Erly S.

Parungao
Faculty of Arts and Languages
Philippine Normal University
Why bother?
“STYLE”
“STYLE”
Competencies:
 Apply the basic stylistic principles to arrive
at meaning of literary texts
 Demonstrate skills in a principled analysis
of literary texts to produce less
impressionistic or subjective interpretation
 Grasp the ‘grammar of literature’ through
various linguistic tools
Stylistics
 Stylistics is the application of concepts from
linguistics and allied disciplines in the analysis and
interpretation of samples of communication through
language. (Otanes, ms)
 The linguistic study of different styles is called
stylistics (Chapman, 1973:11)
 Stylistics is the study of literary discourse from a
linguistics orientation. What distinguishes it from
literary criticism.. Is that it is a means of linking the
two. (Widdowson, 1975)
 Practical stylistics is the process of literary text analysis
which starts from a basic assumption that the previous
interpretative procedures used in the reading of a literary
text are linguistic procedures (Carter, 1991:4)
Three basic principles of a linguistic
approach to literary study and
criticism (Carter):
 That the greater our detailed knowledge of
the working of the language system, the
greater our capacity for insightful awareness
of the effects produced by the literary texts
 That a principled analysis of language can
be used to make our commentary on the
effects produced in a literary work less
impressionistic and subjective
 That because it will be rooted in a systematic
awareness of language, bits of language will not
be merely spotted and evidence gathered
casually and haphazardly. Analysis of one
linguistic pattern requires checking against
related patterns across the text. Evidence for the
text will be provided in an overt or principled
way. The conclusions can be attested and
retrieved by another analyst working on the
same data with the same method. There is also
less danger that we may overlook textual
features crucial to the significance of the work.
Why is Practical Stylistics SO
important?
 It can provide the means whereby the student of
literature can relate a piece literature to his own
experience of language and so can extend that
experience.
 It can assist in the transfer of interpretative
skills, on essential purpose of literary education.
 It can provide a procedure for demystifying
literary texts.
 The focus of a literary text in itself provides a
context in which the learning of aspects of
language can be positively enjoyed.
Grid of Relationships with Other
Disciplines

Literary
Linguistics
Disciplines Criticism

Stylistics

Subjects

Language Literature
1. Natasha came late because
________.
a. She was conscious of her clothes.
b. She was uncomfortable with the
guests.
c. The group was highly
sophisticated.
d. She hated attending birthday
parties.
2. The host and the guest appear to
have violated the maxim of
________ in their dialogue.
a. Maxim of quantity
b. Maxim of quality
c. Maxim of relation
d. Maxim of manner
Co-operative Principle

According to Grice, people can engage in
meaningful conversation because, under
normal conditions, the interlocutors
observe certain principles, which he calls
the four conversational maxims. The
maxim of Quality upholds the value of
truth/sincerity ; the maxim of manner
refers to the avoidance of obscurity of
expression and ambiguity, and to be
orderly (Pratt, 1977, pp. 129-130 in Weber, 1996)
Four convention maxims in carrying out
a conversation
(The co-operative principle and its regulative conversation)

