Overview

Shakespeare’s Grammatical Style is the first full-scale, systematic study using an examination of Shakespeare’s syntax as a key to the interpretation of his work. Dolores M. Burton presents information on the application of linguistic and statistical techniques to the description and analysis of style, and she has applied the insights and techniques of the major schools of linguistic inquiry, including those of London and Prague. Just as studies of imagery and vocabulary have aided interpretations of the plays, so an examination of the grammatical features of Shakespeare’s language indicates that they, too, perform a poetic and dramatic function. For example, noun modifiers like possessives and definite articles yield insights into a speaker’s point of view or subtly aid in defining the fictional world of the plays. With respect to stylistic development, Shakespeare’s handling of word order moved from a concentration of dislocated sentences and clause constituents to greater emphasis on varied and frequent permutations in nominal and verbal phrases. A computer-generated concordance of function words facilitated the study of syntactic features, which included an examination of formal aspects of diction, nominal group structure, the function and frequency of relative clauses, and the classification of sentences by mood and type. Several problems associated with quantitative and linguistic studies of a full-length literary work are discussed and exemplified. Style itself is defined mathematically as a propositional function S(A), and from this definition stylistic parameters are derived by correlating critical notions like fictional world, point of view, and characterization with differences in the syntax of the two plays.

Full Product Details

Author:   Dolores M. Burton
Publisher:   University of Texas Press
Imprint:   University of Texas Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.10cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9780292739666

ISBN 10:   0292739664
Pages:   382
Publication Date:   01 January 1973
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

PrefaceAcknowledgments1. Style as a FunctionThe Problem of StyleThe Style FunctionTwo Models of Literary StructureConsequences of the Style-Function Theory2. Locating Style in LiteratureMethodological PreliminariesSentence Mood: Interrogatives and ImperativesRepresentative Passages: HypotaxisConstant Topic and Varied Style: Adjectives3. Reflections on Stylistic AnalysisStyle as ProportionsGrammatical OppositionsSampling and WeightingAspects of Word Order4. Grammar as MeaningMeaning in the Grammatical ModeDeterminers and the Fictional WorldVerbal Emblems and Point of ViewEmphasis and Elevation: The Nominal Group5. Charting the Dimensions of StyleDimensions for the FutureDimensions of the PresentDefining the Style FunctionFrom Grammatical Style to Rhetorical Style6. From Stylistics to PoeticsHistory and PoetryPerspectives on ImaginationMore Lasting than BronzeCleopatra: Spokesman for the ImaginationAppendix A. Supplementary Tables and Notes on ProcedureInterrogatives and ImperativesAdjectivesWh- WordsSentence StructureConstituent SequenceDeterminersNominal-Group StructureAnt. 2.2.196-231: North and ShakespeareAppendix B. Citations to Richard II and Antony and CleopatraChoosing the Random SampleRecognition Criteria for Relative ClausesInstances of Deviant Constituent SequenceDeterminer References to Major CharactersBibliographyIndex

Reviews

Author Information

Dolores M. Burton was Assistant Professor of Rhetoric at Boston University.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions