MODULE 1: ● Three main concepts

1. Mimesis (opposite of diegesis)

Rhetoric and Poetics: The Classical
└ Translated as ‘imitation’
Heritage of Stylistics 2. Catharsis (incorporates emotion of
By: Michael Burke pity and fear)
└ Translated as ‘cleansing’ or
I. Introduction ‘clearing away’
● Stylistics 3. Plot structure (hamartia, perieteia,
└ Begins in the twentieth century with Roman and anagnorisis)
Jakobson and Russian formalism.
● Aristotle
● Jackobson └ Known for poetics
└ Had profound knowledge of both poetics and
rhetoric. ● Homo Universalis (4th Century BC)
└ In his ‘Closing statement: Linguistics and └ Starting point
poetics’ he conducts a detailed stylistic
analysis of Mark Anthony’s famous ● Prolific Greek Lyric Pots before Aristotle
monologue from Shakespeare’s Julius 1. Homer
Ceasar. 2. Hesiod
➔ Observed: paranomasia, 3. Pindar
polyptoton, apostrophe, exordium, 4. Sappho
modus obliquus and modus rectus. 5. Aeschylus
6. Sophocles
II. Historical Overview 7. Euripides
● 15th Century BC 8. Aristophanes
└ When the great classical period of rhetoric and
poetics began. ● Aristotle
└ Beginnings of democracy in Athens. └ Written the first book-length work of critical
└ Rhetoric and poetics continued right up to the literary theory in the ancient Hellenic world.
fall of the Roman empire in the West.
● Plato
● Eastern Roman └ First wrote on mimesis
└ Roman tradition of rhetoric schools and their └ Aristotle’s mentor and teacher
progymnasmata programme of learning └ He would’ve banned all poets from his ideal
continued here right up until the fall of the state for being generally useless and also a
Byzantine empire (15th Century AD). threat to people’s perception of reality.
└ Writes about poetry to critique it and
● Fall of Constantinople demonstrate its dangers to society.
└ Rhetorics continued to grow in status in the └ Reflects on poetry in his magnum opus, The
West and became part of the European Republic.
trivium.
● Plato’s Book 3 in The Republic
● European Trivium └ He distinguishes between two types of
└ ‘Academic core’ narration:
└ Consisting of the three related disciplines of 1. Mimesis: Author speaks in the
grammar, logic, and rhetoric. voice of his character (imitates) .
└ Lasted in the same form through the 2. Diegesis: Author speaks in his own
Renaissance and Early Modern periods. voice (narrating).
└ Disappeared in Europe in the early 19th
century. ● Speech and Thought
└ Key area in stylistics
III. Classical Poetics

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 ● ‘Theory of Forms’
└ Found in the tenth book of The Republic ● Poetics
└ Plato relates mimesis to the negatice idea of └ Focus on the poetics of drama and on tragedy
mere ‘copying.’ in particular.
➔ Different to the gloss mimesis is ➔ Second book: comedy (lost)
given in book 3, where identification └ Discourse on tragedy.
with character and character voice
is central. ● Tragedy according to Aristotle
└ Mimesis is presented as superficial and └ Serious and significant action
essentially worthless practice. └ Pleasurably embellished language
└ Various embellishments in different parts
● Aristotle’s View on Mimesis └ Presented as action, not narration
└ Unlike Plato, for Aristotle, poetis is the object └ Evokes pity and fear to achieve catharsis
of the study itself and not a side argument in
a larger philosophical theory. ● Catharsis
└ Major concept of Aristotle’s Poetics
● Poetics └ Most general description: notion of a ‘clearing
└ Believed to be the first work of literary criticism away’ or ‘cleansing’ of both body and mind.
in the Western tradition. └ Example scenario: You watch a drama play. You
└ Aristotle tackles the issue of the nature of witness the hero suffering due to fate, not
poetry and how its parts can be classified, immoral actions. You empathize with the hero,
categorised and understood. leading to pity and fear for yourself and loved
ones.
└ Concerns: aesthetics and psychological, because
➔ This emotional experience, while
it seeks to understand how poetic discourse
distant from real life, helps cleanse and
works on an audience. rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul.

● Formalism ● Plot Structure

└ Aristotle’s approach to poetics └ Connected to both mimesis and catharsis.
└ Three ket elements:
Poetry from Aristotle’s Poetry from Plato’s POV 1. Hamartia
POV 2. Peripeteia
3. Anagnorisis
Like rhetoric, Aristotle sees Sees poets as slaves to the
poetry as an art, in the sense Muses (individals waiting for
of a skill/craft (techne). inspiration). ● Hamartia
└ a ‘mistake’ or ‘error’
Poets create things through: Poets copy things due to:
intellect and applied reason. irrational mood swings and └ translated in poetic terms as: innate ‘tragic
ignorance. flaw’ in a specific character (usually the
Drama: useful and practical Drama: morally perilous and a
protagonist).
and therefore helpful to threat to society.
society. ● Peripeteia
Emotions: wanted them Emotions: should be kept └ ‘peripety’ pertains to a ‘reversal of circumstance’
expressed and out in the deep inside a person. – a change of fortune.
open.
└ necessary development in the plot.

