Principles of Stylistics for the

Analysis and Translation of

Literary Texts
 What is Style?
• “the way in which language is used in a given context, by a given person, for a
given purpose” (G. Leech, M. Short, Style in Fiction: A Linguistic Introduction to
English Fictional Prose, 2007).
• “the linguistic habits of a particular writer” (ibid.).
• “the way language is used in a particular genre, period, school of writing or
some combination of these: ‘epistolary style’, ‘early eighteenth-century style’,
‘euphuistic style’, ‘the style of Victorian novels’, etc.” (ibid.).
• “a pattern of choices: something that belongs to the text as a whole” (ibid.).
• “A text […] is therefore the natural starting place for the study of style. […]
So if we think of style as ‘the linguistic characteristics of a particular text’, we
shall be on the safest ground” (ibid.).
 What is Stylistics?
• “an approach to the analysis of (literary) texts using linguistic description” (M. Short, Exploring the
Language of Poems, Plays and Prose, 1996).
• “a method of textual interpretation in which primacy of place is assigned to language […] because
the various forms, patterns and levels that constitute linguistic structure are an important index of
the function of the text” (P. Simpson, Stylistics: A Resource Book for Students, 2004).
• “To do stylistics is to explore language, and, more specifically, to explore creativity in language use:
different linguistic choices generate different meanings” (ibid.).
• “the (linguistic) study of style” (G. Leech, M. Short, Style in Fiction: A Linguistic Introduction to English
Fictional Prose, 2007).
• “[Stylistics] studies the relation between the significances of a text, and the linguistic characteristics
in which they are manifest”, i.e. “style markers” (ibid.).
• “the study of the ways in which meaning is created through language in literature as well as in
other types of text. […] stylisticians use linguistic models, theories and frameworks as their
analytical tools in order to describe and explain how and why a text works as it does, and how we
come from the words on the page to its meaning” (N. Nørgaard, B. Busse, R. Montoro, Key Terms
in Stylistics, 2010).
 Stylistic Categories
• The underlying theoretical framework of Stylistics as a discipline is M.A.K.
Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL).
• Three main functions of language according to Halliday: ideational (how language
expresses our view of the world), interpersonal (how language maintains social
relations), textual (how language is realised in text and discourse).
• Ideational Function: Transitivity (processes, typically realised by verb phrases;
participants, typically realised by noun phrases; circumstances associated with the
process, typically realised by prepositional and adverbial phrases, or adverbial
subordinate clauses).
• Interpersonal Function: Modality (epistemic, deontic, boulomaic), Point of
View (spatial, temporal, psychological, ideological).
• Textual Function: Cohesion (reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, lexical
cohesion), Thematic Structure (theme vs. rheme).
 Style as Choice
• When language is used to represent patterns of experience in spoken and written
texts it fulfils the ideational/experiential function.
• The ideational function is an important marker of style, particularly the style of
narrative discourse, because it emphasises the concept of style as choice.
• There are many ways of accounting in language for our mental picture of
reality and using the resources of the language system to capture events in a
textual representation.
• Stylistics is interested in why one type of structure should be preferred to
another, or why, from several ways of representing the same happening, one
particular type of depiction should be privileged over another. It is also interested
in the effects such choices have on readers and their interpretations of texts.
• Choices in style are motivated, even if unconsciously, and these choices have a
profound impact on the way texts are structured and interpreted.
 An Important Feature of Style: Transitivity
• The grammatical device used for capturing experience in language is the system of
transitivity, which refers to the way meanings are encoded in the clause and to the way
different types of processes are represented in language.
Compare: 1) “I broke the vase” 2) “What happened?” “I nipped Daniel” (MP)
“The vase was broken by me” “Daniel was nipped” (MP)
“The vase was broken” “There was a nip” (EP)
“The vase broke”
• Since transitivity shows how speakers encode in language their mental picture of reality and
how they account for their experience of the world around them, transitivity is part of the
ideational function of language.
• Three key components of processes: the process itself (typically realised in grammar by
the verb phrase); the participant(s) involved in the process (typically realised by noun
phrases); the circumstances associated with the process (typically expressed by
prepositional and adverb phrases, or adverbial subordinate clauses).
• Processes can be classified according to whether they represent actions, speech, states of
mind or simply states of being.
