Proposed Course Outline "Introduction to Stylistics"

College of Education, Arts and Sciences

English Language Area

Course Outline on Introduction to Stylistics

 

Brief Description:

Introduction to Stylistics is a language and style course that will help the students in exploring (primarily literary) texts. This course looks at the language of texts and tries to explain how that language creates meaning, style and effect.

Introduction to Stylistics covers all three major literary genres (poetry, prose and drama), and also other text-types e.g. advertisements (which, interestingly, share some of the characteristics of poetry).

Course Aim:

The fundamental philosophy of the course is twofold:

(1) To teach you a set of analytical TOOLS from the "stylistician's tool kit" that you can use to examine texts (for example, their words, sounds, structures, or interactive aspects).

(2) To encourage you to use those tools on additional texts, both during and after the sessions, so that you learn by doing.

Objectives:

Throughout the course, the students will learn different aspects of how to:

1.      Analyze the language of texts.

2.      Learn about particular aspects of the structure of English (e.g. grammatical, sound and conversational structure), at points where it is of particular relevance to the texts you happen to be studying at the time.

Teacher’s Role:

Teachers expected to be an active participant, preferably working alongside other students, especially when it comes to analyzing text extracts. S/he will also experiment the tools you learn each session, by practicing on additional texts.

Course Plan:

The course consists of ten topics (sub-divided into sessions), which represent three distinct blocks of poetry, prose fiction and drama:

Topics:

MAINLY POETRY

1. Levels of language. Linguistic choice, style and meaning

2. Being creative with words and phrases

3. Patterns, deviations, style and meaning

4. The grammar of simple sentences

5. Sound

MAINLY PROSE

6. Style and style variation

7. The grammar of complex sentences

8. Discourse structure and point of view

9. Speech presentation

10. Prose analysis

MAINLY DRAMA

11. Conversational structure and character

12. Meaning between the lines

13. Shared knowledge and absurdist drama

Supplementary Reading/s:

SHORT, Mick (1996) Exploring the Language of Poems, Plays and Prose, (Longman).
LEECH, G.N. & SHORT, M.H. (1981) Style in Fiction, (Longman).

FOWLER, R. (1996 [1986])) Linguistic Criticism, (OUP)

Reference: http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fass/projects/stylistics/introduction/outline.htm

stylistic analysis of an authentic text

Stylistic Analysis of Newspaper Language:

The diffference between Newsday and The New York Times

            In order to investigate the style of prose in newspaper language, the analyst chose two American newspaper: Newsday and The New York Times. Different newspaper in the U.S. are said to have distinctively different styles of writing, for they aim at certain audience. And because there is a claim that The New York Times has a more authoritative way of writing and that Newsday is more informal, the analyst chose the two for the purpose of comparison. The article focused on Visual, Grammatical.

A. Graphic and Graphological Difference

            ● the larger the letter is, the more “eye-catching” effect it yields.

Newsday:       Headline:                    bold     13mm

                        Text:                                          3mm

Times:            Headline:                    italic   8mm

                        Text:                                        2mm

B. Sentence Analysis

                        u Classification according to sentence arrangement;

                        v Classification according to sentence type;

            Although the function of a newspaper, to report news, stays the same, their styles of language are very different. On a visual level, Newsday is easier for a reader to read than The New York Times because of the largeness of the words and wide columns. On the grammatical level, the style of The Times is more complex, more formal than Newsday. On the semantic level, the choice of words in The Times is more intellectual. Still, which newspaper is better to read is based on the subjective preference of the reader.

stylistic analysis of a short story "a clean - well lighted place"

      “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”

Ernest Hemingway

    The analysis method is adopted from Winfried Crombie’s analysis of Milton’s “Areopagitica”. My analysis will be based on discoursal relationships in which logico-deductive semantic relations (eg. cause-effect relationships) and associative semantic relations (eg. compare-contrast relationships) interact and reinforce one another. For my analysis I will use a short story from Ernest Hemingway, the name of the short story is “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”.

      Semantic relationships between discourse segments underlie all coherent stretches of language (Crombie,1989) Accordingly, for my analysis, I will try to exemplify this notion. For this I will use the framawork below:

1) Associative Relations:

simple contrast,

A1) "He's lonely. I'm not lonely. I have a wife waiting in bed for me." (making contrast between the old man and himself, the waiter)

B1) "The light is very bright and pleasant but the bar is unpolished,"the waiter said.” (stressing the contrast between the light and the bar)

comparative similarity,

A1) "You have everything I have." (comparing himself to the other waiter)

B1) “It was all a nothing and a man was a nothing too.” (comparing human beings to all other things)

statement affirmation,

A1) "He must be eighty years old."

