English Stylistics,Chapter 1 Introduction,5,1.1 Definition of Stylistics,Wales defines stylistics as “the study of style”.,What is Style?,1.1 Definition of Stylistics,Widdowson defines Stylistics as “the study of literary discourse from a linguistic orientation”, and contends that “what distinguishes stylistics from literary criticism on the one hand and linguistics on the other is that it is essentially a means of linking the two”.,1.1 Definition of Stylistics,Stylistics,Linguistics,Literary Criticism,Language,Literature,Disciplines,Subjects,1.1 Definition of Stylistics,Stylistics is an area of mediation between two disciplines of linguistics and literary criticism.,1.1 Definition of Stylistics,Stylistics is neither a discipline nor a subject in its own right, but a means of relating disciplines and subjects.,1.1 Definition of Stylistics,Stylistics can serve as a means whereby literature and language as subjects can by a process of gradual approximation move towards both linguistics and literary criticism, and also a means whereby these disciplines can be pedagogically treated to yield different subjects.,1.1 Definition of Stylistics,Widdowson further explains the definition from the morphological make-up of the word stylistics.,Styl-,Literary criticism,-istics,linguistics,1.1 Definition of Stylistics,Leech defines stylistics as “the study of the use of language in literature” and consider stylistics a “meeting-ground of linguistics and literary study”.,1.1 Definition of Stylistics,Definition of Stylistics Stylistics is an area of study which straddles two disciplines: literary criticism and linguistics. It takes literary discourse (text) as its object of study and use linguistics as a means to that end. (Wang Shouyuan),1.1 Definition of Stylistics,Two “border-line” studies A. those linguistically oriented but not directly related to literary interpretation; B. those claimed to deal with style but does not make use of linguistic facts and theory.,1.1 Definition of Stylistics,Stylistics is a branch of linguistics which applies the theory and methodology of modern linguistics to the study of STYLE. It studies the use of language in specific contexts and attempts to account for the characteristics that mark the language use of individuals and social groups. (Qian Yuan),BACK,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,English Stylistics is often regarded as a discipline that is “both old and young”.,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,English Stylistics has developed on the basis of traditional rhetoric which may be tracked back to Aristotles time.,Why Old？,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,Dating back to 5 B.C., Greek orators and sophists regarded rhetoric as oratory. Plato: Rhetoric is “the art of winning the soul by discourse.“ Aristotle: Rhetoric is “the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion.“,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,中国也是很早就有学者注意修辞、风格和文体的问题。 易经 “修辞立诚” 孔子 “辞达而已矣” “言之无文，行之不远”,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,刘勰文心雕龙 文与笔（韵文与散文）之分； 不同文体之别（“若总其归涂，则数穷八体：一曰典雅，二曰远奥，三曰精约，四曰显附，五曰繁缛，六曰壮丽，七曰新奇，八曰轻靡” 体性篇） 评论文体的方法（即所谓“六观”：“一观位体，二观置辞，三观通变，四观奇正，五观事义，六观宫商，斯术既形，则优劣见矣” 知音篇）,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,“Stylistique” first appeared in French titles, beginning in 1905 with Charles Ballys Traite de stylistique franaise, which is said to be the symbol of the beginning of Modern Stylistics.,Why Young？,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,“Three Revolutions” in social sciences brought stylistics to the right track and brought about its present status.,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,1,Modernist Movement in Art and Literature,2,3,Literary Criticism,Linguistic Science,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,The first revolution is the modernist movement in art and literature, lasting from 1890 to the beginning of World War II. The revolution was a break with tradition in the ways it influenced both the content and language of literature.,How,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,The second revolution is the one in literary criticism. Ivor Armstrong Richards Practical Criticism He called for a more objective approach to literary texts, and established an approach to poetry which depended on close reading of the text.,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,William Empson Seven Types of Ambiguity He promoted the concept of ambiguity as a defining linguistic characteristic of poetry.,1.2 Emergence of Stylistics as an Interdisciplinary Field of Study,Ambiguity refers to the case of “more than one cognitive meaning for the same piece of language”. In non-literary discourse,