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1Unit -1
INTRODUCTION TO STYLISTICS
Unit Structure:
1.0 Objective
1.1 Stylistics
1.2 Style in Literature
1.3 Check your Progress
1.0 OBJECTIVE
The objective of this unit is to familiarize the reader with the
fundamental concepts of Stylistics, particularly as an appr oach that
focuses on the language of the literary text as the first step to its
understanding.
1.1 STYLISTICS
The discipline of Stylistics is a twentieth century
development which has links with its classical predecessor –
Rhetoric. Rhetoric was an art pra cticed by orators of classical
Greece and Rome as a means of persuasion. It owes its origin in
recent times to Charles Bally, a disciple of Ferdinand de Saussure.
Stylistics has been defined as ‘the study of literary discourse
from a linguistic orientation ’ (Widdowson: 1975) and is a means of
linking Literature and Linguistics.
Stylistic studies fall into two categories: the study of style in
all language use, and the study of style in works of literature.
Charles Bally and others followed the first type of inquiry, drawing
upon linguistic insights and statistical techniques. This type of study
is classical in nature, having been followed by such figures as
Aristotle, Quintilian and other Greek rhetoricians, largely in the
context of a single language and wi th prescriptive aims. In recent
times, attempts have been made to compare the styles
characteristic to different languages and to create something called
‘Comparative Stylistics’ by French, English, German scholars like
Wechssler, Vossler, Deutshbein and Spitfire. Finally, there have
been attempts to study the devices presumed to permeate allmunotes.in
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2language use –whatever the language concerned, or to the
author’s psyche or characteristic ways of perceiving the world and
organizing experience, or to a particular historical era.
Stylistics, thus, seems to be a part of linguistics –a
morphological study shows its proximity to both the parent
disciplines –literary criticism as well as linguistics. The ‘style ’-
component relates it to the former and the ‘ -istics’ to the latter. It
borrows the investigative techniques of linguistics and also works
on the object of linguistic study, namely, language .However, unlike
linguistics, it does not restrict itself to mere description; on the
contrary it interprets and draws inf erences as a literary critic would.
Stylistics can serve as a means whereby literature and
language can, by a process of gradual approximation, move
towards both linguistics and literary criticism, and also serve as a
means whereby these disciplines can be pedagogically treated to
yield different subjects. When a linguist approaches a literary piece,
he is interested in the way the linguistic system in it functions; when
a critic reads the work, he looks for a message and his focus on the
language is only a means to this end. Stylistics can link these two
disciplines, by relating and validating the linguist’s literary intuitions
and the critic’s linguistic observations and making their relationship
explicit.
Stylistic perspectives, thus, range over all leve ls of language.
Essentially analytic and interpretative ,Stylistics can reach out
towards evaluation by comparing the language of different texts or
determining the manner in which stylistic traits are used in various
texts, or within a particular text. St ylistics, thus, fills the gap created
by Rhetoric and prepares the way for objective literary criticism,
and hence it is an instrument of literary criticism that is based on a
close study of the literary text.
1.2STYLE IN LITERATURE
Stylistics could be us ed as a tool to decode the meaning of a
text, by finding the value from the interplay of the fore grounded
elements with the norm.
Norm in literature is the use of expected language within
which certain ideas are fore grounded deliberately by the differen t
use of language. The reader thus creates ‘value’, as he questions
thefore grounded element consciously or otherwise. For example,
the expressions ‘farmyards away’ or ‘a grief ago’… in Dylanmunotes.in
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3Thomas’ poems, “Fern Hill” and “A Grief Ago” do not merely
express distance or time in different terms but also bring in a new
dimension of personal expression. Similarly, Wordsworth’s ‘five
long summers and five long winters’ tells the readers the quality of
the five intervening years between the poet’s two visits to the Wye
valley.
Such variations from the norm take place in various ways:
1. Linguistic patterning created by a repetition of the
structures at the levels of grammar, sound and lexis such as the
following:
(A)Linguistic Patterning
(i)Pun –ap l a yo nt h em u l t iple possibilities of meaning in a word
‘When I am dead, I hope it may be said:
His sins were scarlet, but his books were read’
( Hillaire Belloc, “On his Books”)
In the above lines, no linguistic rules are violated but the
reader is aware of two simultan eous interpretations of ‘read’ and
‘red’. i.e. there is a phonological equivalence which would normally
be unobserved.
(ii)Parallelism –introduces extra regularities, as against
irregularities in the language; for example syllables in phonology,
clauses i n grammar can be ‘regular’ for parallelism. Parallelism can
be observed at various levels
(a)Phonological Parallelism :T h ef o l l o w i n gl i n eo fp o e t r yf r o m
Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”:
‘The furrow followed free’ displays parallelism at various lev els
/ðə f-rəu fכּ:ləud fri:/phonetic structure
CV CV-CV . CV -CVC CCV syllabic structure (C-
consonant and V -Vowel)
X /X /X / rhythmic structure
Xf X f X f alliterative pattern
Parallelism, thus is seen at four levels, whose interplay in the
reader’s mind leads to richness of meaning.
(b)Syntactic Parallelism:
In the following line from Shakespeare’s Othellomunotes.in
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4“I kissed thee ‘ere I killed thee again,” multilayered parallel
structures can be seen:
SPO SP O
It h eeIthee
/k…..d/ /k….d/
In Goldsmith’s “The Deserted Village” –the contrast of ideas is
amply made clear by the use of parallel structures:
“Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey
Where wealth accumulates andmen decay”
From the above, certain generalizations can be made about
parallel structures:
Parallelism can occur at one/ multiple levels.
It must, however, contain an element of identity as well as an
element of contrast.
Effects of parallelism
Parallelism creates rhetorical emphasis and mem orability
Generates aesthetic pleasure
Using similarity, it highlights contrast as in:
“He raised a mortal to the skies
She drew an angel down” (Dryden, “Alexander’s Feast”)
“To err is human to forgive divine” (Pope, “An Essay on
Criticism”)
Syntacti c parallelism often leads to a climax, as in:
“If you prick us do we not bleed?
If you tickle us do we not laugh?
If you poison us do we not die?
and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”
( Shakespeare: TheMerchant of Venice : Shylock)
The word ‘re venge’ acquires emotive force from ‘bleed’,
‘laugh’, ‘die’;
Contrasts often highlight a similarity, as in:
“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men” ( Robert Burn’s “To a
Mouse”)munotes.in
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5Man at the top of God’s creation, mice timid and
inconsequetial, a sim ilarity between the two, for here they share the
same status of vulnerability to fate –the reader makes out an
immediate connection as also a wider interpretation.
2. Deviations from the code :
(i)Neologisms or inventions of new words are also called nonce
creations. They may later pass into the regular language; for
example, blatant (Spenser), assassination (Shakespeare) and
pandemonium (Milton). These words originally created by the
writers have since been assimilated into regular usage.
The new word is cr eated in one of the following ways of word
formation:
by applying an existing rule of word formation with a greater
generality, for example, ‘fore’ + see, know, tell, warn, or ‘foresuffer’
asin ‘The Waste Land’ by T.S. Eliot in the line, ‘And I Tiresieas
have foresuffered all’.
Using both pre + suffixation and compounding as Hopkins in the
“The Wreck of Deutscheland” writes:
“the widdowmaking unchilding unfathering deeps”
Zero affixation as in Hopkins’ “The Wreck of Deutscheland”
“And storms bugle his fame/ Let him easter in us”
“I shall see some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness”
(Shakespeare –Antony and Cleopatra )
Neologisms have a concept -making power that is above all
phrasal and classical descriptions. It is this strangeness, therefore
oddity and novelty, has heighten edthe impact. Eg: “a new way to
look at the sea terrifying yet awe inspiring”
Additionally, they, thus, create an effect of tremendous
compression and economy.
(ii)Archaism is the use of the language of the past along with
conte mporary language, for example, yon, thee, thou
“The association of man and woman
In daunsinge, signifying matrimonie –
A dignified and commodious sacrament,munotes.in
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6Two and two, necessarye con junction,
Holding each other by the hand or the arm
Which betokeneth concorde”
(T. S. Eliot, “East Coker” )
The effect of such a use of language is the impact of
progression through time in a cyclical manner wherein the past and
the present often merge together seamlessly. Archaism also gives
a note of solemnity to the poem and raises its tone,
(iii) Deviant Collocations: These techniques create an element of
surprise which then heightens the underlying theme. For example,
the normal paradigmatic collocations of ‘a/ a nm i n u t e/d a y /y e a r
ago’when replaced with “a grief ago” immediately creates an
element of surprise and gives rise to a deeper meaning.
Another example,
“……. Put a tongue
In every wound of Caesar, that should move
The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny” (Julius Caesar , Act III,
Sc.ii)
3. Figurative Language: orrhetorical language, as it is often
called, is a characteristic of poetry. There are several types of
figurative language that is used in poetry.
(i)Metaphor is a comparison which involves a transfer of meaning.
The components of a metaphor are the tenor (that which is under
discussion) and the vehicle which is the image or the analogue in
which the metaphor is expressed. Example, “Life is but a walking
shadow” (Metaphor) wherein, Life is the tenor, and walking shadow
is the vehicle; or as in “ his face wa saw h i t es h e e t .”
There are two categories of Metaphors: Synecdoche and
Metonymy. In a synecdoche, a part is compared to the whole –
“Many hands make light work” or something particular is used to
refer to the general –“His true Penelope was Flaubert” (Ez ra
Pound). A metonymy is an elliptical comparison; hence gives
advantage to poetry. For example, “I’ve read Dickens; ”or“The
whole village rejoiced ,”.A simile is an overt comparison: ‘My love is
like a red red rose’ (Burns)munotes.in
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7(ii)Symbolism is the extension of meaning from the literal to the
figurative. Custom and familiarity have created certain symbols:
lamp –learning; star –constancy, flame –passion. Symbols used
in poetry may be esoteric or conventional. For example, ‘To sail
beyond the sunsets until I die’ (“Ulysses”).
“Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo
Shovel them under and let me work -
I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun
Shovel them under and let me work
Two years, te n years and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the grass
Let me work” “(Grass” –Carl Sandburg)
Is it mere forgetfulness of the past, or is past symbolized by
grass, or is it forgetfulness of p ity and honour due to the dead, or is
it forgetfulness of hostility, horror of war, of the enormity of man’s
past deeds or past glory?
(iii)Irony is the exaggeration of an idea to highlight the enormity of
what is being said. It has two elements –an elem ent of
concealment and an element of discovery. Its aim is to criticize
(covert meaning) under the guise of neutrality or praise (overt
expression). Literary irony implies moral or ethical criticism
“Thrift, thrift, Horatio! The funeral baked meats
Did col dly furnish forth the marriage tables”. ( Hamlet –
Shakespeare)
In the above example, Hamlet expresses horror at his
mother’s monstrous behavior of remarrying, thereby concealing the
true horror.
(iv)Sarcasm is seen when the opposite of what is intended is said.
For instance, saying ‘Well done’ when the person has done
something bad.munotes.in
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8(v)Paradox is a type of absurdity which entails irreconcilable
elements of meaning or reference. For example, ‘War is peace,
Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength’ is se en as a fitting
instance of indoctrination in 1984 by George Orwell.
(vi)Tautology is repetition whose vacuity can be an indirect means
of conveying information about character and state of mind. It
conveys information that the speaker wants to keep as se cret or
convey irony.
For example, Polonius in Hamlet by Shakespeare says
“For to define true madness
What is’t but to be nothing else but mad?”
Or
“There’s ne’er a villain dwelling in all Denmark
But he’s an errant knave
There needs no ghost my lord come from the grave to tell us this”
(Hamlet deliberately speaks thus to not let Horatio know what is
going on his mind)
(4) Concept of Speech Situation and Communicative
Competence :
A speech situation has to have two participants: the ‘I’and
‘you’; a speaker and a hearer; sender and receiver; though in
written communication participants will not be present physically at
the same time and place. Every writer writes for somebody else no
matter how unspecifically he may visualize his readers (social
function of language). For meaningful communication to take place,
meaningful contact must take place between participants. Mere
physical nearness does not generate/ create a speech situation.
One must get people to give their attention. Indeed a deliberate
refusal to give one’s attention in certain situations is in itself a
significant act.
A distinction needs to be made between establishing and
maintaining a contact. Establishing contacts are acts that attract the
attention of a hearer and make it clear that it is h im and not
someone else we wish to converse with. Such acts are called ‘calls’
of one sort or another: eg, Hey, Bill/ Excuse me Sir! In addition to
this, the opened channel of communication must be maintained.
This is often tested by such expressions as Ca ny o uh e a rm e ?O rmunotes.in
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9encourage it Speak up This contact is not merely physical but is
also psychological.
In maintaining contact with the hearer, keep him interested,
friendly, cooperative and keep the conversation going. This is done
by small talk, weather, inquiries about health, giving praise, and
encouragement. We also test the psychological contact with our
hearer: Do you get me? If you follow me? We organize and
signpost the discourse in a logical manner so as to maintain the
contact as first of all, no w, as I have already pointed out.
Communication between people does not take place in a
vacuum but at a particular time and place in a physical and
temporal setting. They may be alone, walking etc: all these factors
play a part in the conversation but they are not what it is about –
they are not the topic of our conversation.
The topic of discourse is an important element in the speech
situation. Whatever the function of an utterance, it will always have
a propositional element. There may/may not be a direc t connection
between the setting of a speech episode and the propositional
content in the speech but there will be a connection between the
topic of discourse and its propositional content. Eg: We may
establish contact but be unable to communicate because we do not
share a common linguistic code. Hence, the formal features of the
language shared by the participants are themselves an important
factor in the speech situations.
When we communicate with someone, we communicate a
message; the ways in which we d o this may be constrained by the
situation in various ways: Eg: if it is noisy, we have to shout; if
extensive, we may have to abbreviate, if formal, we have to select
words and sentences appropriately. Therefore the same message
can be communicated in sev eral ways, hence the form of the
message is in itself an important factor in the speech situation.
Thus, all the seven factors –speaker, hearer, contact
between them, linguistic code used, setting, topic, and the form of
the message may be the focus of th e speech act, the element in
the situation to which the activity is oriented. With each of these
factors a different function of speech can be associated.munotes.in
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10Speech situations:
If the orientation is towards the speaker, then the personal
function of the l anguage reveals his attitude to what he is talking
about and eventually reveals his personality; he expresses his
emotions at what he is talking about. As hearer, it is merely
informative that our interlocuter is angry or sad or happy. It
becomes communica tive when we associate his emotional state
with what he is talking about, that is, why he is angry sad or happy.
Hearer -oriented speech is that in which the function is
directive. It is the function of controlling the behavior of a participant
not only to get him to do something, but to behave in general
according to some plan or system to the speaker’s liking. This may
be done by command, request or warning –You mustn’t do
this/that by invoking the moral, legal customary sanctions of
society .
If focus is on contact between participants we find which
functions to establish relations, maintain them, promote feelings of
goodwill and fellowship or social solidarity. These are typically
formulaic speech or ritual –leave -taking, greetings, remarks about
the wea ther –called phatic communication. They can also be
performed by gesture, physical contact, facial expression; they
soften the target and keep it soft.
Topic oriented function of speech is the referential function
of speech –it is typically realized by the propositional element in
the utterance. This is the traditional perception about the use of
language –to communicate about the world.
Functions, according to the code, are difficult to pin down.
