GIFT UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT: BS ENGLISH

Final project
ENG-332A STYLISTICS
INSTRUCTOR: SIR ARSLAN ALI

Submitted by:
Amira Afzal 212670053
Sadaf Saeed 212670014

TOPIC:
Stylistic Analysis
Poem:

A narrow fellow in the Grass

(Emily Dickinson)

A narrow Fellow in the Grass Have passed I thought a Whip Lash

Occasionally rides- Unbraiding in the Sun
You may have met him? Did you not When stooping to secure it
His notice instant is_ It wrinkled and was gone –

The Grass divides as with a Comb Several of nature’s people

A spotted Shaft is seen I Know, and they know me
And then it closes at your Feet I feel for them a transport
And opens further on – Of cordiality

He likes a Boggy Acre - But never met this fellow

A Floor too cool for Corn – Attended or Alone
But when a Boy and Barefoot Without a tighter Breathing
I more than once at Noon And zero at the bone.

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Abstract:
This study deals with the stylistics analysis of Emily Dickinson most famous poem “A
narrow Fellow in the grass”. The poem is analyzed from the perspective of stylistics
features. In addition, qualitative analysis has been applied which includes phonological,
semantics, Morpho lexical, and graphological and syntactic levels. Furthermore, this
analyzed helps us to interpret the hidden and deeper meaning of the poem.

Introduction:
This paper explores the stylistics analysis of the poem “A narrow Fellow in the grass”
written by Emily Dickinson remember that she was one of the most famous writers of
modern era. The poem deals with the theme of nature versus man and fear. The poem
presents an enchanting of nature by personifying a snake that also fills her with terror.
The startling encounter with the snake makes she reconsider her warm connection with
the natural world. Moreover, this study investigates the analysis occurs at parallelism
level such as the rhyme, assonance, and consonance mostly and minor deviation level
such as the metaphor and simile show the emphasis of the poem.

Literature review:
The stylistics analysis of the poem “A narrow Fellow in the grass” dealt with the
phonological, semantic, Morpho lexical, graphological and syntactic. Each analysis
decided into two parts first one is parallelism (repetition) and the second one is deviation.
Parallelism and deviation are unusual words also have multiple division such as
stylistics devices like simile and metaphor in semantic deviation.

1. Phonological analysis
Phonological analysis involves sound system of languages. There are two terms to
discuss:
 Phonological parallelism
 Phonological deviation
“Phonological parallelism”
The periodic recurrence of sounds is referred to as phonological parallelism. Alliteration
refers to the repetition of the sound structure at the beginning of a word. Alliteration,
assonance, and consonance are frequently used in phonological parallelism.
• Alliteration;( repetition of consonants sounds just at the beginning)

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 Verse Alliteration
You may have met him? /Ju meɪ hæv mɛt hɪm? dɪd
jʊ nɒt/
A spotted Shaft is seen, /ə ˈspɒtɪd ʃæft ɪz sin/
Repeated consonant
sounds
/meɪ/, / mɛt/, / hæv/, /hɪm/
/spɒtɪd/, /sin/

A Floor too cool for Corn /ə flɔr tu kʊl fɔr kɔrn/ /flɔr/, / fɔr/, / kʊl/, /kɔrn/
–
But when a Boy and /bət wɛn ə bɔɪ ənd ˈbɛr /bɔɪ/, / ˈbɛrˌfʊt/
Barefoot ˌfʊt/

 Assonance:
(Repetition of vowel sound at the beginning, middle or end of at least two words in a line
of poetry)
Verse Transcription Assonance

A narrow Fellow in the Grass /ə ˈnærəʊ ˈfɛləʊ ɪn ðə glɑːs/ /nærəʊ/, /fɛləʊ/

You may have met him? Did Ju meɪ hæv mɛt hɪm? dɪd ju Ju
you not nɒt/

His notice instant is – /hɪz ˈnoʊtɪs ˈɪnstənt ɪz/ /ɪnstənt, ɪz/

 Consonance:
Repetition of consonant sounds beginning, middle or end of at least two in a line of
poetry.
Verse Transcription Consonance

