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Stylistic Analysis of “Dead Stars”

(Final Examination)

In partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the course
SEE 11 – Stylistics and Discourse Analysis

Submitted by:
Vanessa C. Velasco

Submitted to:
Ms. Marites P. Geronimo

May 15, 2023

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STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF PROSE

Methodology Checksheet

This checksheet is based on the 'Checklist of Linguistic and Stylistic Categories' which is in Leech and
Short Style in Fiction, on pages 75-82. You will find that this checksheet is somewhat simpler than that list in
that we have included only those elements of each item that are familiar to you at this stage. As you progress, it
will become increasingly appropriate to use the Leech and Short checklist than to use this one; but this one will
always be enough for basic information.

In this Methodology Checksheet, we give you a series of questions you can ask about the different
elements of text. Answering the questions helps you specify the nature of each element so that you can then
consider the effects of the element on your interpretation of the text. Answering all the questions will involve
using all the skills you have so far accumulated, but it is sensible to select which questions are most appropriate
for any given text.

We cover four major areas:

I. Lexis
II. Grammar
III. Foregrounded features (including figures of speech)
IV. Cohesion and Context

I. LEXIS

(1) General

Examine the Open Class words in the text.

(i) Is the vocabulary simple or complex (i.e., many or few syllables in each word)? Is it descriptive or
evaluative? Is it general or specific?

(ii) Does the writer make the greatest use of referential or denotative (central/core) meanings, or do you have to
think about connotations or other emotive senses of the words?

(iii) Are there idioms in the text (i.e., non-literal phrases, such as under the weather)? If so, are they associated
with a particular register or dialect?

(2) Specific

(i) NOUNS. Are they abstract or concrete? If abstract, do they refer to similar kinds of element, e.g., events,
perceptions, processes, moral qualities, social qualities? Are there proper names or collective nouns?

(ii) ADJECTIVES. Do they occur frequently? What kinds of attributes do they embody (physical, emotional,
visual, color, etc.)? Do they occur in comparative or superlative forms? Do they occur singly or in groups?

(iii) VERBS. How frequently do they occur? Are they linking, transitive or intransitive? Are they stative
(referring to states) or dynamic (referring to actions, events)? Do they refer to physical movement,
psychological states or activities, perception, etc.? Are there more finite (complete-sense) verbs or more
participles (present or past)?

II: GRAMMAR

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(1) General

Are any general types of grammatical construction used to special effect, e.g., comparative

or superlative constructions, parallelisms, listing, interjections, or other speech-like phenomena?

(2) Specific

(i) SENTENCES. Are they statements, questions, commands, etc., or are they like speech- type sentences, e.g.,
without a predicator? Are they simple, compound, or complex? How

long are they? Are there striking contrasts in sentence length or structure at any point in the text? If the
sentences are long, is their length due to embedding, co-ordination, long phrases acting as single SPOCA
elements, or other causes?

(ii) CLAUSES. What types of clauses are noticeably favored (e.g., relative, adverbial, noun clauses, etc.)? Is
there anything special about the clauses, e.g., a frequent and unusual placement of adverbials or 'fronting' of
object or complement? Are there clauses with

'dummy subjects' (i.e., there, it)?

(iii) WORD CLASSES. Do the Closed Class words (i.e., prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, determiners,
auxiliaries, interjections) play any significant role in the text?. Is there frequent or striking use of, e.g., the first
person pronouns (I, we), negative words (no, not, neither), or the definite or indefinite article (the, a(n))?

III: FOREGROUNDED FEATURES (Figures of speech, etc.)

Figures of speech can be divided up into types related to the language levels and language patterns (parallelism,
deviation, foregrounding) we discussed earlier in the course. They are of two major types: Schemes, which are
constituted by 'foregrounded repetitions of expression' and Tropes, or 'foregrounded irregularities of content'
(see Leech and Short, p.82 and Leech, Linguistic Guide to English Poetry chs. 4 and 5 for a fuller discussion).

SCHEMES

(1) GRAMMATICAL AND LEXICAL SCHEMES. Is there any formal or structural repetition (anaphora,
parallelism) or any 'mirror-image' patterning (chiasmus)? If so, do these schemes bring about effects of
antithesis, reinforcement, climax, anticlimax, etc.?