Mere testing of the channel –can you hear me? –is not enough to
sustain a contact. It is also necessary to test the mutual
understanding –Do you follow? For communication to be
successful, two participants must share a common code and make
sure that they are playing according to the rules of the game.
In im aginative functions of the language, form and focus is
on the message –that is the manipulation of the language for the
pleasure it gives to the speaker and hearer. Language can be used
for expression of thoughts and for purely mundane functions.
Settin g determines the function of the language:
Social acts –to establish and maintain contactmunotes.in
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11Directive functions –to exercise rights and powers
Referential function –to adopt a point of view about something
However, a single utterance can have multiple fun ctions or
represent more than one act, for example, an utterance may assert
some state of affairs, and demand some action of the hearer; it may
have both referential and directive function.
Fetch me the book –asserts the existence of the book
- asserts its location
- names the object
- directs hearer to do something with the object
Communicative competence
Chomsky has distinguished between performance and
competence. Competence is the speaker’s implicit knowledge and
performance is what he does with the language .G r a m m a r
therefore is an account of competence; it describes and attempts to
account for the ability of a speaker to understand an arbitrary
sentence of his language and to produce an appropriate sentence
on a given occasion.
This distinction between com petence and performance owes
its origin to Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole.
Parole is utterances and langue is the socially shared system of
rule, codes and grammar. Therefore a native speaker’s
competence can be characterized as a set of rules for producing
and understanding sentences in his own language. Consequently,
the grammar of a language is a characterization of the native
speaker’s competence or more appropriately of the ideal native
speaker –hearer in a homogenous society.
Compe tence is thus an idealization or abstraction. A native
speaker’s competence can be investigated by his ability to detect
ambiguities in sentences, for example,
To recognize two or more possible meanings in sentences
such as ‘flying planes can be dangerous ’.
To distinguish grammatical from the ungrammatical –the
dog looks terrifying, the dog looks sleeping.
To recognize relationships between sentences –James
came home yesterday, James did not come home yesterday.munotes.in
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12To be aware of paraphrase relations betwee n sentences –
James hammered in the nail, James knocked in the nail with a
hammer.
A language user must not only be able to produce and
understand grammatically well -formed utterances, produce and
understand utterances that are appropriate to the context. Hence,
the term communicative competence.
(5)Varieties of language
Language is a code shared by the people of one speech
community. It is a set of symbols, which are in a constant state of
flux whereby some features are either added or modified or
delet ed. In the middle English period, London became
commercially important, hence the language spoken here became
the accepted as the Standard dialect. It was represented variously
as Received Pronunciation (RP), or General British (GB) or even
BBC English. No w, several regional standards have also emerged
–Indian English, American English, Australian English etc.
The concept of standard is a hypothetical one as most
people even within the standard speak an idiolect that can differ
from the standard in one or more ways.
Non-standard language, thus, is also correspondingly a
hypothetical concept wherein variations occur in the sounds,
grammar etc of the language due to regional variation, socio -
economic status, gender etc. Some examples include the dropping
ofthe initial /h/ or the expression I done it or the use of double
negatives.
(6)Dialect and Register
Dialect is the result of a variety of factors:
Social class membership (Sociolect): It is a controversial
concept; where the members of a higher class or the educated
generally speak a language that generally approximates the
accepted standard.
Age: Older people generally speak more formal language as
compared to the younger ones
Gender: Women are known to use forms closer to the standard
variety than menmunotes.in
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13Idiolect: is the personal use of language eg: mannerisms of
language behaviour –you see, infact, actually, etc
Register can be defined as variation in language due to the
subject matter of use. It can be described in terms of tenor (formal -
informal), mod e (spoken -written) and domain (subject matter or
topic).
Formal language is polite, impersonal, makes use of
complex sentences, third person pronouns and polysyllabic
vocabulary. By contrast, informal language is simpler, personal,
uses monosyllabic words, first and second person pronouns and
direct form of address.
Spoken language can be inexplicit, simple, repetitive, and
has evidence of normal non -fluency, interactive features, and
informality. Written language is generally more complex, explicit,
and fl uent. It has clear sentence boundaries but no monitoring and
interactive features.
Dialectal and registral variation generally co -occur; so we
cannot identify discrete registers any more than discrete dialects.
They both interact with each other as both t he dimensions of use
and user are co present.
(7)Indian English as a non native variety of English :
The variety developed in India as a result of her colonial past
gradually became popular in education and industry and is now
gradually becoming more and more popular as a means of
communication. It shows evidence of bilingual interference from a
host of mother tongues at all levels but the educated variety is
commonly intelligible –pan Indian.
Whereas General British English has 20 vowels; Indian
English has 11 pure vowels. And 6 glides. Each of the vowels are
articulated differently depending on the mother tongue of the
speaker. The consonants are same in number, but they show
variation in articulation due to bilingual influence. Initial plosives are
notaspirated, causing international intelligibility problems. There is
confusion in the use of /z/ in Juhu and in words with final /s/ and /z/.
Words with initial /s/ is a regional problem.
At the supra segmental level, stress in English in India is a
major problem. Since our Indian languages are syllable timed
languages, an indigenous stress pattern is seen again bringing inmunotes.in
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14issues of international intelligibility. The classic intonation pattern of
GB English is not seen. In Indian English, questions are art iculated
with a rising intonation and replies are given in falling, no matter
what the type of the question is. Nucleus of the tone group is also
on a different word as compared to GB English.
At the syntactical level, weak forms are rarely used; and a lo t
many elliptical replies are given. Can you come? Yes, I can. The
language used is bookish and very long sentences are used even
in spoken varieties. Several peculiar Indianisms are used –
‘presentee ’ as opposed to ‘absentee’.
The culture of a society als o influences the language used in
India. Culture determines many peculiar uses which often create
humour. Eg: Don’t eat my head, Don’t speak in the middle. Self
introductions are generally bookish. Myself, Rao Ganesh, as
opposed to I am Ganesh Rao or what is your good name –al i t e r a l
translation from Hindi is heard.
But, because of the impact of globalization enhanced mutual
intelligibility is seen. Indian speakers are also consciously trying to
change their use of the language according to global norms an d
moving towards a more neutral use of the language.
(8)Stylistics in relation to the following registers shows some
illustrations of how language varies from one register to another.
Newspaper language:
An analysis of the language of news paper shows the following
features of journalese:
Short catchy headlines –Eg: the gate opened late; air borne -
careers soaring in IAF
After 26/7, Mumbai is down and under: Disaster Management
turns to Management disaster
Time references are generally in present time ( in headlines)
Eg: Crack down on telemarketing provokes India backlash
Use of reported speech/ past tense
Eg: Timely action by alert MSEB officials prevented a power grid
collapse in Maharashtra yesterday.
Long sentences with densely packed information of ten with
unusual syntactic arrangements :munotes.in
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15Eg: Pakistan cricket Captain, Rashid Latif, was on Sunday banned
for 5 one day internationals for claiming catch despite “picking the
ball up from the ground” during the third and final test against
Bangladesh in M ultan.
Predominance of adjectives for description, vividness. Eg: event
reporting
Predominance of verbs to denote action.
Neologisms and collocations: deathscape (cf landscape
9/11)factoids (pseudo -facts, rumours, weaker sections)
Common core vocabulary f or greater reach.
Quotes are used for authenticity and publicity.
Inverted pyramid structure is used for introducing key ideas in
the introductory paragraphs and details are provided later.
Technical Writing:
Technical writing displays the following featu res:
Informative writing, factual writing.
Imperatives are used –Follow all instructions given.
Use of jargon: MP3 disc sub -directory
Short sentences , user friendly
Install batteries: you may use AC adaptor, or rechargeable
batteries, car adaptors
No a dditional details, hence minimal use of adjectives
Formal tone –Use of long sentences with clear sentence
boundaries, polysyllabic vocabulary, reported speech, indirect
constructions, passive voice
Common core words for greater mutual intelligibility.
Writing on Economics
Jargon is from the area of economics, trade, commerce etc. —
capital flow, macroeconomic model, diminishing returns.
Syntax –mix of complex, and compound sentences. Eg: “While
it may not be feasible to invite comments on each and every
double tax avoidable agreement, inviting suggestions for
drawing up the model DTAA could prove useful to the Indian
revenue and the business community.”
Quotes –authenticity, generally in direct speech.
Factual in content. Eg: ‘By restricting vendors from participating
in India, the first casualty will be the optional price discovery’.
Use of 3rdperson.munotes.in
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16Inferential ( implications drawn):
From the indifference curve above it is seen…
Use of statistical language, graphs (forecasting), nonverbal
communicat ion.
Common core words –Laymen can be reached easily
Features of literary writing:
Rhythmic –generally iambic pentameter, variations of trochee,
pyrrhic and spondee
Foregrounding at various levels –phonological: alliteration;
syntactic: parallelism, wo rd order changed; lexical: puns.
Use of dialect -characterizations. Eg: Heep in David Copperfield
Humour –rural bumpkin
Neologisms and collocations –for impact
Hopkins –“the widow making un fathering …deeps”
Self centered context
In drama , novel, and sometimes in poetry, use of dialogue,
point of view techniques
Stock features of genres
Epic-media -res beginning
Latinate constructions
Digressions
Epic simile
Novel -Picaresque –rogue literature
Stream of consciousn ess–mindscape
Omniscient narrator
1.3 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Write notes on the following:
Stylistics
Linguistic patterning
Idiolect
Dialect
Register
munotes.in
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17Unit -2
STYLE AND STYLISTICS
Unit Structure:
2.0 Objective s
2.1 Style and Stylistics
2.2 Stylistics as the Linking Component between Linguistics
and Literary Criticism
2.3 Repetition and Parallelism
2.4 Foregrounding
2.5 Simile and Metaphor
2.6 Imagery and Symbol
2.7 Syntactic an d Graphological Deviations
2.8 Cohesive Devices
2.0 OBJECTIVE S
The objective of this unit is to familiarize the reader with the
concepts of Stylistics and its re lation to the notions of Style, its
various constituents on the one hand and Linguistics and Liter ary
Criticism on the other.
2.1STYLE AND STYLISTICS
Style is a broad term whose range includes: the idiosyncratic
manner of a writer or a group of writers, the expressiveness created
by the special properties of texts, the language habits of the writer,
andthe occasional linguistic idiosyncrasies that characterize an
individual’s uniqueness. It may also refer to the use of language by
ag r o u po fp e o p l ea to n ep o i n to ft i m e ,o ro v e rap e r i o do ft i m e .
Style is generally referred to as a departure from the set
patterns of norms or as an addition of stylistic devices to neutral
expression or as connotation where text and situations demand it.
There are no strict rules for writing. Every time a person sits to
write, he explores different words and syntax in hism i n de v e no n
the same subject. Style may change f rom situation to situation:
referred to as register; for example, the difference betweenmunotes.in
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18language of advertisement and that of literature. Style may vary on
the basis of degree of formality. An officer us es el egant and
respective language with his seniors and gossiping verbal
expressions with his colleagues. Style can also differ on the basis
of genre –category of artistic work. Literary genre covers the range
of biographies, poetry, fiction, drama , short stories, history and so
on. For example history is based on the clues of thepast and the
historian has to be very careful in using lexis and syntax. The use
of wrong lexis or syntax may lead to the misunderstanding of a
historical fact. His hands are bou nd with the facts of past. While
writing a poem, a poet may ride the wings of imagination and
present the metaphysical world. Unlike a historian, he has the
liberty to play with words and sentence structures. An incomplete
and wrong structure is counted as a fault of a historian's style but
the same device becomes the style of a poet.
The scope of the field has been variously viewed and Leech
and Short (1982) have grouped these different approaches into
three wide classes and have labelled them Monism, Duali sm and
Pluralism.
Monists consider that a literary work has organic unity –style
and content are inseparable: merely expressions of each other.
Consequently, they consider literature especially poetry to be
untranslatable.
The Dualists view centres on the notion of dichotomy
between sense and style. This means that depending on the
occasion, one can express the same thought in a variety of styles.
From the dualists’ point of view, style, thus, is a manner of
expression where words, phrases are chosen to su it the occasion
in a literary work.
The Pluralists view style as a choice of suitable linguistic
forms made from a number of alternative possibilities according to
the demands of the situation. Style for them, thus, is the result of
choice made at the diff erent levels of grammar, phonology and
semantics. This arises out of the Saussurean contribution to
language studies –the notions of langue and parole (code and
message) –which translates in Stylistics to mean the concepts of
norm and deviation. Style, h ere is seen as an exception to the rule,
an aberration or deviation from the norm, for example, colloquial in
formal or archaic in contemporary use. Going a step further,munotes.in
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19Roland Barthes argues that there is no reason why the accepted
norm should be consi dered the ‘only’ correct form.
Drawing upon the above, Leech and Short, (1981) have offered a
comprehensive view of style, which includes the following
assumptions:
Style is a way in which language is used
Style is choice
Style is defined by the domain o fu s e
Style ranges from relatively transparent to opaque.
Analysis of style is thus not mere evaluation, but a detailed
explication of the implicit meanings to exhibit their connections or
divergences within the text and beyond it. Hence, literary styles,
when analysed, reveal both the society in which they were used
and the characteristics of the individual writer. Further, the style of
an utterance is also related to its extra -linguistic setting, hence it
can have a variety of interpretations according t ot h ec u l t u r a l
presuppositions of the reader and the climate of the age. Such
considerations would lead the way to as many textual
interpretations as there are readers.
2.2 STYLISTICS AS THE LINKING COMPONENT
BETWEEN LINGUISTICS AND LITERARY CRITICISM
Stylistics, thus, is seen to be a part of linguistics –a
morphological study shows its proximity to both the parent
disciplines –literary criticism as well as linguistics. The ‘style -
’component relates it to the former and the ‘ -istics’ to the latter. It
borrows the investigative techniques of linguistics and also works
on the object of linguistic study, namely, language, however, unlike
linguistics, it does not restrict itself to mere description; on the
contrary it interprets and draws inferences as a li terary critic would.
Stylistics can serve as a means whereby literature and
language can, by a process of gradual approximation, move
towards both linguistics and literary criticism, and also serve as a
means whereby these disciplines can be pedagogically treated to
yield different subjects. When a linguist approaches a literary piece,
he is interested in the way the linguistic system in it functions; when
a critic reads the work, he looks for a message and his focus on themunotes.in
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20language is only a means to this end. Stylistics can link these two
disciplines, by relating and validating the linguist’s literary intuitions
and the critic’s linguistic observations and making their relationship
explicit.
2.3 REPETITION AND PARALLELISM
Repetition refers to the echo ic aspect of literary language.
Often, it is believed to reflect the paucity of linguistic resource, it
can have its own eloquence. Many varieties of Lexical and
grammatical repetition create many artistic purpose.
Free repetition is the copying of some pr evious word/
phrase/ or sentence amounting to a parallel structure
For example, the pun in ‘O, how that name befits my composition!
Old Gaunt, indeed; and gaunt in being old’. Richard II,II i.
Repetition also serves as a primitive device of intensificatio n.
In the following example Shylock’s extremely emotional outburst is
seen:
‘My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!
Fled with a Christian ! O my Christian ducats!
( The Merchant Of Venice II, viii)
Free repetition has an apparent haphazardness or
disord erliness that contrasts with the formality and
ceremoniousness of parallelism.munotes.in
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21Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words,
phrases, or clauses are called parallel structure .
