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Types of Stylistics
Linguistic Stylistics
• studies the devices in
language of literary texts
(such as rhetorical figures
and syntactical patterns)
that are employed to
produce expressive or
literary style.
Literary Stylistics
• is synonymous to literary
criticism. Literary
criticism rests solely on
subjective interpretation
of texts.
• To decipher message
Features of Linguistic Stylistics
• “Stylistic analysis in linguistics refers to the identification
of the patterns of usage in speech and writing”
(Widdowson, Stylistics)
Let us discuss some linguistic features for in-depth stylistic
analysis.
1. Phonological Level
• 1. Phonological level: (Sounds) Phonology studies the
combination of sounds into organized units of speech.
Though phonology is considered to be the superficial
level of language, there are some aspects of it such as
tone which contribute to the meaning of an utterance.
1.Phonological Level : Example
“Their stanzas of stifling scandals
Cause the masses to curse” (Dasylva: “Songs of
Odamolougbe”
• Alliteration, deliberate selection of sounds, repetition,
• Meaning: sinister, evil, corruption of Nigerian
politicians
2.Graphological Level
• Graphology means the arrangement of words, the
appearance of the text on a page.
• E.g. use of capitalization, or avoiding it, overemphasis
on punctuation
Emily Dickenson : Use of punctuation—Dashes
e e cummings : ignores capitalization
On the wrinkled face of the hills
i see my shortening shadow
as my sun creeps towards the west hills
Example:
Graphological Level
gently, gently, gently
like afternoon’s flame
l
o
Ushi’s “Hill Song”
w
e
r
i
n
g
To ash in the evening
3. Lexical level
Lexis is the total number of word forms
• Words may be repeated
• Synonyms or similar words may be used
• Hyponymy, anaphora,
e.g. Vegetation: grass, leaves
Verbal repetition, use of pronouns,
Example: Lexical Level
I looked upon the rotting sea
And there the dead men lay
I looked upon the rotting deck
And there the dead men lay (Coleridge, “Rime of the
Ancient Mariner”)
4. Syntactic Level
• Concerned with the arrangement of the words in a
sentence. It also attempts to describe how these
elements function in the sentence.
• Studies description of rules of positioning of words in a
sentence.
• Involves rules of positioning of elements in a sentence,
such as nouns, verbs, adverbs etc
Syntactical Level: Example
• E. g. “Home he went”
“home” occurs in the beginning of the sentence to
foreground it.
“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” Robert
Frost, “Mending Wall”
5. Semantic Level
• Semantics deals with the level of meaning in language.
E.g. how words similar or different are related.
• Tries to give account of both word and sentence
meaning
Semantic Level: Example
e.g. The writer has penned down his ideas with extreme
brevity.
I see squeaking Cleopatra boy my
greatness….(Shakespeare)
6.Morphological level
• Morphology: study of the smallest grammatical units of
language and their formation into words. It studies how
the words are formed. e.g. what their grammatical forms
are, how the system of gender, number, plural etc.
function and why the words forms change.
e.g.
e e cummings use of prefix “un”
“Unlove’s the heavenless hell” “ unlove” “unhate”
“manunkind”
“Darkness eats a distance birdfully”
7.Discourse Level
• Inter-sentencial links that form a connective or cohesive
text.
• Relationship between sentences
e.g. use of connectives such as: and, though, also, but.
repetition of pronouns, definite articles
Discourse level: Example
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg’d with me useless through my soul more bent.
Features of Linguistic Stylistics
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•
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Phonology
Morphology
Graphology
Discourse
Lexis
Syntax
Semantics
Example
NO LEFT TURN
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A road side sign
Imperative mode
Capital letters
Implied “there is”