(2) PHONOLOGICAL SCHEMES. Are there any patterns of sound (rhyme, half-rhyme, alliteration,
assonance) or rhythm? Are there noticeably frequent occurrences of the same or similar sound-clusters? Is there
sound symbolism, or are there musical devices that affect interpretation?

IV: CONTEXT AND COHESION

COHESION is the name given to those language features which do the job of holding together a text; these can
cover a wide range of linguistic and stylistic devices.

CONTEXT can be 'internal' or 'external'. External context might include very broad cultural and historical
information about the author, the period of writing, etc. However, for our purposes, external context will, like
internal context, be concerned with TEXTUAL RELATIONS, i.e., with the apparent relationships between
persons inside and outside the text (e.g., the author and the reader, the author and the characters, one character
and another).

(1) COHESION

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(Refer to Style in Fiction, Ch. 7, pop.243-254.) (i) Does the text contain logical or other links between sentences
(e.g., and, or, but, and so, then, etc.), or does it rely on implicit connections (e.g., juxtaposition, sequence)?

(ii) Is there a lot of cross-reference by means of pronouns or ellipsis? Or is there 'elegant variation' - the use of
different ways of describing the same thing/person (so as to avoid repetition or to give you an idea of whose
view of the thing/person you are getting)?

(iii) Are meaning connections made by means of lexical repetition or by the frequent use of words from the
same semantic field?

(2) CONTEXT

(i) Does the writer address the reader directly or through the words or thoughts of a fictional character?

(ii) What language features are there which tell you who is “speaking” (e.g., first person or hird person
pronouns)?

(iii) Can you sense the author’s attitude to his subject? Is it revealed explicitly, or can you infer it from the way
he writes?

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FINAL EXAMINATION IN SEE 11

STORY: Dead Stars – By: Paz Marquez Benitez

I. LEXIS

(1) General

After reading the short story “Dead Stars” written by Paz Marquez Benitez, I can say that the author
used a lot of complex words. The vocabulary or list of words included in the literary piece are composed of
more than two syllables (e.g. melancholy, fastidious, betokened, exuberant, astonishing, etc.). Furthermore, it
can be described as both descriptive and evaluative, as many adjectives (both positive and negative) to describe
the characters, settings, situations, etc. are used. For example, when it comes to describing the physical features
of Alfredo (e.g. thin face with a satisfying breadth of forehead, slow, dreamer's eyes, and astonishing freshness
of lips, etc.), Julia Sala’s (e.g. taller, not so obviously pretty, she was much darker, of a smooth rich brown,
etc.), and Ezperanza’s (e.g. woman dressed with self-conscious care, even elegance; a woman distinctly not
average). Also, the list of words included in the story are composed of both general (e.g. flowers, love, Chinese
stores, etc.) and specific words (e.g. Our Lady of Sorrows, Santa Cruz, San Antonio, etc.).

When it comes to creating and/or identifying meaning of words with connection to the story, the writer
used greatest of words with denotative meanings rather than those with connotative meanings. It is evident with
the words the narrator and the characters used all throughout the story. Even though there are group of words
that are not used in everyday conversation, those still have literal meanings. On the other hand, there are also
connotative words that were applied in the text, as there are certain which made me to think in a creative and
deeper sense, and emotive words as well. It is evident with the word “shadow” the author used to relate with
Alfredo. That word doesn’t mean a dark part of something, such as an object’s, but it can be meant something
as dark part of a certain concept or thing, such as love. In addition, it can be easily observed that a lot of
emotive words were used by the author, as is evident to the adjectives used to describe in the different aspects
the characters in the story.