"It wasn’t a big cliff. It was only about four feet high. But it
was enough to blow out the front tire, knock off the back bumper,
break Dad’s glasses, make Aunt Edythe spit out her false teeth,
spill a jug of Kool -Aid, bump Missy’s head, spread the Auto Bingo
pieces all over ,a n d make Mark do number two ."
(John Hughes, "Vacation '58." National Lampoon ,1 9 8 0 )
"Voltaire could both lick boots and put the boot in. He was at
once opportu nist and courageous, cunning and sincere. He
managed, with disconcerting ease, to reconcile love of freedom
with love of hours."
(Dominique Edde)
"When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are
wrong, y ou cannot be too conservative."
(Martin Lu ther King, Jr.)
By convention, items in a series appear in parallel
grammatical form: a noun is listed with other nouns, an -
ingformwith other –ingforms, a phrase with a phrase and so on.
Failure to express such items in similar grammatical form is
called faulty parallelism .
For example, "They are laughing at me ,n o tw i t hm e . "
(Bart Simpson, The Simpsons )??
Repetition of sounds is known by different names such as
Alliteration and Assonance
“Lounging licking leaping
Prancing pouncing peeking
Corners closets crouching
Tail twirling twitching
Sniffing sensing sneez ing
Hissing huffing hunting
Pretty purring preening
Curiosity kitty killing
Nine long lives living”
(Rick Zablocki, in www.poetrys oup.com accessed 25/04/13 )munotes.in
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22"O well for the fisherman's boy,
That he shouts with his sister at play!
O well for the sailor lad,
That he sings in his boat on the bay!"
(Alfred Lord Tennyson, "Break, Break, Break," 1842)
In the above lines, the repetit ions in lines one and th ree
contribute to the lyricism of the poem.
Repetition helps man to express himself on matters that
deep ly affect him in a superabundant and individualistic manner.
Sometimes repetition lends gravity to the situation/ idea expressed.
The outer message imitates the underlying idea by mimicking it
structure
‘ Blessed are the poor:; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted
Blessed are the meek for th ey shall inherit the earth….’(Matthew: 5)
2.4 FOREGROUNDING
Foregrounding is the practice of making something
prominent from the rest of the context to draw the rea der’s notice. It
is often used in art to invite atten tionsubtly to the artistic value of a
work of art. Foregrounding occurs when the linguistic sign is
‘thrown into relief’ against the background of the norms of everyday
language. The foregrounded figure is the linguistic deviation and
the background is language. Itis essentially a technique for 'making
strange' in language, or to extrapolate from Shklovsky's Russian
term ostranenie , a method of 'defamiliarisation' in textual
composition for the purpose of highlighting.
Paul Garvin first used this term in the 1960s, as a translation
of the Czech aktualisace (literally "to actualise"), borrowing the term
from the Prague school of Linguistics of the 1930s. M.A.K. Halliday,
1973, has characterized foregrounding as motivated prominence :
"the phenomenon of linguistic highlighting, whereby some features
of the language of a text stand out in some way" ( Explorations in
the Functions of Language ,1 9 7 3 ) .
Whether the foregrounded pattern deviates from a norm, or
whether it replicates a pattern through parallelism ,t h ep o i n to f
foregrounding as a stylistic strategy is that it should acquiremunotes.in
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23salience in the act of drawing attention to itself. Paul Simpson,
2004, Stylistics: A Resource Book for Students .2 0 0 4 )
Foregrounding can occur at all levels of language
(phonology ,graphology ,morphology ,lexis ,syntax ,semantics and
pragmatics ). The first reaction to foregrounding is surprise and
novelty. Additionally, it is generally used to highlight important parts
of a text, to aid memorability and/or to invite i nterpretation.
Interpretation of foregrounding is generally subjective as the writer
with deliberate unintention communicates a large amount of
information.
For example: “An aspersion upon my parts of speech! Was
ever such a brute! Sure, if I reprehend an ything in this world, it is
the use of my oracular tongue and a nice derangemen t of epitaphs”
(Mrs. Malaprop, The Rivals, III.iii. Sheridan). The use of language
generates humour as also characterizes the speaker.
There are two main types of foregrounding: Parallelism and
Deviation. Parallelism can be described as unexpected regularity,
while deviation can be seen as unexpected irregularity. As the
definition of foregrounding indicates, these are relative concepts.
Something can only be unexpectedly regular or irregular within a
particular context. This context can be relatively narrow, such as
the immediate textual surroundings -'secondary norm' or wider
such as an entire genre -'primary norm'.
For example, the last line of a poem with a consistent metre
may be foregrounded by changing the number of syllables it
contains. This would be an example of a deviation from a
secondary norm.
For ex ample, in the poem given below, E. E. Cu mmings ,h a s
used two types of deviations;
light’s lives lurch
a once world quickly from rises
army the gradual of unbeing fro
on stiffening greenly air and to ghosts go
drift slippery hands tease slim float twitter faces
only stand with me, love! against these its
until you are, and until i am dreams...munotes.in
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24Firstly, most of the poem deviates from 'normal' language
(primary deviation). In addition, there is secondary deviation in that
the penultimate line is unexpectedly different from the rest of the
poem.
Nursery rhymes , advertisements and slogans often exhibit
parallelism in the form of repetition and rhyme , but parallelism can
also occur over longer texts. For example, jokes are often built on a
mixture of parallelism and deviation. They often consist of three
parts or characters. The first two are very similar (parallelism) and
the third one starts out as similar, but our expectations are thwarted
when it turns out different in end (deviation).
Another example, the clauses which constitute a discour se
can be divided into two classes: clauses which convey the central
ideas in text: those propositions which should be remembered; and
clauses which, in one way or another, elaborate on the important
ideas, adding specificity or contextual information to h elp in the
interpretation of the central ideas. The former clauses are
called foregrounded clauses, and their propositional content
isforeground information. The clauses, which elaborate the central
propositions are called backgrounded clauses, and their
propositional content is background information.
For example, the clause in bold typeface in the text fragment
below conveys foregrounded information while the italicized
clauses convey background .
The smaller fish is now in an air bubble
spinningand tur ning
and making its way upward (Tomlin 1985).
Clause 1 conveys foregrounded information because it
relates the critical proposition for the discourse at this point: the
location of the 'smaller fish.' The state of the air bubble and its
motion are less ce ntral to that description, so that the other clauses
seem merely to elaborate or develop a part of the proposition
contained in clause 1.(Russell S. Tomlin, "Functional Grammars,
Pedagogical Grammars." Perspectives On Pedagogical Grammar ,
ed. by Terence Od lin,1994)
Another instance of foregrounding equivalent process, by
which a portion of the underlying meaning is represented
linguistically at more than one level: not only the semantics of themunotes.in
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25text-the ideational and interpersonal meanings, as represente di n
the content and in the writer's choice of his role –but also by direct
reflection in the lexicogrammar or the phonology.
“The furrow followed free ”(Coleridge :“Rime of the Ancient
Mariner ”)
Phonemic transcription:
Syllable structure: cv -cv-cv cv -cvc-ccv
Rhythmic structure: x /x /x /
Alliterative pattern :fr ,fl , f ,r
Deviation occurs when the poetic language moves away
from our expectations and this brings in an element of surprise
Dylan Thomas’ Farmyards away
“Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,
As I rode to sleep the owls were bearing the farm away,
All the moon long I heard, blessed among stables, the nightjars
Flying with the ricks, ……..”
Or
Dylan Thomas’ A Grief Ago
“A grief ago,
She who was who I hold, the fats and the flower,
Or, water -lammed, from the scythe -sided thorn,
Hell wind and sea,……”
2.5 SIMILE AND METAPHOR
Simile h as been defined as an explicit comparison between
two objects with reference to some common underlying quality.
Commonly, the words ‘as’ or ‘like’ are used to explicate the
comparison. My love is like a red red rose, ( Burns, My mistress'
eyes are nothing like the sun, Shakespeare ) In a simile ,t h eg r o u n d
for comparison is specified: in ‘I wondered lonely a s a cloud’,
loneliness is sated as the property which the speaker and a cloud
have in commonmunotes.in
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26Metaphoris implied comparison where the first object is
spoken of as being that which it resembles. There are no explicit
words of comparison used, instead one thi ng is said to be the other.
The ground for comparison and the things compared are both not
being stated. The metaphor makes the meaning of the comparison
clear by making the tenor as similar as possible to the vehicle. For
example, the camel is the ship of the desert, Yes! in the sea of life
enisled, ... We mortal millions live alone, Arnold; AS o n n e ti sa
moment's monument ... D. G. Rossetti
Poets often combine both these figure of speech:
‘The City now doth like a garment, wear
The beauty of the mornin g…’ where ‘garment’ is introduced
by a simile and then the comparison becomes inexplicit.
Extended metaphors are seen in long poems of the epic
variety Milton, Paradise Lost, opening lines of Book !X); compound
metaphors are seen when two or more metaphors are used
simultaneously.
Unchangeable, save to thy wild waves’ play,
Time writes no wrinkle in thine azure brow:
Such as creation’s d awn beheld, thou rollest now. ( Byron,
Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage)
Some metaphors are apt. Some are not. The conscientious
writer strives to come up with fresh metaphors.
A common fault of writing is to mix metaphors.
Before Uncle Jesse ( Dukes of Hazzard )d i di t ,aW o r l dW a rI I
general is said to have mixed the metaphor Don’t burn your
bridges ,m e a n i n g“ D o n ’ ta l i e n a t ep e o p l e who have been useful to
you,” with Don’t cross that bridge before you come to it ,
meaning “Don’t worry about what might happen until it happens” to
create the mixed metaphor: Don’t burn your bridges before you
come to them.
Many metaphors are used so often that they have become
cliché. They are used routinely in speech, though the careful writer
tries to avoid them: hungry as a horse, as big as a house, hard as
nails, as good as gold .munotes.in
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27Some metaphors have been used so frequently as to lose
their metaphorica lq u a l i t i e sa l t o g e t h e r .T h e s ea r e“ d e a d
metaphors”; for example ,the war on drugs, the war on poverty, the
war on AIDS . In these uses the word means little more than “efforts
to get rid of” and not, the dictionary meaning
In a sense, all language is metap hor because words are
simply labels for things that exist in the world. We call something “a
table” because we have to call it something, but the word is not the
thing it names. Metaphors and similes lend colour to the language
even in daily exchanges and this is the most common function of
metaphors in our daily use of language.
2.6 IMAGERY AND SYMBOL
Imagery is used in literature to enhance the sensory
experiences of the text. Imagery can be visual, olfactory , tactile
etc. ‘
‘Behold her single in the fie ld
Yon solitary highland lass
Reaping and singing self by herself’
In the above lines, Wordsworth, draws a word picture of the
reaper as he visualizes her in his mind.
‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom -friend of the maturing sun;
Cons piring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch -eaves run;
To bend with apples the mossed cottage -trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells’
The lines by Keats bring out the sensuousness of the
season of Autumn.
‘Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloftmunotes.in
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28Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full -grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge -crickets sing, and now wi th treble soft
The redbreast whistles from a garden -croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies’
One can almost hear the sounds of the season in the words
of the poem.
Imagery creates sensual appeal and heightens the lyrical
appeal of the poem
Asymbol represents an idea,aprocess , or an object and its
aim is to communicate meaning. The purpose of a symbol is to
communicate meaning . For example, a picture of a tent on a map
might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for numbers .
Personal names are symbols representing individuals. Human
language contains an immense number of symbols whose intended
meaning or significance is well -known and accepted by the
majority. White stands for life and purity, Red can symb olize blood,
passion, danger, or immoral character, Purple is a royal color.
Symbols are used when the writer uses an object or idea to
represent something else. When an author wants to suggest a
certain mood or emotion, he can also use symbolism to hin tat it,
rather than just blatantly saying it. It is usually something that the
author feels is significant in the life of the person or central to the
theme of the stories.
Symbolism can take many forms in literary writings and give
al i t e r a r yw o r km o r er i chness and color and can make the meaning
of the work deeper. It is seen in the following instances:
A figure of speech occurs when an object, person, or
situation has another meaning other than its literal meaning. Such
as the actions of a character, word ,a c t i o n ,o re v e n tt h a th a sa
deeper meaning in the context of the whole story.
For example: InGolding’s Lord of the Flies the boys in the
story take a pig's head and stick it on a stake that is pointed at both
ends. Then the head is lodged into the gro und. The head
represents a religious icon as the boys move away from civilizedmunotes.in
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29behavior. It also represents the savage behaviors that the boys
engage in.
A metaphor is often symbolic:
It compares two things that are dissimilar and shows up their
simila rity. It also shows up the additional meaning to a word ,making
it an example of symbolism.
For example: “He is a rock ”:T h i s expression is symbolic because it
signifies that he is strong and dependable.
Poets use symbolism to enhance the significance of th eir
poems. For example: “Ah Sunflower” Blake refers to the life cycle
and uses sunflowers to represent humankind and that t hey desire
everlasting life.
“Ah Sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where t he traveler’s journey is done;”
2.7SYNTACTIC AND GRAPHOLOGICAL DEVIATIONS
Syntactic deviations are both morphological and at the level
of deep and surface structure.
Morphological extravaganzas such as ‘museyroom, intellible,
eggtentical’ in Joyc e’sFinnegan’s Wake create specific value in the
context. But, these ‘neologisms’ are restricted to few creative
artists. Deviations at the syntactic level are more often seen. Mere
violations of the rules of the surface structure are perceived as bad
gram mar: ‘I doesn’t like him’, however, such instances may be
deliberate by the writer. These deviations are apart of the idiolect of
the character and thereby help typify his traits.
Deviations of the deep structure sare instances where the
position reserved for words of a certain class are filled in byw o r d s
of different class: ‘ a grief ago’ Dylan Thomas . Here the deviation is
interpreted by relating the choice to a whole class of normal forms
that could replace it in that position.munotes.in
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30Syntactic deviations o ften evoke psychological sates :
‘T h e r eh e a df a l l sf o r w a r d ,f a t i g u e da te v e n i n g ,
And dreams of home,
Waving from window, spread of welcome,
Kissing of wife under single sheet;
But waking sees
Bird-flocks nameless to him, through doorway voices
Of new men making another love.’ (“The Wanderer ”,W . H .
Auden )
The use of a subjectless, articleless style suggests the
exile’s loss of a sense of identity and of a coordinated view of life.
Similar syntactic variations are seen in many instances in “The
Wreck of the Deutschland ”as well.
The style used by Joyce in the interior monologues of
Leopold Bloom in Ulysses, uses both morphological and syntactic
deviations:
“Bloom looked, unblessed to go. Got up to kill: on eighteen
bob a week. Fellows shell out the dibs .W a n tt ok e e py o u r
weathereye open. Those girls, those lovely. By the sad sea waves.
Chorusgirl’s romance. Letters read out for breach of promise. From
Chikabiddy’s own Mumpsypum. Laughter in court. Henry, I never
signed it. The lovely name you.” ( from Th e Sirens).
Graphological Deviation
Atfirst glance ,the simple line by line arra ngement of poetry
is in itself a deviant feature as compared to the normal writing
pattern of English. This kind of verse lineation is a structural device
with justification o nly within its own context. Such an arrangement
is capable of interacting with the standard units of punctuation and
thus is a special communicative resource of poetry.