 Transitivity: Types of Processes
• Material Processes are processes of “doing”, involving two inherent participant roles:
the Actor (an obligatory role which represents the “doer”) and a Goal (which is
optional and represents the entity affected by the process).
Ex. John (Actor) kicked (Process) the ball (Goal).
The ball (Goal) was kicked (Process) by John (Actor).
The washing machine (Actor) broke down (Process).
• Mental Processes are processes of “sensing”, which inhabit and reflect the world of
consciousness. Three subtypes: cognition (as in “think”), reaction (as in “like”) and
perception (as in “see”). The two participant roles are the Senser (the conscious being
that is doing the sensing) and the Phenomenon (the entity which is sensed, felt,
thought or seen).
Ex. Mary (Senser) understood (Process) the story (Phenomenon). (Cognition)
Mary (Senser) noticed (Process) the damp patch (Phenomenon). (Perception)
Mary (Senser) hates (Process) garlic (Phenomenon). (Reaction)
 Transitivity: Types of Processes
• Behavioural Processes (between Material and Mental) embody physiological actions
like “breathe” or “cough”, sometimes portrayed as states of consciousness as in “cry”
or “laugh”. They also represent processes of consciousness as forms of behaviour, as
in “dream”, “ or “worry”. The key participant is the Behaver (the conscious entity who
is behaving).
Ex. The student (Behaver) fell asleep (Process) in my lecture (Circumstance).
She (Behaver) frowned (Process) at the mess (Circumstance).
• Verbal Processes are processes of “saying” and the participant roles are the Sayer
(the producer of the speech), the Receiver (the addressee) and the Verbiage (that
which is said).
Ex. Mary (Sayer) claimed (Process) that the story was false (Verbiage).
They (Sayer) announced (Process) the decision (Verbiage) to me (Receiver).
Transitivity: Types of Processes
• Relational Processes are processes of “being”, and signal that a relationship exists
between two entities. Intensive Relational Processes posit a relationship of equivalence
(“x is y”) between two entities. Possessive Relational Processes express an “x has y”
connection between two entities. In Circumstantial Relational Processes, the
circumstantial element fulfils the role of participant in the process (“x is at/in/on/with
y). The key participants are Carrier (the person or concept being described) and
Attribute (the quality ascribed to the Carrier).
Ex. Joyce (Carrier) is (Process) the best Irish writer (Attribute). (Intensive)
Peter (Carrier) has (Process) a piano (Attribute). (Possessive)
The maid (Carrier) was (Process) in the parlour (Circumstance). (Circumstantial)
• Existential Processes basically assert that something exists and normally contain one
participant role, the Existent (the entity which exists).
Ex. There was an assault. (Typically, the subject is a dummy “there”)
 Transitivity and Style as Choice
• Transitivity offers systematic choice, and any particular textual configuration,
whether unconscious or strategically motivated, is only one option from a set of
possible textual configurations.
• Certain types of processes (e.g. Mental Processes, Relational Processes, or Material
Processes where the character is the Goal and not the Actor) may function to cast a
character as a rather ineffectual and passive observer on the events around him/her.
• Material Processes with Meronymic Agency (stylistic device which consists in
placing a human body part, rather than a whole person, in the role of Actor, Senser,
Sayer, etc.) as opposed to Holonymic Agency (default position where the participant
role is occupied by a complete being) produce the stylistic effect of disembodying
characters, often making what they do, say or think appear involuntary or without
conscious intervention.
Compare: “A clenched hand was holding a carving knife” (meronymic agency)
“The man was holding a carving knife” (holonymic agency)
Transitivity and Characterisation: “Eveline”
She sat [MP, static] at the window watching the evening invade the avenue. Her head
was leaned [RP, meronymic agency] against the window curtains and in her nostrils was
the odour of dusty cretonne. She was [RP] tired.
