The history of stylistics can be traced back to the era where the concentration was made on the oral expressions. Style, as we know today, has its origins back to the the ancient rhetoric which was called “lexis” by the Greeks and “elocutio” by the Romans. The ancient rhetoric was divided into five laws. The first law was made by generating and discovering textual material. This led to some arguments based on one of the Aristotelian proofs, logos, ethos, and pathos. The second law was made by the use of that material for ideal impact in any circumstances. This led to the constitution of the third law which stylized the textual material. Last but not least the forth and fifth laws were made by committing the material to memory and delivering it , if it was in the form of speech.
The third law of rhetoric, which stylized the textual material, was based on two forms: the first form investigated the clarity, accuracy, and appropriateness of the language. The second form, on the other hand, investigated the figures of style in the language. So, these forms were either schemes, that distorted from the syntactic level of language, or tropes, which distorted from the semantic level.
Style was also divided into three types, high, middle, and low. The high style was dedicated to literature and poetry. The low style was dedicated to more common performances of discourse communication. The middle style was a mixture of both styles and was dedicated to average situations.
Table of Contents
1. The Origins of Stylistics.
1.1 Ancient Greeks
2. Russian Formalism, Prague School, and American New Criticism.
2.1 Russian Formalism.
2.2 Prague School
2.3 American New Criticism
3. Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis, and Cognitive Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis.
3.1 Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis
3.2 Cognitive Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis.
Research Objectives and Core Themes
The work aims to provide a comprehensive historical overview of the development of stylistics, tracing its evolution from its philosophical roots in ancient rhetoric through to modern linguistic movements and contemporary interdisciplinary approaches.
- Genesis and evolution of stylistic studies
- Influence of Russian Formalism and the Prague School
- Development of American New Criticism and Practical Criticism
- Intersections between pragmatics and discourse analysis
- Emergence of cognitive stylistics and critical stylistics
Excerpt from the Book
1.1 Ancient Greeks
The history of stylistics can be traced back to the era where the concentration was made on the oral expressions. Style, as we know today, has its origins back to the the ancient rhetoric which was called “lexis” by the Greeks and “elocutio” by the Romans. The ancient rhetoric was divided into five laws. The first law was made by generating and discovering textual material. This led to some arguments based on one of the Aristotelian proofs, logos, ethos, and pathos. The second law was made by the use of that material for ideal impact in any circumstances. This led to the constitution of the third law which stylized the textual material. Last but not least the forth and fifth laws were made by committing the material to memory and delivering it , if it was in the form of speech.
The third law of rhetoric, which stylized the textual material, was based on two forms: the first form investigated the clarity, accuracy, and appropriateness of the language. The second form, on the other hand, investigated the figures of style in the language. So, these forms were either schemes, that distorted from the syntactic level of language, or tropes, which distorted from the semantic level.
Summary of Chapters
1. The Origins of Stylistics.: Covers the foundational roots of style in ancient Greek rhetoric and the classical classification of discourse.
2. Russian Formalism, Prague School, and American New Criticism.: Explores how 20th-century movements redefined textual analysis by focusing on linguistic structures and reader response.
3. Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis, and Cognitive Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis.: Discusses the integration of modern analytical frameworks that link stylistics with cognitive processes and critical social discourse.
Keywords
Stylistics, Rhetoric, Russian Formalism, Prague School, New Criticism, Foregrounding, Lexis, Elocutio, Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis, Cognitive Stylistics, Critical Stylistics, Poetics, Structuralism, Language analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The work provides a historical survey of stylistics, exploring its intellectual progression from ancient rhetorical traditions to contemporary linguistic domains.
What are the central themes discussed in the text?
The main themes include the classification of style in rhetoric, the shift in literary criticism during the 20th century, and the emergence of modern interdisciplinary linguistic analysis.
What is the core objective of the research?
The objective is to map out the historical trajectory of stylistics, demonstrating how earlier movements like Formalism and New Criticism paved the way for current analytical methods.
Which methodology is utilized in this overview?
The author employs a historical-descriptive methodology, referencing key academic movements and scholars to build a chronological narrative of stylistic development.
What does the main body cover?
The main body covers the transition from oral rhetorical traditions to the technical analysis of literary texts, highlighting the evolution of terminology and analytical focus.
What essential keywords characterize the research?
Key terms include Stylistics, Rhetoric, Structuralism, Foregrounding, New Criticism, and Discourse Analysis.
How does the author define the shift within the Prague School?
The author notes a shift from formalism to functionalism, emphasizing the concept of 'foregrounding' and the inclusion of context in generating textual meaning.
What distinguishes 'Practical Criticism' from 'New Criticism'?
While sharing a focus on the text rather than the writer, Practical Criticism pays more careful attention to the psychological facets regarding how a reader interacts with the text.
What is the significance of the 'Claim and Quote' method?
It describes a critical approach, persistent in Western universities for a century, where scholars make claims about text meaning and support them through textual samples.
How do Cognitive Stylistics and Critical Stylistics emerge?
These fields emerge from the overlapping of traditional stylistics with discourse analysis and cognitive studies, creating new integrated methods of textual analysis.
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- Ahmed Hashim (Autor:in), 2017, On the History of Stylistics, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1521594