● Aristotle’s Mimesis ● Anagnorisis

└ A kind of natural, basic instinct that exists └ Act of ‘recognition.’
alongside other social, cultural and └ Character realises what he/she has done (often
individual phenomena. as a result of his/her hamartia or earlier
mistake or tragic flaw).
● What do humans like to observe? ➔ Example: Oedipus Rex (patricide
└ Pleasurable things in art and incest)
└ Things that are confrontational (e.g., murder
and human degradation) ● Elements of an Ideal Plot

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 1. It should focus on a single issue, present a └ In poetry everything should be fit and proper
serious and complete action, and use and appropriate.
embellished language as needed. └ Decorum covered everything from genre to
2. Plots can be simple or complex. word choice and meter.
➔ Simple plots lack reversal and └ Characters should be true to life.
recognition; complex plots require └Horace valued visual experiences but believed
both. heinous acts should occur offstage to maintain
3. The hero’s change of fortune (peripeteia) decorum, reflecting his commitment to mimesis.
must be from happiness to misery, unlike ➔ Mimesis: art should imitate nature,
today’s common happy endings. and that incompatibility in these
4. The cause is not depravity or wickedness but matters should be avoided at all
a character error/flaw (hamartia) costs.
5. Hero must be a good man.
6. The play unfolds in one day, with past events ● Literary emotions
revealed through dialogue and flashbacks. └ Interested Aristotle and Horace.
7. The deed committed must involve family or └ Horace was influenced by rhetoric, believing
close friends, not strangers. that to move an audience, you must express
8. There is a predictable and necessary ‘surprise’ the emotion yourself.
— recognition/discovery (anagnorisis).
● On the Sublime By Longinus (third century
● Aristotle’s Poetics AD)
└ Had a huge influence on later Renaissance └ Important window on Roman literary criticism
writers. and theory.
└ Long before the Renaissance, Aristotle’s └ Inspired by the method of learning that was
Poetics had a huge influence on the Roman poets prevalent in the Roman rhetorical schools.
and playwrights.
● Style
● Horace and Longinus └ Third canon of rhetoric
└ Renown names in Roman poetics and literary └ Three levels: plain style, middle style, & grand
criticism. style
└ Horace: The art of poetry
└ Longinus: On the Sublime ● Poetic Sublimity
➔ Important didactic tools in └ Passionate style/language-based force that has
antiquity. the power to delight, engage and transport
readers and hearers to states of bliss.
● Horace └ Longinus claims that there are five sources of
└ Believed that the poet had to sweat in order to sublimity.
create great works of literary art. ➔ First two of the sources rely on
➔ To become good writers, students nature; they depend on the innate
had to read Greek poets like genius of the poet.
Homer, internalize their stories, ➔ Other three are all nurture-like; all
and imitate their style and syntax in down to hard work, skill and craft.
their own compositions, similar to
students in rhetoric schools. ● Five Sources of Sublimity (Longinus)
└ Horace, unlike Aristotle who focused on plot, 1. ‘Ability to form grand conceptions’
focused more on character. └ First source
➔ Main characters had to be morally └ Natural gift
good individuals.
└ proto-‘relevance theorist” for poetics 2. ‘Stimulus of powerful and inspired
emotions’
● Decorum └ Second source
└ Horace’s main theoretical input. └ Innate

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 3. ‘Proper formation of the figures of ● In a democracy…
thought and figures of language’ └ Effective speakers with clear arguments will
└ Third source succeed in both courtrooms and parliament,
└ First of the nature/craft inputs the key power centers in democratic systems.
➔ Eloquence meant power.
4. ‘Noble diction’
└ Fourth source ● Young male aristocratic Athenians
└ Choice of words, language and imagery. └ Had money but no power.

5. ‘Dignified and Elevated word ● Teachers of Rhetorics

arrangement’ └ Had the skills to teach rhetoric but were
relatively poor.
● Rhetorical in Nature
└ Last three sources ● Plato
└ Found attacking the Sophists, including
● ‘Noble diction’ and ‘Prominent Word Protagoras and Gorgias.
arrangement’ └ He found them morally corrupt and worthless.
└ At the sentence level also involve └ Sophists, as seen by Plato, teach using tactics
foregrounding, as well as creative text like style and emotion to win debates, often
production. with weaker arguments.
└ Plato argued for logical, ethical reasoning over
IV. Classical Rhetoric: History, Theory, stylistic tricks.
Method └ Plato believed that the people who had been
trained by the Sophists dazzled their
A. A Short History of Classical Rhetoric interlocutors with lexical and syntactic
trickery, rather than reasoning logically with
● Corax them.
└ Classical scholars agree that Corax first codified └ He believed in the philosophical notion of ‘truth’
rhetoric around 475 BC. and despised the oratory of the professional
└ Came from the city of Syracuse on the island of and political world.
Sicily. └ Plato is an aristocrat who disliked deomcracy
└ He taught the people of Syracuse to structure since he saw it as being partially responsible
and deliver persuasive speeches in court to for the trial and execution of Socrates (his
reclaim stolen property. friend and teacher).
➔ Charged fee and became wealthy, as
did his star pupil Tisias. ● Fourth Century BC
└ Schools of rhetoric started to emerge in
● Most forms of Rhetoric Athens.
└ Can only exist within a demoratic political ➔ Most famous: run by Isocrates and
system. rivalled Platos’ philosophical
Academy found in Athens.
● After the fall of the tyrant in Syracuse…
└ Athenians debated public issues openly. ● Isocrates
Athens, a rare democratic city-state, needed └ Trained affluent young men to serve the state
skilled thinkers and speakers. wisely.
└ Showed real rhetoric involved not just logic and
● Protagoras (north of Greece) and Gorgias reason, but emotion and style as well.
(of Lentini in Sicily) └ Concluded: Reason and emotion, as well as
└ These were the first Sophists. content and style, are inseparable, making
➔ They taught wealthy young complaints about rhetorical style pointless.
Athenians how to speak and argue └ Speeches: ‘Against the Sophists’
eloquently in the public arena.
● Lawyer Lysias

