What is Stylistics?

Stylistic analysis in linguistics refers to the identification of patterns of usage in speech and
writing. Stylistic analysis in literary studies is usually made for the purpose of commenting on
quality and meaning in a text.

Examples
A stylistic analysis of a road sign which reads NO LEFT TURN might make the following
observations.

1. The statement is a command.

2. It is cast in the imperative mode.

3. The statement lacks a subject and a verb.

4. These are implied [THERE IS].

5. The statement is unpunctuated.

6. Capitals have been used for emphasis.

7. Simple vocabulary to suit wide audience.

8. Extreme compression for rapid comprehension.

9. Form entirely suited to audience and function. Use

1. In linguistics the purpose of close analysis is to identify and classify the elements of language
being used.

2. In literary studies the purpose is usually an adjunct to understanding, exegesis, and

interpretation.

3. In both cases, an extremely detailed and scrupulous attention is paid to the text.

4. This process may now be aided by computer programs which able to analyse texts.

5. NB1 At this point, the study of language moves into either ’stylistics’ or literary studies’.

6. Stylistic analysis is a normal part of literary studies. It is practised as a part of understanding

the possible meanings in a text.

7. It is also generally assumed that the process of analysis will reveal the good qualities of the
writing.

Take the opening lines of Shakespeare’s Richard HI

Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York; A stylistic
analysis might reveal the following points:

1. the play is written in poetic blank verse

2. that is - unrhymed, iambic pentameters

3. the stresses fall as follows

4. Now is the winter of our discontent

5. [notice that the stress falls on vowel sounds]

6. the first line is built on a metaphor

7. the condition of England is described in terms of the season ”winter1

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A HANDBOOK OF STYLE AND STVXISTICS

8. the term ’our1 is a form of the royal ”we”

9. the seasonal metaphor is extended into the second line

10.... where better conditions become ’summer1

11. the metaphor is extended even further by the term ’sun’

12. it is the sun which appears, ’causing’ the summer

13. but ’sun’ is here also a pun - on the term ’son’

14.... which refers to the son of the King

15. York’ is a metonymic reference to the Duke of York

In a complete analysis, the significance of these stylistic details would be related to the events of
the play itself, and to Shakespeare’s presentation of them. In some forms of stylistic analysis, the
numerical recurrence of certain stylistic features is used to make judgments about the nature and
the quality of the writing. However, it is important to recognize that the concept of style is much
broader than just the ’good style’ of literary prose. For instance, even casual communication such
as a manner of speaking or a personal letter might have an individual style. However, to give a
detailed account of this style requires the same degree of linguistic analysis as literary texts.

Stylistic analysis of a non-literary text for instance means studying in detail the features of a
passage from such genres as:

Instruction notes for setting video-recorder

Information a history text book

Persuasion advert or holiday brochure

The method of analysis can be seen as looking at the text in great detail, observing what the parts
are, and saying what function they perform in the context of the passage. It is rather like taking a
car-engine to pieces, looking at each component in detail, then observing its function as the whole
engine starts working. These are features which are likely to occur in a text whose function is to
instruct:

Command

direct address

Numbered points technical terms Diagram

’remove the outer covering’

’check voltage before installing unit’

[sequencing is important in carrying out a procedure]

’piston1, ’carburettor’, ’spark plug’

[an extra level of communication to aid understanding]

Features are dealt with in three stages, as follows:

Identify - Describe - Explain

The features chosen from any text will be those which characterize the piece as to its function.
They will be used by the analyst to prove the initial statement which is made about the linguistic
nature of the text as a whole. This method purports to be fairly scientific. A hypothesis is stated
and then proved. It is a useful discipline which encourages logical thought and can be transferred
to many other areas of academic study. This is one reason why the discipline of stylistic analysis
is so useful: it can be applied to a variety of subjects.

University Questions
1. Define the term., ’Stylistics’ and write a note on its applications.

2. Discuss the importance of Stylistics in text studies. . , -:

3. Discuss Stylistics in the context of its use. _.,.,