Few people passed. The man out of the last house passed on his way home; she heard
[MeP] his footsteps clacking along the concrete pavement and afterwards crunching on
the cinder path before the new red houses. One time there used to be a field there in
which they used to play every evening with other people’s children. Then a man from
Belfast bought the field and built houses in it – not like their little brown houses but
bright brick houses with shining roofs. The children of the avenue used to play together
in that field – the Devines, the Waters, the Dunns, little Keogh the cripple, she and her
brothers and sisters. Ernest, however, never played: he was too grown up. Her father used
often to hunt them in out of the field with his blackthorn stick; but usually little Keogh
used to keep nix and call out when he saw her father coming. Still they seemed to have
been rather happy then. Her father was not so bad then; and besides, her mother was
alive. That was a long time ago; she and her brothers and sisters were [RP] all grown up;
her mother was dead. Tizzie Dunn was dead, too, and the Waters had gone back to
England. Everything changes. Now she was going to go [MaP, future projection] away
like the others, to leave her home.
 Transitivity and Characterisation: “Eveline”
Home! She looked [MeP] round the room, reviewing all its familiar objects which she had
dusted [MaP, recollection] once a week for so many years, wondering where on earth all the
dust came from. Perhaps she would never see [MeP] again those familiar objects from which
she had never dreamed [BP] of being divided. […]
She had consented [MeP] to go away, to leave her home. Was that wise? She tried to weigh
[MeP] each side of the question. In her home anyway she had [RP] shelter and food; she had
[RP] those whom she had known [MeP] all her life about her. Of course she had to work hard
both in the house and at business. What would they say of her in the Stores when they found out
that she had run away [MaP, future projection] with a fellow? Say she was [RP] a fool,
perhaps; and her place would be filled up by advertisement. […]
But in her new home, in a distant unknown country, it would not be like that. Then she would
be [RP] married – she, Eveline. People would treat her with respect then. She would not be
treated [MaP, hypothetical, character as goal] as her mother had been. Even now, though she
was [RP] over nineteen, she sometimes felt [MeP/RP] herself in danger of her father’s
violence. She knew [MeP] it was that that had given her the palpitations. When they were
growing up he had never gone for her, like he used to go for Harry and Ernest, because she was
[RP] a girl; but latterly he had begun to threaten her and say what he would do to her only for
her dead mother’s sake. And now she had [RP] nobody to protect her. […] It was hard work – a
hard life – but now that she was about to leave [MaP, future projection] it she did not find
[MeP] it a wholly undesirable life.
Transitivity and Characterisation: “Eveline”
She was about to explore [MaP, future projection] another life with Frank. Frank was very
kind, manly, open-hearted. She was to go [MaP, future projection] away with him by the night-
boat to be his wife and to live with him in Buenos Ayres where he had a home waiting for her.
How well she remembered [MeP] the first time she had seen him [MeP] […].
Her time was running out but she continued to sit [MP, static, reiterated] by the window,
leaning her head against the window curtain, inhaling the odour of dusty cretonne. Down far in
the avenue she could hear [MeP] a street organ playing. She knew [MeP] the air. Strange that
it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep
the home together as long as she could. She remembered [MeP] the last night of her mother’s
illness; she was [RP] again in the close dark room at the other side of the hall and outside she
heard [MeP] a melancholy air of Italy. The organplayer had been ordered to go away and given
sixpence. She remembered [MeP] her father strutting back into the sickroom saying:
—Damned Italians! coming over here!
As she mused [MeP] the pitiful vision of her mother’s life laid its spell on the very quick of
her being – that life of commonplace sacrifices closing in final craziness. She trembled [MaP]
as she heard [MeP] again her mother’s voice saying constantly with foolish insistence:
—Derevaun Seraun! Derevaun Seraun!
Transitivity and Characterisation: “Eveline”
She stood up [MaP, epiphany] in a sudden impulse of terror. Escape! She must escape
[MaP, epiphany]! Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too. But she
wanted [MeP] to live. Why should she be [RP] unhappy? She had [RP] a right to
happiness. Frank would take her in his arms, fold her in his arms. He would save her.
She stood [MaP, static] among the swaying crowd in the station at the North Wall. He
held her hand and she knew [MeP] that he was speaking to her, saying something about the
passage over and over again. The station was full of soldiers with brown baggages. Through
the wide doors of the sheds she caught [MeP] a glimpse of the black mass of the boat,
lying in beside the quay wall, with illumined portholes. She answered [VP] nothing. She felt
[MeP] her cheek pale and cold and, out of a maze of distress, she prayed [VP/MeP] to
God to direct her, to show her what was her duty. The boat blew a long mournful whistle
into the mist. If she went [MaP, hypothetical], to-morrow she would be [RP] on the sea
with Frank, steaming towards Buenos Ayres. Their passage had been booked. Could she still
draw back [MaP, metaphorical] after all he had done for her? Her distress awoke a nausea
in her body and she kept moving [MaP/VP] her lips in silent fervent prayer.