William Carlos Williams and E. E. Cummings are well known
for graphological variation in their poetry: discarding of capital
letters and punctuation where convention calls for them, jumbling
up of words and use of parenthesis. All these are expressive
devices used according to typographical custom:munotes.in
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31‘seeker of truth
follow no path
all paths lead where
truth is here’ (N o . 3o f7 3p o e m s )
An ambiguity results from a clash between the units of sense
indic ated by lineation and by syntax -is the last line a statement of
assertion/ or does one read it as ‘all paths lead where truth is’ and
‘here’ is on its own an exclamatory conclusion!!
There are other poems by Cummings where the he has used
both syntactic and graphological poem
anyone lived in a pretty how town
‘anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summ er autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did’ e. e. cummings
2.8 COHESIVE DEVICES
Cohesion is method by which writers sign post meaning for
their readers. For example, the grammatical andlexical relationship
within a textorsentence , can be the support for decoding meaning
for a reader of the text. Cohesion can be defined as the links that
hold a text together and give it meaning. It i sr e l a t e dt ot h eb r o a d e r
concept of coherence which holds the text together.
There are two main types of cohesion: grammatical ,r e f e r r i n g
to the structural content, and lexical , referring to the choice of
words in the piece. A cohesive text is created in many different
ways. In Cohesi on in English ,M.A.K. Halliday andRuqaiya
Hasan identify the five general categories of cohesive devices that
create coherence in texts: reference, ellipsis , substitution, lexical
cohesion and conjunction .munotes.in
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32Reference:
There are two main referential devices that can create cohesion:
Anaphoric reference occurs whe n the writer refers back to
someone or something that has been previously identified, in the
text to avoid repetition. Most commonly, this is done with the help of
pronouns: replacing "the taxi driver" with the pronoun "he" or "two
girls" with "they". Anot her example can be found in formulas such
as "as stated previously" or "the aforementioned" etc.
The opposite of Anaphoric referencing is Cataphori
creference: a reference forward as oppos ed to backward in the
discourse. Something is introduced in the abstract before it is
identified. For example: "Here he comes, our award -winning
superstar... it’s Amitabh Bacchan!" Cataphoric references can also
be found in written text, for example "see p age 10".
Ellipsis
Ellipsis as the name suggests is the use of omission to
create linkages in the text. As a cohesive device, it is seen when
words ar e omitted when they are uniquely recoverable from the
context.
A simple conversational example:
(A) Where are you going?
(B) To town.
The full form of B's reply would be: "I am going to town".
A simple written example: The latter’s performance
surpassed t he former’s
Substitution
In this instance of cohesion, a word is not omitted, as in
ellipsis, but is substituted for another, more general word. For
example, "Which ice -cream would you like?" –"I would like the pink
one " where "one" is used instead of re peating "ice -cream." This
works in a similar way to pronouns, which replace the noun. For
example, 'Ice -cream' is a noun, and its pronoun could be 'It'. 'I
dropped the ice -cream because it was not good'. Replacing the
noun for a pronoun. "I dropped the ice -cream. It was the only one I
had'. –the second sentence contains the pronoun (It), and themunotes.in
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33substitution (one). Both sign post meaning: one links back and the
other replaces.
Lexical Cohesion
Lexical Cohesion is the signaling of meaning through an
approp riate selection of vocabulary. The choice of words may be
conscious or unconscious, but they make a text connected.
Repetition , or reiteration, is the most direct instance of lexical
cohesion; where linkages are provided by repeating the preceding
lexical item. It establishes a cohesive tie between two identical
lexical items. For example, I saw a movie last night. The movie was
superb.
The referential link –repetition of the word movie signals that
the same movie is being talked about.
Synonyms
Lexical cohesion is established by synonyms when their use
links the intended ideas together:
For example: I heard a sound, but I couldn’t figure out where
that noise came from.
Here, Noise refers back to sound. Both terms have the same
level of generality and are therefore synonyms in a sense.
Antonyms
A relationship between lexical items that have opposite
meanings can also be used to hold the text together
For example: He fell asleep. What woke him was a loud crash.
Asleep and woke are antonyms and therefore fo rm a
cohesive relationship.
Collocation
Collocation is the tendency of two or more lexical items to
co-occur frequently in a language. Collocation can serve as a
source of lexical cohesion since it is helps build our expectations of
what is to come next.
For example: ‘ Al i t t l ef a tm a no fB o m b a y
Was smoking one very hot daymunotes.in
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34But a bird called a snipe
Flew away with his pipe,
Which vexed the fat man of Bombay’.
In this example, smoke collocates with pipe and therefore
makes the occurrence of pipe cohesive.
Conjunctions
Conjunction sets up a relationship between two clauses. The
most basic but least cohesive is the conjunction and.For example:
The college is situa ted both near the railway station and the bus
stop. Conjunctions can also be implicit and deduced from correctly
interpreting the text. For example: I shall have idlis, dosas and
vadas for lunch today.
Transitions are conjunctions and phrases that add cohesion
to a text. In their variety, they can add a host of meanings and thus
make the text cohesive.
Some common transitional expressions are:
• in the first place
• not only ... but also
• as a matter of fact
• in like manner
• in addition
• coupled with
• in the same fashion / way
• first, second, third
• in the light of
• not to mention
• to say nothing of
• equally important
• by the same token
• as well as etc
For example: First, I will explain the concept, next we will together
work on examples.munotes.in
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35Grammatical Cohesion
Grammar refers to the logical and structural rules that
govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any
given natural language. When these structures are used in a
manner so as to link ideas in a text, one sees instances of
grammatical cohesion
Example:
‘I went to the market this morning and bought some fruits;
then, I went to the store a few hours later and purchased some
vegetables.
In this sentence, the verb “went” ha s a reference to past
tense. While rewriting the paragraph, one would have to use the
past tense through so long as one was talking about the past. The
use of past tense, present tense and future tense keeps a
paragraph in cohesion.
Another form of gram matical coh esion operates at the level
of“phrases”. Phrases such as “for example”, “for instance”, “in
addition”, “such as”, “further more”, “as well as”, etc. help one make
a smooth transition across ideas and statements.
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36Unit-3
ANALYSIS OF PROSE STY LE–
INTRODUCTION TO PHRASES
Unit Structure:
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Phrases
3.2 Main and Subordinate Phrases
3.3 Types of Phrases
3.3.1 Noun Phrases
3.3.2 Prepositional Phrases (PP)
3.3.3 Genitive Phrases (GP)
3.3.4 Adjective Phrases (AjP)
3.3.5 Adver b Phrases (AvP)
3.3.6 Verb Phrases (VP)
3.4 Effects of Phrases in Style
3.5 Exercise
3.0 OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of the unit is to provide the learners
with the basic understanding of phrases. The unit also aims to
classify phrases and their func tions.
3.1PHRASES
There are six classes of phrases. They are Noun Phrase
(NP), Adjective Phrase (AjP), Adverb Phrase (AvP), Prepositional
Phrase (PP), Genitive Phrase (GP) and Verb Phrase (VP). Of
these, NPs AjPs and AvPs have the same basic structure, whi ch is
({Mn}H{ Mn}). The ‘n’m e a n st h a tt h e r ec a nb eo n eo rm o r et h a no n e
Modifier, M. These phrases must have a Head word,’H’ but the
modifiers are optional which is indicated by the sign { }. The
modifiers which come before the Head are known as Premodif iers
and those that come after the Head are known as Post modifiers .
Eg: Premodifier: NP(dMthe AjMpretty NHgirl)
Postmodifier: NP(pnHsomething AjHnasty)munotes.in
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37Of the remaining three types of phrases (Verb Phrases,
Prepositional Phrases and Genitive Phrases ,) both Prepositional
Phrases and Genitive Phrases can be considered as Noun phrases
with an extra particle or marker added to them.
Eg: Prepositional Phrase: PP(ofthe student)
Genetive Phrase: NP(GPM(the student ’s)NHbag)
The difference between th ese two phrases is that the
preposition is added to the front of the PP, whereas the genitive
marker, ’s is added to the end of the GP.
3.2 MAIN AND SUBORDINATE PHRASES
A main phrase is that which is a direct constituent of a
clause, and which is not part of another phrase.
Eg: MCl [ NP(Raju ) VP(ate) NP(the mangoes) AvP(greediliy)].
The noun phrase ‘Raju’, the Verb phrase ‘ate’, the noun
phrase ‘the mangoes’ and the adverb phrase ‘greediliy’ all are main
phrases as they are the direct constituents of a clau se and not part
of another phrase.
A subordinate phrase is that which is part of another phrase.
Eg: NP(The man PPM(with a walking stick))
In the above NP, we have another phrase, a PP, as a
postmodifier within it. The PP is a subordinate phrase as it i sp a r to f
another phrase, NP.
Eg: NP(GPM(the young man’s) NHcoat)
In this example, the NP contains a subordinate Genitive Phrase.
Indirect Subordination
It has been understood that in the hierarchy of units, a unit
higher in scale consists of one or more of the next lower units. For
example, a clause consists of one or more phrases. Now we have
to add to it the possibility that a unit is not directly divisible into units
of the next lower rank but may contain as its elements units of the
same or even of a higher rank. This is the phenomenon of
subordination.
Eg: NP(the NHwomen RCl[who work in the factory])munotes.in
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383.3 TYPES OF PHRASES
3.3.1 Noun Phrases :
In a clause NP acts as Subject, Object, Complement or Adverbials
Eg: MCl [ NPS(Ravi) VPP(reads) NPO(an int eresting book)].
MCl [ NPS(She) VPP(is) NPC(a teacher)].
MCl [ NPS(Tom) VPP(came) NPA(home) NPA(last week)].
In a phrase, the head of an NP may be the following:
1.AN o u n –Eg: NP(the NHcar), NP(aNHpilot)
2.AP r o n o u n –Eg: NP(pnHHe), NP(pnHThey)
3.An Adjective –Eg: MCl [ NP(The AjHbrave) put up a fight always].
4.Genitive Phrase –Eg: MCl [This is NP(GPH(John’s))].
5.Enumerator –Eg: NP(All eHthree), NP(eHfive)
Premodifiers in a Noun phrase:
1.Determiner –Eg: NP(dMthat NHtrain), NP(dMaNHbanana)
2.Enumera tor –Eg: NP(eMfour NHlegs), NP(dMthe eMtenth
NHconsignment)
3.Adjective –Eg: NP(dMaAjMnaughtyH
Nboy), NP(dMaAjMblue NHdress)
4.Noun –Eg: NP(NMLondon NHweather), NP(dMthe NMsilver NHbangle)
5.Genitive phrase –Eg: NP(GPM(Gita’s) NHpen), NP(GPM(her)
NHmarriag e)
6.Adverb –Eg: NP(AvMquite dMaNHnuisance)
7.Adjective phrase –Eg: NP(dMa AjPM(AvMvery AjHinteresting)
NHdiscovery)
Postmodifiers in a Noun Phrase:
1.Prepositional Phrase –Eg: NP(dMthe NHbook PPM(on Psychology))
2.Relative clause –Eg: NP(Mthe NHgate RClM[which is painted red])
3.Adjectives –Eg: NP(pnHsomething AjMterrible)munotes.in
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394.Adverb –Eg: NP(dMthe NHman AvMdownstairs)
5.Noun phrase –Eg: NP(NHTagore, NPM(dMthe AjMgreat NHpoet))
3.3.2 Prepositional Phrases (PP) :
In a clause, PPs act as Adverbials (A).
Eg: MCl[S(We)P(had gone) PPA(to Delhi) PPA(by train)].
The Adverbials have various meanings in the two PPs mentioned
above. We find adverbials of place and manner, answering
questions ‘where’ and ‘how’.
In the main NPs, AjPs, AvPs and PPs, subordinate PPs act as
postmodifiers:
Eg: NP(dMaNHpiece PPM(of cake))
AjP(AvMtoo AjHhot PPM(for comfort))
AvP(AvMvery AvHquickly PPM(for a win))
PP(in the NHshade PPM(of the mango tree)).
The PPs have the same structure as NPs but the difference is that
they are introduced by a p reposition, i.e, PP=p+NP.
3.3.3 Genitive Phrases (GP) :
GPs function either as Heads or as premodifiers in NPs.
Eg: as Head: MCl [S(The pen)P(is) NPO(GPH(mine))].
as premodifier: MCl [ NPS(GPM(Her) NHdress)P(looks)C(beautiful)].
GPs are like NPs i n that they end with particle –’s. Possessive
pronouns also function as GPs but do not end in ’s. Some
possessive pronouns are my, your, his, her, our, mine etc.
3.3.4 Adjective Phrases (AjP) :
In a clause, AjPs function as complements.
Eg: MCl [S(The te a)P(is) AjPC(very hot)].
AjPs function as premodifiers in NPs.
Eg: NP(aAjPM(AvMvery AjHbig) NHbuilding)munotes.in
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40The head of an adjective phrase is an adjective and
premodifiers are always adverbs like extremely, very, rather, too
etc.
Eg: AjP(AvMrather AjHgood )
AjP(AvMtoo AjHclever)
The postmodifiers can be
1.Adverbs –Eg: AjP(AjHnice AvMenough,
Ajp(Mvery AjHbad AvMindeed)
2.PPs –Eg: AjP(Mtoo AjHcold PPM(for comfort))
3.Comparative Clauses –Eg: AjP(AjHshorter CClM[than I had
imagined])
3.3.5 Adverb Phrases (AvP) :
In a clause, AvPs function as Adverbials.
Eg: MCl [She works at home AvPA(AvMvery AvHrarely)].
The head of an AvP is an adverb. The rest of the structure of Avp is
similar to that of AjP.
Eg: AvP(AvHfast AvMenough),
AvP(AvMvery AvHrapidly AvMindeed)
AvP(AvMtoo AvHquickly PPM(for belief))
AvP(AvHswifter CClM[than I thought])
3.3.6 Verb Phrases (VP) :
The VP always functions as Predicator (P) in the clause. The
structure of the VP comprises of the Main Verb (Mv) and Auxiliaries
(Aux). The auxiliaries are optional and come before the Main Verb.
The general structure of the VP is ({Aux} {Aux} {Aux} {Aux} Mv) in
which { } stands for the optional element.
Eg: MCl [He VPP(Aux
mmightAux
perfhaveAux
passbeenMv
Venshaken) by
the incident].munotes.in
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413.4 EFFECTS OF PHRASES IN STYLE
Noun Phrases add modifiers and adjectives to sentences
and they make style descriptive. They also introduce subjects and
objects and hence, they can also make the style expository.
Adjective Phrases modify the nouns and they make the style
descriptive. They can also add details like colo ur, size, volume etc.
Adverb Phrases modify verbs and they indicate the location,
time, duration and direction of action.
Prepositional Phrases function as Adverbials. They des cribe
the actions.
Samples of Phrase Analysis
1. [NPS(The calm day) VPP(began) PPA(with an early sunrise)].
2. [NPS(Ramesh and John) VPP(were) NPC(good friends)].
3. [NPS(The class) VPP(was) AjPC(full) NPA(today)].
4. [NPS(The student) VPP(reached) NPA(home) PPA(intime)].
5. [NPS(A small child) VPp(was crying) PPA(for a long time)].
6. [NPS(The car) VPP(was) PPA(n e a rt h e b r i d g e ) PPA(under a
tree)].
3.5 EXERCISE
Divide the following sentences into phrases:
1.He ate a big apple rather quickly.
2.The students report ed the matter to the principal.
3.She got up very late yesterday.
4.Sita and Ramya were crying after the results.
5.Local trains have been running late for the last three days.
