co-opted by the dominant
discourses. Equally, “New Historicism’s” lack of emphasis on
“literariness” and formal literary concerns brought disdain from
traditional literary scholars. However, “New Historicism” continues to
exercise a major influence in the humanities and in the extended
conception of literary studies.
Ethnic “Ethnic Studies,” sometimes referred to as “Minority Studies,” has an
Studies and obvious historical relationship with “Postcolonial Criticism” in that
Postcolonial Euro-American imperialism and colonization in the last four centuries,
Criticism whether external (empire) or internal (slavery) has been directed at
recognizable ethnic groups: African and African-American, Chinese,
the subaltern peoples of India, Irish, Latino, Native American, and
Philipino, among others. “Ethnic Studies” concerns itself generally
with art and literature produced by identifiable ethnic groups either
marginalized or in a subordinate position to a dominant culture.
“Postcolonial Criticism” investigates the relationships between
colonizers and colonized in the period post-colonization. Though the
two fields are increasingly finding points of intersection—the work of
bell hooks, for example—and are both activist intellectual enterprises,
“Ethnic Studies and “Postcolonial Criticism” have significant
differences in their history and ideas
 D. Plan, write and present a Stylistic analysis of a chosen prose/drama text on style,
genre, characteristics, other stylistic elements, and its suitability for English
literature learners. Below is the rubric for the analysis.

Prose /Drama Stylistic Analysis

Analysis(Author’s/Dramatist’s writing style is fully analyzed in terms of
genre,characteristics, other stylistic elements and its suitability for English literature
learners.) 40 points
Evidence(Each point of analysis of author’s/dramatist’s writing style is supported by
evidence drawn from one or more of her/his works.)20 points
Grammar(Mastery of writing conventions contributes to the effect of the response of the
reader.)20 points
Length(Full two pages using the following format: MS word, Arial or Georgia,font size
12, single space, 1-inch margin on all sides.)10 points
Total Points=100

Stylistic Analysis of Anna Swell’s “BLACK BEAUTY”: A Poetic Prose

Abstract: This article aims to find out aesthetic preference of the author of this novel by
analyzing exploitation of different literary devices and style in the text. Style refers to the
way in which language is used in a given context, by a given person, for a given purpose
and so on. Style pertains to parole: it is selection from a total linguistic repertoire that
constitutes a style. Style refers to linguistic characteristics of a particular text. It may
refer to some or all language habits of one person as when we talk of Shakespeare's style
(or styles) or style of James Joyce. It also focuses on aesthetic appeal which this novel
has for the readers. A literary text simultaneously contains two faculties we respond to it
as literary work and also as language. Phono Graphological features of the text will be
analyzed to sort out these qualities. This novel is forerunner of pony book genre of
children literature. Basically, it is autobiography of a horse called "Black Beauty". It is in
first person narration. Anthropomorphism is present in this novel which adds color to
the beauty of text and increases its aesthetic appeal. Anthropomorphism is the
attribution of human form to God, to abstraction or even to animals and inanimate
objects.
Keywords: Style, Pony book genre, Anthropomorphism, Phono-graphological features.