B1) "Anyway I should say he was eighty." (confirmation about the age of the old man)A2) "I have confidence. I am all confidence."
B2) "You have youth, confidence, and a job," the older waiter said."You have everything." (the older waiter agrees about younger waiter’s having everything)

statement denial,

A1) "I know." "I wouldn't want to be that old. An old man is a nasty thing."     

B1) "Not always. This old man is clean. He drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk. Look at him." (older waiter desagrees about the old man’s being nasty)

 concession – contraexpectation.

B1) "It is not only a question of youth and confidence although those things are very beautiful. Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be some one who needs the cafe." (the older waiter doen’t want to close, this is unexpected from a waiter at that time of the night)

2) Logico-Deductive Relations:

reason – result,

B1) “The two waiters inside the cafe knew that the old man was a little drunk, and while he was a good client they knew that if he became too drunk he would leave without paying, so they kept watch on him.” (sometimes the old man doesn’t pay for his drinks so the waiters are careful)

grounds – conclusion,

A1) "Not always. This old man is clean. He drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk. Look at him." (the older waiter concludes that the old man is clean from the way he drinks)

condition – consequence.

A1) "What does it matter if he gets what he's after?" (if the walks on the streets with a moman, the consequences would be bad for him, he could be picked up)

            This way of analyzing a literary text could be very helpful in enhancing a better understanding of language use and the semantic relationships in a language. For foreign language learners it is essential to be aware of this kind of semantic relations within the target language. Discourse awareness could be implemented into the curriculum so as to bring variety into the activites and the comprehension of linguistic input.                                                                                                                                      

stylistic analysis of a poem "to the man I married"

“To the Man I Married”

Angela Manalang Gloria

You are my earth and all that earth implies:
The gravity that ballasts me in space,
The air I breathe, the land that stills my cries
For food and shelter against devouring days.
You are the earth whose orbit marks my way
And sets my north and south, my east and west.
You are the final, elemental clay
The driven heart must turn to for its rest.
If in your arms that hold me now so near
I life my keening thought to another one,
As trees long rooted to the earth uprear
Their quickening leaves and flowers to the sun,
You who are earth, O never doubt that I
Need you no less because I need the sky!

I cannot love you with a love
That outcompares the boundless sea,
For that were false, as no such love
And no such ocean can ever be.
But I can love you with a love
As finite as the wave that dies
And dying holds from crest to crest
The blue of everlasting skies.

Part I:

            Part I of Angela Manalang Gloria’s “To the Man I Married” is a combination English/Italian sonnet: it consists of an octave with the rime scheme ABABCDCD and in the sestet EFEFGG. The overall rime-scheme is that of the English sonnet, but instead of three quatrains and a couplet, it features the octave and sestet.

Octave:

            In the octave, the speaker makes the bold claim addressing the man she married: “You are my earth and all that earth implies.” The speaker’s claim alerts the reader to a metaphorical comparison: the addressee is her earth. The speaker’s final point of comparison is both startling yet quite logical: her husband is like the earth, in that he is “the final, elemental clay / The driven heart must turn to for its rest.”

Sestet:

            As most octaves in Italian sonnets do, this octave has offered a thought that will receive a twist in the sestet. While the octave implies a very close and sustaining relationship between the speaker and her husband, the sestet asserts that that closeness does not completely satisfy all of the needs of the speaker as an individual: “If in your arms that hold me now so near / I lift my keening thoughts to another one.”

Part II:

            Part II of “To the Man I Married” consists of two quatrains with the rime scheme ABAB, ACDC, in which the speaker asserts that she does not want to overstate her case about her love for her husband, and she even backtracks somewhat. Although he is metaphorically her earth, she really cannot compare her love for him to the ocean, because “no such love / And no such ocean can ever be.” But she can love him in a finite way, like the waves that keep crashing against the shore; after all, those waves do reflect “The blue of everlasting skies.”

"Wanted: A Chaperon"

Wanted: A Chaperon

Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero

When published: 1948

Type of play/genre: English Comedy

Setting: living room of Don Francico’s house (one of the major characters)

When is it set?: One Sunday morning, at about eleven.

Plot:

            The play is about the traditional way of courting and accompanying girls on a party and in other occasions. The portrayal of old customs is seen visibly in the play. Don Francisco, one of the major characters is strict with his daughter Nena. He doesn’t want Nena go outside for any occasions without any chaperon. One night, Nena goes out with Fred, her friend. Unfortunately, rumors right after their date are spread. Many people think that something bad is happened to the two of them. And for the townspeople it’s inevitable. Until Dona Dolores, mother of Fred goes to Nena’s house and she is insisting that something is happened to his son and to Nena. It is Dona Dolores’ plan to insist his son Fred to Nena but actually, nothing is really happened. The same situation is happened also to Roberting, son of Don Francisco. So to avoid these issues Don Francisco and Dona Dolores look for chaperons for their children to guide them instead of the muchacho.