Transitivity and Characterisation: “Eveline”

A bell clanged upon her heart. She felt [MeP] him seize her hand:
— Come!
All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her into them:
he would drown her. She gripped [MaP, inaction] with both hands at the iron
railing.
— Come!
No! No! No! It was impossible. Her hands clutched [MaP, meronymic agency]
the iron in frenzy. Amid the seas she sent [VP] a cry of anguish!
—Eveline! Evvy!
He rushed beyond the barrier and called to her to follow. He was shouted at to go
on but he still called to her. She set [MaP] her white face to him, passive, like a
helpless animal. Her eyes gave [MaP, meronymic agency] him no sign of love or
farewell or recognition [moment of paralysis].
“Eveline” and Its Italian Translation by M.E. Capodilista
(Newton Compton)
She sat at the window watching the Sedeva alla finestra osservando la sera
evening invade the avenue. Her head invadere il viale. Teneva la testa
was leaned against the window curtains appoggiata alle tende e nelle narici aveva
and in her nostrils was the odour of dusty l’odore della cretonne polverosa. Era
cretonne. She was tired. Few people
passed. The man out of the last house stanca. Passava poca gente. L’uomo
passed on his way home; she heard his dell’ultima casa passò diretto ad essa; ne
footsteps clacking along the concrete udì i passi risonare secchi sul
pavement and afterwards crunching on marciapiede di calcestruzzo e dopo
the cinder path before the new red scricchiolare sul sentiero di scorie davanti
houses. One time there used to be a field alle nuove case rosse. Un tempo lì c’era
there in which they used to play every stato un campo dove giocavano tutte le
evening with other people’s children.
Then a man from Belfast bought the field sere con i figli dell’altra gente. Poi uno di
and built houses in it – not like their little Belfast aveva comprato il campo e vi
brown houses but bright brick houses aveva costruito case, non come le loro
with shining roofs. piccole e scure, ma case chiare di mattoni
con tetti lucenti.
“Eveline” and Its Italian Translation by M.E. Capodilista
(Newton Compton)
The children of the avenue used to play I bambini del viale giocavano insieme in
together in that field – the Devines, the quel campo: i Devines, i Waters, i Dunns, il
Waters, the Dunns, little Keogh the cripple, piccolo Keogh lo storpio, lei e i suoi fratelli
she and her brothers and sisters. Ernest, e sorelle. Ernest, però, non giocava mai: era
however, never played: he was too grown up. troppo grande. Suo padre spesso andava a
Her father used often to hunt them in out of stanarli fuori del campo con il bastone di
the field with his blackthorn stick; but usually rovo; ma di solito il piccolo Keogh faceva la
little Keogh used to keep nix and call out guardia e gridava quando vedeva suo padre
when he saw her father coming. Still they venire. Pure sembravano essere stati
seemed to have been rather happy then. Her abbastanza felici allora. Suo padre non era
father was not so bad then; and besides, her così malridotto; e per di più sua madre era
mother was alive. That was a long time ago; viva. Era tanto tempo fa; lei e i suoi fratelli e
she and her brothers and sisters were all sorelle erano tutti cresciuti, sua madre era
grown up; her mother was dead. Tizzie Dunn morta. Anche Tizzie Dunn era morta e i
was dead, too, and the Waters had gone back Waters erano tornati in Inghilterra. Tutto
to England. Everything changes. Now she cambia. Adesso stava per andare via come
was going to go away like the others, to gli altri, per lasciare la sua casa.
leave her home.