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 └ One of the many great and famous orators └ A first-century Iberian rhetorician, established
└ Attacked by Plato a rhetoric school in Rome and became the
first professor of rhetoric.
● Demosthenes └ He wrote Institutio oratoria (The Institutes of
└ Greatest public speaker of all time, despite a Oratory), a twelve-volume handbook
debilitating speech impediment that he detailing his teaching methods.
suffered throughout most of his childhood. └ He focused on ethical education in rhetoric,
└ Born in 384 BC and died in 322 BC. emphasizing ‘the good man speaking,’
especially for aspiring lawyers.
● Aristotle
└ Macedonian by birth, he returned to Athens ● Progymnasmata
after Phillip II's conquest ended Greek └ Used by many rhetorical schools in the late
democracy and much of rhetoric. Roman period.
└ Founded the school Lyceum where students └ This entailed a series of progressively complex
studied poetics and rhetoric alongside rhetorical assignments.
biology, physics, and geometry. └ It followed a fourteen-level model, starting with
└ Spent 20 years studying and teaching at Plato’s creating fables and advancing to complex
philosophical school, The Academy in tasks like legal speeches.
Athens. └ This method remains effective in modern
➔ This is where Aristotle learned to rhetoric and creative writing courses.
distrust rhetoric and rejected it for
its purported phoniness. ● After The Fall of the Roman Empire…
(5th Century AD)
● ‘Rhetoric-in-practice’ └ Rhetoric thrived in Byzantium (surviving
└ It’s not just a quest for philosophical truth but Eastern part of the Roman world).
a human communicative process involving
logic, character, and emotion, as Isocrates ● When Byzantium fell to the Ottoman
noted. Turks…
└ Knowledge of rhetoric began to flow back to
● Art of Rhetoric By Aristotle the West, aiding the early Renaissance.
└ Oldest complete treatise on rhetoric. └ A complete copy of Quintilian’s Institutio
└ What Aristotle used in his teaching at the oratoria, lost for centuries, was found in a
Lyceum. Swiss monastery and became central to
Renaissance education.
● Marcus Tullius Cicero
└ Began his own investigations into rhetoric ● Erasmus of Rotterdam
during the first century Bc. └ One of the most influential rhetoricians in this
└ Was a leading lawyer and later on, a senator. period.
└ He that rhetoric had a tripartite function: to └ Introduced De Copia (meaning ‘abundance’)
teach (docere), to persuade (movere) and to at Cambridge University, serving as a key
delight (delectare). grammar school handbook in England.
└ Treatises: de Inventione (On invention) and de
Oratore (On the orator). ● Juan Luis Vives
└ Another continental scholar who had an
● Tacitus and Roman St.Augustine of influence on the teaching of rhetoric in
Hippo England.
└ Wrote on rhetoric over 400 years. └ Appointed professor of rhetoric at Oxford by
└ Christiana doctrina (St. Augustine): included a Cardinal Wolsey, also influenced English
chapter on persuading pagan masses for rhetoric teaching but had a brief tenure due
Christian priests. to turbulent religious conflicts.

● Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (Quintilian) ● Early Modern Period

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 └ The university education system in England └ refers to the discourse itself
and much of Europe was based on the ● Macro level
trivium. └ Five canons of rhetoric
➔ Trivium: akin to an undergraduate
BA program or freshman year, ● Five Canons of Rhetorics
included grammar, logic, and 1. Discovery
rhetoric, studied in that order. 2. Arrangement
➔ Trivium: Aimed to provide 3. Stylisation
foundational tools for success in 4. Memorisation
higher-level quadrivium studies 5. Delivery
(arithmetic, geometry, music,
astronomy) and everyday life.

● European Grammar Schools

└ Where rhetoric thrived until the early
nineteenth century but declined after that.

● In the United States…

└ Rhetoric, composition, and critical thinking
remain key in first-year programs at top ● Taxis
liberal arts colleges. └ ‘place’ or ‘order’
└ ‘taxonomy’ refers to the science of
● Eastern Europe classification.
└ Rhetoric continued here, including Moscow
University, influencing Roman Jakobson's ● Lexis
formalism and stylistics. └ ‘word’
└ closely linked to style
● Western Europe
└ Rhetoric persisted in forms like literary ● Five Canons of Rhetoric
criticism and early linguistics, with key 1. Discovery/ Invention
figures including Charles Bally (Traité de └ This canon is arguably the most important of
stylistique frangaise, 1909) and Leo Spitzer the five.
(Stilstudien, 1928), marking the beginning of └ Every argumentative piece of written or spoken
modern stylistics. discourse needs a standpoint or proposition.
└ After deciding on your topic, gather or
B. The Theory and Method of Rhetoric generate arguments, also known as "proofs,"
to support your proposition.
● Rhetoric └ Aristotle first noted in *Art of Rhetoric* that
└ derived from the Greek word rhéma (meaning there are two categories of arguments, or
‘a word’), which in turn is linked to rhétor (‘a "means of persuasion”:
teacher of oratory’). a. Internal: ‘artistic’ or ‘technical’
➔ Both are ultimately derived from proofs
the Greek verb eiro (which means ‘I b. External: ‘non-artistic’ or
say’). ‘non-technical’ proofs.
└ The notion of rhetoric was firmly rooted in
language. ● ‘Art’ of rhetoric
└ Rhetoric is also about structure and strategy. └ means ‘skill’

● Strategy ● Artistic proof

1. Macro level └ Are arguments or proofs that need skill and
2. Micro level effort in order to be brought into being.

● Micro level ● Non-artistic proof

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 └ Arguments or proofs that need no skill or real └ Act of providing the answer that not only
effort to be created; rather, they simply need makes people feel good about themselves, at
to be recognised. a subconscious level, but which also
persuades them: it is a kind of self-persuasion.
● External proofs
└ By far the simplest ● Inferential Part of Enthymemic
└ For a twenty-first-century student, external Reasoning
proofs include reference books, academic └ Keys into contemporary ideas in pragmatics.
search engines, journal articles, data, statistics, ➔ Especially the case with regard to
and testimony—modern non-artistic proofs. inference.

