Stages in Stylistic Analysis
The stylistic analysis of any literary text is aimed at revealing the subject matter of
the text, which is sometimes buried deeply in the form, and investigating the
language techniques used to express the author’s thoughts and ideas manifested in
the text.
The complex stylistic analysis of a literary text can be made in stages and should
cover the following issues:
1. Commenting on the title of the story (chapter). The title itself is an informational
signal, which often suggests the focus of the work and may provide clues about it.
In this case the title may serve the following functions: nominative, prospective,
misleading, intriguing or thought-provoking.
2. Defining the theme (the central idea, the basic problem, or the underlying
thought) of the text in question. The theme can be understood as the represented
aspect of life, which the story illustrates
3. Stating the form of presentation. A literary text in prose seldom represents one
form of presentation. It is usually a combination of several forms of presentation,
one or two being dominant: the author’s narrative: narration / speculation /
description / a portrait; direct speech: dialogue, monologue, conversation; reported
speech : inner (unuttered) or outer (uttered) reported speech.
Identifying the type of narration and its advantages. In literary text two main types
of narration are employed: the 1st person narration (subjectivized), which is used
to make the text sound more personal; create the atmosphere of intimacy, give a
reliable and first-hand information, make the text more vivid and emotional, create
the effect of authenticity; a reader becomes a participant of the events etc.). the 3d
person narration (objectivised). The narrator focuses on some other character(s).
He may have directs (unlimited) knowledge of the characters and act as an
observer (witness). He may have no direct (limited) knowledge of the character
and act as an entirely anonymous character. The technique is used to make the
narration more objective, sometimes matter-of-fact, and free from any personal
attitude. The 2nd person narration
4. Compositional analysis Composition can be viewed as the interrelation between
different components of a literary text. The compositional structure of the text
plays a very important role in shaping and revealing the author’s message. One
may come across the following compositional parts:
exposition contains a short presentation of time, place and characters of the story.
complication is a separate incident helping to unfold the action, and might involve
thoughts and feelings as well. development of events (the arrangement of
meaningful events in which the characters try to resolve the conflict). No matter
how insignificant or deceptively casual, the events of the story are meant to
suggest the character’s morals and motives. climax is the most decisive moment on
which the fate of the characters and the final action depends on. denouement
means ‘the untying of a knit’ which is precisely what happens in this phase. Not all
stories have a denouement, some stories and right after a climax. It is worth noting
that not all compositional parts are always found in each particular text. For each
particular text its compositional structure is very specific.
5. The dominant emotional tone of the text (the author’s attitude to his subject-
matter). It may be neutral, lyrical, dramatic, ironical, humorous, sarcastic, etc. One
of the clearest indications of the tone of a story (passage) is the style in which it is
written.
6. Identifying EMs ans SDs on all levels and the effect they produce: phonetic;
graphical; morphological; lexical, phraseological; semasiological; syntactical
8. Conceptual information contained in the whole text and its massage.
9. Summing up the analysis: the task is to show the unity of all EMs and SDs, as
well as compositional arrangement of the text, as the way of expressing the
underlying thought and the author’s communicative aim, to reveal the individuality
of the writer’s style as the peculiar treatment of language means.
10. Personal impression of the text.