His notice instant is – /hɪz ˈnoʊtɪs ˈɪnstənt ɪz/ /hɪz/, /ɪz/

A Floor too cool for /ə flɔr tu kʊl fɔr kɔrn/ /flɔr/, /fɔr/
Corn –

“Phonological Deviation”
Phonological Deviation is the term used to describe how words are pronounced
differently in literary works for different reasons. So, there are three terms of Elision:
 Aphaeresis: No found

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  Syncope: No found
 Apocope: No found
Substitution of sounds:
 Feature changing sounds: No found
 Metathesis: No found
 Sound insertion No found

2.Semantic analysis
“Semantic deviation”
Any change in meaning is referred to as semantic deviation. It signifies that the "words,
phrases, or sentences" have uncertain meanings. There are two types of semantic
deviation.
1. Semantic oddity
2. Honest deception

Semantic oddity
It is the transfer of meaning from literal to figurative. It consists of different types:
 Simile
 Metaphor
 Oxymoron
 Pleonasm
 Paradox
Simile: Simile: A simile is the comparison of two unrelated things.
Stanza Line Simile
2 1 The Grass divides as with a Comb,

In this poem we found only one example of simile.

Metaphor: In metaphor we compare one thing with unrelated thing. In metaphor we

don’t use “as” or “like” as we use in simile.

Stanz Line Metaphor Reason

a
This is metaphor because

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 1 1,2 A narrow Fellow in the Grass
Occasionally rides –
5 1 Several of Nature’s People
snake can never ride.
Here writer means nature’s
people to the nature of
animals.

Oxymoron: In which contradictory term appears in conjunction.

In this poem there is no oxymoron.

Pleonasm: Pleonasm is the use of superfluous words to emphasize something.

Stanza Line Pleonasm Reason
The word "instant" is unnecessary as
1 4 His notice instant is – "notice" already show that something is
quick.

Paradox: A Paradox is something which is absurd and false in a clause.

For example: “anger is good for health”
The paradox in Emily Dickinson's poem "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass" resides in the
speaker's contrasting feelings and impressions of the thin fellow, who is actually a snake.

“Honest Deception”
The instance in which the real nature of things is communicated indirectly using
exaggerated language approaches is called honest deception.
Hyperbole, litotes, irony, sarcasm and other techniques are commonly used in honest
deception.
(Alabi, 2007)

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Hyperbole: In hyperbole we use exaggerated terms to emphasize.
Stanza Line Hyperbole Reason

The speaker exaggerates the coolness of the

3 2 He likes a Boggy Acre -
A Floor too cool for Corn –
floor in this statement, describing it as "too
cool for corn." This is an overstated remark
because maize can thrive in a variety of
environments, and the floor being "too
cool" for it is an unrealistic exaggeration.
The exaggeration highlights the Fellow's
preference for a muddy acre over a regular
floor.

Litote: litotes are the container of negative statement. Litote and hyperbole are somehow
similar.
Stanza Line Litote Reason
3 2 The poet utilizes the expression "too
He likes a Boggy cool for Corn” that the Individual
Acre - favors a boggy section of land instead
of unequivocally expressing that he
A Floor too cool enjoys the boggy ground.
for Corn –

Sarcasm: It is something harsh and in this our purpose is mocking. Through sarcasm we
can convey our true feelings of anger by humor.
Sarcasm is no found in this poem.
Irony: In irony there is a contrast between expectation and reality.
 The poem talks about a snake known as the "narrow Fellow" that sometimes rides
through the grass. The irony starts with how the snake is depicted: " His notice
instant is" and "The Grass divides as with a comb" These lines suggest that the
snake slips through the cracks, notwithstanding its unmistakable appearance, as
though it intentionally tries not to cause to notice itself. Snakes are frequently
connected with risk, yet the snake in this poem appears to be harmless.