INTRODUCTION
Black Beauty" is a novel by an English author Anna Swell. It was composed in last years
of her life. It is one of the bestselling books of all the times. The story is narrated is in
first person and is an autobiographical memoir told by handsome horse named "Black
Beauty" beginning with his care free days as a colt on an English farm with his mother to
his difficult life pulling cabs and recounts many tales of cruelty and kindness. Each short
episode recounts an incident in "Black Beauty's" life containing a lesson or moral
typically related to kindness, sympathy and understanding treatment of horses with
Swell's detailed observation and extensive distinction of horse behavior landing the
novel a good deal of verisimilitude. "........there is no religion without love, and people
may talk as much as they like about their religion but if it does not teach them to be
good and kind to man, it is all a shame......"
THEORETICAL FRAME
Most critical discussions of literature revolve around, at some stages, to appeal linguistic
evidence- that is, the evidence of words and sentences which actually occur on the
printed page, in literary text the type of critical activity known as "Practical Criticism" or
'explanation de texte' relies more heavily on linguistic evidence than others. In addition,
much of the basic vocabulary of literary criticism (metaphors, irony etc) cannot be
explained without recourse to linguistic notions (Leech, 1969, pp. 1-2). The ordered
approach which seems more satisfactory in realizing the general aims of stylistic
analysis involves taking the object of study-a particular piece of language, or text-and
discussing it in terms of a number of interrelated levels of description. At each level, we
are studying one aspect of the way in which language is organized: we shall be
distinguishing phonetic/graphetic, phonological/ graphological, grammatical, lexical
and semantic level.
Literary text is analyzed in linguistic oriented way with the help of Halliday's Systemic
Function Linguistic(SFL)(Halliday,1985).Particular method is used to analyze the text
by systematically analyzing different inter-connected levels which separately analyses
different features of text.
Focus is on phono-graphological features of text as subject matter is made up of phonic
and graphic material of language realized by both phonology and graphology. Form is
related to grammar and lexis. Subject matter relates language form to non-linguistic
features (Tomori, 1997).
Text is analyzed on two levels in SFL.
1. Formal level
2. Situational context level
Meaningful patterning of text is seen as sublevels of phonology, grammar and lexico-
semantics. In situational level, concentration is on contextual element SFL model is
both structural and functional in nature(Martin Mathiessen,1997).In the same way,
Leech and Short(1981) identified four levels for analyzing text; syntax, phonology,
semantics and graphology. Syntax and phonology make the frame work of expression
and work together to sort out meanings which is main interest of semantics. Graphology
is a substitute of phonology according to them. Phonological features may be considered
remote but they are not irrelevant. Spellings can be exploited or sounds can be
elongated to make text prominent, it will be more prominent when text is read aloud.
Level of organization in speech and writing is described in leech and Short.
Many functional classification of language have been proposed but only three had the
same impact in literary studies. The oldest of three is that of I.A Richards, who in
practical criticism (1929) distinguishes four types of functions and four kinds of
meanings sense, feelings, tones and intention. Jacobson's (1961) scheme is based on
more systemic theory of language and distinguishes six functions (referential, emotive,
conative, phatic, poetic, meta-linguistic) each corresponding to one basic dimension of
the discourse situation. Halliday's (1967) model of language tells us about three major
functions which he calls "ideational", "interpersonal" and "textual" (Leech & Short, 1981,
p 30). Fairclough (1995, p 4) observes the written texts are "increasingly becoming multi
semiotic ", exploiting photographs, diagrams, sound effects and other forms of graphic
design. Analysis of Phono-Graphological Features Analysis of Phonological Features:
Anna Swell has exploited different literary devices to create a particular aesthetic appeal
in her anthropomorphic and autobiographical memoir of horse "Black Beauty".
Sound Repetition: It is one of the outstanding features of "Black Beauty". Almost on
every page, there is more than one example of sound repetition. This is in-form of
alliteration and assonance. At least one example from every page will be put forward.
The repetition of sounds in different names in the novel creates a very unique impact on
the mind of the readers. On the other hand, sound repetition creates a musical effect in
this text and makes text of the novel just like poetic prose.
"Rob Roy" (p9)
"Black Beauty"(p16)
Sound Elision: In this process writer often omits a unit of sound or even syllable to
create certain literary effect which satisfies aesthetic sense of readers. Swell has
exploited this sound device to achieve her aesthetic goals.
"I don't know" (p35,7)
"I don't believe" (p21,26)
"But 'twas all for me"
"I don't think"(p14)
"that's well"(P16)
"here's money"(p21)

Elongation of sounds: This device has also been used for emphasis such as at page 7;
"yo!yo,o,o!yo,o,o!"

Graphological Features
Multiple punctuation marks in a sentence, capitalization, hyphenation, dashes, use of
brackets, unusual spellings and quotation marks are unique graphological features of
the text. The use of such features has particular semantic and stylistic effects on texts.