● Atechnoi pisteis (External) ● Pathos

└ Non-technical means of persuasion. └ Second of the proofs
└ Not, strictly speaking, really part of the art of └ Focuses on the psychology of persuasion by
rhetoric at all. triggering emotions through language and
performance.
● Five non-technical proofs to legal └ Effectiveness: Persuades more often than
oratory (Aristotle) other proofs.
└ laws, contracts, oaths, witness and torture └ Emotional Influence: We often process
information mindlessly or peripherally, using
● Entechnoi pisteis cognitive shortcuts.
└ Internal mode of persuasion, the ‘technical” or └ Evolutionary basis: Suggests we are wired to
‘artistic means’. use cognitive shortcuts in everyday life.
└ Includes three modes:
a. Rational appeal (logos) ● Ethos
b. Emotional appeal (pathos) └ Concerned with character
c. Ethical appeal (ethos) └ Two aspects
a. ‘Situated’ ethos: Existing
● Logos reputation or esteem of the
└ Centres on whether arguments are what we speaker/writer.
call deductive or inductive, fallacious or b. ‘Invented’ ethos: How the
non-fallacious, syllogistic or enthymemic. speaker/writer linguistically builds
└ Produce solid, honest, and valid arguments to trust and connection with the
support your thesis. audience.
➔ Effective invented ethos
● Rhetorical Examples and Enthymematic can enhance situated
Reasoning ethos, and vice versa.
└ Main means of argumentation in logos
2. Arrangement
● Rhetorical example └ Focuses on ordering or arranging text elements.
└ Quality matters more than quantity. └ Aristotle’s model (two parts to a speech):
└ Focus on vividness and relevance. a. State the case
b. Prove it
● Enthymemic └ Corax’s model
└ Involves a premise being ellipted or supressed a. Introduction
from a syllogism. b. Background information
c. Arguments
● Ellipted (main) premise in the d. Conclusion
enthymeme (syllogistic logical equivalent in ➔ Very influential during the
rhetoric) Renaissance period and is the one
└ Acts to persuade people because they infer set out in the first century Bc
what is not there and fill it in themselves. handbook Rhetorica ad
Herennium.

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 └ ‘occasio’, from where we get our word
● Rhetorica ad Herennium ‘occasion’, and this points to another
└ Stipulates that there are six distinct parts to a important aspect of kairos.
speech or piece of written discourse.
1. Introduction (exordium) ● Situational Awareness
2. Background (narratio) └ A good speaker must be attuned to
3. Brief list of arguments (divisio/partitio) opportunities for kairos, which can arise
4. Arguments in favor (confirmatio) suddenly and unpredictably.
5. Counter arguments (confutatio)
6. Conclusion (peroratio) ● Kairotic Windows
└ Speakers need to be alert to kairotic moments,
which can vary in duration.
➔ It will all depend on the context
and the nature of the subject
matter.

● Situationally sensitive
└ Speakers should adjust their speech based on
the audience’s mood, possibly altering
content and structure.
● Decline of rhetoric in the 19th century
└ Criticized for being too prescriptive, dogmatic, ● Adaptability
and narrow. └ Deviating from a linear structure may be
necessary to maintain audience engagement
● Demosthenes and Cicero and effectiveness.
└ Contrary to ancient ideals, great rhetoricians like
them did not see rhetoric as narrowly prescriptive. 3. Stylisation
└ Third canon of rhetoric: Focuses on style,
● Kairos influencing modern stylistics.
└ Addresses the appropriateness of rhetoric in └ Components of Style:
context, countering claims of its prescriptiveness. a. Notion of style
b. Grammar and clarity
● Greek’s Two Concept of Time c. Levels of style
a. Kronos: Linear time, from which we get d. Style figures
"chronology." e. Imitation
b. Kairos: Locative time, focused on specific
moments and context. ● Etymology
└ Derived from Latin 'stilus,' an ancient writing
● Kronos tool.
└ Essentially about context. It is the pragmatic
utterance avant la lettre. ● Roman perspective
➔ Every textual utterance will differ └ Style (elocutio as Romans call it) was seen as a
depending on the contextual system for persuasive discourse.
elements involved in that utterance.
└ Relates to the pragmatics of utterances, ● Debate On Style
considering context, speaker, audience, └ Whether it is intrinsic to communication or an
message, and mode. optional extra; contemporary views favor its
➔ Most important of all are the time inseparability from content.
and place of the utterance.
● Marshall McLuhan’s view
● Kairos └ "The medium is the message," emphasizing
style's integral role in communication.