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  Moreover, the poem features the distinction between the storyteller's sentiments
towards the snake and their sentiments towards different components of nature, as
communicated in the lines "several of Nature's people I know, and they know
me/I feel for them a transport /Of cordiality" The storyteller feels a real warmth
and association with different parts of nature ("Nature's people ") yet can't feel the
same way towards the snake.
So, this is an ironical poem.

“Semantic parallelism”
The repeating of words and phrases with similar semantic implications is known as
semantic parallelism.
 Synonymous
 Antithetical
 Synthetic.
Synonymous parallelism: The repetition of same thing in different words is called
synonymous parallelism.
For example: Who may ascend the hill of lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
There is no synonymous parallelism in this poem.

Synthetic parallelism: The second line adds something to the first line.
There is no synthetic parallelism in this poem.

Antithetical parallelism; In which second line is opposite to first line is called

antithetical parallelism.
Stanza Antithetical verse Reason

And then it closes at your feet This is antithetical verse because the
2 And opens further on- second line is opposite to the idea of first
line.

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 3.Morphological Analysis of the poem
Affixation: It is a process in which we add letters in the beginning or end of the word to
form a new word.

Suffixes: Suffixes are the letters which we add at the end of the word.

Stanza Verse Suffixes Category

1 Occasionally rides- -ly, -s Rides-s (-s as a third

person singular)

2 The grass divides as with comb, -s, -ed, -s, Divide-s (-s as a third
A spotted shaft is seen, person singular)
And then it closes at your feet
And opens further on-

Passed -ed (-ed as

4 Have passed I thought a whiplash, -ed past participle form)

It wrinkled and was gone, Wrinkled -ed (-ed as

Past participle form)

6 Without a tighter breathing -er, -ing Tighter -er (-er as

comparative degree of
the adjective)

Breathing -ing (-ing

as Present participle)

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Prefixes: Prefixes are letters which we add at the beginning of the word.
Stanza Verse Prefix

Have passed I thought a whiplash,

4 -un
Unbraiding in the sun,

There is only one prefix in this poem.

Morphemes: A morpheme is a linguistic term for a meaningful unit.

There are two types of morphemes:
1. Free morphemes
2. Bound morphemes
Free morphemes: free morphemes are those who can stand alone.
Boy, sun, Comb, grass, Bone are free morphemes found from this poem.
Bound morphemes: These are the morphemes which occurs in combination.
For example, :(ed, ing, s)
Bound morphemes are categorized in further two types:
 Inflectional morphemes
 Derivational morphemes

Inflectional morphemes: Inflectional morphemes do not create a word but they change
only grammatical category of the word like plurality or simple to past Tense.
Divides, closes, wrinkled, passed are the examples of inflectional morphemes from this
poem.
Derivational morphemes: Creation of new words through devotional morphemes.
For example: Cordiality, so -ity is a Derivational morpheme from this poem.

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Compounding: Compounding is a process in which we combine two words. There
are two classes of compounds:
Adjective noun Compound Adjective Noun

Barefoot Bare Foot

There is only one compound in this poem.

Morpho lexical Deviation:

 Neo-logism: Invention of new words is called neo-logism.
Neo-logism does not exist in this poem.

 Nonce_ formation:
Nonce formation does not exist in this poem.

 Malapropism: Malapropism is a term in which we create a word for humour, out

of context.
In this poem there is no Malapropism.

 Colloquialism: It is a term which is used in an informal language.

Colloquialism does not exist in this poem.

 Functional conversation: In functional conversion we change the function of a

word. For example, in this poem we found functional conversion:
I feel for them a transport (noun as a verb)

4.Graphological analysis
The visual medium of language employed to define the broad resources of a language’s
writing system, such as punctuation, spelling, typography and paragraph organization is
called graphology.
There are various features of graphology:
 Capitalization
 Italicization
 Typology

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  Logography
Capitalization
Capitalization is the practice of employing capital letters in writing or printing.

