Types of Stylistics

Linguistic Stylistics• studies the devices in

language of literary texts (such as rhetorical figures and syntactical patterns) that are employed to produce expressive or literary style.

Literary Stylistics• is synonymous to

literary criticism. Literary criticism rests solely on subjective interpretation of texts.

• To decipher message

Features of Linguistic Stylistics

• “Stylistic analysis in linguistics refers to the identification of the patterns of usage in speech and writing” (Widdowson, Stylistics)

Let us discuss some linguistic features for in-depth stylistic analysis.

1. Phonological Level

• 1. Phonological level: (Sounds) Phonology studies the combination of sounds into organized units of speech. Though phonology is considered to be the superficial level of language, there are some aspects of it such as tone which contribute to the meaning of an utterance.

1.Phonological Level : Example

“Their stanzas of stifling scandals

Cause the masses to curse” (Dasylva: “Songs of Odamolougbe”

• Alliteration, deliberate selection of sounds, repetition,

• Meaning: sinister, evil, corruption of Nigerian politicians

2.Graphological Level

• Graphology means the arrangement of words, the appearance of the text on a page.

• E.g. use of capitalization, or avoiding it, overemphasis on punctuation

Emily Dickenson : Use of punctuation—Dashes

e e cummings : ignores capitalization

Example: Graphological

Level

On the wrinkled face of the hills

i see my shortening shadow

as my sun creeps towards the west hills

gently, gently, gently

like afternoon’s flame l

o

w

e

r

i

n

g

To ash in the evening

Ushi’s “Hill Song”

3. Lexical level

Lexis is the total number of word forms

• Words may be repeated

• Synonyms or similar words may be used

• Hyponymy, anaphora,

e.g. Vegetation: grass, leaves

Verbal repetition, use of pronouns,

Example: Lexical Level

I looked upon the rotting sea

And there the dead men lay

I looked upon the rotting deck

And there the dead men lay (Coleridge, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”)

4. Syntactic Level

• Concerned with the arrangement of the words in a sentence. It also attempts to describe how these elements function in the sentence.

• Studies description of rules of positioning of words in a sentence.

• Involves rules of positioning of elements in a sentence, such as nouns, verbs, adverbs etc

Syntactical Level: Example

• E. g. “Home he went”

“home” occurs in the beginning of the sentence to foreground it.

“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” Robert Frost, “Mending Wall”

5. Semantic Level

• Semantics deals with the level of meaning in language. E.g. how words similar or different are related.

• Tries to give account of both word and sentence meaning

Semantic Level: Example

e.g. The writer has penned down his ideas with extreme brevity.

I see squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness….(Shakespeare)

6.Morphological level

• Morphology: study of the smallest grammatical units of language and their formation into words. It studies how the words are formed. e.g. what their grammatical forms are, how the system of gender, number, plural etc. function and why the words forms change.

e.g. e e cummings use of prefix “un”

“Unlove’s the heavenless hell” “ unlove” “unhate” “manunkind”

“Darkness eats a distance birdfully”

7.Discourse Level

• Inter-sentencial links that form a connective or cohesive text.

• Relationship between sentences

e.g. use of connectives such as: and, though, also, but.

repetition of pronouns, definite articles

Discourse level: Example

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodg’d with me useless through my soul more bent.

Features of Linguistic Stylistics

• PhonologyMorphology

• Graphology Discourse

• Lexis

• Syntax

• Semantics

Example

NO LEFT TURN

• A road side sign

• Imperative mode

• Capital letters

• Implied “there is”