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42Unit -4
ANALYSIS OF PROSE: INTRODUCTION
TO CLAUSES
Unit Structure :
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Elements of a Clause
4.1.1 Predicator (P) and Subjects (S)
4.1.2 Object (O) and Complement (C)
4.1.3 Adverbials (A)
4.2 Types of Subordinate Clauses
4.2.1 Noun Clauses (NC)
4.2.2 Adverbial Clauses (AC)
4.2.3 Relative Clauses (RCI)
4.2.4 Comparative Clauses (CCI)
4.2.5 Prepositional Clauses (PCI)
4.2.6 Effects of Main Clauses and Subordinate Clauses
4.2.7 Effects of Verbs
4.3 Exercise
4.0 OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of the unit is to provide the reader the
basic understanding o f clauses in terms of their constituent
elements. The unit also aims to classify clauses and to consider
their functions.
4.1 ELEMENTS OF A CLAUSE
There are five principal elements in a clause. They are
Predicator (P), Subject (S), Object (O), Complement ( C) and
Adverbial (A).
Eg: [S(Many)P(consider)O(sincere people)C(foolish)A(these
days).]
Let us consider these elements in detail.munotes.in
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434.1.1 Predicator (P) and Subject (S) :
The predicator consists of the verb phrase and the subject
normally precedes the predicator. There is always an agreement
between the subject and predicator regarding the number and
person.
Eg: MCl [S(Children)P(like) ice cream]
MCl [S(She)P(likes) chocolates].
4.1.2 Object (O) and Complement (C) :
The object denotes the perso n or thing that is affected by the
action or state denoted by the predicator. The objects can be
identified by the type of questions they answer (what or whom). The
complement may look like an object but in terms of meaning it
provides a description of the subject or object. There are two types
of complements –Subject Complement (Cs) and Object
Complement (Co).
Eg: MCl [Jack openedO(the door)].
MCl [She seemedCs(happy)]. (Attributes quality to the subject –
Subject Complement)
MCl [Ever yone consideredO(Sachin)Co(a great cricketer)].
(attributes quality to object –Object Complement)
4.1.3 Adverbials (A) :
Adverbials provide circumstantial information of various
kinds like time, place, speaker’s attitude etc. They are the least
closely integrated into the clause structure but are the most mobile
ones. There is no fixed number of them in a clause.
Eg: MCl [A(Fortunately), (he) (reached)A(home)A(safely)A(today)].
MCl [A(Today), (he)A(fortunately) (reached)A(home)A(safely)].
Sofar we have dealt with single sentences comprising of
single main clause (MCl), which can stand on its own as a simple
sentence. But in complex sentences there would be one or more
subordinate clauses (SCl), that is, clauses which are grammatically
subord inated because they are part of another clause.
Simple Sentence: MCl [I will play football].munotes.in
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44Complex Sentences: MCl [ SCl[If the weather holds up], I will play
football].
MCl[ SCl[That the game was fixed] was obvious].
Finite and Non -finite Clauses
Finite clauses are those having finite verb phrases,
containing a finite verb showing tense and subject concord.
Eg: MCl [The play began SCl[when the stage was lit up]]. [finite SCl]
Non-finite clauses do not contain finite verbs and the verbs
in non -finite v erb phrases are Vi (infinitive), Ving (present participle)
and Ven (past participle) forms. A non -finite clause often has no
subject.
Eg: MCl [ SCling [Taking the hat], the old man went for a walk]. [non -
finite SCl]
MCl [He broke the lock SCli[to open the door]]. [non -finite SCl]
MCl [ SClen [Beaten by the police], the criminals succumbed to
their injuries]. [Non -finite SCl]
Subordinate Clauses (SCl)
SCls are recognized in part by their function within larger
units and in part by their internal st ructure. They function as S, O, C
and A. In their internal structure, SCls are divisible into the clause
elements SPOCA.
Eg: MCl [I did not know SClO[how my pocket was picked]].
SCls usually have some markers to help identify their
subordinate status. The yo f t e nb e g i nw i t h :
1.A subordinating conjunction: Eg: when, after, since, because, if,
though etc.
2.Aw h -clause element: Eg: what, who, where, how etc.
3.An o n -finite predicator: Eg: seeing, to see, seen and so on.
4.2 TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES
4.2.1 Noun Clauses (NCl) :
NCls function as S, O or C in another clause.munotes.in
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45Eg: MCl [I told him NClO[that the information was reliable]].
MCl [ NClS[That he helps people in need] is a fact].
MCL [ NClS[Who murdered the boy] is a mystery].
MCl [Alice told me NClO[the cake was tasty]].
MCl [They advised him NCliO[to prepare well for the exams]].
…MCl [ NClingS[Seeing a thief in your house] is a shocking
experience].
MCl [He considered everyone NCliC[to be foolish]]
Effects of Noun Clauses :NCls intro duce object and subject. NCls
make the passage factual or expository.
4.2.2 Adverbial Clauses (ACl) :
ACls function as Adverbials in another clause and can be classified
according to what questions they answer. (Where, when, why, how)
Eg: MCl [The match r esumed ACl[when the rain stopped]].
MCl [ ACl[Although he was rich], he was unhappy.
MCl [He didn’t report for work today ACl[as he was sick]].
MCl [She wore a mask ACl i[to escape detection]].
MCl [ AClen [Haunted by nightmares], h e was awake all night].
MCl [ ACling[Opening the door], she greeted the guests]
Effects of Adverbial Clauses :ACls have adjectival function. They
make the passage descriptive
4.2.3 Relative Clauses (RCl) :
Relative Clauses function as postmodifiers in an NP and
therefore are indirectly part of another clause. Finite Relative
clauses typically begin with a relative pronoun (who, whom, which,
that, whose) which relates the clause to a noun or pronoun which is
the head of the NP or PP.
Eg: MCl [The girl RCl[who is wearing the red shoes] is my sister].
MCl [The room RCl[that was decorated for the function] was
appropriate for the occasion].munotes.in
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46… MCl [The best car RCli[to buy] is Santro].
MCl [The trees RCling [dancing in the wind] aroused the
imagina tion of the poet].
MCl [Information Rclen[given to us] was correct].
Zero Relative Clause is the one in which the relative pronoun is
dropped
Eg: MCl [My parents are the people RCl[I adore very much]].
In addition to relative pronouns, there are re lative adverbs
(where and when) which also introduce relative clauses.
Eg: MCl [The place RCl[where I spent the best days of my life] is the
hills of Himachal Pradhesh].
……MCl [India attained independence in the year RCl[when I was
born]].
Effects of Rel ative Clauses :R C l sm o d i f yn o u n sa n dp r o n o u n s .
Hence, they have descriptive function.
4.2.4 Comparative Clauses (CCl) :
Comparative clauses like RCls have a post modifying
function. But, they post modify not only nouns but also adjectives
and adverbs. The m ost common CCl is easy to identify because it
follows a comparative form such as more, less, taller etc and is
introduced by the conjunction ‘than’.
Eg: MCl [In some countries, people earn more money CCl[than they
can spend]].
MCl [She’s less naught yCCl[than her brother was at that age]].
MCl [You ran faster CCl[than I had ever imagined]].
MCl [He is happier to act CCli[than to think]].
MCl [Anil is better at handling administration CCling [than
teaching the students]].
Effects of Comparative clauses : CCls modify nouns, adjectives
and adverbs. They also compare two qualities or quantities. Hence,
they can be descriptive, illustrative and argumentative.munotes.in
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474.2.5 Prepositional Clauses (PCl) :
Prepositional clauses like prepositional phrases begin with a
preposition. So PCls are like NCls. As a formula, PCls can be
represented as PCl = p+NCl. PCls function either as adverbials or
post modifiers . In a finite PCl, the preposition is followed by a wh -
element.
Eg: MCl[The students were sur prised PCl[at what they got as gift]].
MCl[She has no knowledge PCl[of who gave us this idea]].
MCl[They escaped PCling [by jumping over the wall]].
MCl [ PCling[With Allan helping me], I completed my project].
Effects of Prepositional Claus es:PCls function mostly as RCls.
They modify nouns and pronouns and make the passage
descriptive.
4.2.6 Effects of Main Clauses and Subordinate Clauses :
If the passage has many MCls, it will have either simple
sentences or compound sentences. MCls make t he passage
easy to read and they give an objective presentation of facts.
If the passage has many SCls, it indicates frequent modification
of statements and non -objective presentation of details. They
also suggest the complex thought process and they affec tt h e
readability.
4.2.7 Effects of verbs:
There are two types of verbs: stative verbs and dynamic
verbs. Dynamic verbs are active verbs. If a passage has these
verbs, it becomes action packed and lively. Stative verbs indicate
either past or a static sit uation or even a mental state of the
speaker.
4.2EXERCISE
Divide the following sentences into clauses and identify the
subordinate clauses:
Eg: MCl [NCl[ That he lied ] (is) (very clear) (now)munotes.in
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481.Leaning out of a train is dangerous
2.To lean out of a train i s dangerous.
3.The book that you gave me is with my friend.
4.The bottle which you dropped is still intact.
5.The person who is at the door is the principal.
6.The boy who came yesterday went today.
7.This room is more spacious than the other one is.
8.This road is more crowded than the other one is.
9.As soon as you reach the station, give me a call.
10.You have to carry an I -card, if you want to enter the college.
11.Turning away from me, he entered the library.
12.He created trouble in whichever company he worked.
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49Unit-5
LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF PROSE
PASSAGES
Unit Structure:
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Sample Analysis
5.1.1 Sample Analysis 1
5.1.2 Sample Analysis 2
5.1.3 Sample Analysis 3
5.2 Exercise
5.0 OBJECTIVES
The major objective of this unit is to help the stu dents to
analyse prose passages in terms of the clauses used in them.
Further, it also aims to familiarize the students with connection
between linguistic techniques and the style of a prose extract.
5.1 SAMPLE ANALYSIS
5.1.1 Sample Analysis 1:
(a)Rewrite the passage dividing each sentence into clauses.
Identify the subordinate clauses within each main clause stating the
type of subordination. Count the number of i ndependent and
depended clauses:
(b)Analyze or divide sentence no.3 into phrases stating the
function of each phrase
(S-1) He picked up a spoon, turning the matter over in his mind. (S -
2) He wondered what life would be like if known only through touch,
what it would reveal, what kinds of thoughts and feelings it would
give rise to. (S -3) It was so simple. (S -4) He couldn’t imagine our
existence without touch, yet so little was known about it. (S -5) He
remembered the works he had read of Helen Keller. (S -6) All thatmunotes.in
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50was talked about was the attempt to be sighted, how to run the
handicap into a compe nsation for the normal world, fitting back in.
(S-7) Never the mysteries of that dark existence she had felt -on its
own terms –the things for which there were no names, no words.
Answer :
(a) MCl (I)[ He picked up the spoon SCl (1)/ACling [t u r n i n gt h em a t t e r
over in his mind ] ]. MCl (II)[ He wondered < SCl (2)/NCl [what life
would be like SCl (3)/AClen [ if known only through touch ] ] SCl (4)/NCl [
what it would reveal ] SCl(5)/NCl [ what kinds of thoughts and feelings
it would give rise to ] >]. MCl(III)[It was so simple]. MCl(IV)[ He
couldn’t imagine our existence without touch] and MCl (V)[yet so
little was known about it ]. MCl (VI) [He remembered the works SCl
(6)/RCl [he had read of Helen Keller] ]. MCl (VII)[ All SCl(7)/RCl [that
was talked about ] was < SCl(8)/NCli [the attempt to be sighted]
SCl(9)/NCli [how to run the handicap into a compensation for the
normal world SCl (10)/RCling [ fitting back in ] ] > ]. MCl (VIII) [Never
the mysteries of that dark existence she had felt on its own terms
–the things SCl/RCl (11) [for which there were no names, no words] ].
INDEPENTDENT CLAUSES -8
DEPENDENT CLAUSES -11
TYPES OF DEPENDENT CLAUSES: NCl -3, NCli -2, RCl -3, ACling -
1, AClen -1, RCling -1
(b) NP(All) NP(that) VP(was talked about) VP(was) NP(the attempt)
VP(to be sig hted) AVP(how) VP(to run) NP(the handicap PP(into a
compensation PP(for the normal world VP(fitting ) AVP(back) in.)))
5.1.2 Sample Analysis 2:
(S-1) It was December –ab r i g h tf r o z e nd a yi nt h ee a r l ym o r n i n g .
(S-2) Far out in the country there was an old N egro woman with her
head tied in a rag, coming along a path through the pinewoods. (S -
3) She was very old and small and she walked slowly in the dark
pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her steps, with the
balanced heaviness and lightness of ap e n d u l u mi nag r a n d f a t h e r
clock. (S -5) She carried a thin, small cane made from an umbrella,
and with this she kept tapping the frozen earth in front of her. (S -6)
This made a grave and persistent noise in the still air, that seemed
meditative like the chirping of a solitary little bird.munotes.in
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51Answer:
(a)MCl(I)[ It was December –ab r i g h tf r o z e nd a yi nt h ee a r l y
morning]. MCl (II) [Far out in the country there was an old Negro
woman SCl(1)/PCl [with her head tied in a rag], SCl(2)/RCling [c o m i n g
along a path t hrough the pinewoods ] ]. MCl(III)[ Her name was
phoenix Jackson ]. MCl(IV)[She was very old and small ] and
MCl(V)[ she walked slowly in the dark pine shadows, SCl(3)/ACling
[moving a little from side to side in her steps, with the balanced
heaviness and li ghtness of a pendulum in a grandfather clock] ].
MCl(VI)[ She carried a thin, small cane SCl(4)/ -RClen[m a d ef r o ma n
umbrella ] ], and MCl (VII)[ with this she kept tapping the frozen
earth in front of her ].MCl(VIII) [ This made a grave and persistent
noise in the still air, SCl(5)/RCl [ that seemed meditative like the chirping
of a solitary little bird ] ].
Independent clauses -8
Dependent Clauses -5
Types of Subordinate clauses: RCling -1, ACling -1, RCl -1, RClen -1,
PCl-1
(b)NP(This) VP(made) NP(a grave an d persistent noise) PP(in the still
air) NP(that) VP(seemed) AjP(meditative) AvP(like) NP(the chirping PP(of
a solitary bird) ).
5.1.3 Sample Analysis 3:
(S1)She wore a dark striped dress reaching down to her shoe tops
and an equally long apron of bleach ed sugar sacks, with a full
pocket : all neat and tidy, but every time she took a step she might
have fallen over her shoelaces, which dragged from her unlaced
shoes.(S2) She looked straight ahead.(S3) Her eyes were blue with
age.(S4) Her skin had a patter n all its own of numberless branching
wrinkles and as though a whole little tree stood in the middle of her
forehead, but a golden color ran underneath, and the two knobs of
her cheeks were illuminated by a yellow burning under the
dark.(S5) Under the red rag, her hair came down on her neck in the
frailest of ringlets, still black, and with an odor like copper.
