Style in Contemporary Literature of English

Definition Not an easy term to define Broadly means the way a thing gets done Literary style refers to the way, the look of the medium, the words are used to create intended effect and other facets of fiction (point of view, tradition, form, voice)
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Style and Writers

Certain writers seem to have particular personal approaches/style/ pattern/ consistency that identify them. Author chooses option available to him/her in language. Such choices extend from individual sounds through words to sentences.
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Style in Fiction
Composite of how the author balances particular preferences in language and technical devices. E.g. Nathaniel Hawthorne Hawthornian stylistic devices.

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Style in Fiction (contd)

The pattern could be common thematic preoccupations evil, guilt, conscience, corruption of innocence. Pattern exemplify through technical devices such as the allegorical form, the symbols, the Gothic mode, omniscience in narration. Language vivid & colourful. Adjectives & adverbs predominate. Uses the full resources of figurative language to create almost dreamlike vividness in his stories. One frequent technique is to create a situation and then to ease doubts onto 224 reality of what the HET 4 happened.

Nature of narrative
In a normal requirements of a plot (i.e. conflictclimax-resolution), authors frequently being forced to start a story towards the end and then use a flashback technique to fill in the details WHY??? reader is left to concentrate on the climax & resolution reader fill in the details that will obviously influences the interpretation other methods are the author telling, the character reminiscence, dream, tell someone or think HET 224 5

What constitutes a particular writers style?

LANGUAGE Denotative words work functionally to transmit information Connotative words looks inward to our thoughts & emotions Rhythm of sentences Figurative language adjectives, adverbs, metaphors, similes, symbols Irony arises when we readers know something that the character does not
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What constitutes a particular writers style?

LANGUAGE & CHARACTER It is through language that the character is revealed TONE Distinction between authors tone vs. narrators tone SYNTAX Colloquial, humorous, ironical or formal effect by experimenting with the syntax
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Language as a means of communication

Communicating what - concepts, ideas, thoughts, feelings, things ii. Literary language can be special kind of language iii. Dialect & idiolect langue/parole register iv. Devices for creating understanding show, tell, do i.
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How is language used?

Stylistically main point either at beginning or end with all else supporting ii. Clarification description, definition, comparing, contrasting, exemplifying, restating, hinting or suggesting, choosing words appropriately and playing sounds, analogy, anecdote i.
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Function of literature
i. ii. To teach & to please ---- & value what is/ might be/ ought to be, develop skills of discrimination/ judgement iii. Standards of criticism a. I.A. Richards, Principles of Communication literary criticism concept of communication b. Communication how effective and whether what is communicated has any value c. Objective correlative T.S.Elliot of what author creates HET 224 10

What has to be considered?

1. Individual piece itself 2. Element or devices in literature plot, character, setting and background, social problems, knowledge of the lines, point of view and so on 3. Genres 4. The structure of the work, its texture
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Some questions to ask

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Who is speaking? To whom? Who is telling the story? Where is the story taking place? How do we know this? Where is the story teller in our outside the story? When does the story take place? How do we know this? Who are the main character?
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Some questions to ask

10. What do they look like? Do we know? How? 11. What do they say about themselves?/ others? 12. What activities/ profession are they involved in? How do we know? 13. Is there any link between the activities and where the story takes place? 14. Does the author describe the place, the background, the environment?
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Some questions to ask

15. What does he say? 16. Why does he present these? 17. Is he writing about society & real relationships? 18. Is he writing about relationships seen from first or a few characters viewpoints? 19. Is there physical or mental action? 20. Do the events follow a proper time sequence? 21. Is each event important?
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Some questions to ask

22. Why is it important? 23. Do the characters cause the event? 24. If not, who? 25. Are the characters affected by the event? 26. How? 27. What were your feelings towards the characters and the society at the beginning of the story? 28. Did these change? How? They? 29. Who are the important characters?
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Some questions to ask

30. What is the purpose/function of each character? 31. Is the language formal or colloquial? 32. What type of sentences do we get long, short? 33. How is the language used- reference, directive etc.? 34. Do we have more nouns or verbs? Adjectives/ 35. Can the language be identified in terms of register? 36. Is there something special about the way the HET 224 16 writer forms his sentences?

Some questions to ask

37. What is the writers attitude to the characters? 38. Is the language full of imagery? 39. What do they stand for? 40. What sentence patterns do we see? 41. What information/words/phrases is repeated? 42. Why? What is the effect? Purpose? 43. Does the style change? 44. Why does the story end as it does?
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Some questions to ask

45. Have all the problems been solved? 46. What is the tone of the ending? Happy, sad, joyous, ironical? 47. Why did the writer present the story in this fashion? 48. Would the effect have been different if he did it differently, using different language? 49. Did you learn anything? What? 50. Did you like the story? Why?
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The Point of View

The term is used to describe the way the actions of a story are reported to the reader. In a way it is the perspective of the narrator toward the materials of the story that determines what information the reader is given in what order with what emphasis in what tone
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Thus 2 essential questions are i. Who tells the story - can be considered from the angle of characterisation - the nature & personality of the narator will partly determine what is seen/ how it is seen
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ii. a.
b. c.