A lot of idioms, such as non-literal phrases included in the text. It is already evident on the beginning
part of the story, with the phrase “long table' be set” which Carmen said. It does not mean a literal table, but the
marriage of Alfredo and Ezperanza. It is also evident when Don Julian had a conversation with Carmen on the
beginning part of the story. Example of non-literal phrase said by Don Julian is, “Alfredo’s last race with
escaping youth—” The meaning of this phrase doesn’t mean that Alfredo is running on something, such as
ground, but it has something to do with time and certain phase of his life as a youth back then. This phrase also
has no connection with a particular dialect or register. On the other hand, Julia used a non-literal phrase to also
describe Alfredo, and it is associated with a certain dialect. That phrase of her is “Like a carabao in a mud
pool.” Julia used this phrase to compare Alfredo to a calm carabao in a pool, while washing over his worries.
The word “carabao” is a native animal in the that can be only found in the Philippines, which is the place the
events in the story are taking place.

(2) Specific

Noun

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One of the important elements of a story is using different kinds of nouns. The text are composed of
abstract, concrete, proper, and collective types of noun. Examples of concrete nouns included in the story,
“Dead Stars” are “chinelas, flowers, window, house, piano,” and many more. When it comes to abstract noun,
words such as “love, faithfulness and jealousy, and sadness” are can be found in it. The abstract noun, “love”
refers to the lost love of Alfredo to Julia Salas, which he also compared to a dead star. The nouns, “faithfulness
and jealousy” have something to do with Ezperanza’s strong thinking that if someone is married or engaged,
that person will be faithful to his/her love one, so she is has nothing to be jealous of with relation to Alfredo and
other woman who will have connections to him in particular way. Lastly, the abstract noun, “sadness” refers to
what Alfredo feels for Julia Salas’ life when he saw the place where she lives. Furthermore, proper and abstract
nouns are some of the words the author included in his story. Examples of proper nouns are the names of the
characters, including Julia Salas, Alfredo Salazar, Ezperanza, Don Julian, and Judge Del Valle, and names of
places, such as Santa Cruz and San Antonio. On the other hand, examples of collective noun that are can be
read on the story are “family, people, crowd, and choir.”

Adjectives

To modify, describe, justify, and give importance to nouns included in a literature, adjectives are crucial.
Some of important words that describe or modify nouns, which can be seen in the text are evident in the
descriptions “small and plum, wide brown eyes, delicately modelled hips, and complexion of a baby” “tall and
slender, and straight recalcitrant hair, a thin face with a satisfying breadth of forehead, slow, dreamer's eyes, and
astonishing freshness of lips,” “tall, darker of a smooth rich brown, not so obviously pretty, and slender” and
“baffled and helpless, and gentle and tender.” Looking at the these examples of adjectives in the story, it cam be
seen that most of them are about the physical attributes of the characters, such when it comes to the looks of
their body shapes, skin color, and facial features. Aside from adjectives that are related to physical aspect, some
of the describing words, such as the words “baffled and helpless, and gentle and tender” are emotional
attributes. After observations, I can say that the adjectives those adjectives and the others that are all included
do not occur in comparative or superlative form, and most of them, especially those are already cited, come in
group.

Verbs

A verb is one of the basic grammatical elements of a sentence, and its different types play important
roles in giving life to the characters included in a story. In the “Dead Stars,” a lot of different types of verbs are
incorporated. Verbs in the story, including Linking verbs (e.g. is/was, are/were, does, will, etc.); intransitive,
transitive, dynamic, and participle verbs (e.g. come, seems, beat, turned, ringing, etc.) are used. With these
different kinds of verbs, they help the readers to have clear understanding of what is really happening in the
story through showing events and what the characters feel and think as the readers continue in reading.

II: GRAMMAR

(1) General

In the story “Dead Stars,” there are various speech phenomenon that were used, including interjection,
linking, blending, and displacement. When it comes to the phenomenon interjection, it focuses in expressing
feelings than meaning, and it is evident in the phrase “Oh, no!” and “Oh, you will be too busy perhaps.” with
the interjection “oh.” When it comes to the phenomenon linking, there are group of words included in the text
that show joining together of sounds. Examples are, from the statement “He has not had another love affair that
I know of,” she said.” There is a linking “h” in the words “he and has” and linking “s” in the words “she and
said.” On the other hand, when it comes to the phenomenon blending, it is evident with phrases, such as “will
you” and “you are,” where we can create new sounds (will you – “will’ya “ and you are– “you’re”) by blending
certain sounds of several words, but still depends on how the readers will read and pronounce words. Another
phenomenon that was shown in the story is the phenomenon “displacement,” which enables people to talk about

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future. For instance, when Alfredo asked about where he can find Julia’s house and by saying to her that he will
go there, and them, talking what Alfredo what to do to find her house.