 The maxim of quality: make your

contributions as informative as is required –
don’t give to much or too little information.
 The maxim of quality: make your
contribution one that you believe to be true.
 The maxim of relation: be relevant
 The maxim of manner: avoid
unnecessary prolixity, obscurity of
expression and ambiguity, and be orderly.
Four cases when maxims are
often violated:
a) A speaker may unostentatiously violate a
maxim; this accounts for lies and deceits.
b) He may opt out of the co-operative principle,
e.g., government officials’ refusal to answer
questions requiring classified information.
c) Faced with clash, he may break one maxim
or another
d) He may ostentatiously flout the maxim, so
that it is apparent to his interlocutors.
3. The statement that describes how Olga felt about
the amenities in the social celebration is _____.
a. Olga hated the guests and the company she was
with.
b. She considered them good, well trusted
company because of long years of friendship.
c. She felt superior over the rest, as she was the
teacher.
d. She felt bored, as she longs for new
acquaintances.
4. Olga’s rework on Natasha’s
inappropriate matching of color
in her outfit implies _____.
a. Olga’s tactless comment
b. Natasha’s peasant upbringing
c. Olga’s tastes in clothing
d. Natasha’s wish to belong to the
charmed circles
5. Chebutykin’s expressives hurt
Andrei’s sensibilites because
____.
a. By nature, his is a sensitive soul
b. His married life is a failure.
c. He is torn between his love for
Natasha and his sisters.
d. He is incapable of
demonstrating idealistic love.
6. Judging Masha’s expressives,
her view of life is ________.
a. Ephemeral
b. Pragmatic
c. Ideal
d. Rosy
7. Kulygin’s statement wishing
Irina a fiancé exemplifies a
____.
a. Declarative
b. Representative
c. Expressive
d. Commissive
Speech Act
The theory that “many
utterances are significant
not so much in terms of
what they say, but rather in
terms of what they do”
(Sullivan, et al., 1994, p.
293)
The Speech Act has three
conditions:
1. Introduction of context of the preparatory and
sincerity conditions.
Ex. I promise to return the book next week
2. Marking of clear social relationships.
Ex. Normally, a servant cannot threaten a master
3. Observance of felicity / felicitous ( utterance
worked ) conditions before and post speech
event.
Ex. “From Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett
Vladimir: Well, shall we go?
Estrogen: Yes, let’s go.
(They do not move).
Other speech acts include:
1. Commissives
Are statements that function as promise or refusals for action.
Like directives , commissives vary in strength– either strong or
highly hedged in either positive or negative directions.
Ex. Don’t worry, I’ll be there.

2. Declaratives (To Austin declaratives are performatives).

When uttered, bring about a new state of being.
Ex. a.) I now pronounce you husband and wife!
b.) You won the lotto!
c.) Here are your walking papers!
 Pragmatic Stylistics
Kind of Exchange Example Speech Act
Equivalent
1. Factual The plane departs at 7:30 Representative (judged
Information for truth, value, may
Identify, ask report, say, either be hedged or
think aggravated)
2. Intellectual These arguments are Representative
Information correct
agree/disagree,
remember/forget,
certain/uncertain,
ask/give, accept/decline,
capable/incapable
3. Emotional I’m worried about my Expressive
Attitudes term papers
surprise, hope, fear,
worry, preference,
gratitude, intention,
want, desire
Kind of Exchange Example Speech Act Equivalent

4. Moral attitudes I appreciate you help Expressive (states joy,

apology, approval, disappointment, likes,
appreciation, regret, dislikes, etc.)
indifference

5. Suasion Hand in you assignment Directive (makes a

suggest, request, invite, request to be implied
instruct, advice, warn, with)
offer

6. Socializing Hi, Larry, how are you? Directive (i.e., Tell me

greet, take leave, how are you)
introduce, propose,
congratulate, etc.
8. The foregrounding in the poem
is achieved by _______.
a. Meaningful vocabulary
b. Constant repetition
c. Contrasting elements
d. Unusual collocations
Some useful concepts on stylistics

 Foregrounding- emphasis on a
textual feature may be achieved
through unusual or strange
collocations, meaningful repetitions,
contrast, deliberate deviation from
the norms/ rules/ conventions
1. Sillitoe’s text
Now you’d think, and I’d think, and
everybody with a bit of imagination
Foregrounding in Sillitoe’s text
would think, that we’d done as clean a
(α1) Now you’d think, and I’d think,
job as could ever be done, that with
and everybody with a bit of
the baker’s shop being at least a mile
imagination would think, that we’d
from where we lived, and with not a
done as clean a job as could ever be
soul having seen us, and what with
done, that (β1) with the baker’s shop
the fog and the fact that we weren’t
being at least a mile from where
more than five
we lived, (β2) and with not a soul
minutes in the place, that the coppers
having seen us, (β3) and what with
should never have been able to trace
the fog and the fact that we weren’t
us. But then, you’d be wrong, I’d be
more than five minutes in the place,
wrong and everybody else would be
that the coppers should never have
wrong, no matter how much
been able to trace us. (α2) But then,
imagination was diced out between
you’d be wrong, (α3) I’d be wrong
us.
(α4) and everybody else would be
wrong, (β4) no matter how much
imagination was diced out between
us.
a.)The recursion of clauses, mainly through co-ordination,
with similar or identical structure;
b) The distribution of clauses in groups of threes, producing a
striking pattern of parallelisms:

⎡ Now you’d think ⎤

α1 ⎢ and I’d think ⎟
⎣ and everybody…would think ⎦
that we’d done…as ever could ever be done that
β1 ⎡ with the baker’s…lived⎤
β2 ⎢ and with not…seen us ⎟ β3 ⎣ and what with the fog ⎦
and the fact that…place
that the coppers should never…trace us
But then
α2 ⎡ You’d be wrong ⎤
α3 ⎢ I’d be wrong ⎟
α4 ⎣ and everybody…wrong ⎦
β4 No matter…between us
 Collocation- ( a form of lexical
cohesion ) the co-occurrence of certain
words , for ex.
A little fat man of Bombay
Was smoking one very hot day.
But a bird called a snipe
Flew away with his pipe,
Which vexed the fat man of Bombay.
 Reference vs. Representation
Reference- is the indexical function of
language pointing to different aspects of reality
Representation- is the manipulating language
to stand for an experience/situation.

 Diegesis and Mimesis

Diegesis – telling of the story by a narrator /
narrating as in epic poetry
Mimesis - showing /imitation or
representation as in drama
9. The recurrent patterns used in
the poem is ________.
a. the coming of the lover
b. the waiting for a lover
c. the dropping of plums
d. the time element
10. The temporal cohesive devices
now, while, yet, and still
indicate ________.
a. Impatience
b. Insistence
c. Longing
d. Despair
11. The change in the number of the
dropping plums from 7 to 3,
both archetypal numbers for
perfection, may mean ______.
a. Reference
b. Representation
c. Emphasis
d. Diegesis
Meaning Beyond The
Sentence
The kernels of meaning in long-winding
sentences, particularly in the stream-of-
conciousness technique, may be derived by listing
them down to create a discourse or arrive at
meaning.
In this regard Chapman (1973) enumerates 9 of
the most frequently used connectives, as among the
essential features of discourse.
 9 of the most frequently used
connectives (Chapman 1973)
a.) Conjunctions and conjunctive adjectives
(e.g., however, but, further more, nevertheless)

Ex. In Dapitan Rizal engaged in farming, sculpture,

poetry-writing and other useful activities, but life
there proved routine until Josephine Bracken came
to his life.
b. Pronominal linkage with a preceding noun.
Ex. “For an hour and half he wondered aimlessly up and down
side streets, immersed in solving some problem – chess, of
course – the meaning of which suddenly had become the
meaning of his whole existence on earth.” –Leonid Leonov’s
“The Wooden Queen”
c. Repetition of a keyword on proper
name, either identically or in a
different grammatical form:

Ex. “He was a formidable player; few dared

play with him for his stakes were so high and
reckless.” – Hesse’s Siddhartha

d. Use of synonyms or related word or phrase:

Ex. “For they sometimes, perhaps even on the majority of

occasions waited for their squires to grow old, and then when
they were cloyed with service, having endured bad days and
worse nights, they conferred upon them some title, as such
count, or at least marquis. – Cervantes’s Don Quixote
 e. Deictic words- ‘pointers’ like the, this,
that –either governing a noun or
referring back to the whole sentence.
Ex. “Is that the way they do things where you’ve been,” he
asked.” –for the ladies to escort the gentlemen home? That was
a nasty hit for Eleseus; he turned red…” – Hamsun’s Growth of
the Soil
f. Repetition of the opening structure

Ex. We work when the sun rises.

We rest when the sun sets.
We dig wells for drink.
We plow the land for food.
What has the power of Emperor to do with us?
-Shih Shing (Book of Song)
g. Class-member relationships, or
relationships of the parts of referent to the
whole
Ex. “They were friends, yet enemies; he was master,
she was mistress; each cheated the other , each
needed the the other, each feared the other, each felt
this and knew this every time they touched hands…”
–Virginia Woolf’s “Duchess and the Jeweler”
h. Loosen semantic connection without repetition of
items
Ex. I had soon realized I was speaking to a Catholic,
to someone who believed –how do they put it? –in an
omnipotent and omniscient Dei ty, while I was what
is loosely called an Agnostic” –Graham Greene’s “The
Hint of an Explanation”
i. Clear sequence of events

