STYLISTICS

unit#1
BS English
Course Code: 9062
Prepared by: Zaheer Ahmad
 Objectives
• At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
• KNOW about the domain of ‘stylistics’ as a sub-discipline
of linguistics.
• DISTINGUISH between literary stylistics and linguistic
stylistics: o Enlist the goals of stylistic analysis o Identify the
functions of stylistic analysis
• Apply an idea about the ways of doing ‘stylistics’ such as: o
Significance of methodologies and theories o Steps of doing
stylistic analysis
• RECOGNIZE the position of stylistics in the domain of
literary criticism and linguistics for analysis of any kind of text.
 WHAT IS STYLISTICS?
• Stylistics is a sub-discipline of linguistics. In
simple words, stylistics is concerned with ‘the
study of style in language’ (Verdonk, 2014)
• The breakdown of the word as ‘styl-’ and ‘-
istics’ shows it is the study of ‘style’ from the
point of view of linguistics.
• The common meaning of style in everyday
usage is understood as a distinct design of
something or a specific way of doing something
• Style in a language may be used by the speakers or
writers in a specific manner. However, in stylistics,
we are not just concerned with what makes the
style as distinct, but also why it is distinct, what
purpose it is made to fulfil, and what effect it can
have on the listeners or readers.
• A general definition by Peter Verdonk, who defines
stylistics or ‘the study of style’ as ‘the analysis of
distinctive expression in language and the
description of its purpose and effect’
• It is a method of linguistic analysis, it emerged as an
approach to study literature. In this regard, it is also
labelled as ‘Literary Linguistics’.
• According to Widdowson (2013), stylistics is
meant to provide ‘linguistic orientation’ to
literary discourse while in Toolan’s view it is
the ‘study of the language in literature’
• literary, as well as non-literary texts, can be used
for stylistic analysis (Jeffries and McIntyre, 2010).
• Depending upon the focus of analysis, the term
literary stylistics is used for the analysis of
literary texts, whereas linguistic stylistics is used
for the analysis of non-literary texts
• Other than the focus on the kind of texts, the
difference also lies in the way analysis is
approached.
DEFINING ‘LINGUISTICS’ AND ‘LITERATURE’