Verses Capitalized words

A narrow Fellow in the Grass Grass

A spotted Shaft is seen, Shaft

And then it closes at your Feet Feet

But when a Boy and Barefoot Boy, Barefoot

I more than once at Noon Noon

Have passed I thought a Whip Lash Whip Lash

Of Cordiality Cordiality

Without a tighter Breathing Breathing

And Zero at the Bone. Zero, Bone

 Italicization:
Italicization is a foregrounding approach used to illustrate changes in speech
form, indicate attention to them, mark off loan words, and, in some situations,
give stage direction.
There is no italicization found in this poem.
 Punctuation:
Punctuation is a symbol which is used to construct and support meaning within a
sentence, or to separate it.
Full stops (.), commas (,), question marks (?), exclamation marks (!), colons (:), are the
examples of punctuation.
Comma missing, verses 7,10,11,12,13,14,16,17,18,19,20,21,22

The deviation in punctuation evokes a sense of dread and anxiety, mirroring how the
snake-like creature's presence affects the natural world and the speaker's emotions.

• Typology no found

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 • Logography no found

5. Syntactic Analysis
Syntactic analysis is described as the study of the logical interpretation of certain phrases
or parts of sentences. There are four processes of syntactic analysis:
Reduction
Redundancy
Violation
Shifts

Reduction: Intentional reduction in sentence pattern that results from omitting out
necessary sentence structure components such as ellipsis, aposiopesis, nominative
sentences, incomplete sentences and asyndeton.

 Ellipsis: Ellipsis is the absence of the subject and predicate.

Elliptical sentences Subject Predicate Purpose of ellipsis

A narrow Fellow in the Present Absent The purpose to use the Ellipsis
Grass is to create a tone of suspense
and intrigue.
The ellipsis after "rides"
Occasionally rides – Absent Present creates a pause and
anticipation of the poem's
significance.
The ellipsis after "Corn"
A Floor too cool for Present Absent invites the reader to
Corn – contemplate the significance of
a "Floor too cool for Corn.

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Nominative sentences: The naming case, which is applied to the sentence's subject is
called nominative case of the sentence.
Verse Category
Of cordiality Nominative case

Several of nature’s people Nominative case (noun phrase)

Incomplete sentences: Incomplete sentences are those sentences in which auxiliary

verbs, articles and prepositions are absent.

Verse no Incomplete sentences

2 Occasionally rides –

20 Of Cordiality

22 Attended or alone

Aposiopesis: Aposiopesis is the deliberate omission of a sentence by a speaker owing

to sensory overload, lack of time, private disclosure, or reluctance to continue.
Aposiopesis Reason

“Occasionally rides-“ The writer uses the aposiopesis in this poem to create
suspense, emotional impact and readers involvement
in the text.

Asyndeton: Asyndeton is the omission of conjunctions that join clauses.

Asyndeton Reason

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 A Floor too cool for Corn – To create a flow in the poem, quick sense of
But when a Boy and Barefoot movement, nostalgia and to emphasize the situation.
I more than once at Noon"

Redundancy means excess of the elements we use in the sentence structure.

Repetition: Repetition emphasizes specific parts of a sentence through repeated words.
There are some types of repetition:
o Ordinary repetition
o Anaphora
o Epiphora
o Framing or ring Repetition
o Anadiplosis
o Chain Repetition

 Ordinary repetition: Ordinary repetition is the repetition of the words in a close

succession.
Verse no Ordinary repetition

18 I know, and they know me

 Anaphora: is the beginning of two or more successive sentences is repeated.

Verse no Anaphorical sentences

7,8 And then it closes at your Feet

And opens further on –

 Epiphora: The main function of epiphora is to stress the final words of a sent
There is no epiphora found in this poem.

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  Framing or ring repetition: a repetition in which the opening word is repeated at
the end of the sentence.
Framing repetition: No Found

 Anadiplosis: in which the last word is repeated at the beginning of the next.
Anadiplosis: No found

 Chain repetition: No found

 Polysyndeton: is the repetition of conjunctions in close succession.