(2) Specific

Sentences

For a story to be read silently or out-loud and to get certain information, meanings, or messages, group
of words, such as sentences are needed. In the story, a lot of statements (e.g. “Don Julian and his
uncommunicative friend, the Judge, were absorbed in a game of chess.” and ”May is the month of happiness
they say.”), questions (e.g. ”The afternoon has seemed very short, hasn’t it?” and “Is—is this man sure of what
he should do?”), and commands (“Would you come?”) are included, and most of them have their own
predicators. Moreover, different types of sentences according to structure are used in forming the story,
including simple sentences (e.g. “Carmen sighed impatiently.” and “Esperanza had wanted to know if he went
straight home after mass.” ), compound sentences (e.g. “He listened and wondered irrelevantly if Miss Salas
could sing; she had such a charming speaking voice.”) and complex sentences (e.g. “Alfredo did not know
because that official had not sent an answer. “) Most of the sentences are long, as many conjunctions were used,
but there are also sentences which are short, especially when particular characters are having
conversations/dialogues.

Clauses

Clauses are parts of sentences, which means the story “Dead stars” are composed of clauses. Based on
my observations, noun and adverbial clauses are noticeably favored. Example of noun clauses that is evident in
the text is “when the man does not hurry her” from the complete sentence “How can a woman be in a hurry
when the man does not hurry her?” and the example of adverbial clause is, “because she would surely be sitting
at the window” from the complete sentence “Somehow or other, he had known that he would find her house
because she would surely be sitting at the window.” Through observations of the text, there are other clauses,
which contain dummy subjects. For example, the clause “because that official had not sent an answer“ from the
complete sentence, “Alfredo did not know because that official had not sent an answer.”

Word Classes

Word classes, including pronouns, verbs, determiners, conjunctions, etc. play significant roles in the
text, as they help in constructing clear, meaningful, complete sentences, which are crucial for the readers to
understand what the text and/or author want to convey. Furthermore, there is a frequent striking use of first
person pronoun “I,” which are evident in the clauses in the story. Examples are “I am right.” “I did not know
that your ideas were like that." and "I know. This is Elsewhere, and yet strange enough, I cannot get rid of the
old things." Furthermore, negative words were also used, such as “neither, nor, no, and not” which are evident
with “Because neither the past nor the future had relevance or meaning.”

III: FOREGROUNDED FEATURES (Figures of speech, etc.)

SCHEMES

Grammatical and Phonological Schemes

After my observations, “Dead Stars” doesn’t have any formal or structural repetition or any mirror-
image patterning nor any patterns of sound or rhythm, sound symbolism, or musical devices, as it can reason
out that it falls under the prose form of literature and not in poetry.

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IV: CONTEXT AND COHESION

(1) COHESION

Through analyzing the text, it can be observed that a lot of sentences included in it, show logical links
among other sentences by using linking words, such as coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. Examples
of those sentences are: “Alfredo is not very specific, but I understand Esperanza wants it to be next month.” and
“In the darkness the fireflies glimmered, while an errant breeze strayed in from somewhere, bringing elusive,
faraway sounds as of voices in a dream.” On the other hand, it does not heavily rely on the use of implicit
connections, but the story still conveys it, which has a big significance in the understanding of the theme of this
literary work. For instance, the use of juxtaposition of the author, wherein he may not reveal their differences
directly, but can be observed by the readers as they continue to read. Julia Salas has characteristics that are
different from what Ezperanza has. Even Ezperanza has more positive characteristics in terms of physical and
emotional features, and social standing in life, Alfredo finds Julia Salas more attractive. He described her as “…
she gave of abounding vitality.”