• Linguistics is a field that studies and observes language

generally as a human mode of communication as well as
specific realizations and characteristics of many languages
such as English, Urdu, Arabic, among others
• Literature is a rather unusual use of language and a small
area of interest for analysis among other larger concerns of
language forms and their use.
• Literature is primarily the product of language. It can have
varying purposes such as to express and evoke certain
emotions, to amuse, to preach, and to bring reformations and
so on. This can be achieved through various forms and
structures
 THE NEED AND GOALS OF STYLISTICS
• Interpretation of meaning revolves around the
relationship between author, reader, and text.
Stylistics keeps on building theories and models to
clarify various aspects of this relationship (Jeffries
and McIntyre, 2010). Stylistics depends heavily on
theoretical and methodological approaches
prevalent in other sub-disciplines of linguistics such
as psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, cognitive
linguistics, feminist linguistics, and corpus
linguistics
• The aim of explaining the relationship between
reader, writer, and text is not confined only to
the formal properties of language but also
considers contextual features.
• By form, we mean the structure of language at
various levels such as word, or syntactic
structures,
• whereas the function of language is related to
the purpose or goal the text is used to fulfill.
 Texts and their functions
• The texts that we frequently encounter in our everyday
lives include newspapers, magazines, or a menu. One of
the features on the basis of which we can recognize texts
is their text type or genre.
• The uses of language for some specific purpose, such as
for academic lecture or news broadcasting, require
recurrence of certain features over a period of time, thus
determining their genre and having a specific ‘style’.
• This requires the use of certain features of language more
than others within the texts formulated for these
purposes
• The textual features of a genre may vary and there can
be overlaps among genres depending upon how they
are used and at times exploited by the writers
• In this regard, the concept of ‘register’ is useful for
expressing the presence of distinct features dominant
in texts belonging to particular genres. A particular
style, such as ‘legal style’, ‘religious style’ or ‘advertising
style’, is used through the adoption of a ‘register’. The
users of language may intentionally adopt different
registers at the workplace, at home, or with friends,
 What functions can a literary text fulfil?
• literary text maybe written keeping in mind a variety of purpose/s by the
author
• The foremost feature about them is that they have no direct relation with
our immediate social life. This is primarily because there is no worldly
social context existent in such texts.
• They can, however, exist as mere representations of the social world and
provide us with alternate ways to express ourselves. The removal from
social context allows writers of literary genres to make peculiar or distinct
uses of language and break the norms and conventions of language for
making readers experience certain intended emotions. The effect of such
usage might be different on each individual due to their own background
experiences and personal attitudes
• The function of literary language thus is ‘not socializing but
individualizing’ (Verdonk, 2014).
• The very fact that non-literary texts have their
meaning derived from their context of occurrence
makes the significance of such language as
temporary. In contrast, the imaginary context of
literacy texts generates a feeling of constancy.
• Consequently, in the light of this discussion, the
idiosyncrasies and ingenuities of language use carry
more importance in literary texts than everyday
language use due to its capacity to arouse, satisfy or
disappoint our emotional experiences.
 CRITICISM ON STYLISTICS
• The views of Ferdinand de Saussure, known as the
father of modern linguistics, were against the use of
literary language for linguistic analysis. Similarly,
literary scholars have been critical towards the analysis
of ‘literary language’ from a linguistics point of view.
• The ‘literary language’ was considered by them as
some distinct form of language, as found in some
‘grand’ or ‘canonical’ works of literature, clearly
different or superior from the ordinary language and
beyond the scope of any rigorous system of language
analysis
Their criticism is based on several concerns.
• 1. It is too scientific:
• The use of rigorous procedures for analysis, mathematical tools,
technical terminology, frequency counts and its treatment of
empirical data is severely criticized by literary scholars.
• 2. It is too mechanical:
• The mathematical ways of analysis are considered as
undermining the artistic expression of literary works.
• 3. It reduces the stature of literary work:
• Some critics consider it highly disrespectful to even talk about
great literary works in such mechanical and scientific terms.
They consider such analysis as insulting great authors and works
• 4. It shuns prescriptivism:
• The interpretation of a text by a literary critic
encouraging a certain prescribed reading may
get rejected by the ‘disrespectful’ and
mechanical treatment of literary texts.
• 5. Alienates literary scholar:
• Literary scholars working in the tradition of
literary criticism feel discouraged and alienated
by a rigorous treatment of literary texts.
 ‘DOING’ STYLISTIC ANALYSIS
• The question of data
• one of the important concerns for a scholar is the
choice of data. It involves resolving issues
regarding the type as well as the amount of data
selected for analysis. As discussed earlier, the data
may arise out of literary as well as non-literary
discourses. The choice of data would be
dependent on the purpose of analysis and the
phenomenon considered as interesting and
researchable by a scholar.
 Theories and methods
• The wide range of theoretical perspectives available for stylistic research
also means greater room for methodological options. Mostly, the methods
are influenced by the models generated by the chosen theoretical
perspectives to analyse language.
• For example, an analysis of metaphors and visual imagery in a poem from a
feminist perspective may be influenced by ‘qualitative’ text interpretation
methods. The need for ‘quantification’ of linguistic features in a large
number of data may require computer-dependent methodological options.
• In such cases, help for tools and methods can be taken from the domain of
corpus linguistics. It may be noted that qualitative research aims to find
‘why’ and ‘how’ of a phenomenon by providing explanations mostly
through non-numerical data. Quantitative research, in contrast, relies on
mathematical and statistical analysis for findings answers to the research
questions.
• An important issue that should be taken care of while
developing methodology is maintaining the repute of
stylistics as an academic discipline. In order to qualify as an
academic discipline, stylistics is expected to be objective in
its approach. Here what we mean by being objective is
different from the objectivity required in purely scientific
and engineering disciplines. The objectivity here pertains to
the availability of enough evidence and conclusions based
on the empirical or practical analysis. Simpson (2004) has
identified three principles crucial for a reliable stylistics’
research. He has termed them as three ‘Rs’ which are
explained below.
• 1. Rigorous:
• Rigour is related to consistent and clear results. The transparency in
methods and analysis will help other researchers to come up with similar
conclusions if they follow the same methodology.
• 2. Retrievable:
• This would require the research to be clear enough to allow other
researchers to trace the path of research easily. The ambiguity in
research methods is a hindrance to retrieving the research process. It
stops the researchers from testing the results and conclusions.
• 3. Replicable:
• This aspect is related to providing enough evidence in conclusions and
arguments so that the same research can be verified as well as
challenged. The claims if presented explicitly can be countered and
falsifiable if they are open enough to allow replicability.
 Steps for Stylistic Analysis
• 1. The intuitive knowledge about a text can guide the upcoming systematic
stylistic inquiry. The intuition can help identify the features of language that
stand out in each textual and contextual situation. In this regard, some
previous linguistic knowledge can aid in precisely defining the stylistically
significant features of a text.

• 2. The subjective knowledge gained through intuition must be tested through

some objective mechanism which is precisely what a stylistic analysis is
supposed to do. In this regard, there is a need to develop some
methodological and analytical approaches for the analysis of the identified
features of the language.

• 3. Some general patterns can be observed in the identified features. The

functions of these features can be identified based on the purpose intended
by the author in a given context.