(a)MCl(I)[She wore a dark striped dress SCl(1)/RCling [reaching down
to her shoe tops ] and an equally long apron of bleached sugar
sacks, with a f ull pocket : all neat and tidy], but MCl(II)[ SCl(2)/ACl [
every time she took a step ] she might have fallen over hermunotes.in
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52shoelaces, SCl(3)/RCl [ which dragged from her unlaced shoes ] ]. MCl
(III)[ She looked straight ahead ]. MCl (IV)[Her eyes were blue with
age ]. MCl (V)[ Her skin had a pattern all its own of numberless
branching wrinkles and SCl(4)/ACl [ as though a whole little tree stood
in the middle of her forehead ] ], but MCl(VI)[a golden color ran
underneath ], and MCl (VII) [ the two knobs of her cheek sw e r e
illuminated by a yellow SCl(5)/RCling [b u r n i n gu n d e rt h ed a r k]] .M C l
(VIII) [Under the red rag her hair came down on her neck in the
frailest of ringlets, still black, and with an odor like copper ].
Independent clauses -8
Dependent clauses -5
Types of dependent clauses: RCling -2, RCl -1, ACl -2
(b)NP(Her skin) VP(had) NP(a pattern NP(all its own PP(of numberless
branching wrinkles))) and as though NP(a whole little tree) VP(stood)
PP(in the middle) PP(of her forehead)), but NP(a golden color) VP(ran)
AVP(underneath), and NP(the two knobs (of her cheeks) ) VP(were
illuminated) PP(by a yellow) VP(b u r n i n g ) PP(under the dark).]
5.2 EXERCISE
(a)Rewrite the passage dividing each sentence into clauses.
Identify the subordinate clauses within each main clause stating the
type of subordination. Count the number of i ndependent and
depended clauses:
(b)Analyze or divide sentence no.3 into phrases stating the
function of each phrase
1.(S-1)Looking down on the carcass, she saw that there was a
huge gash beh ind the animal’s blowhole, where a large wedge of
flesh and blubber had been torn out of the dolphin’s body. (S -2)
The shape of the injury suggested that the dolphin had been hit by
the propeller of a fast -moving motorboat. (S -3) This puzzled Piya
because she had seen so few such boats in these waters. (S -4) It
was Fokir who suggested a solution to the mystery, by sketching a
peaked cap with his hands. (S -5) She understood that it was
probably some kind of official boat, used by uniformed personnel –
may be from the coastguard or the police or even the Forest
Department. (S -6) It had gone speeding down the channel, earlier
in the day, and the inexperienced calf had been slow to move out of
its way.(S -7) Piya took a tape measure out of her backpack andmunotes.in
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53spent a while taking the measurements required by the Norris
protocols. (S -8) Then, pulling out a small pocket knife, she took
samples of skin, blubber and a few internal organs. (S -9) These
were wrapped in foil and slipped into Ziploc bags. (S -10) Armies of
crabs and insects were now swarming all over the dead calf, eating
into the exposed flesh of its wound.
munotes.in
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54Unit-6
STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF PROSE TEXT
Unit Structure:
6.0.Objectives
6.1Linguistic Choices
6.2Clause Pattern
6.3Cohesion Devices
6.4 Sample Stylistic An alysis
6.5 Exercise
6.0 OBJECTIVES
The aim of this unit is to provide the learners with the basic
skills in analysing a prose text. The unit also aims to provide some
sample answers for the learners.
6.1Linguistic Choices
1.Graphological features :N u m b e ro f words, sentences,
punctuations, italics, bold etc.
2.Types of nouns, verbs, adjectives used: concrete or abstract
nouns, tense in verbs
3.Noun Phrases used
4.Diction :Choice of words, contemporary or a rchaic words,
monosyllabic , disyllabic, polysyllabic words etc.
5.Lexico -semantic features : Choice of words and their relation to
a particular subject
6.Figures of Speech
These concepts are discussed in Unit 2 in detail
6.2CLAUSE PATTERNS
The choice of sentence type :simplex, complex, compound,
compound -complex sentenc es; number of main clauses,
subordinate clauses, predominant type of subordinate clauses,
syntax: subject -verb-object –active voice; object -verb-subject –
passive voicemunotes.in
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556.3COHESION DEVICES
1.Pronouns
2.Synonyms
3.Transitional words/ linking words/ markers such a showever,
also, besides, moreover, in fact, firstly, thus
4.Conjunctions : but, and, which, because, that
5.Referencing : to refer to something or someone that has been
mentioned earlier in the passage
a)Anaphoric Reference :reference to past
b)Cataphoric Ref erence : reference forward
6.Ellipses : omission of certain words
Eg.At oB :“ W h e r ea r ey o ug o i n g ? ”
B: “To College”
6. Substitution :a word is replaced with another simpler one
A to B: “Which shirt would you buy?”
B: The blue one
Here, ‘one’ stands for ‘shir t’
These concepts are explained in Unit 2
Tentative structure of the stylistic analysis :
Paragraph 1: Content note
Paragraph 2: Linguistic choice –an o t e
Paragraph 3: A note on clause andsentence pattern
Paragraph 4: A note on cohesive device su s e d
Paragraph 5: Conclusion
Q. Attempt a stylistic analysis of the text sgiven below, explaining
the effect of linguistic choice, especially that of clause patterns (s)
and cohesive devices used by the author.munotes.in
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56PASSAGE 1
It was December –ab r i g h tf r o z e nd a yi nt he early morning. Far out
in the country, there was an old Negro woman with her head tied in
a rag, coming along a path through the pinewoods. Her name was
Phoenix Jackson. She was very old and small and she walked
slowly in the dark pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in
her steps, with the balanced heaviness and lightness of a
pendulum in a grandfather clock. She carried a thin, small cane
made from an umbrella, and with this she kept tapping the frozen
earth in front of her. This made a grave and persistent noise in the
still air that seemed meditative like the chirping of a solitary bird.
Sample Analysis
The given passa ge is a graphic description of the setting and
thecharacter .It describes a pinewood forest in winter and an old
Negro woman , Phoenix Jackson, moving slowly through it. The
writer also gives a series of visual and auditory images to enhance
the description of the old lady and the stillness of the forest.
Further, one can also find similes and metaphors which make the
passage fi gurative in style ,though it is largely about anordinary
incident of an old lady, walking alone through a dark pine forest.
The linguistic choices made in the passage are worth
mentioning as they reveal a careful selection. The linguistic devices
also enh ance the theme and the atmosphere of stillness in the
passage. At the graphological level, the passage has 125 words
which are divided into 6 sentences. This word -sentence ratio
indicates that the average number of words per sentence is very
high and hence it makes the passage dense and complex. The
passage is printed in 11 lines and in 1 paragraph indicating that it is
on a single topic. 11 sentences indicate the points that the topic
described is elaborated or illustrated adequately. The passage also
has one dash, four commas, and 6 periods. Such lesser use of
commas with no colon and semi -colon indicates that the passage
has very few pauses and hence it has a continuous rhythm. It is
also worth noticing that the passage has no question marks and
exclamati on marks. This would suggest that all sentences have the
similar declarative sentences. One can also observe that the given
passage has more concrete nouns than the abstract ones. These
nouns such as rag, pendulum, clock, cane, earth and bird are not
only simple and taken from common place language but also make
the passage grounded on concrete reality and facts. Anothermunotes.in
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57significant linguistic feature of the passage is the abundant use of
noun phrases such as: early morning, a bright frozen day, thin
small cane and frozen earth. These noun phrases, with adjectives
premodifying the nouns make the passage descriptive. The
passage also has relatively a large number of adjectives, with
adjectives outnumbering the nouns. These adjectives such as
frozen, early, o ld, dark, small, balanced, grave, solitary and
meditative, qualify the nouns and add to the descriptive style of the
passage. The lexico -semantic context of the passage, which is the
relationship between the choice of words and the subject matter, is
also convincing and effective. The context is that of nature and the
words (lexical units) such as frozen, earth, air and bird are very
specific to the context of nature. Most of the words used in the
passage are monosyllabic and disyllabic. And they aid in the
readability and comprehension of the passage, making the diction
fairly familiar.
It would also be meaningful to analyse the clause pattern,
syntax and the length of sentences used in the passage, while
considering its style. Overall, the passage has eigh t main clauses
and five subordinate clauses. The higher number of the main
clause indicates that the extract has more simple sentences and
compound sentences. It has two simple sentences and two
complex compound sentences in addition to two complex
sentenc es. Large number of complex and complex compound
sentences indicates that statements are frequently modified.
Relative clauses predominate among the subordinate clauses.
They modify the nouns and make the passage descriptive. Further,
most of the sentences have the SVO pattern or SVC pattern. These
patterns ,as in the sentence “Her name was Phoenix Jackson” or “It
was December” or “this made a grave and persistent noise” ,create
express ion in active voice providing directness in the treatment of
the subject matter.
The given passage is also very cohesive with the sentences
and ideas linked logically and grammatically. The writer has also
used a large number of cohesive devices such as pronouns,
conjunctions, referencing and transitional words. Firstly, the w riter
has the pronouns like ‘she’ and ‘her’ to link all details about Phoenix
Jackson, the focal character. For instance, ’her’ in second sentence
and the third sentence indicates Phoenix Jackson’s properties. The
writer has also used pronouns like ‘it’ an d ‘this’ to refer and link
ideas like cane, noise or the season. One can also see the pronoun
‘her’ used four times within six sentences. These numbers indicatesmunotes.in
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58a high degree of cohesion through the use of pronouns. The
passage also has a cataphoric refer ence. For instance, in the
second sentence, the writer talks about the old Negro woman
whose name is mentioned in the next sentence. However, one
doesn’t find the instances of cohesive devices like ellipsis or
substitution, though there are ample instances of conjunctions such
as ‘and’ which connect ideas.
Thus, one can say that the given passage has a style which
is largely descriptive with a thick use of adjective s, noun phrases
and relative clauses. Though the passage is made of more complex
and compound sentences, its common place vocabulary and ample
use of cohesive devices make it easy to understand. One must also
say that similes and metaphors used in the extract give it a literary
style adding to the imagery and the mood of stillness described.
PASSAGE 2
It was one of those clear, bright summer mornings we get in
the early spring in California .B e f o r e the high fog sets in, the rain
was over. The hills are still green and in the valley across the
Hollywood hills, you can see snow on the high mountains .T h ef u r
stores are advertising their annual sales. The call houses that
specialize in sixteen -year-old virgins are doing a land -office
business. And in Beverly Hills the Jacaranda trees are beginning to
bloom.
I had been stalking the bluebottle for five minutes, waiting for
him to sit down. He didn’t want to sit down. He just wanted to do
wing -overs and sing the prologue to Pagliacci. I had the fly swatter
poised in midair and I was all set. There was a patch of bright
sunlight on the corner of the dark o f the desk and I knew that
sooner or later, that was where he was going to alight. But when he
did, I didn’t even see him first. The buzzing stopped and there he
was. And then, the phone rang.
Sample analysis
The given passage is an interesting combination of the
description of Californian Spring and the humorous description of a
fellow who keeps himself occupied, swatting flies. The extract
depicts ,i nd e t a i l , the bright sunlight of the morning, the snow on
Hollywood Hills and the activities in fur store a nd brothel. However ,
these activities are juxtaposed with the speaker’s lack of action whomunotes.in
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59focuses on a fly with his swatter. The fly is described in the
language of theatre and film which add to the humour.
The linguistic choices made in the passage are w orth
mentioning as the yreveal a careful selection and ordering. They
also enhance the descriptive quality and the humorous tone in the
passage. At the graphological level, the extract has 183 words
which are divided into 14 sentences. This words -sentence ratio
indicates that the average number of words per sentence is 13 and
it also suggests that the density of words per sentence is less and
hence the style is less complex. The passage is also divided into
two paragraphs of 6 and 8 short sentences each. Th is arrangement
indicates that the paragraphs are relatively short. The whole
passage is printed in 12 lines though the two paragraphs deal with
two different topics –California Spring and the fly swatting of the
speaker. 6 and 8 sentences in the two parag raphs also suggest
that the topics are elaborated, described and illustrated properly.
The passage has also 3 commas and 14 periods. Higher number of
periods and lesser number of commas point to the presence of
clear sentence boundary and the presence of m ore simple
sentences. Lesser number of commas and the absence of colon,
semi -colon and dash indicate that the passage has very few
pauses and that it has a continuous flow.It is also worth noting that
the passage has no question marks or exclamation marks. This
would suggest that al l the sentences are declarative. Hyphens are
used in three places indicating the author’s taste for word
compounding and in creating new expressions. The given passage,
one can also observe, has more concrete nouns than abstract
ones. These concrete nouns like fog, rains, hills, snow and
mountains make the passage grounded on reality and facts. The
passage also has a good number of noun phrases like “bright
summer mornings”, “early spring”, “annual sales”, “sixteen year old
virgin ”. These noun phrases with their adjectives and premodifiers
make the passage very descriptive. It is also interesting to note the
different patterns of words used in the two par agraphs. In the first
paragraph , words are mainly in the present tense, such a s“ a r e ” ,
“can see” and specialize. They indicate the habitual spring in
California. In contrast, the verbs in the second paragraphs are in
the past tense, ‘didn’t want’, ‘wanted’, ‘was’, ‘stopped’ etc. These
verbs indicate the act of narration. The lexico -semantic context of
the passage ,that is the relationship between the choice of words
and the subject matter ,is also interesting. For instance, most of the
words used in the first paragraph such as summer, fog, rains,munotes.in
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60mountains, trees and hills create an ambience of nature
description. Words u sed in the second paragraph, such as“ wing -
overs ”,“prologue ”and “buzzing ”create a hyperbolic context of
theatre.
One can also analyse the clause pattern, syntax and the
length of sentence used in the passage. Overal l, the extract has 18
main clauses and 10 subordinate clauses. The higher number of
main clauses indicates that the extract has more simple and
compound sentences. Such a clause pattern also enhances the
readability of the passage. Relative clauses and nou n clauses (4
each) predominate the subordinate clauses. Relative clauses
modify the subjects a nd make the passage descriptive, w hile the
noun clauses introduce objects in the passage. Further, most of the
sentences have either SVO pattern or SVA pattern. T hese patterns ,
as in the sentences -“the rain was over” and “And in the Beverly
Hills the Jacaranda trees are beginning to bloom”, provide active
voice and the directness in expression.
The given extract has also employed a number of cohesion
devices to li nk the ideas and sentences logically. These devices
include pronouns, conjunctions, referencing and transitional words.
For instance, throughout the passage, the pronouns like ‘it’, ‘I’ and
‘he’ are used to refer to the season, speaker and the fly. Various
conjunctions like ‘and’ and ‘but’ are used repeatedly to connect
ideas. Referencing is another technique used. For instance, in the
expression, “i tw a so n eo ft h o s e ” ,t h e author makes an anaphoric
reference. The writer has also used transitional words, su ch as
‘then’ as a marker of time. However ,one doesn’t find instances of
ellipsis and substitution in the passage.
Thus, one can say that the given passage is a unique blend
of graphic nature description and humour. This style is achieved
largely with the help of adjectives and nouns in the first paragraph
and the exaggerated focus on the fly in the second paragraph.
6.5 EXERCISE
Attempt a stylistic analysis of the text sgiven below,
explaining the effect of linguistic choice, especially that of clause
patterns (s) and cohesive devices used by the author
1.It was December –ab r i g h tf r o z e n day in the early morning.
Far out in the country there was an old Negro woman with her
head tied in a rag, coming along a p ath through the pinewoods.munotes.in
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61She was very old an d small and she walked slowly in the dark
pine shadows, moving a little from side to side in her steps, with
the balanced heaviness and lightness of a pendulum in a
grandfather clock. She carried a thin, small cane made from an
umbrella, and with this she kept tapping the fro zen earth in front
of her. This made a grave and persistent noise in the still air,
that seemed meditative like the chirping of a solitary little bird.