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 ● Aristotle's Art of Rhetoric metaphors, similes, oxymora,
└ Discusses concepts like clarity, amplitude, hyperboles, and puns.
propriety, rhythm, syntax, and metaphor,
which remain relevant in modern stylistics. ● More General Groupings
└ Can be categorized by types like brevity,
● Demetrius of Phaleron’s On Style description, emotional appeals, and whether
└ The first work to focus exclusively on style they are figures of thought or language.
genres and figures, seen as a foundational text
in stylistics. ● Foregrounding
└ Includes parallelism, repetition, and
● Grammatical aspects of style deviations.
1. Correctness (purity):
Grammar-based and prescriptive ● Learning rhetoric
2. Clarity (perspicuity): Use of └ Traditionally in three stages:
everyday language, avoiding 1. Study of principles
obsolete or technical terms. 2. Imitation of others
3. Appropriateness: Contextual 3. Practice in writing
correctness
● Pedagogical overlap
● Style should match └ Reflects contemporary educational norms like
└ Audience, occasion, and subject matter, Bloom’s Taxonomy and principles of poetics.
reflecting the concept of kairos.
● Principles of poetics
● Ancient Styles └ Figures of thought and language
1. Low style (plain/Attic) └ Noble diction
2. High style (florid/ Asiatic) └ Dignified and elevated word arrangement
3. Middle Style
4. Memorization and Delivery
● Low Style (plain/Attic) └ Fourth and Fifth Canons: Focus on
└ Ordinary, straightforward, used for performative aspects of rhetoric, specifically
instruction; characterized by loose, paratactic memorization and delivery.
sentences, akin to casual chat found in
modern text messaging and social media. ● Delivery aspects includes:
a. Intonation
● High style (florid/ Asiatic) b. Prosody
└ Lofty, ornate, and formal; employs many style c. Voice
figures and periodic sentences for structured d. Rhythm
and emotive discourse. e. Gesture
➔ Considered art forms by Roman
● Middle Style orators.
└ A blend of low and high styles, balancing
simplicity and ornamentation. ● Demosthenes' emphasis
└ "Delivery, delivery, delivery" highlights its
● Style Figures crucial importance in effective rhetoric.
└ Important for both high style and stylistic
analysis; divided into: ● Practice
a. Schemes: Deviations in syntactic └ Essential for achieving great delivery; continual
structure, including balance, practice is key.
inverted word order, omission, and
repetition. ● Written Delivery
b. Tropes: Deviations in semantics, └ Impacts the multimodal dimension of stylistics,
involving meaning transfer, such as involving visual tools such as fonts, layout,
typography, and graphology.

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 ● Three Genres of Rhetoric

1. Forensic Oratory (Judicial)

└ Focuses on law courts, dealing with past events
and issues of justice/injustice.
➔ Example practitioners: Historical
figures like Corax, Cicero, and
fictional characters like Perry
Mason.

2. Deliberative Oratory (Political )

└ Concerned with future actions, debating what
is good or advantageous for society; involves
exhortation or dehortation.
➔ Example practitioners: Historical
figures like Demosthenes and
Winston Churchill, modern figures
like Barack Obama.

3. Epideictic Oratory (Ceremonial)

└ Centers on praise or blame, including
encomiums (praise), eulogies (praise for the
deceased), and invectives (blame).
➔ Example practitioners: Common in
graduations, weddings, and
funerals; also seen in detailed
obituaries and political satire.

● Influence on Modern Stylistics

└ Ancient poetics and rhetoric laid the
foundation for contemporary stylistics,
illustrating their classical heritage.

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 └ Boris Tomashevskii
MODULE 1:
● Aims of the Russian Formalism
Language and Style
Movement
By: Lesley Jeffries and Dan McIntyre
└ Isolate the properties and characteristics of
literary language.
└ Defamiliarisation: Explore how
I. What Is Stylistics?
defamiliarisation contributes to the intrinsic
● Stylistics
aesthetic value of art and literature.
└ A sub-discipline of linguistics focusing on the
systematic analysis of style in language,
● Heart of Russian Formalism
influenced by factors such as genre, context,
└ The purpose of all art was to defamiliarise the
historical period, and author (Crystal and
familiar in order to generate for the viewer
Davy 1969; Leech 2008).
or reader a new perspective on the topic of
the piece of work under consideration.
● Aspects of Style Analysis
└ Individual Style: Distinguishes one writer from
● Influence of Russian Formalism
another.
└ Had a major impact on early 20th-century
└ Genre-Specific Styles: Includes styles associated
literary theory.
with particular genres like 'newspaper
language' or the gothic novel.
● Limitations
└ Literary Styles: Characteristics defining
└ The idea of clearly distinguishing 'literary' from
'literary' style.
'non-literary' language proved unsustainable.

● Systematic Analysis
● ‘Literariness’
└ Examines formal features of a text and their
└ Stylistics nowadays tends to see ‘literariness’ as a
functional significance for interpretation
point on a cline (continuum) rather than as
(Wales 1989).
an absolute.

● Evolution of Stylistics
● Foregrounding
└ Recent focus includes reader interpretation
└ Russian formalism's impact is notable in the
(Alderson and Short 1989; Short and van
psychological concept of foregrounding,
Peer 1989) and cognitive aspects of text
which highlights the role of style in making
comprehension (Stockwell 2002a; Gavins and
texts stand out.
Steen 2003).
● Alternative Names of Stylistics
● Connection of Stylistics to Lingusitics
└ Literary linguistics
└ Stylistics employs linguistic models, techniques,
└ Critical linguistics
and methodologies to study style.
└ Literary semantics
└ Literary pragmatics
● Concentration of Stylistics
└ Poetics
└ The analysis of literary texts.
● Literary vs. Non-Literary Stylistics
● Roots of Stylistics
└ Literary Stylistics: Focuses on analyzing
└ Originates from the formalist school of literary
literature
criticism in early 20th-century Russia.
└ Non-Literary Stylistics: Analyzes non-literary
texts
● Classical Influence
└ The concept of 'style' has historical roots in
● Literary Stylistics vs Linguistics
classical rhetoric and poetics.
└ The distinction is not between the kinds of
● Major Proponents of Russian Formalism
texts studied, but between the objectives
└ Roman Jakobson
behind such analysis.
└ Victor Shklovskii

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 └ Literary Stylistics: Uses linguistic techniques
to interpret texts. ● Interdisciplinary Nature of Stylistics
└ Linguistic Stylistics: Uses stylistic analysis in └ Stylistics frequently draws upon theories and
order to test or refine a linguistic model. models from various disciplines (e.g.,
linguistics, literary studies, and psychology).
● Modern Approach └ This interdisciplinary approach is characteristic
└ Most stylisticians combine elements of both of the humanities and emphasizes the
literary and linguistic stylistics. versatility and adaptability of stylistics.