When it comes to identifying the characters all throughout reading the story, a lot of cross-reference by
means of pronouns are used instead using different ways of describing the same thing/person. For instance,
when it comes to the use of “he and she” in other sentences after giving the names of the characters who are
taking action in particular parts or events in the story. It is evident in the sentences, “Alfredo remembered that
period with a wonder not unmixed with shame. That was less than four years ago. He could not understand
those months of a great hunger that was not of the body nor yet of the mind, a craving that had seized on him
one quiet night when the moon was abroad and under the dappled shadow of the trees in the plaza, man wooed
maid. Was he being cheated by life? Love—he seemed to have missed it.” It can be observed that the pronoun
“he” was used several times which refers to Alfredo.

With relation to the examination of the connections of meaning all throughout the story, it can be
observed that it relies on the frequent use of same semantic field. Even there are particular group of words in
certain sentences that are not synonymous to one another, they still show connections in conveying same
general thoughts or ideas. For example, the sentences “Alfredo remembered that period with a wonder not
unmixed with shame. That was less than four years ago. He could not understand those months of a great
hunger that was not of the body nor yet of the mind…” show how the words “period, months, and four years
ago” are used to convey a meaning about time. The author did not use lexical repetition, but used words from
same semantic field.

(2) CONTEXT

The story is a great literary piece to read, as the author addressed to the readers. Throughout reading the
story, it can be observed that the author did not directly speak or connect to the readers, but through the words
and thoughts of the fictional characters he employed in the story. It is evident with numerous of conversations
or dialogues that took place among the characters. For example, the talk between Don Julian and Carmen on the
first part of the story, and the exchange of a lot of dialogues between Alfredo and Julia Salas, and Alfredo and
Ezperanza. Aside from those conversations, the narrator, who is also the author, narrates the various thoughts
and even feelings and emotions, which most of the characters, especially the main characters, have at particular
events all throughout the story. Examples of dialogues between Alfredo and Ezperanza, which reveals some of
their certain thoughts:

“You are fortunate,”

“Is—is this man sure of what he should do?”

“I don’t know, Julita. Perhaps not. But there is a point where a thing escapes us and rushes downward of
its own weight, dragging us along. Then it is foolish to ask whether one will or will not, because it no longer
depends on him.”

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Another example on how the author address the readers through the use of the thoughts of a fictional
character: “An immense sadness as of loss invaded his spirit, a vast homesickness for some immutable refuge of
the heart far away where faded gardens bloom again, and where lives on in unchanging freshness, the dear, dead
loves of vanished youth.” This statements explain the thoughts and realizations of Alfredo about his dead love
for Julia Salas when they met again.

Certain language features were used in the text, which help the readers in identifying who is speaking.
When it comes to the narrator of the story, he used third person pronouns from the beginning and at the end of
the text. Example of words from the narrator: “He considered. His vague plans had not included this. But Julia
Salas had left the window, calling to her mother as she did so. After a while, someone came downstairs with a
lighted candle to open the door. At last—he was shaking her hand.” It is evident here the use of third person
pronouns of the narrator. Aside from the kind of person of pronoun author used, characters of the story also
used other types of person of pronouns, specifically the first and second point of view. Example of the uses of
first person pronouns: “Yes,” the policeman replied, “but he could not write because we heard that Tandang
Binday was in San Antonio, so we went there to find her.” Another example that uses second person pronouns:

“Good evening,” he said, raising his hat.

“Good evening. Oh! Are you in town?”

“On some little business,” he answered with a feeling of painful constraint.

“Won’t you come up?”

Paz Marquez Benitez, the author of “Dead Stars” used certain attitude towards his subject, which I can
sense already at beginning part of the story and until the end. Based on my observations and certain emotions
that I have felt after reading the story, I conclude that the author’s attitude towards the characters, especially
towards Alfredo, Julia Salas, and Ezperanza is a sad tone. It was shown in the text that Alfredo lost his interest
and feelings for Ezperanza, and it was diverted to Julia Salas. But Alfredo and Ezperanza are engaged for long
time, and because of other factors, Alfredo chose to be married with Ezperanza, even his heart is for Julia Salas.
But at the end of the story, it was revealed that after eight long years of not seeing Julia Salas and meeting her
again, he realized that her love for her is not there anymore. Her love for her is like a dead star.

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