2.Edward then turned to where his brother was, and perceived
that the bull had not ma de off with the rest of the cattle, but was
within thirty yards of Humphrey, and advancing upon him and
that Humphrey was standing up beside the tree with his gun
ready to fire. Humphrey fired, and, as it appeared, he also
missed his aim; the animal made at him; but Humphrey, with
great quickness, dropped his gun, and, swinging by the loser
boughs, was into the tree, and out of the bull’s reach in a
moment. Edward smiled when he perceived that Humphrey
was safe, but still he was a prisoner, for the bull went round and
round the tree roaring and looking up at Humphrey. Edward
thought a minute, then loaded his gun, and ordered Smoker to
run in to the bull. The dog, who has only been restrained by
Edward’s keeping him down at his feet, sprang forward to t he
attack. Edward had intended, by calling to the dog, to induce
the bull to follow it till within gunshot; but before the bull had
been attacked, Edward observed that one or two more of the
bulls had left the heard, and were coming at a rapid pace
toward s him. Under these circumstances Edward perceived that
his only chance was to climb into a tree himself, which he did,
taking good care to take his gun and ammunition with him.
munotes.in
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62Unit -7
STUDENT CENTRIC LEARNING
Unit Structure:
7.0Objectives
7.1Student Centric Le arning
7.2 Formulation of Teaching Questions and Content Analysis :
Samples
7.3Exercise
7.0.OBJECTIVES
The basic objective of this unit is to help the students
develop learner -centered reading skill s by making them equipped
to formulate teaching questions o n the given extracts from poetry
and prose.
7.1STUDENT CENTRIC LEARNING
Student Centric Learning –Formulating Teaching Questions
Introduction
Today’s learning methodology is focused on active learning.
Active learning is a student centered approach in wh ich the
responsibility for learning is placed upon the student, who often
works in collaboration with his or her classmates. In active learning,
teachers are facilitators rather than one way providers of
information.
Class discussion, problem solving, coo perative learning, and
writing exercises are preferred to the dry presentation of facts given
in a lecture. Other examples of active learning techniques include
role-playing, case studies, group projects, think -pair-share, peer
teaching, debates, Just -in-Time Teaching, and short
demonstrations followed by class discussion.
Formulating teaching questions that encourage student
centric learning is a method based on an ancient form of discourse,
the Socratic method, which is over 2400 years old and is reported ly
founded on Socrates’ belief that merely lecturing was not anmunotes.in
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63effective method of teaching all students. Socrates valued the
knowledge and understanding already present within people and
thought that using this knowledge could potentially be beneficial i n
advancing their understanding.
In the Socratic method of education, teachers engage
students by asking questions that require generative answers.
Ideally, the answers to questions are not a stopping point for
thought but are instead a beginning to furthe r analysis and
research. The teachers develop open -ended questions about texts
and encourage students to use textual evidence to support their
opinions and answers.
Copeland explains that Socratic circles “turn partial
classroom control, classroom directi on, and classroom governance
over to students by creating a truly equitable learning community
where the weight and value of student voices and teacher voices
are indistinguishable from each other.”
So what does this method exactly involve when it comes t o
literature teaching?
Firstly, the teacher will notlecture. Instead, s/he will ask a
series of questions leading the student to find his or her way to
understanding the essence of the text.
So how does this work?
First analyse the text for it content. W hat do you as the
teacher think the student should be able to understand from the
given text?
For example, in the following text what is the essence that
should be perceived?
7.2.FORMULATION OF TEACHING QUESTIONS AND
CONTENT ANALYSIS: SAMPLES
Sample 1
Leisure
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.munotes.in
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64No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in b road daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
- William Henry Davies
Content Analysis
Davies posits that a life without leisure is a worthless one.
While he has not mentioned the word ‘leisure’ that is the title of the
poem, he has explained the need to “stand and stare” “as long as
sheep or cows”, which often are perceived as creatures that do not
do anything. He argues for the need to focus on seemingly
irrelevant slices of life such as where squirrels hide their nuts, or
the sparkle of the sun reflecting off streams and mak ing it seem
filled with stars, or the night sky, or appreciate the intricacies of
beauty such as her smile, her eyes and even her feet!
Thus, Davies makes a strong argument for the need to take
time out from one’s busy schedule “full of care” and spend tim eo n
appreciating the world around us.
How to formulate teaching questions?
What features in the text and the student’s prior knowledge
will help him/her to arrive at the meaning of the given discourse?
For this part, we need to first revise the various aspects of
linguistic and stylistic features and their effect on the
reader/audience.munotes.in
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65Punctuation
Full stop
It indicates that a thought has been completed. The sooner a
thought is comple ted, the less complex the ideas as grappling with
short sentences m eans one deals with smaller chunks of
information. As you know, a popular memory trick is to break down
information into smaller chunks for ease in understanding and
retention. Herein, the writer makes it easier for the reader/audience.
Comma
It is often used to substitute a conjunction or to bracket additional
information.
Semi Colon
It is often used to join two stand alone sentences or to substitute a
comma to help distinguish the main ideas from the sub ideas.
Colon
It is often used to list ideas or t o precede an explanation
Hyphen
It is often used to bracket additional information or to clarify a point
Exclamation mark
It is used to emphasise the emotions felt by the writer/ speaker.
Question mark
It is used to draw attention to an important point an di s
generally a rhetorical question. It may also be used to elicit an
answer from the reader/audience.
Quotation mark
It is used to indicate direct speech or present the exact
words of the person cited. It is also used to indicate that the writer
does no t refer to the term in the usual sense or that the writer does
not agree with what has been stated by others. For example: John
said that he and Jane are “just good friends.”munotes.in
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66Nouns
These represent ideas –material or non -material, positive or
negative. Thu s, they indicate the writer’s emphasis on fantasy
versus fact, on positivity versus negativity.
The reader anticipates some sort of nefarious ongoing as a
picture of crime emerges in this factual recounting:
The hut was located in a lane frequented by d elinquents, drug
dealers, and more often than not the mafia.
On the other hand, fantasy is foregrounded in the following:
He wrote his address.
The House of Chocolate
Cloud 9, Mountain of Air,
Beside River of Cola and Juice
Behind Road of Ice cream and Biscuits
Fantasy District
Paradise Country –000000.
Pronouns
The distinction between the author and narrator and the
characters in the given extract is often identified through use of
pronouns by the writer.
For instance, the use of first person pro noun in the following
extract indicates that the author and narrator are one and the same
and that the author is located in the passage, making it an
autobiographical discourse, and that the point of view is that of the
author as a result.
Id i dn o tk n o w why Ma was making us undergo this daily
torture of brushing our teeth. I had vowed to never inflict this on any
child of mine. Look at me now.
Second person pronouns indicate that the writer/speaker is
adopting a conversational tone, wherein, s/he is tryi ng to directly
engage the reader/audience. For instance:
Don’t you think so, too?
ORmunotes.in
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67You might well wonder why such obvious points are being
explained.
Third person pronouns highlight the distinction between the
author/narrator and the characters in the extract. This also leads
one to attempt to deduce if the author uses narrative style:
An objective author/narrator recounts only that which can be
physically heard and seen, much as a reporter would write in a
newspaper.
A limited perspective author/narr ator presents the view of
only one character. This is generally used in the genre of thrillers as
presenting the views of all characters would kill the suspense. For
instance,
He fisted his hand so as to not hit Jiten, even as he smiled at
the others. He r emembered every single instance Jiten had insulted
him in the past. But he said and did nothing. Jiten on the other hand
just kept talking.
An omniscient author/narrator is all knowing and presents
the feelings and thoughts of many characters whenever it is
deemed necessary. For example:
Bessy knew her father would not allow her to go to the party.
She had not spoken of this to anyone, for no one sympathised with
her, but she knew, just knew. She walked away in a huff without
saying anything, not in words, not expressions, not gestures,
nothing.
Rolan sighed as he saw his daughter’s stony countenance
and her stiff exit from the room. He loved her, but he did not
understand her. God knows, he had tried! But she just did not
reciprocate. How could he know wh at was wrong if she refused to
answer. He shook his head and went back to stirring the
vegetables.
The room resounded with words, emotions, but all
unspoken. Sometimes silence speaks more than anything else.
Adjectives and Adverbs
These qualifiers indica te if the writer/speaker is objective in
tone/attitude or not. They help us distinguish the author’s or the
character’s opinions –positive, negative or ambivalent.munotes.in
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68An objective narrator states: This building is 50 metres high.
A subjective narrator stat es:This building is tall.
Stylistic Devices
Figures of speech highlight a particular idea. Devices such
as Simile, Metaphors, Analogies, at times weave two unlike ideas
together and not only stretch one’s imagination, but also explicitly
play up the quali ty the writer wants to draw the reader’s attention to.
For instance, the popular simile, ‘He is as busy as a bee’,
emphasises he person’s preoccupation and presents the reader
with an alluring visual picture.
Similarly, other stylistic devices such as the use of
stanzas/paragraphs, dialogues, linguistic deviations, parallelism
and so on add to the effect that the writer wants to impress upon
the reader and therefore emphasise or underplay a particular piece
of content.
Formulating Teaching Questions for “ Leisure”
Thus, the linguistic and stylistic choices that the writer makes
that will help the learner understand the meaning of the discourse
should be focussed upon in the teaching questions.
The following learner centered questions could be formulated fo r
Davies’ “Leisure”:
1)Which interrogative pronoun has been used in the poem?
2)There is no question mark. So does the poet ask a question?
3)Is there more than one question in this poem? If yes, list them.
4)There is a lot of repetition used in the poem? Whic h words/ideas
have been repeated?
5)List the nouns in the poem. Where will you find all these?
6)Can “Leisure” be termed a pastoral poem?
7)In Line 3, ‘boughs’ represent trees. The figure of speech herein
is synecdoche as a part of the tree has been used to r epresent
the whole. Identify the other figure of speech in the same line.munotes.in
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698)There is visual imagery used in the fourth stanza. Do you think
that a stream full of stars in broad daylight is not a realistic
picture?
9)There is one noun that the poet has referr ed to as a proper
noun as he used a capital alphabet. Identify this.
10)Do you know if ‘Beauty’ is a male or female? How do you
know this? Which words indicate Beauty’s gender?
11)Who do you think Beauty is? Is it a person or Nature?
12)Are any of the activities mentioned in the poem ‘useful’ or
‘productive’?
13)Read the last two lines of the poem. How do they differ from
the first two lines of the poem?
14)Is the poet preaching us a lesson? How do you know?
15)What is the main idea of the poem?
16)The poet has used the pronoun ‘we’ to indicate that all of us
share the same experience of living a life full of care with no
time for leisure activities. Do you agree?
17)The title of the poem is not mentioned even once in the poem.
Is title connected to the poem?
18)If the title were not given, could you have guessed the theme
of the poem?
A few content based and personal response questions could
also be asked:
19)Who is the ideal we should imitate when staring?
20)How can one pass many woods?
21)Which figure of speech has been used in the fourth stanza?
22)Can one smile with one’s eyes? Is that where smiles begin?
23)Why is leisure important?
Sample 2
Consider that you are about to teach this passage in class.
You wish to make the passage learner -centred, so instead of
explaining the pass age, and drawing implications from it, you ask a
series of questions, and expect that in the process of answering themunotes.in
Page 70
70questions, they will understand the passage. Note that you
questions must be simple enough for the average student to
answer. Your questio ns must also deal with those aspects of the
text that are central to it, and come to matters of lesser importance
later. “The understanding of the text is through its linguistic features
and the way these features reflect the content.”
You may ask quest ions, draw attention to certain features,
as well as ask the students to perform certain activities.
You are required to set approximately 10 questions aimed at
an average undergraduate class.
Also prepare a content analysis of the given extract.
TheFather
byGuy de Maupassant (1850 -1893)
He was a clerk in the Bureau of Public Education and lived
at Batignolles. He took the omnibus to Paris every morning and
always sat opposite a girl, with whom he fell in love.
She was employed in a shop and went in at the same time
every day. She was a little brunette, one of those girls whose eyes
are so dark that they look like black spots, on a complexion like
ivory. He always saw her coming at the corner of the same street,
and she generally had to run to catch the heavy vehicle, and
sprang upon the steps before the horses had quite stopped. Then
she got inside, out of breath, and, sitting down, looked round her.
The first time that he saw her, Francois Tessier liked the
face. One sometimes meets a woman whom one longs to clasp in
one's arms without even knowing her. That girl seemed to respond
to some chord in his being, to that sort of ideal of love which one
cherishes in the depths of the heart, without knowing it.
He looked at her intently, not meaning to be r ude, and she
became embarrassed and blushed. He noticed it, and tried to turn
away his eyes; but he involuntarily fixed them upon her again every
moment, although he tried to look in another direction; and, in a few
days, they seemed to know each other wit hout having spoken. He
gave up his place to her when the omnibus was full, and got
outside, though he was very sorry to do it. By this time she had got
so far as to greet him with a little smile; and, although she always
dropped her eyes under his looks, w hich she felt were too ardent,munotes.in
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71yet she did not appear offended at being looked at in such a
manner.
Content Analysis
This extract from Maupassant’s “The Father” presents the
story of Francois Tessier and his love for a woman who remains
unnamed through the passage. This piece of fiction chronicles the
love affair of the protagonist and details the emotions he and his
paramour feel.
The extract does not relate to the title “The Fathe” as there is
nothing paternal about Francois Tessier’s feelings or any men tion
of a father or a child in the given passage. One wonders if the love
affair would culminate in marriage and if a child would be the result
of the union of Tessier and the girl and hence the title. Or it could
be posited that the father of either the m ain character or his love
interest holds sway over their affair.
The story is set in an urban location as the two characters
commute to work to Paris. Francois Tessier is a resident of
Batognolles, presumably a suburb as he commuted to work every
day. His love interest must be in between his residence and his
workplace as she got into the omnibus after him. Furthermore, the
passage is perhaps set in early 19thcentury France, as the girl
works in a shop and he in a Bureau and they commute by the
public tra nsport. However, the omnibus is a heavy vehicle that is
drawn by horses and this indicates that the story is set in an older
era.
The passage does not follow a linear mode of narration. It
begins with an introduction to Tessier’s profession and his
commut e to his work. It arbitrarily states his love for an unnamed
girl who sat opposite him as he commuted to his workplace. We
know that Tessier is a clerk in a government organisation as the
Bureau of Public Education would presumably be a government run
institution.
Further, the passage goes on to describe the girl whom
Tessier fell in love with. Very minimal description has been given
about the girl. We are told that she works in some shop. The reader
assumes that is a salesperson. We are introduced to her b eauty as
her features are described in some detail, for instance, her “ivory
complexion”. We do not know where she lives. However, she
seems to be slightly disorganised as she “generally had to run tomunotes.in
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72catch the heavy vehicle” and seems to be impatient as s he “sprang
upon the steps before the horses stopped”.
The third paragraph moves back in time as it recounts the
feelings that were evoked the first time Francoise Tessier saw and
liked the unnamed girl. The fourth paragraph then gives us sketchy
details o f their meetings. Tessier seems to be someone who is
sensitive to the girl’s feelings, as he tries to look away when he
realises that his stares were embarrassing her. He also seems to
be a gentleman. as he gives up his seat to her if the omnibus was
crowd ed. His love seems to be reciprocated as the girl smiles at
him despite his boldness in looking at her.
