Introductory lecture which explains the philosophy underpinning stylistic analysis: namely, that good writing doesn't just happen. It's the result of careful choices on the part of the writer. The notion of language levels, and how they can be used as a starting point in stylistic analysis, is also introduced. Click the link to access the Lecture/seminar handout for this session. Click here to access the relevant checksheet.
This is the first of two lectures examining word classes. In this lecture, we examine the effects of the use of particular word classes, and also introduce the notion of word class change. Lecture/seminar handout, and the relevant checksheet.
Continuing the theme of word classes. In this lecture, we look at the process of functional conversion in more detail. We also introduce phrases, and look at the effect achieved by texts utilising an unusually large number of noun phrases. Click the links to access the Lecture/seminar handout.
The lecture introduces the notion of foregrounding, and how this can be achieved via deviation and parallelism. We look at different types of deviation and parallelism in literary and non-literary texts. Lecture/seminar handout
In this lecture, we look at the functions of words and phrases in sentences, and introduce simple SPOCA analysis. We consider the effects that can be achieved by manipulating SPOCA elements. Click the links to access the Lecture/seminar handout, and the relevant checksheet.
This lecture introduces the notion of sound symbolism, and explains why this is a wider issue than simple onomatopoeia. We also look at rhyme and half-rhyme. Click the links to access the Lecture/seminar handout, the sound symbolism checksheet, and the phonetic symbols checksheet.
In this lecture, we look at the way in which writers can utilise different styles within the same text, and the effects that this creates. Lecture/seminar handout
This is one of two lectures, in which we look at the differences between authorial and text style. In this lecture, we look at how particular lexical and grammatical choices can combine together to create a unique style. We also introduce simple statistical analysis, and show how this can be used to support intuitions about style. Lecture/seminar handout
We continue to look at authorial and text style, concentrating on complex SPOCA patterns, and the effects they create. Click the links to access the Lecture/seminar handout and checksheet.
This is the first of two lectures on point of view. We introduce the notion of discourse architecture as a means of explain the variety of viewpoints that are analysable in prose fiction. We look at five different types of point of view, and how these are indicated by small scale linguistic features. Click the links to access the Lecture/seminar handout, the Linguistic Indicators of Point of View checksheet, and Five Different Types of Viewpoint checksheet.
The second lecture on point of view. In this lecture, we concentrate on ideological/attitudinal points of view, and how they can be manipulated in literary and non-literary texts. Lecture/seminar handout. Please note the checksheets from the last lecture, can also be utilised in this lecture.
We introduce the scale of speech presentation first proposed in Leech and Short (1981), and use this to explain the various types of speech presentation in literary texts, and their effects. Click the links to access the Lecture/seminar handout and checksheet.
This lecture brings together the analytical techniques we have used on the course to date, and shows how they might be used to carry out a comprehensive analysis of a piece of prose fiction. The lecture serves as an example of how to go about doing an extended stylistic analysis. Lecture/seminar handout
This is the first of five lectures relating to drama. We begin by explaining why the techniques introduced so far cannot fully account for the phenomena we encounter in dramatic texts. We introduce the basics of conversation structure and power, and show how these relate to characterisation. Click the links to access the Lecture/seminar handout and relevant checksheet.
In this lecture, we consider the sub-text of plays, often referred to as 'the meaning between the lines'. We look at how Grice's (1975) co-operative principle can be used to recover this. Lecture/seminar handout
This lecture concentrates on shared knowledge, and specifically, how we use our background knowledge about the world when we interpret dramatic texts. We show how particular effects can be created in absurdist drama by breaking/flouting our expectations. Click the links to access the Lecture/seminar handout and checksheet.
We return to the notion of meaning between the lines, this time looking at Brown and Levinson's (1987) theory of linguistic politeness. We show how this can be used in the analysis of drama, and also how it relates to Gricean analysis. Lecture/seminar handout
The final lecture of the course comprises an example analysis of a dramatic text. We bring together all the analytical techniques introduced in the drama section of the course, and apply them in an analysis of Harold Pinter's sketch, Applicant (19?). Lecture/seminar handout