How is the story told to us bound with style the term how draws us to questions like Where does the narrator stand in relation to the story? Near or far? From what angle of perspective is he telling the story? What language does he use to tell us the story i.e. whats his attitude toward the subject?
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3 approaches to this issues

Narrative methods through scenic method, narrator, etc. ii. Focus or point of view like a camera the angle f vision and the distance from which the story gets told iii. Voice referring to the words in the story, who tells it and how the author uses language i.
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Focus or point of view

authors vision point from which the story is told (outside, inside, above, below, etc.) recalling of an event form the past once upon a time focusing helps to choose what we look at and how we see it authors have to select/decide - what to emphasize - what to frame for perusal - what amount of proportion or story to give HET 224 23

4 angles of vision
1. Omniscient 2. The first person point of view/character viewpoint 3. The objective point of view 4. The observers point of view

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Omniscient
Where the author tells the story himself in the 3rd person Knows everything about everyone in the story Can decide how much to feel in order to serve his purposes Allows the author to make asides Speak directly to the reader Comment on events and characters Can go out of peoples minds
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The first person point of view/ character viewpoint

The author does not tell the story, uses and I He has to decide who the person is going to be (minor/major character) Advantage If he is a major character, we are likely to take his side At the very least we will be interested in what happen Feel the tension communicated in a personal way Consider Marquess Memories
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The first person point of view/ character viewpoint

Disadvantage Reader must be aware of the traps we might led into Is this character honest/reliable/ prejudice? Limited vision

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The objective point of view

Learn everything from someone who is watching the event We know very little about the person, others feel and think We only know and see what he/she sees Vision limited We are not even sure that it is not the author sometimes called dramatic focus Story is told using the 3rd person but there are no comments, interpretation and value judgement passed Advantage is that we have to work things out for ourselves
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The observers point of view

Everything comes through some single character who merely observes He cannot know more than he can Yet he can interpret and tell us what he feels with all its limitations.

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Characterization
To reveal something about a characters personality Usually this is done in order to reveal something an author considers significant about human nature Characterization aims at revealing human nature and seeking patterns and logic and causation in human actions
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Characterization (contd)
Intimately linked with PLOT (its throplot that character is often revealed). Plot-story is not static-starts s/where and leads up to an ending. It moves. Relationships too will move with the event/plot. Movement implies change we expect r/ships and characters to change within themselves. Thus, human events and human r/ships on a social level are the main concerns of writers.
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Characterization (contd)
In many works of fiction now, the emphasis is mostly upon characterization i.e. the revealing of character rather than the piling of events upon events. To prepare us for that moment by revealing and defining the character i.e. the quality. Note the difference between character and characterization
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Characterization (contd)
Character-deals with the person, the personality, the traits of behavior (both predictable and unpredictable) which give us a general picture of the dramatis personnaethe actors in the story. Characterization-deals with techniquethe way or process used by the author to reveal character.
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Characterization (contd)
Thus, good characterization vs good character 1st-authors ability, 2nd-our perception of the virtuousness of the character in the story. Both are judgementalbcoz the principles of defining and evaluating the characters (the fictional people) is based on those we use for real people in real lifewhich is already controversial. E.g-a man/woman of good /bad/weak/strong personalityour judgement is social, or inherent.
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Characterization (contd)
One of our tasks is to remember that fictional characters exist in a fictional worldtherefore not real and detachable from that world even if they appear to have a reality outside that world. (ie, our world) Good characterization refers to the fictional person, whoever s/he is is, and whatever his/her morality is, being well presented and our ability to accept that person as being realistic in the context of the story.
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Characterization (contd)
In the past, leading characters seemed to heroes, better than human, and almost god-like. (religious undertones). In modern fiction, however, they are more like us. Round-complex, realistic, we expect them to grow and change, even if it is unpredictable. Flat-could be major or minor but remain consistent. Still important as they also help to bring out the traits of round characters.
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Characterization (contd)
Authors generally try to individualize and particularize characters. How?-a)presentation of details such as age, sex, behavior, occupation, race, views, opinions, and religious beliefs b) the individualization is done against a background of cultural and social assumptions (people, groups) i.e. stereotyping

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Characterization (contd)
The ways in which characters are revealed: The dramatic method- action and dialogue telling by narrator or author Showing Through other character Physical description Mental probe Outward action The use of minor characters
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