II. The Need For Stylistics ● Stylistics: Text-Centric View

└ Stylistics centers on the text itself and
● Place of Stylstics in Linguistics explores the relationship between the writer,
└ Stylistics complements context-free theories the text, and the reader, as well as the broader
from other linguistic areas, offering insights contexts of text production and reception.
into language and interpretation.
● Incorporation of Various Linguistic
● Criticism and Defense Theories
└ From Theoretical Linguistics: Criticized the └ Utilizes context-free linguistic descriptions from
suggestion that stylistics is concerned with structuralist and generativist traditions.
literature more than linguistics. └ Engages with pragmatics, sociolinguistics (more
└ Counter-Argument (John Sinclair): focused on spoken language), cognitive
Emphasizes that literature is a natural part of approaches, and corpus linguistics.
linguistic study and essential for a
comprehensive understanding of language. ● Role of Stylistics
└ From Literary Critics: Accused stylistics of 1. Unique Perspective
being too focused on language at the expense of ➔ Provides a unique angle on
literary concerns. language study by focusing on the
text and its meaning, distinguishing
● Response to Criticisms itself through its emphasis on both
└ While literary texts are commonly used in written and spoken texts.
stylistics, the techniques are applicable to 2. Expectations from Stylistics
both literary and non-literary texts. ➔ Aims to offer specific insights and
└ Describe textual effects with precision, interpretations related to individual
whether focusing on the text, reader's texts by examining their stylistic
contribution, or authorial meaning. features.

● Approach of Stylistics II.I Literary Explanations

1. Versatility
➔ Draws on theories and models ● Linguistics in Literary Analysis
from linguistics, literary studies, └ Stylistics emerged to use linguistics for
and psychology without duplicating explaining textual effects in literature that
or replacing them. literary scholars had recognized but not
2. Focus systematically explained.
➔ Emphasizes the relationship between
text, author, and reader, and the ● Limitations of Classical Rhetoric
broader contexts of text production └ Classical rhetoric was less suitable for analyzing
and reception. contemporary literature, as modern authors
3. Evolution were not trained in rhetoric and did not
➔ Has no settled view between write with rhetorical intent.
author, text and reader. It
continuously evolves theories and ● Detailed Analysis
models to better understand the └ Linguistic analysis allowed for more detailed
processes of meaning creation. examination of literary texts, including

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 effects like the musicality of poetry and └ There is a restricted set of words that we would
narrative complexities of novels. normally expect to follow a word (e.g., ‘wife
● Principle of Stylistics and’).
└ Meaning through linguistic choices ➔ If followed with an unexpected
➔ Stylistics emphasizes that meaning word word like "caravan” it
in language is derived from the becomes humorous.
linguistic choices made by writers
(conscious or unconsciously). ● Schemata Theory
└ Used to explain how literary texts can alter
● Collocation readers' standard ways of understanding the
└ Refers to words that frequently appear world, potentially contributing to the
together (e.g., heavy rain *not strong*) perception of a text's literariness.

● Semantic Prosody ● Debate on Literary Values

└ Associative meaning that words acquire └ The idea that altering a reader’s schema is a
through frequent collocations. measure of literary effect has been debated,
└ Certain seemingly neutral words can be but it highlights stylistics’ role in exploring
perceived with positive or negative both literary value and the processes of
associations. reading and meaning-making.

● Contribution of Stylistic Analysis II.II Language, Rhetoric and Power

└ Stylistic analysis adds linguistic detail to
literary interpretations, clarifying the sources ● Influence of Style on Perception
of literary effects and deepening └ Stylistics helps to analyze how the style of texts
comprehension of textual nuances. influences readers’ perceptions in everyday
situations, such as political speeches and
● Mind Style advertisements.
└ Refers to the idiosyncratic world view of a
character or narrator, exhibited through the ● Semantic Oppositions
linguistic structure of a text. └ Example from a teenage magazine shows how
language can create new semantic oppositions
Example from Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury: The (e.g., normal vs. abnormal) that influence
narrator, Benjy, has a childlike perception of the world, readers' ideologies.
which is reflected in his language use. He describes a golf
game without using typical golf terminology (e.g., calling a
"tee" a "table") and uses the verb "hit" without an object, ● Hyperbolic Descriptions and
illustrating his lack of understanding of cause and effect.
Oppositions
└ Use of hyperbole and negative descriptions
● Appeal to Early Stylisticians (e.g., "eco-terrorism") creates a contrast
└ Exploring 'Literariness' between "normal" and "abnormal,"
➔ Stylistics allows for analysis of reinforcing certain ideologies.
whether "literariness" is a linguistic
phenomenon. ● Persuasive Techniques
└ Stylistics provides a detailed linguistic account
└ Foregrounding in Various Texts of persuasive techniques, comparable to
➔ The stylistic technique of classical rhetoric, to analyze both explicitly
foregrounding, which involves persuasive and implicitly manipulative
making certain elements of a text language use.
stand out, is not limited to literary
texts. ● Stylistics and Critical Discourse Analysis
└ Stylistics is closely related to critical discourse
● Common Collocational Patterns analysis (CDA), which examines how texts
subtly influence political, social, and
consumerist perspectives.