Characters:

Don Francisco, Doña Petra, Nena, Robertring, Doña Dolores, Fred

Message of the play:

            Nowadays, people tend to be very judgmental. They easily give comments and opinions to other people without certain evidences. They are gossipers who make the issues rampant and very complicated.    

Expressions/Phrases/Words learnt from the play:

                        C Gossipers make issues complicated.

                        C People tend to be very judgmental.

                        C Avoid going out with a guy without any companion.

Describe the play:

C Tedious                
C Usual                     
C Predictable                      
C Simple

Costumes:

            The character’s costumes should be stunning. I want the characters to be in gown/dress and other formal clothes. I’ll be using the colors turquoise, light orange, purple, brown and some light colors to calm the eyes of the audience.

Scenery:

            I want a proscenium typed of stage where all people will be seated on the front side of a stage. I want to use brown and some dark colors to show the sadness feels by the characters.

Lighting:

            I as a light director I wanted to use brighter and spot lights because most scenes in the play need brighter places.

Would you recommend this play to anyone else? Why?

In certain points, yes I want to recommend the play to anyone else because it can inform them the traditions, culture and even the attitudes of many Filipinos. However, I was not satisfied with the play because it’s too boring. The scenes are very usual. It is like the typical ending of the story.

Does this play remind you of any plays in your own language?

            With regard to the characteristic of this play, it reminds me of the play “Forever” wherein they are both simple and somewhat has the usual story line.

literary play "a matter of husband"

“A Matter of Husband”

            The story is about a husband who committed adultery with another woman. Her wife loves him very much so she decided to talk to the mistress of her husband. They had a long conversation but the problem wasn’t resolved. In the end, the husband still chose his mistress. I chose this play because I like the plot. When I first saw all the entries of the drama fest, I was struck by the title, A Matter of Husband. It sounds very interesting. And I am right, the plot is good though there are lapses in the staging but I think it could be modified to become better. The play has three major characters: the husband, wife and mistress. The actors and actresses are good because they memorized their lines. They didn’t commit any buckles when they are delivering their dialog. However, they are not so convincing and realistic. What happened in the play is that they are exchanging lines just like the typical conversation. They spoke gently and softly which made the conversation somehow monotonous. The first part of the conversation between the wife and the mistress was inaudible and incomprehensible. I think they should use microphones especially for the audience to hear their lines. I was sitting already in front, but the register of their voice was so soft. And because I didn’t hear their lines clearly, it hinders me from understanding the entire play. Their props are extravagant yet they don’t maximize the use of their props. They just sat down on the sofa while talking. However, their props contributed in the production because it convinced the audience that the setting is really like a house particularly in the living room. They just used a simple yellow light which I think helps in the production because the place is too quiet and I think dim lights are good for this area. The sound effect used was simple and good. Basically, the plot is good. It is just that, they should modify some scenes especially the introductory part of the play. It should be captivating and motivating for the audience. What they did in the play is that, they just focused in one scene wherein if I will be watching that I will get bored because from start to the end part of the play it was all conversation. I salute the people behind this play. Their props show that they really prepared and work hard for this. Though I see some lapses, changes are always acceptable especially if that change will be better or be excellently. Producing and staging a play is not merely a joke. So, it is a job well done for the class.

a tale of two chances

“The Tale of Two Chances”

Paulo Bedonia Masangcay

            Being human doesn’t mean you have the control over things. Sometimes, we are maneuver by God’s plan through the situation and coincidence that we are encountering. There will come a time you think God is testing you. And what you can really do is to have deep faith and trust to Him. In line with the above issue, I read an article that test the human’s faith and trust to God. With this article, I will be disecting the used of lexicons in the text syntactically.

            First, I noticed that the proper use of punctuation marks is not properly applied. For instance on the 1^st paragraph: At first I felt half-hearted to start by saying, God is amazing; There should be comma after the word first. Second, the sentence is not properly ordered. For instance on the 3^rd paragraph: The news that my father was rushed to the hospital I learned via the most widely-used social networking site in the world- friendster! Kidding. Of course, facebook!; I think the sentence should be reversed: I heard the news through facebook that my father was rushed into the hospital. Instead of using the word “learned”, it should be heard. Last is the author of the article used lots of fragment that somehow contributed in dealing with his article in a difficult way.

            However, with the lapses that I have noticed, the writer is still admiring for the words that he used in narrating the story. Though, it wasn’t properly shifted from formal to infrormal vice versa, still the words that he used are dominant.