Thus, the passage actually moves back in time and is
retrospective in nature.
We do know that this a third person omniscient narration.
The references to the two characters in the story are all in the third
person. Furthermore, the feelings of both the characters are
expressed even when the characters do not overtly state them.
This is, especially, evident in the last paragraph when the girl’s
emotions a re tapped into by the author, as he describes her
reaction to Tessier’s looks in her direction which “she felt were too
ardent”. Moreover, Tessier’s emotions are what the entire extract
deals with while Tessier himself does not directly communicate his
thoughts to the reader.
Teaching Questions
By discovering the answers to the following suggested questions on
their own, learners could perhaps understand the passage.
1)How many characters are mentioned in the extract?
2)Who is the protagonist? How do you kn ow this?
3)Who has been described in some detail in the extract? Does
this person have a name?
4)Has the protagonist been described in the passage with similar
detailing?
5)Where do you think the story is set? Which country could these
places belong to?
6)Wher e and as what does the protagonist work?munotes.in
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737)Where does the girl work? Has her occupation been stated?
8)Do you think that either of the characters is well off? Consider
their work and justify your answer.
9)How did the two characters travel to work?
10)Which anim al has been mentioned in the passage? And why?
11)Based on your answer to the above questions, could you infer
when the story may have taken place?
12)Has the first person pronoun been at all used in the passage?
If only third person pronouns have been used in the passage,
do you think that any one of the characters is the narrator?
Justify.
13)In the third paragraph, the author has used the pronoun “one”.
Do you think it is the author’s opinion that has been expressed
here or the characters’? Justify.
14)Read the third paragraph. Did Tessier fall in love with the girl’s
looks or her personality? Do you think his love is superficial?
15)Read the fourth paragraph: “in a few days, they seemed to
know each other without having spoken”. Is this possible?
16)What do you unde rstand of the word ‘ardent’? Is it bad to be
ardent? What is the difference between ‘being ardent’ and
‘being too ardent’?
17)What do you know Tessier’s character from the fourth
paragraph?
18)Why does the girl drop her eyes? What personality trait is
revealed thereby?
19)Would you smile at someone you disliked? The passage
states the girl smiles at Tessier. Do you think she reciprocates
his feelings? Justify your answer.
20)Do you think the title is an apt one for the passage? If not,
what title would you suggest?
Sample 3
Consider that you are about to teach this poem in class. You
wish to make the poem learner -centred, so instead of explaining
the poem, and drawing implications from it, you ask a series ofmunotes.in
Page 74
74questions, and expect that in the process of answering t he
questions, they will understand the poem. Note that you questions
must be simple enough for the average student to answer. Your
questions must also deal with those aspects of the text that are
central to it, and come to matters of lesser importance late r. “The
understanding of the text is through its linguistic features and the
way these features reflect the content.”
You may ask questions, draw attention to certain features,
as well as ask the students to perform certain activities.
You are requir ed to set approximately 10 questions aimed at
an average undergraduate class.
Also prepare a content analysis of the given poem.
The Right Word
by Imtiaz Dharker
Outside the door,
lurking in the shadows,
is a terrorist.
Is that the wrong description?
Outside that door,
taking shelter in the shadows,
is a freedom fighter.
Ih a v e n ' tg o tt h i sr i g h t.
Outside, waiting in the shadows,
is a hostile militant.
Are words no more
than waving, wavering flags?
Outside your door,
watchful in the shadows,
is aguerrilla warrior.
God help me.
Outside, defying every shadow,
stands a martyr.
I saw his face.munotes.in
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75No words can help me now.
Just outside the door,
lost in shadows,
is a child who looks like mine.
One word for you.
Outside my door,
his hand too steady,
his eyes too hard
is a boy who looks like your son, too.
Io p e nt h ed o o r .
Come in, I say.
Come in and eat with us.
The child steps in
and carefully, at my door,
takes off his shoes.
Content Analysis
Imtiaz Dharker’s poem ‘The Right Word’ questions ou r
perception of evil and good, victim and aggressor, terrorist and
innocent. She shifts her description of an unknown face so that the
reader is left perplexed as to which stand to take. She begins by
defining an unknown, undescribed stranger who lurks in shadows
outside her home as a terrorist. She questions the accuracy of such
a descriptions and changes her perception of the person to that of a
freedom fighter who instead of “lurking” is now merely “taking
shelter” outside her house. She then doubts hers elf and opines that
he must be a hostile militant.
She is unable to crystalise her opinion. She constantly shifts
her perception, much as conceptions of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ change
depending on the territory one belongs to. She refers to the
wavering flags that symbolise the wavering ‘reality’ fostered by
many of us depending on our political affiliations.
She once again redefines the stranger and terms him a
guerrilla warrior. Then, she states that he is a martyr. She sees his
face. There is some space be tween this last line of the stanza and
the next stanza, as if the reader needs to think about the shiftingmunotes.in
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76perceptions much as the poet has had to. The climax is built in. The
space merely adds to the suspense.
Then, shockingly, she reveals that the stran ger outside her
home is but a child who is lost. He looks like her child. She then
directly addresses her audience and chills us with the words “like
your son, too”. She describes him as someone who has undergone
more than his fair share of trauma: “his ha nd too steady, /his eyes
too hard”.
The last two stanzas are almost anticlimactic as the poet
invites the boy in to eat and he carefully removes his shoes as an
average polite child would, before entering someone’s house.
Using simple words, short lines and effective delineation of
stanzas, Dharker composes a conversational poem that is a strong
indictment of the way we arbitrarily attach labels to people based
on superficialities as unsubstantial as shadows without looking for
the face of truth. She ques tions the veracity of ‘the right word’.
Teaching Questions:
1)Has the first pronoun been used? Does this indicate that the
poet is located in the poem?
2)Who is the ‘you’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
3)Is there dialogue in the poem?
4)Read the second last stanza. Why do you think there are no
quotation marks used around the dialogue?
5)Identify the tone of the poem. Do you think it reads like a
conversation? Justify.
6)How many descriptions has poet given the stranger outside her
door in the first five s tanzas? Write them in two columns –one
for positive and one for negative.
7)List the verbs in the first five stanzas. Which verbs are negative
and which positive or neutral?
8)Does the action of the person also change to match the
definition that the poet a ccords him?
9)Is it the stranger’s actions that change or the poet’s
perceptions?munotes.in
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7710)Why does the poet equate words with ‘wavering flags”? What
do the flags symbolise?
11)Why is there so much space after the fifth stanza?
12)Were you surprised by the poet’s ident ification of the stranger
as a child who looked like her son in the sixth stanza? Identify
the figure of speech in this stanza.
13)Why would a child’s hand be “too steady” or his eyes “too
hard”? What does the poet imply herein?
14)What do you understand about the child in last stanza as he
“carefully” removes his shoes?
15)Do you agree with her title for the poem?
16)Do you think the poet is giving us a message through this
poem? If yes, what is the message?
Sample 4
Consider that you are about to teach this pass age in
class. You wish to make the passage learner -centred, so instead of
explaining the passage, and drawing implications from it, you ask a
series of questions, and expect that in the process of answering the
questions, they will understand the passage. Note that you
questions must be simple enough for the average student to
answer. Your questions must also deal with those aspects of the
text that are central to it, and come to matters of lesser importance
later. “The understanding of the text is through its linguistic features
and the way these features reflect the content.”
You may ask questions, draw attention to certain features, as
well as ask the students to perform certain activities.
You are required to set approximately 10 questions aimed at
an average undergraduate class.
Also prepare a content analysis of the given extract.
Haircut
byRing Lardner (1885 -1933) ]
I got another barber that comes over from Carterville and
helps me out Saturdays, but the rest of the time I can get alo ng all
right alone. You can see for yourself that this ain't no New York:
City and besides that, the most of the boys works all day and don't
have no leisure to drop in here and get themselves prettied up.munotes.in
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78You're a newcomer, ain't you? I thought Ih a d n ' ts e e ny o u
round before. I hope you like it good enough to stay. As I say, we
ain't no New York City or Chicago, but we have pretty good times.
Not as good, though, since Jim Kendall got killed. When he was
alive, him and Hod Meyers used to keep thi st o w ni na nu p r o a r .I
bet they was more laughin' done here than any town its size in
America.
Since Jim's gone, Hod tries to hold his end up just the same
as ever, but it's tough goin' when you ain't got nobody to kind of
work with.
Content Ana lysis
Ring Lardner’s “Haircut” is prose fiction. The given extract is
a recounting of the conversation of the protagonist, an unnamed
barber, with his customer, a newcomer to the town.
The author has used free direct discourse while doing away
with the qu otation marks that typically signal a conversation. The
fact that this is a conversation is, however, evident in the second
paragraph where the barber addresses the newcomer “You're a
newcomer, ain't you?” The entire extract is based on informal
conversati on.
We understand that the barber owns a small barber shop in
a sleepy little town in the USA, somewhere near Carterville from
where another barber comes down on Saturdays to deal with the
influx of customers who have time only then to visit the barber
shop, as they are busy working during the weekdays. The barber
seems to know and understand his fellow town residents, as he
does not bemoan his lack of business on the weekdays. Since he is
alone in the shop, it must be a weekday when this conversation
takes place.
The barber constantly compares his town to New York City,
but while he admits its inadequacy when compared to big cities, he
defends it by stating that the town folk have pretty good times.
He gossips about the town characters, Jim Kendall and Ho d
Meyers and how they had been the life of the town, giving everyone
reasons to laugh till Kendall got killed and how Meyers is trying to
“hold his end up”.munotes.in
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79The barber’s speech is colloquial and peppered with
Americanisms “ain’t”, “prettied up” and “laugh in”. The dropping of
the “g” is indicative of speech patterns found in the Southern states
of the USA. He also is not very educated as he uses double
negatives in his sentences such as “we ain't no New York City or
Chicago” “don't have no leisure.” Despite the lack of education and
lack of sophistication, he is tolerant of others and has sympathy for
his fellow residents, as he excuses the lack of customers in his
shop by being understanding of the fact that his clientele were
hardworking men who had other concerns than being “prettied up”
and has the ability to look beyond Hod’s shortcomings in trying to
entertain the town by perceiving that “it's tough goin' when you ain't
got nobody to kind of work with.”
The entire three paragraphs are virtually a monolo gue, as
the barber keeps speaking with hardly a response from the shop’s
customer. We understand the character of the barber through the
characteristics of his speech and are not given any arbitrary
information by the author.
Teaching Questions
1)What does the repeated use of the first person and the second
person pronoun in the first paragraph signify? Does this seem
like a conversation?
2)Who is conversing? Has the protagonist been named?
3)Read the first sentence. What is the protagonist’s occupation?
4)Wher e do you think the conversation is taking place?
5)Where is the shop located? In which country? Near which
town?
6)Do you know if it is a weekday or the weekend when this
conversation is taking place? How do you know that?
7)What impression do you get about t he town’s residents from
the first paragraph?
8)There is a use of double negative in some sentences. Identify
the sentences. Do you think an educated man uses double
negatives in his conversation? What does this tell you about
the protagonist?munotes.in
Page 80
809)In the secon d stanza, the barber asks the customer a
question. Does he wait for a response? Why do think he
answers the question himself? Have you been to a barber
shop? Do you talk when getting a haircut?
10)“As I say, we ain't no New York City or Chicago, but we have
pretty good times.” In this sentence is the barber criticising his
town or defending it? What does the contrast linker “but”
signify?
11)After the protagonist tells the customer “I hope you like it good
enough to stay” why do you think the barber talks about Jim
Kendall and Hod Meyers?
12)Only those who are agents in the discourse are termed
characters of the passage. They are not passive. They are
either acting or they are actively thinking and feeling in the
passage. Based on this definition, how many charact ers are
there in the passage? Justify.
13)Write all that you know about the barber in two columns: one
is for facts given in the passage and another for what you infer
from the passage. Has the author given you any direct
information about the character? Wha ti st h i sm e t h o do f
characterisation called?
14)Comment on the connection of the title to the given extract.
7.3.EXERCISE
1) Consider that you are about to teach this poem in class. You
wish to make the poem learner -centred, so instead of explaining
the p oem, and drawing implications from it, you ask a series of
questions, and expect that in the process of answering the
questions, they will understand the poem. Note that you questions
must be simple enough for the average student to answer. Your
questions must also deal with those aspects of the text that are
central to it, and come to matters of lesser importance later. “The
understanding of the text is through its linguistic features and the
way these features reflect the content.”
You may ask question s, draw attention to certain features, as
well as ask the students to perform certain activities.
You are required to set approximately 10 questions aimed at
an average undergraduate class.munotes.in
Page 81
81Also prepare a content analysis of the given poem.
The seas are quiet when the winds give o’er,
So calm are we when passions are no more.
For then we know how vain it was to boast
Of fleeting things, so certain to be lost.
Clouds of affection from our younger eyes
Conceal that emptiness which age descries.
The soul ’s dark cottage, battered and decayed,
Lets in new light through clinks that time hate made;
Stronger by weakness, wiser men become
As they draw near to their eternal home;
Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view
That stand upon the threshold of th en e w .
2) Consider that you are about to teach this poem in class. You
wish to make it learner -centred, so instead of explaining it, and
drawing implications from it, you ask a series of questions, and
expect that in the process of answering the question s, they will
understand it. Note that you questions must be simple enough for
the average student to answer. Your questions must also deal with
those aspects of the text that are central to it, and come to matters
of lesser importance later. “The understan ding of the text is through
its linguistic features and the way these features reflect the
content”. You may ask questions to draw attention to certain
features, as well as ask the students to perform certain activities.
You are required to set approxi mately 10 questions aimed at
an average undergraduate class.
Also Prepare a content analysis of the poem.
Palanquin -Bearers
Lightly, o lightly we bear her along.
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song :
She skims like a bird on the foam of a s tream.
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing.
We bear her along like a pearl on a sting.
Softly, O softly we bear her along.
She hands like a star in the dew of our song:munotes.in
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82She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide.
She fails like a tear from the eyes of a bride.
Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing
We bear her along like a pearl on a string
(Note : A palanquin is a covered coach on poles and is carried on
shoulders by men. It is usually used for cer emonial reasons and in
af o l kd a n c e )
3)Consider that you are about to teach the following passage in
class. You wish to make the class learner -centered, so instead of
explaining the passage, and drawing implications from it, you ask
the students a series of questions, and expect that in the process of
answering the questions they will understand the passage. Note
that your questions must be simple enough for the average student
to answer. Your questions must also deal with those aspects of the
text that ar e central to it, and come to matters of lesser importance
later. The understanding of the text is through its linguistic features
and the way these features reflect the content. You may ask
questions, draw attention to certain features, as well as ask the
students to perform certain activities. You are expected to ask
approximately 10 questions. Also prepare a content analysis of the
passage.
“What will you do?” Zahra asked her.
“whatever I am told to. Laila, don’t look so solemn and I’ll
tell you a s tory of a girl who was not like you and believed in old
customs. When she was married, when the time came for the
ceremony of seeing the face of the bride, she was carried in where
the guests were waiting. As you know a bride must not move nor
make a sound when the veil of flowers is moved aside each time
someone wishes to see her face. After a while the woman who was
supporting her felt the girl’s body become as heavy as lead. She
had fainted. And what do you think they discovered? A centipede
had buried i tself in her foot and she hadn’t even taken an extra
breath.”
munotes.in