Polysyndeton: No found

 Emphatic constructions: No Found

Violation
Inversion: When a sentence is inverted, the word order is changed, with adjectives
coming after modified nouns, verbs coming before subjects, and nouns coming before
prepositions then it will be called inversion.
Inversion: No found
Syntactical split: It is the split of a noun phrase. Separation involves splitting a noun
phrase by removing an adjunct from the word it modifies.
Syntactic split no found in this poem

Shifts:
Rhetorical questions: No found

Interpretation:
"A Narrow Fellow in the Grass" is a brief yet intriguing poem explores themes of nature,
dread, and the enigmatic presence of something mysterious in everyday life.

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Emily Dickinson employs phonological devices like alliteration, assonance, and
consonance in "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass" to create a rich sensory experience,
drawing the reader into her encounter with the snake. These techniques mirror the
unpredictability and tension of the interaction, enhancing the poem's thematic evaluation
of the natural world and human perception. Emily Dickinson eloquently portrays a snake
observed in the natural world, employing morphological and stylistic characteristics to
communicate ideas and feelings. Morphological Deviation (functional conversion) and
parallelism used to depict the moment of encountering something common and
exceptional in nature, leaving the reader with a lasting impression. The poem does not
contain colloquialism, Nonce-formation, Neologism, but having functional conversion
shows the specific action of respect for nature’s creature. However, compounding in this
poem “Barefoot” is showing a specific moment of writer’s life. Semantic deviation and
parallelism are used to evoke a sense of uncertainty, discomfort, and wonder. It inspires
emotions and provokes contemplation about the tension between dread and intrigue,
inviting readers to examine the wonder and unpredictability of nature and life.
Dickinson's literary techniques create an atmosphere of fear and respect for the natural
world, stressing the snake's hidden nature. The use of simile (The grass divides as with a
grass) and metaphor in this poem shows figuratively nature’s hidden mysteries.
Graphological analysis helps the reader to understand its subject matter and emotions.
Dickinson's punctuation, line breaks, and stanza form provide linguistic levels. Dashes
and breaks create tension and anxiety by mimicking the snake's movement. Short lines
and stanzas enhance closeness, while capitalization underlines the importance of each
moment. The graphological aspects enhance the poem's examination of nature's beauty
and danger by conveying the speaker's interest, anxiety, and wonder of the snake.
Paragraph structure and formal language of this poem creates the significance of this
poem. A syntactic analysis of Emily Dickinson's poem illustrates how she conveys her
point via language approaches. Dickinson's linguistic structure generates a sense of
intimacy and intensity. Aposiopesis (Occasionally rides-) in this poem is showing that
writer is trying to create suspense and emotional impact on the reader to involve in the
text. Incomplete sentences create somewhat disjointed narrative. Ellipsis is also used in
this poem to allow the reader to fill in the gaps. But the absence of violation and shifts
depicts that this poem is somehow simple and have standard language. Analyzing the
grammar of the poem allows readers to better grasp how Dickinson utilizes words to
elicit emotions and eloquently describe a natural meeting.
These methods of linguistic and literary analysis are used to better comprehend the
poem's structure, meaning, and feelings it conveys. Readers can appreciate how Emily
Dickinson crafted her poem to elicit a sense of wonder, fear, and fascination with nature's
mysteries by analyzing the poem syntactically, morphologically, semantically, and
graphologically. The utilization of these procedures assists pursuers with unloading the
layers of importance and feeling inside the sonnet, making it a more extravagant and
seriously compensating scholarly experience.

Methodology:
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The methodology contains the analysis of the poem. The qualitative technique has been
applied which divides into five main categories phonological, semantic, Morpho_ lexical,
graphology and syntactic. However, each analysis has a subdivision. This study
elaborates on the inside meaning of the poem.

Conclusion
To conclude, “A narrow fellow in the grass” by Emily Dickinson is a collaboration of
fear and intrigue. This poem explores the speaker's encounter with a snake in the grass,
highlighting the complexities of nature. It highlights the beauty and discomfort of being
in nature, despite the snake's presence, leaving the speaker with a lasting memory. By
applying five analysis we find that this poem is about respect for creature’s nature; and
deeper meaning of this poem is fear and anxiety.

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