Ex. “Those were the happiest years of my life, my

friendship with Loizik and stamp-collecting. Then I
had scarlet fever and they wouldn’t let him come to
see me, but he used to stand in the passage and
whistle so that I could see him.” –Karel Capek, “The
Stamp Collection”
12. The imagery of the ripe plums
may represent ______.
a. A country maiden awaiting
someone
b. A choosy, idealistic woman in love
c. A bachelor girl despairing, if not
afraid of being left out
d. A woman so practical that she
would marry anyone
13. The second line in the third stanza,
“I lay them in a shallow basket”
seems to suggest that ____.
a. The person does not want the ripe plum
spoiled.
b. She is conscious of the departing ripe
plums.
c. She is hopeful that she can make up for
the lost time
d. She has lowered her standard for
choosing a lover.
14. Despite the translation, the Chinese
poem has retained its _____.
a. Proper tone
b. Corresponding vocabulary
c. Perfect meter and rhyme
d. Thematic significance
15. One notable feature of this poem
lies in its _______.
a. Simplicity
b. Ambiguity
c. Depth
d. Spontaneity
The Outsider
16. There are ___ verbs referring to the
I-narrator, a participant in the role
of actor.
a. 10
b. 9
c. 8
d. 7
1. Systemic Grammar in Literary Analysis (Halliday,
1970 in Carter, 1991)

Halliday sees language in terms of three functions:

a. The Ideational -concerned with cognitive

meaning
b. The Interpersonal -describes the relationship between person
(hence, questions and answers, positive and
negative forms, are part of this function)

-enabling the speaker or writer to construct texts as a

c. The Textual
logical sequence of units.
Transitivity function
illustrates how stylistics way profit from grammar from
applying a grammatical model to analyze the literary text.

Three elements:
(a) the process represented by the verb.
Ex. Alex watered the plants
(b) the participants- the roles of persons and objects.
*in the above sentence*
Ex. Alex is the actor, the plants object/goal
(c) circumstantial function – in English typically
the adverbials of time , place and manner.
Roles come in form of the
following:
(a) Actor
(b) Goal or object of result
(c) Beneficiary or recipient
Ex. Rykel gave his brother Shen some cookies.
(d) Instrument of forces
Ex. “The tree was hit by a lightning.”
-Halliday

Three types:
(a)Action
(b)Mental process
(c) Relation
(b) Mental process
-further divided into verbs of perception,
reaction, cognition and verbalization, all
having a processor and phenomenon,
rather then having actor and goal as
participant roles.
Ex. Shen heard his younger brother
(person)

the reason (abstraction) Bracketed

words are
phenomena
the singing of the anthem (event)

the radio (object)

(c) Relation
-are those in which the process describes
or states a relation between two roles.

Ex.: 1. Arnel Pineda acts as the lead singer. (attributive type)

2. The band Journey is as popular as the Jonas. ( equative

type)
Action clause and mental
process as the ergative function:
-an affected participant has an inherent
role associated with action clauses and which
is the goal in a transitive and the action in an
intransitive clause.
Ex.: 1. Raskolnikov fell ill. (the affected participant)