“Eveline” and Its Italian Translation by M.E. Capodilista
(Newton Compton)
Home! She looked round the room, Casa! Guardò in giro per la stanza,
reviewing all its familiar objects which she passando in rivista tutti gli oggetti familiari
had dusted once a week for so many years, che aveva spolverato una volta alla
wondering where on earth all the dust came settimana per tanti anni, domandandosi da
from. Perhaps she would never see again dove mai venisse tutta quella polvere. Forse
those familiar objects from which she had non avrebbe mai rivisto gli oggetti familiari
never dreamed of being divided. […] She dai quali non aveva mai immaginato di
had consented to go away, to leave her venire separata. […] Aveva acconsentito ad
home. Was that wise? She tried to weigh andarsene, a lasciare la sua casa. Era saggio?
each side of the question. In her home Cercò di ponderare ogni aspetto della
anyway she had shelter and food; she had questione. A casa aveva comunque tetto e
those whom she had known all her life cibo; aveva intorno quelli che aveva
about her. Of course she had to work hard conosciuto tutta la vita. Naturalmente
both in the house and at business. What doveva lavorare sodo, sia a casa sia al
would they say of her in the Stores when negozio. Cosa avrebbero detto di lei ai
they found out that she had run away with a grandi magazzini scoprendo che era
fellow? Say she was a fool, perhaps; and her scappata con uno? Che era una stupida,
place would be filled up by advertisement. forse; e avrebbero rioccupato il suo posto
[…] con un’inserzione. […]
“Eveline” and Its Italian Translation by M.E. Capodilista
(Newton Compton)
But in her new home, in a distant unknown Ma nella sua nuova casa, in un lontano
country, it would not be like that. Then she paese ignoto, non sarebbe stato così. Allora
would be married – she, Eveline. People sarebbe sposata: lei, Eveline. La gente
would treat her with respect then. She would l’avrebbe trattata con rispetto. Non come era
not be treated as her mother had been. Even stata trattata sua madre. Persino ora, sebbene
now, though she was over nineteen, she avesse diciannove anni passati, talvolta si
sometimes felt herself in danger of her sentiva esposta al pericolo della violenza
father’s violence. She knew it was that that paterna. Sapeva che era questo che le aveva
had given her the palpitations. When they dato le palpitazioni. Quando crescevano non
were growing up he had never gone for her, le si era mai lanciato contro, come faceva
like he used to go for Harry and Ernest, con Harry ed Ernest, perché era una
because she was a girl; but latterly he had ragazza; ma ultimamente aveva cominciato a
begun to threaten her and say what he would minacciarla e a dirle cosa non le avrebbe
do to her only for her dead mother’s sake. fatto, non fosse stato per riguardo a sua
And now she had nobody to protect her. madre morta. E ora non aveva nessuno che
[…] It was hard work – a hard life – but now la proteggesse […]. Era un duro lavoro, una
that she was about to leave it she did not vita dura, ma ora che stava per lasciarla
find it a wholly undesirable life. non la trovava una vita del tutto
indesiderabile.
“Eveline” and Its Italian Translation by M.E. Capodilista
(Newton Compton)
She was about to explore another life Con Frank stava per esplorare un’altra
with Frank. Frank was very kind, manly, vita. Frank era molto buono, virile,
open-hearted. She was to go away with aperto. Doveva partire con lui sul
him by the night-boat to be his wife and battello della notte per diventare sua
to live with him in Buenos Ayres where moglie e vivere con lui a Buenos Aires,
he had a home waiting for her. How well dove aveva una casa che l’aspettava.
she remembered the first time she had Come ricordava bene la prima volta che
seen him […]. Her time was running out l’aveva visto […]. Le rimaneva ben poco
but she continued to sit by the window, tempo, ma continuava a sedere accanto
leaning her head against the window alla finestra, appoggiando la testa alla
curtain, inhaling the odour of dusty tenda, aspirando l’odore di cretonne
cretonne. Down far in the avenue she polverosa. Lontano nel viale udiva un
could hear a street organ playing. She organetto suonare. Conosceva il motivo.
knew the air. Strange that it should come Strano che dovesse venire proprio quella
that very night to remind her of the sera a rammentarle la promessa a sua
promise to her mother, her promise to madre, la promessa di mandare avanti la
keep the home together as long as she casa il più a lungo possibile.
could.
“Eveline” and Its Italian Translation by M.E. Capodilista
(Newton Compton)
She remembered the last night of her Ricordò l’ultima notte della malattia di sua
mother’s illness; she was again in the close madre; era di nuovo nella buia stanza
dark room at the other side of the hall and soffocante dall’altro lato dell’ingresso e fuori
outside she heard a melancholy air of Italy. udiva un malinconico motivo italiano. Al
The organplayer had been ordered to go suonatore d’organetto era stato ordinato di
away and given sixpence. She remembered andarsene dandogli un sixpence. Ricordò
her father strutting back into the sickroom suo padre tornare con sussiego nella camera
saying: della malata dicendo:
—Damned Italians! coming over here! «Maledetti italiani! Venire qua!».
