Stylistics routledge English Language Introductions

Language and Literature
(2002, 11, 1), edited by
Gerard Steen, is devoted to metaphor identification, and readers will find in that
issue many useful suggestions about how to identify and track metaphors in liter-
ature. M. Freeman (2002) explores the ‘body’ of a poetic text, making a number
of connections between the visual form of a poem and its cognitive import. This
paper is therefore a good follow-up to the sorts of issues raised in this unit about
the connection between metaphor and graphological experimentation. McRae’s
(1998) study of the language of poetry, which is a generally valuable stylistic
survey of poetic technique, contains a short exercise based around the McGough
poem and other visually striking poems.
IS THERE A ‘LITERARY LANGUAGE’?
❏
The ‘literary language’ issue has been addressed in various stylistics publication,
but the treatments in Fowler (1996) and Carter and Nash (1990) are especially
useful. Tambling (1988) approaches the issue from a range of perspectives in his
useful book on the subject. Finally, the problems involved in modelling a styl-
istic description of 
literature
are addressed in van Peer (1991) and Steen (1999b).
STYLE, REGISTER AND DIALECT
❏
Hess (1996) is an insightful exploration of code-switching in literature. Two arti-
cles on the representation of dialect in literature are Toolan (1992) and (2000),
while Cooper (1994) is a study of dialect in the novels of Thomas Hardy. A
special issue of the journal 
Language and Literature
(2001, 10, 2) is devoted to
dialect analysis, specifically to the representation of African-American varieties
of English in the work of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Antilanguages
in literature are the principal focus of attention in both Tsen (1997) and in a
chapter of Fowler (1981).
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❏
Corbett (1997) offers an excellent general overview of the language of Scottish
literature while Mick Short’s essay in Reading D5 explores another of Irvine
Welsh’s novels, 
Marabou Stork Nightmares
.
GRAMMAR AND GENRE: A SHORT STUDY 
IN IMAGISM
❏
There are numerous literary-critical treatments of Imagism and of the life and
work of Ezra Pound, although it should be noted that rarely does this work
engage in any rigour with stylistic issues associated with Imagist poetry. On the
other hand, Crisp (1996) is a scholarly article in stylistics which is devoted to
the significance of the ‘image metaphor’ in the work of Pound and other poets.
Although quite advanced theoretically, Crisp’s article, which includes a commen-
tary on ‘In a station of the Metro’ makes for rewarding reading.
STYLES IN A SINGLE POEM: AN EXPLORATION
❏
Brearton and Simpson (2001) is an article on the poetry of Michael Longley
which balances literary critical methods and the methods of stylistics. Brearton
(forthcoming) is book-length study of the same poet’s work.
❏
Verdonk (1993b) offers an analysis of a range of levels of language in a Seamus
Heaney’s poem ‘Punishment’, paying particular attention to patterns of 
deixis
(see A2).
A SOCIOLINGUISTIC MODEL OF NARRATIVE
❏
Burton (1980) is an important stylistic exploration of drama dialogue which
contains a full chapter on Ionesco’s 
The Bald Prima Donna
. Both Simpson
(1997a: 101–27) and Toolan (2001: 143–77) contain detailed accounts of the
Labov model, along with a number of suggested stylistic applications.
TRANSITIVITY, CHARACTERISATION AND LITERARY
GENRE
❏
Nash (1990) is an engaging general account of the language of popular fiction,
which examines narrative techniques beyond those covered in this unit.
❏
Mills (1995: 143–9) looks at transitivity from a feminist perspective, while
Wareing, in two articles in which the transitivity model features, examines
popular fiction written for women (Wareing 1990; 1994).
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EXPLORING POINT OF VIEW IN NARRATIVE FICTION
❏
This unit is based on a (dangerously) simplified version of a framework set out
in Simpson (1993), and readers are urged to consult the fuller model for further
detail and illustration. Other books which cover point of view are Rimmon-
Kenan’s textbook (1983) and Genette’s influential study (1980). Interesting
articles on point of view include Sasaki (1994) and Chapman (2002).
EXPLORING DIALOGUE
❏
Herman’s extensive study of drama discourse includes a discussion of the way
principles of social interaction can be brought to bear in the interpretation of
play dialogue. (Herman 1996: 6 and 
passim
). Birch (1991) is a generally inter-
esting study of drama which balances critical theory with some insights from
stylistics. Simpson (2000) includes a study, with an emphasis on discourse struc-
ture, of patterns of comic dialogue in the popular Irish sitcom