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 └ Used to expose insidious uses of language, └ Stylistics evolved to incorporate new language
particularly in political contexts. theories:
└ Political considerations often enter at the level a. Pragmatics
of interpretation within context. b. Discourse analysis
c. Generative grammar
● Importance of Stylistics d. Cognitive linguistics
└ Stylistics is necessary because it provides ➔ These theories expanded stylistic
insights into textual meaning that go beyond analysis to consider contextual and
what is offered by structural linguistics, cognitive factors in textual
discourse analysis, and pragmatics. interpretation.

III. The Scope of Stylistics ● Collaboration Across Disciplines

└ Psychologists: to study reader responses and
III.I Range of Texts cognitive processes in interpreting texts.
● Applicability to Non-Literary Texts └ In critical discourse analysis, stylisticians
└ The techniques of analysis being developed in examine social manipulation and exploitation
this hybrid discipline (stylistics) were as through language.
applicable to non-literary texts as to literary └ Technological: stylisticians use computational
ones. and statistical methods to analyze large
datasets, deriving linguistic and literary
● No Restriction on Text Types insights.
└ In principle, there are no limitations on the
types of texts that can be analyzed using ● Influence of Cognitive Theories
stylistic methods. └ Recent developments in cognitive stylistics
draw from psychology and philosophy,
● Emphasis on Literary Texts utilizing schema theory, possible worlds theory,
└ Historically and practically, there has been a and theories of figure and ground.
greater focus on the literary aspects of texts ➔ These theories help explain how
within stylistics. readers construct mental images
and understand texts.
● Expansion of Stylicism
└ The advent of recording technologies has made III.I Range of Methods
analyzing spoken texts more feasible, ● Choice of Method Based on Model
broadening stylistics' scope. └ Different models may suggest different
➔ explored spoken conversation, methods, even when studying the same
advertisements, humor, and film, linguistic phenomenon.
among other areas.
Example: To compare vocabulary ranges of Shakespeare
● Multimodality and Ben Jonson, a corpus-based statistical analysis is
required.
└ Aligning stylistics with shifts from literary
theory to cultural theory, emphasizing both
linguistic and visual communication. ● Qualitative vs. Quantitative Methods

III.I Range of Theories 1. Quantitative Methods

● Formalism and Structuralism └ Involve statistical analysis of large data sets to
└ Where stlistics is initially grounded in. test the significance of numerical findings.
└ Early theories provided tools to describe └ Increasing interest in quantitative study due
grammatical and lexical aspects of texts, to the availability of powerful computer
emphasizing language rather than authorial software, leading to the development of
intent. "corpus stylistics."

● Adaptation to New Theories Example: Burrows (1987) analyzes high-frequency

function words in Jane Austen's novels to find unique

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 stylistic patterns. └ Common in qualitative research: broader
interpretations are applied to specific textual
instances.

2. Qualitative Methods
IV.I Starting With Data
└ Less defined and more varied; involve detailed
analysis of individual texts or small text
● Inductive Approach
samples.
└ common in stylistics, focusing on specific
└ Allow for consideration of contextual factors
examples rather than broad generalizations.
and can use a wider range of analytical tools.
➔ e.g., metaphors, grammatical
structures
Example: Detailed analysis of news reporting on the "war └ Stylisticians often analyze texts to identify
on terror," focusing on specific incidents or texts.
patterns or features without generalizing
beyond the data.
● Advantages and Limitations of Each
Method
● Scale of Analysis
1. Quantitative
└ Can range from examining a single text to
└ Can reveal statistical patterns across large
analyzing an author’s entire body of work or
datasets, but may miss nuanced,
a specific section.
context-specific insights.
└ Methods: computer-based searches for lexical
or grammatical features, reader testing, or
2. Qualitative
qualitative analysis of selected passages.
└ Provides deep insights into specific texts,
taking context into account, but may lack
● Data-driven research
generalizability due to small sample sizes.
└ Research is centered around the data, whether
it involves close textual analysis,
● Application
computational methods, or qualitative
└ Qualitative and quantitative methods
approaches.
complement each other in stylistic analysis.

Examples of data-driven stylistic research include Jeffries’s analysis

IV. Aims of Stylistic Analysis of deictic positioning in Duffy’s poetry, Semino’s study of
linguistic variation in poetry, and McIntyre’s investigation of mind
style in Bennett’s play The Lady in the Van.
● Aims of Stylistic Analysis
└ The aims of stylistic analysis are diverse and
cover a wide range of text-types and genres. └ Involves underlying assumptions about
language and theories that explain findings.
● Two Main Approaches
└ Bottom-Up Approach IV.I Starting With Theories
└ Top-Down Approach
● Theory-driven
● Bottom-Up Approach (Quantitative) └ Starts with broad questions about textual
└ Focus: detailed analysis of textual elements meaning and the reading process.
└ More inductive (from specific observations to └ This deductive (stylistic) approach focuses on
broader conclusions) advancing theoretical views rather than solely
└ Common in quantitative research: patterns and analyzing specific texts.
trends are identified from data.
● Role of Data
● Top-Down Approach (Qualitative) └ Textual data serves to support or test
└ Starts with broader theoretical frameworks or theoretical concepts, rather than being the
hypotheses. primary focus.
└ Deductive, using pre-existing theories to
analyze and interpret text features. ● Data Scale

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 └ The amount of data used in theory-driven ● Conceptual Metaphors:
projects can vary; it might be small for specific └ Conceptual metaphors like "life is a journey"
tests or large if required by the theory. influence how we experience and talk about
daily life.
● Integration of approaches └ These metaphors are not exclusive to literary
└ Many stylistic studies combine both texts but are present in various types of
data-driven and theory-driven approaches. language and texts.