As she mused the pitiful vision of her Mentre fantasticava, la visione pietosa della
mother’s life laid its spell on the very quick vita di sua madre gettò il suo maleficio fino
of her being – that life of commonplace nel profondo del suo essere: quella vita di
sacrifices closing in final craziness. She sacrifici banali conclusasi con la pazzia.
trembled as she heard again her mother’s Tremò mentre riudiva la voce materna dire
voice saying constantly with foolish continuamente con assurda insistenza:
insistence: «Derevaun Seraun! Derevaun Seraun!».
—Derevaun Seraun! Derevaun Seraun!
“Eveline” and Its Italian Translation by M.E. Capodilista
(Newton Compton)
She stood up in a sudden impulse of Si alzò con un improvviso moto di
terror. Escape! She must escape! Frank terrore. Fuggire! Doveva fuggire! Frank
would save her. He would give her life, l’avrebbe salvata. Le avrebbe dato la vita,
perhaps love, too. But she wanted to live. forse anche l’amore. Ma lei voleva
Why should she be unhappy? She had a vivere. Aveva diritto alla felicità. Frank
right to happiness. Frank would take her l’avrebbe presa fra le sue braccia, stretta
in his arms, fold her in his arms. He fra le sue braccia. L’avrebbe salvata.
would save her. She stood among the Stava in mezzo alla folla ondeggiante
swaying crowd in the station at the North nella stazione al North Wall. Lui le
Wall. He held her hand and she knew teneva la mano e lei sapeva che le stava
that he was speaking to her, saying parlando, che ripeteva qualcosa sulla
something about the passage over and traversata più e più volte. La stazione era
over again. The station was full of piena di soldati con bagagli scuri.
soldiers with brown baggages. Through Attraverso le ampie porte dei capannoni
the wide doors of the sheds she caught intravedeva la massa nera della nave,
a glimpse of the black mass of the boat, ormeggiata accanto al muro del molo,
lying in beside the quay wall, with con gli oblò illuminati. Non rispose
illumined portholes. She answered nulla.
nothing.
“Eveline” and Its Italian Translation by M.E. Capodilista
(Newton Compton)
She felt her cheek pale and cold and, out Si sentiva le guance pallide e fredde e,
of a maze of distress, she prayed to God da un labirinto di angoscia, pregò Dio di
to direct her, to show her what was her guidarla, di indicarle quale era il suo
duty. The boat blew a long mournful dovere. La nave mandò un lungo fischio
whistle into the mist. If she went, to- lugubre nella bruma. Se andava, domani
morrow she would be on the sea with sarebbe stata sul mare con Frank, diretta
Frank, steaming towards Buenos Ayres. a tutto vapore verso Buenos Aires. I
Their passage had been booked. Could biglietti per la traversata erano stati presi.
she still draw back after all he had done Poteva ancora tirarsi indietro dopo
for her? Her distress awoke a nausea in tutto quello che lui aveva fatto per lei?
her body and she kept moving her lips L’angoscia le fece venire la nausea
in silent fervent prayer. A bell clanged mentre continuava a muovere le labbra
upon her heart. She felt him seize her in silenziosa fervente preghiera. Una
hand: campana le squillò sul cuore. Lo sentì
— Come! afferrarle la mano:
«Vieni!»
“Eveline” and Its Italian Translation by M.E. Capodilista
(Newton Compton)
All the seas of the world tumbled about her Tutti i mari del mondo le si rovesciarono
heart. He was drawing her into them: he intorno al cuore. La stava attirando dentro di
would drown her. She gripped with both essi: l’avrebbe affogata. Si aggrappò con
hands at the iron railing. entrambe le mani alla ringhiera di ferro.
— Come! «Vieni!»
No! No! No! It was impossible. Her hands No! No! No! Era impossibile. Le mani
clutched the iron in frenzy. Amid the seas strinsero convulse e frenetiche il ferro.
she sent a cry of anguish! Lanciò in mezzo ai mari un grido di
—Eveline! Evvy! tormento.