Use of Multiple Punctuation Marks

Use of particular punctuation marks in a sentence creates certain effects in the text.
Often such fragmented language makes text difficult to comprehend but here case is
reverse. Sentences narrated by Black Beauty are fragmented but are not difficult to
comprehend. It also helps the author to narrate the events in detail which is an evidence
of her extensive and deep observation of animal life. Two or three examples are being
presented here. Example:
"Over the hedge, on one side we looked into the plowed fields and on the other we
looked over a gate at our master's house we stood by the road side."(p4)
"My mother seemed much troubled; she said that she had known that horse for years,
and his name was Rob Roy; he was a good horse, and there was no vice in him."(p 8-9)

Capitalization
Every chapter and its title is capitalized and serves the purpose of foregrounding and
attracts the readers and brings colors to aesthetic beauty of novel. The title of all
chapters is in noun phrases just like news report’s heading. Examples:
"MY EARLY HOME"(p4)
"CHAPTER 2"
"THE HUNT"(P7)
"Hallo"(p33),"Thank Ye"(p33) and "Plowed" are the words with unusual spellings.
Their purpose looks to create certain effects because in the whole novel "Ye" is not used
for "you" except in this sentence. Hello and ploughed are actual words for "Hallo" and
"Plowed".
Use of Brackets Use of bracket is also a graphological feature of this text. It has been
used to provide extra information related to particular event.

Hyphenation
Hyphenation has been used to create new vocabulary item in the text which adds colors
to literary expressions in the novel and also has the aesthetic appeal for the readers.
Examples:
Cart-horse cart (p5)
Well-born (p5)
Box-stall (p13)
Water-mill (p15)
Good-tempered (p18, 20)

Use of Dash
Dash has been used to depict the urgency of situation in novel and it also heightens
emotional effect of statements. This graphological feature makes text look beautiful.
Examples:
There-----take your money and go (p6)
They were now riding on all directions-------------to doctor's (p9)

Pictures
Pictures of horse on each page serve the purpose of attention seeking device. They don't
let the readers get bored and hence maintain the interest in text and it puts the soothing
effect on eyes of the readers.
Conclusion The meanings are present in all levels of stylistics. This paper shows how
Swell has exploited Phonic and Graphic devices of language in the text to acquire the
particular effect of theme and style. By analyzing these devices in the text, we come to
know that a text with multi-layered meanings can be evaluated in a better way within
the matter of formal functional dimension of language representation. The amalgam of
phono-graphic features in the text appeals to readers' aesthetic sense, it also soothes the
sense of seeing and hearing as Eagleton (1983, p 128) noted that: meaning is scattered
or dispersed along the whole chain of signifiers. It cannot be easily nailed down: it is
never fully present in any one sign alone. Eminent linguistic-critic Leo Spitzer (1948)
observes: "I would maintain that to formulate observation by means of words is not to
cause the artistic beauty to evaporate in vain intellectualities; rather, it makes for
widening and deepening of the aesthetic taste. It is only frivolous love that cannot
survive intellectual definition, great love prospers with understanding" (p. 2). Spitzer
(ibid) emphasizes that the minutest information of language can open the "soul" of
literary work. All these features inculcate poetic quality to Swell's prose in novel.
REFERENCES:
Allan, Keith (1986) Linguistic Meaning (vol.2) London:Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Bloor, Thomas Bloor (1995) The Functional Analysis of English: A Hallidayan Approach
London: Arnold
Crystal, D &Davy, Derek (1969) Investigating English Style Longman House England
Eagleton, Terry (1983) Literary Theory: An Introduction.Oxford:Basil Black Well Ltd.
Fairclough, A. (1995) Race and Democracy:The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana(1950-
1972).Athens.University of Georgia Press
Gray, Martin (2007) Dictionary of Literary Terms, Pearson Education.
Halliday, M.A.K. (1967) Notes on Transitivity and Theme in English:Part 1,Journal of
Linguistics