2. The theory consumes him. (‘causer’ of the

process)
17. Of these verbs, ____ describe the
ideational function (of cognition,
perception, process, and related
matters).
a. 7
b. 8
c. 9
d. 10
18. The number of intransitive verbs used,
with a goal is ______.
a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
d. 8
19. The non-finite verbs in the text cant
explicitly express the participant, hence,
considered negation is _____.
a. Can’t be sure
b. Should get there
c. Be back here
d. Had no reason
20. Of the many transitive verbs of
perception used, the verb that expresses
the I-narration role as a passive
observer of an act/event beyond his
control is ______.
a. Died
b. Said
c. Keeping vigil
d. Get there
21. The role of instrument of force in the
excerpted text is intensely shown in
____.
a. The Home for the Aged
b. The lack of date in the telegram received
c. The two-day leave of absence
d. The bus to take the narrator
22. The impression of detachment is subtly
indicated by the narrator in the text in
_____.
a. The narrator’s uncertainty of the day his
mother died.
b. The lack of date in the telegram
received.
c. The employer’s failure to condole
openly.
d. The narrator’s wearing black two days
later.
23. The power relationship between the
narrator and his superior is revealed in
the text through _____.
a. Open dialogue
b. Unsaid statements
c. Question and answer
d. Function of the mood
24. The undisturbed mental state of the
narrator is part of the ____ function.
a. Ideational
b. Interpersonal
c. Textual
d. transitivity
25. Overall, the text can be analyzed
philosophically by making use of ____.
a. Deconstruction
b. Marxism
c. Existentialism
d. Structuralism
1. Judging the discourse level of this
poem, it has a deliberate mixing of
_____.
a. Setting
b. Utterance
c. Registers
d. Characters
To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday,
We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning,
We shall have what to do after firing. But to-day,
To-day we have naming of parts. Japonica
Glistens like coral in all of the neighboring gardens,
And to-day we have naming of parts.

This is the lower sling swivel. And this

Is the upper sling swivel, whose use you will see,
When you are given your slings. And this is the piling swivel,
Which in your case you have not got. The branches
Hold in the gardens their silent, eloquent gestures,
Which in our case we have not got.

This is the safety-catch, which is always released

With an easy flick of the thumb. And please do not let me
See anyone using his finger. You can do it quite easy
If you have any strength in your thumb. The blossoms
Are fragile and motionless, never letting anyone see
Any of them using their finger.

And this you can see is the bolt. The purpose of this
Is to open the breech, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this
Easing the spring. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:
They call it easing the Spring.

They call it easing the Spring: it is perfectly easy

If you have any strength in your thumb: like the bolt,
And the breech, and the cocking-piece, and the point of balance,
Which in our case we have not got; and the almond-blossom
Silent in all of the gardens and the bees going backwards and forwards,
For to-day we have naming of parts.
2. The beneficiary, recipient or addresse of
the poem must be a _____.
a. Poet
b. Recruit
c. Reader
d. anyone
3. Admittedly, the actor or the persona
referred to is _____.
a. Army instructor
b. PE instructor
c. Mechanical engineer
d. Sharp shooter
4. Besides shifting, the poem uses ____
function of the language.
a. Ideational
b. Taboo
c. Textual
d. interpersonal
5. As to imagery of ‘open and close bolt,’
‘sliding forward and backward,’
‘assaulting bees and fumbling flowers,’
the poem alludes to _______.
a. Natural
b. Violent
c. Freudian
d. War-like
6. Thematically, the poem contrasts ____.

a. The innocence of youth and the

corruption of adults
b. The economics of war and the poverty of
want
c. The rigidity of rules and the looseness of
lawlessness
d. The destructiveness of war and the
natural life-force
7. Structurally, this poem is
characteristically ______.

a. Haiku-like
b. Imagistic
c. Philosophical
d. Terza rima
8. Words like ‘alone’ and ‘pierced’ help
convey a ____ tone of the poem.

a. Happy
b. Doubtful
c. Grieving
d. hopeful
9. The critical approach or literary theory
that best fits the poem is ______.
a. Deconstruction
b. Formalism
c. Marxism
d. structuralism
10. The temporal phrase, ‘and suddenly’,
suggests _____.

a. Ambiguity
b. Shift in time
c. Recurrence of pain
d. Temporary respite
11. The version of the rewritten text of “The
Wolf and the Seven Kids” that is likely
to appeal more to children is _____.
12. Pedagogically, the most sensibly, fittingly
prepared cloze test for the selection
below is _____.
a. Delete the 5th or 6th word in every
sentence.
b. Give enough practice before giving the
students this test.
c. Consider the students’ linguistic
competence.
d. Have them choose from a list of words
that resonate in the story.
Pedagogical Stylistics
Carter (in Weber, 1996) bats for a
more extensive and integrated study of
language and literature which are better
given as pre-literary linguistic activities.
1. Predicting how the narrative will develop
after omitting the title, or rather reading the
first paragraph, what the story is all about.
Those can be done by paired group
1.1 Lyric poems or texts which evoke descriptive states do
not benefit from this activity
1.2 Texts with a strong plot component do