He rushed beyond the barrier and called to «Eveline! Evvy!»
her to follow. He was shouted at to go on but Lui si precipitò oltre la barriera e le gridò di
he still called to her. She set her white face to seguirlo. Gli urlarono di andare avanti, ma la
him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes chiamava ancora. Fissò su di lui il viso
gave him no sign of love or farewell or bianco, passivo, da animale indifeso. I suoi
recognition. occhi non gli dettero nessun segno di
amore o di addio o di riconoscimento.
 An Important Feature of Style: Point of View
• The “mind-style” projected in a text, or the psychological perspective/point of
view/angle of telling through which a story is told, constitutes an important stylistic
dimension in prose fiction, where it functions as an index of characterisation.
• Point of view in fiction rests upon a basic distinction between “who tells” and “who
sees”:
Who tells = the narrator (homodiegetic, or internal to the narrative vs. heterodiegetic,
or external to the narrative): first or third person.
Who sees = the reflector (or focaliser): internal or external character.
• This distiction allows a multifaceted perspective: the narrator can be heterodiegetic
(which permits to maintain a distance between narrator and a character, useful for
irony) but the narrative perspective can be (temporarily) limited to one character.
Point of View in Fiction (Narrative POV)

• Spatial POV: the “viewing” position adopted by a narrator.

• Temporal POV: how time is perceived by the narrator (techniques: analexis,
prolepsis, etc.).
• Psychological POV: the ways in which a narrative can be refracted through
an individual consciousness or perception, be that of a character or a narrator.
• Ideological POV: the way in which a text mediates a set of particular
ideological beliefs through either character, narrator or author.
Point of View in Fiction (Narrative POV)

• Linguistic markers of POV:

Proximal/Distal Deixis (spatial point of view) situating the speaking voice in
physical space: the reflector forms a deictic centre around which objects are
positioned showing proximity to, or distance from, the reflector.
Adjuncts of time and location (prepositional and adverb phrases) also
expressing spatial and temporal relationships.
Attenuated focalisation (a narrative device according to which the point of
view is limited to an impeded or distanced visual perspective), often used to
give the impression that the perspective is momentarily restricted to a
particular character.
Speech and thought presentation.
 Point of View in Fiction (Narrative POV)
Example of attenuated focalisation:
“Gabriel had not gone to the door with the others. He was in the dark part of
the hall gazing up the staircase. A woman was standing near the top of the first
flight, in the shadow also. He could not see her face but he could see the
terracotta and salmon-pink panels of her skirt which the shadow made appear
black and white. It was his wife” (J. Joyce, “The Dead”).

[The “bird’s-eye” vantage point of authorial omniscience is abandoned as the

point of view in the passage is that of a particular character (Gabriel Conroy).
The effect of his gradual discovery could easily have been nullified if the early
reference to ‘A woman’ had simply read ‘His wife’. Instead, this information is
withheld temporarily for the reader to identify with the character and his visual
experience.]
 Speech and Thought Presentation in Narrative
• Besides actions and events, narratives contain a great deal of reported speech and
thought.
• A framework for the principal categories of speech and thought presentation as a
stylistic device and an index of point of view allows us to: 1) identify the modes used
and 2) assess their stylistic effect.
• J. Leech and M. Short’s model of speech and thought presentation in Style in
Fiction represents the most influential account of this important narrative technique:
Direct Speech (DS): the reported clause (which tells us what was said) is enclosed
within quotation marks, while the reporting clause (which tells us who did the
reporting) is situated before or after it.
Ex. She said, “I’ll come here tomorrow”.
“I’ll come here tomorrow”, she said.
Indirect Speech (IS): the equivalent of DS after a series of grammatical and
syntactic operations.
Ex. She said that she would go there the following day.
 Speech and Thought Presentation in Narrative
Free Direct Speech (FDS): the equivalent of DS after removing the
reporting clause and/or inverted commas. Several variants:
Ex. I’ll come here tomorrow, she said.
“I’ll come here tomorrow”.
I’ll come here tomorrow. (Freest form)
Free Indirect Speech (FIS): the equivalent of IS without reporting clause
and/or grammatical changes. Several variants:
Ex. She would go there the following day.
She would go there tomorrow. (Freest form)
 Speech and Thought Presentation in Narrative
Direct Thought (DT): the reported thought is enclosed within quotation marks,
while the reporting clause is situated before or after it.
