Literary Stylistics ENG 551 Lecture # 9

Literary Stylistics The compact language of poetry is more likely to reveal the secrets of its construction to the stylisticians than is the language of the plays and novels. Widdowson suggests that poetry is unorthodox language that vibrates with inter-textual implications. Widdowson. Stylistics and Teaching of Literature. Longman: London. 1975

Features/ Approaches of Literary Stylistic I.Thematic Approach: psychological, sociological, ethical, or didactic value II. Interpretation of Characters Psychological, Sociological, Metaphysical, Ethical III. The Elements of Narration : Setting, Characters, Plot. Narrative voice IV. Imagery and poetic devices

The Elements of Narration IV. Imagery and Poetic Devices Imagery refers to the images abounding in the literary work, created consciously or unconsciously by the writer’s artistry. There are two generally accepted meanings of image: one in the sense of “mental representation; the other in the sense of figure of speech expressing some similarity or analogy.”

Imagery The most convenient way of describing the key words in a poem is to use the term ‘imagery’. Imagery covers every concrete object, action and feeling in a poem and also the use of metaphors and similes. With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb’st the skies How silently, and with how wan a face! (Sidney) Personification of the moon as capable of suffering human woes Sense of unhappiness by associating various human attributes to moon. Associated ideas of sadness clustered together.

Imagery It is possible to list some of the areas of experience form which poet most frequently select their images. Objects in poem can be associated with religious or cosmic concepts. They are associated with things in nature such as flowers, animals or weather. e.g. bad weather can add to a sense of things being wrong. darkness (negative) and light (positive) religious, cosmic and natural imagery, images can be drawn form daily life: images of machines & gadgets, business, war, images of sickness, disease, death etc.

Imagery A distinction must be made between imagery and analogy. “In imagery, the resemblance has a concrete and sensuous quality. In analogy, some striking or unexpected common element is observed in two seemingly disparate objects or experiences”.e.g Analogy: “Mixing of falsehood in truth is mixing of alloy in gold” “Sealed dove and ambitious man (Bacon) Imagery:“ I fall upon the thorns of life, I bleed” (Shelley)

Imagery and Poetic Devices Closely connected with expressiveness is the element of choice, i.e., the writer is free to choose between two or more alternatives or stylistic variants-the use of synonyms or the use of the inverted word order in place of the normal word order in sentence structure. Inversions, when resorted to, “provides for emphasis, delay and suspense, pathos, finality, irony, parody and impressionism.”

Evocative devices Evocative devices are popular sources of comedy and satire. They derive their stylistic effects from being associated with a particular milieu or register of style.

Because of the heightened emotional state of the poet his words are never entirely abstract. Because of our association with the emotional state of the poet (through the imagery and figurative language that he has employed) when we read the poem we are able to understand the abstract truth behind the concrete pictures poet give.

Ode to a Nightingale John Keats My heart aches and drowsy numbness pains My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk, Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains, One minute past and Lethe-wards I sunk

It’s not through envy of thy happy lot, But being too happy in thy happiness That thou, light winged Drayd of the trees In some melodious plot Of beechen green and shadows numberless Singest of summer in full-throated ease