1.3 Even best narrative could make students read back

and project forward
2. Use of close procedure
2.1 Focus on individual words/sequence of words, rather
than on stretches of texts
2.2 Do some lexical prediction during the act of reading/
after a story is read.
2.3 Ask students to show careful/close reading.
2.4 Let them do reasonable and supportable predictions
to make them alert to over-all pattern of the story.
3. Summarizing Strategies
3.1 Impose a word limit for a summary, from 25-40
words to: (a) make them re-structure, delete, re-shape to
meet the word limit, (b) stress question on structure and
shape of the narrative.
3.2 Make them compare and criticize alternative
summaries.
4. Forum: Debating opposing viewpoints.
4.1 Literature can mobilize student discussion and
debate.
4.2 It lends itself to small-group activity.
4.3 Provide counter –examples from other groups who
listen
4.4 Let them use their prior knowledge and the text in
question.
5. Guided re-writing
5.1 It helps students recognize the broader discourse
patterns of texts and styles appropriate to them.
5.2 It involves them in re-writing stretches of discourse
to change its communicative value.
5.3 Let them rewrite a set of instructions, as a
description, or turning a lecture transcript into academic
discourse
 5.4 Specify clearly information about audiences/purpose

5.5 Rewrite one style into another to explore connections

between styles and meaning, particularly juxtaposing
literary and non-literary texts.

5.6 Sensitize students to varied ways in instructing

information for readers in different texts.
5.7Make them infer ore on semantic overlaps, degrees of
information supplies to a reader, even the omission of
certain expected propositions assigned thematic
significance.
13. Which of these topics matters most in a
debate about Ibsen’s An Enemy of the
People”?
a. Traditional Politicians Stagnate a
Country, Province, Village
b. The majority vs. The Minority Rule in
Governance
c. Man’s Idealism Is Difficult to maintain
in this Age of Materialism
d. Alternative, Positive Ways of Solving the
Polluted Baths
14. In an open-ended story as O. Henry’s
“After Twenty Years,” the predicted
event that is most likely to happen is
____.
a. The cop caught his most wanted friend.
b. He set free his close friend before the
police came.
c. He felt hurt betraying his friend to the
authorities.
d. Although torn between loyalty to his
friend and adherence to the law, the
policeman chose the latter.
15. Given the summary of The Bet, the best
alternative summary is _____.
16. Maurya’s last statement “No man at all
can be living forever, and we must be
satisfied” means ______.
a. All living things including mankind will
die.
b. Her total resignation to the inevitably of
death.
c. Man cannot question this universal
truth.
d. The natural law of life ends in death.
17. Cathleen’s remark to the effect that “It’s
getting old she is, and broken” follows
the maxim of _______.
a. Quantity
b. Quality
c. Manner
d. Relation
18. The tragic vision hinted at in the excerpt
is ______.
a. The daily struggle to live
b. The inevitability of danger
c. Maurya’s lacking bitterness
d. The daughter’s indifference
19. Thematically, the tragedy reinforces the
idea of ______.
a. The pathos of old age and the terror of
death
b. Man’s constant battle with the forces of
nature
c. The natural anguish of parents over
their children’s death
d. Maternal instinct of tenderness and
affection
20. Symbolically, the sea stands for ____.

a. Means of livelihood
b. Life and death
c. Fatalism
d. stoicism
Nothing Gold Can Stay
21. A paradox is a statement that contradicts
itself, but seems to be true. The
paradoxical statements in the poem are
in ____.
a. Lines 1 and 3
b. Lines 6 and 8
c. Lines 2 and 4
d. Lines 5 and7
22. The poem above achieves wholeness and
effectiveness because of the presence of
______.
a. Alliteration and assonance
b. Consonance and rhyme
c. Repetition and symbolism
d. All of the above
23. The main symbol used in the poem is
____.

a. Nature
b. Gold
c. Eden
d. Leaf
24. In the final line, gold may stand for
_____.
a. Treasure
b. Wealth
c. Measure of happiness
d. Standard of permanence
25. The repeated word so in the 6th and 7th
lines functions as _____
a. Adverb of time
b. Adjective to mean factual
c. Conjunction to mean with result
d. Interjection used to express surprise
That’s a wrap!