V. Data in Stylistics ● Textual Analysis:

└ Stylistic analysis can apply to both literary and
● Role of Data in Stylistics non-literary texts using similar tools but
└ Stylistics relies on specific language data for focusing on different questions.
analysis, unlike some sub-disciplines in └ Non-literary stylistics may explore persuasive or
linguistics that may function with minimal manipulative effects, while literary stylistics
or invented data. may focus on literary value and
└ Data is essential for stylistics to analyze the interpretation.
style of particular texts, their context, and
linguistic choices. ● Spoken vs. Written Texts:
└ Stylistic analysis is applicable to both spoken
● Literary vs. Non-Liteary Literature and written texts.
└ Stylistics is concerned with both literary and └ Historically, analysis has focused more on
non-literary texts. written texts, but spoken texts are
└ Literary texts include high-status or canonical increasingly being studied, including
works and popular fiction. performance poetry and broadcast media.
└ Non-literary texts, such as advertisements, also
employ stylistic techniques like metaphor and ● Defining Data for Analysis:
punning. └ Deciding how much data to analyze involves
considerations of scope, methodology, and
● High vs Popular literature research questions.
└ The distinction between 'high' literature (elite, └ Analysis may involve either comprehensive data
canonical) and popular literature (low-status, sets (e.g., entire novels) or selected extracts.
accessible) often depends more on social └ The choice of data and its size affects the type
judgments than linguistic differences. of analysis and the tools used, whether for
└ Stylisticians may analyze stylistic differences or detailed qualitative analysis or large-scale
similarities to understand variations in quantitative studies.
literary status.
● Practical Considerations:
● Scope of Stylistic Analysis: └ The amount and type of data analyzed should
└ Stylistic analysis can encompass a wide range be clearly defined and justified based on the
of texts, including both traditional literary research aims.
works and everyday language. └ Practical aspects, such as the length of extracts
└ The focus may be on the linguistic aspects of and the overall data size, vary depending on
texts and how these contribute to their the purpose of the analysis and the resources
aesthetic or functional roles. available.

● Methodological Considerations ● Authorial vs Genre Style

└ The choice of texts and the range of stylistic 1. Authorial Style
phenomena to be analyzed are fundamental └ Focuses on the distinctive style of
decisions in stylistics. individual authors.
└ Both literary and non-literary texts can provide └ Analysis may involve studying specific texts or
insights into stylistic techniques and their entire bodies of work by an author to
impact on meaning and reception. identify unique stylistic features.

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 2. Genre Style ➔ Using computer-based tools for
└ Examines stylistic tendencies within specific analysis to rely on surface forms of
genres or text types. text.
└ Can involve analyzing various texts within a └ Corpus studies are considered highly objective
genre (e.g., advertisements, political but still subject to choices in categories and
speeches) to identify common stylistic models.
features. └ Objectivity is more achievable in the
analytical stage than in the interpretative
● Theoretical Focus stage.
└ May include studies on broader stylistic
phenomena such as metaphor usage or ● Empiricism and Falsifiability:
opposition-creation across different text 1. Empiricism:
types. └ Claims should be based on observation and
└ Examples include studying the use of mind experience.
style in literature or comparing stylistic └ Inductive methods focus on patterns in data,
features across genres. while deductive methods involve making
predictions based on observed patterns.
● Matching Data to Research Questions: └ Studies may use both approaches and should
└ Research questions dictate the type and scope be able to predict and generalize from their
of data required for stylistic analysis. findings.
└ Analysis may start with specific texts or samples
and expand based on findings. 2. Falsifiability:
└ Studies can range from individual authors to └ Research should be clear enough to allow for
entire genres or text types, depending on the replication and challenge by other
research focus. researchers.
└ Decisions on data selection and sampling └ Falsifiability ensures that findings can be
methods impact the analysis and its tested against new data and are not merely
conclusions. subjective.

VI. Priciples of Stylistics ● Eclecticism in Stylistics:

└ Stylistics is open to various theories and
1. Text-Based Analysis: methodologies, integrating new insights
└ Stylistics is grounded in the analysis of while retaining useful older models.
texts, whether literary or non-literary. └ The field’s strength lies in its eclecticism,
└ It involves understanding the effects and incorporating theories from cognitive
operations of particular texts. linguistics, corpus linguistics, and critical
discourse analysis.
2. Objectivity and Empiricism: └ Theoretical models are adapted or
└ Emphasizes rigorous, transparent methods supplemented rather than completely
in analysis. replaced.
└ Consistency and clarity in sampling and
analytical tools are crucial for replicability ● Choice, Analysis, and Interpretation:
and avoiding bias. a. Choice:
└ Objectivity in stylistics means avoiding purely └ The concept of "style" involves different ways
subjective interpretations and acknowledging of expressing the same idea, influenced by
context and ideology. contextual and non-linguistic factors.

● Objective Analysis: b. Analysis vs. Interpretation:

└ Aim for objectivity despite the challenges of └ Distinction between analysis (technical
subjectivity in stylistic analysis. examination) and interpretation (contextual
└ Techniques to minimize personal bias include: meaning) is crucial but not always clear-cut.
➔ Replicating research with multiple
analysts.

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 Analysis should be consistent across different
texts, but interpretation depends on the
context and overall research goals.
└ Stylistics combines rigorous analysis with
contextual interpretation to understand
textual meaning and effects.

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