Stylistics - ENGL308

Hana Al-Enzi

Lecture 1: A)- What is stylistics? B)-Developments in stylistics

?SECTION A)- What is stylistics

Stylistics Definition

-The term "stylistics" originated from the Greek “stylos” and Latin “stulys”, meaning
a pointed stick sharp at one end and flat on the other.
-The word “stylistics” was firstly attested in Oxford English Dictionary (1882) in the
meaning “the science of literary style, the study of stylistic features”.
Stylistics is a sub-discipline of linguistics that is concerned with the systematic analysis of style in
language and how this can vary according to such factors as genre, context, historical period and author.
In general sense, Stylistics is the study of style in spoken and written text. Analyzing style means describing
systematically the formal features of a text to determine their functional significance for the interpretation of
the text. i.e. how and why a text works as it does, and how the reader comes from the words on the page to
its meaning.

What is the relation between stylistics and linguistics?

Stylistics is a discipline within the field of linguistics. This means that it is a particular application of
knowledge about language, just like sociolinguistics, which is the study of language in social use, or
psycholinguistics, which is the study of the psychology of language. Stylistics, as the name suggests, is
interested in style in spoken and written language. It is underpinned by the idea that whenever we use
language to talk or write. we are always - consciously and unconsciously- making choices about the words
we use (lexical choices) and the order in which we use them (syntactic structure). These choices form a
particular style and changing the choices changes the style. This is what stylistics explores: how authors
create effects through their linguistic styles and how readers interpret those effects.
How can you distinguish between stylistics and linguistics?
Linguistics is the scientific study of language while stylistics is the scientific study of style. It is the
study of the linguistic features of a literary text, phonological, lexical, syntactical, which directly affects the
meaning of the text. Stylistics is concerned with the examination of grammar, lexis, semantics, as well as
phonological features.

Why is language so important to stylisticians?

The reason why language is so important to stylisticians is because the various forms, patterns and
levels that constitute linguistic structure are an important index of the function of the text which in turn acts
as a gateway to its interpretation .The preferred object of study in stylistics is literature, whether high art or
more popular forms of writing.

Stylistics Division: What are the types of Stylistics?

Stylistics is divided to two major categories, either linguistic stylistics (general stylistics) or non-linguistic
stylistics (literary stylistics).
Linguistic stylistics investigates the ways in which the meaning is made through literary language and
in other kinds of texts. It regards the linguistic models and theories as its tools of analysis to describe the
conditions that make the text works. The stylistic analysis commonly concentrates on the traits of texts
phonologically, lexically, grammatically, semantically, pragmatically, or discoursally. It also concentrates
on the cognitive facets that help in the process of those traits.

Non-linguistic or literary stylistics, on the other hand, is concerned with the evaluation of the esthetic
aspect and the harmony of writing or speaking language. Esthetic perception of style mirrors the impression
made by the reader, it mirrors how well the writer (or the speaker) follows the recommended social and
stated rules for good writing. Non-Linguistic stylistics (literary stylistics) is often linked with the criticism
and appreciation of literary works.

The purpose of stylistics. What is the purpose of stylistics? Why should we do stylistics?

To do stylistics is to explore language, and, more specifically, to explore creativity in language use.
Thus, the stylistic process, examining the creativity of language use, develops our understanding of
literature. Also, it sheds light on the ‘rules’ of language because stylistics shows us how these rules are
broken in certain texts.
The practice of stylistics conforms to the following three basic Principles (3Rs): What are
they?

Stylistic analysis should be rigorous.

the stylistic method should be based on an explicit framework of analysis, derived from models of language
and discourse.

Stylistic analysis should be retrievable.

the stylistic method should be organized through explicit terms and criteria

Stylistic analysis should be replicable.

the methods of stylistics should be sufficiently transparent as to allow other stylisticians to verify them,
either by testing them on the same text or by applying them beyond that text

The traditional connection between stylistics and literature brings with it two important
(cautions): What are they?

1- Creativity in language use should not be seen as the exclusive preserve of literary writing. Many forms of
discourse (advertising, journalism, popular music – even casual conversation) often display a high degree of
stylistic skill.

2-The techniques of stylistic analysis are as much about deriving insights about linguistic structure and
function as they are about understanding literary texts. Thus, the question ‘What can stylistics tell us about
literature?’ is always paralleled by an equally important question ‘What can stylistics tell us about
language?’.

SECTION B)-Developments in stylistics

?A Brief History of Stylistics: How did stylistics come into existence

Stylistics is an invention of the twentieth- century. However, its origins are traced back to the era where
the concentration was made on the oral expressions, the era of Aristotle's Rhetoric. From the Classical
period (The Greek rhetoricians) onwards there has been continued healthy interest among scholars in the
relationship between patterns of language in a text and the way a text communicates.
 In the twentieth-century, Stylistics began in 1966 when Roger Fowler published a book called Essays
on Style and Language. Stylistics was also influenced by the Russian Formalism and Prague Structuralism.
So, it was guided by these two movements and their works. Roman Jakobson’s work links both movements.
Two of his major theoretical contributions are the concept of foregrounding and the notion of the poetic
function in language. The stylistic work, at that time, was mostly dedicated to poetry, and stylisticias
focused on the phonetic and grammatical structures.

Jakobson’s Two major theoretical contributions: What are they?

1. Foregrounding
It is “a form of textual patterning which is motivated specifically for literary-aesthetic purposes.” 
“a technique for ‘making strange’ in language”
 Foregrounding is the practice of making something stand out from the surrounding words or images.
Foregrounding has two kinds: 
1-Deviation from a linguistic norm 
2-Repetition or parallelism / ‘more of the same’

2. Jakobson’s ‘poetic function’

Jakobson proposes a model of language which comprises six key functions:
1-The conative (The aspect of mental processes or behavior directed toward action or change and including
impulse, desire, volition, and striving) 
2-Phatic (relating to speech used to share feelings or to establish a mood of sociability rather than to
communicate information or ideas) 
3-Referential (the content carrying component of a message) 
4-Emotive (the expression of attitude through a message) 
5-Metalingual (it is the use of language (what Jakobson calls "Code") to discuss or describe itself.
5-Poetic (projects the principle of equivalence from the axis of selection into the axis of combination).