Ex. He wondered, “Does she still love me?”.
Indirect Thought (IT): the equivalent of DT after a series of grammatical and
syntactic operations.
Ex. He wondered if she still loved him.
Free Direct Thought (FDT): the equivalent of DT after removing the reporting
clause and/or inverted commas (typical of the stream of consciousness technique).
Ex. Does she still love me?
Free Indirect Thought (FIT): the equivalent of IT without reporting clause
and/or grammatical changes.
Ex. Did she still love him?
 Speech and Thought Presentation in Narrative
Narrative Report of Speech (NRS) and Narrative Report of Thought
(NRT) involve a narrator reporting that speech or thought has taken place, but
without offering any indication of the actual words used.
Ex. She spoke of their plans for the day ahead. (NRS)
He wondered about her love for him. (NRT)
• Whatever the particular category used, all of the techniques of speech and
thought presentation represent a shift away from the external narrative structure
or Narrator’s Representation of Action (NRA) towards the discourse of a
particular character.
• NRA (or pure narration) describes the character’s actions and perceptions, and
the states and events that occur in the world of fiction. It basically encompasses
all non-speech and non-thought phenomena.
 Speech and Thought Presentation in Narrative

• Free Indirect Discourse (FID), subsuming both Free Indirect Speech and Free
Indirect Thought and also known as “indirect interior monologue” or style indirect
libre, is of special interest to stylisticians for the impression this mode gives of both
a character and narrator speaking or thinking simultaneously.
• This mode displays all the features of indirectness (third-person deixis, past tense)
but lacks a reporting clause and inverted commas. The perspective is clearly internal
to the character.
• “Just one of the attractive features of Free Indirect Discourse is that most readers
are not consciously aware of it being at work. It is a hybrid and a marked or
exceptional form, neither pure narrative nor pure character-expression, and in many
situations it manages to blend into the narratorial background” (M. Toolan,
Narrative: A Critical Linguistic Introduction, 2001).
Speech and Thought Presentation in Narrative
 Effects of Speech and Thought Presentation

• The more free and/or direct the mode of presentation, the more a narrator’s
control over what was thought or said diminishes; the character is ultimately
allowed to express thoughts or speech in a seemingly unmediated way.
• Direct Discourse and Indirect Discourse may be said to differ in their effect on the
reader. Usually the reader feels a greater distance and detachment from characters
and their words when these are mediated via Indirect Discourse. Direct Discourse is
an environment where characters appear to be in control and speak for themselves,
while in Indirect Discourse the narrator is more overtly still in control, and reports
on behalf of the characters.
• Nevertheless, the appearance or illusion of character control should not be
overstated: behind all the fictional individuals in a fictional world, however reported,
stands the controlling teller and ultimately the author.
Speech and Thought Presentation in To the Lighthouse
(“The Window”, section 17)
But what have I done with my life? thought Mrs. Ramsay [FDT], taking her place at the
head of the table, and looking at all the plates making white circles on it [NRA]. “William,
sit by me,” she said. “Lily,” she said, wearily, “over there.” [DS] […] At the far end, was
her husband, sitting down, all in a heap, frowning. What at? She did not know. She did not
mind. She could not understand how she had ever felt any emotion or any affection for
him. She had a sense of being past everything, through everything, out of everything, as
she helped the soup, as if there was an eddy – there – and one could be in it, or one could
be out of it, and she was out of it [FID]. It’s all come to an end, she thought, while they
came in one after another, Charles Tansley – “Sit there, please,” she said – Augustus
Carmichael – and sat down. And meanwhile she waited, passively, for someone to answer
her, for something to happen. But this is not a thing, she thought, ladling out soup, that
one says.
Raising her eyebrows at the discrepancy – that was what she was thinking, this was what
she was doing – ladling out soup – she felt, more and more strongly, outside that eddy; or
as if a shade had fallen, and, robbed of colour, she saw things truly. The room (she
looked round it) was very shabby. There was no beauty anywhere. She forebore to look at
Mr. Tansley. Nothing seemed to have merged. They all sat separate. And the whole of the
effort of merging and flowing and creating rested on her. […]
Speech and Thought Presentation in To the Lighthouse
(“The Window”, section 17)
How old she looks, how worn she looks, Lily thought, and how remote [FDT]. Then
when she turned to William Bankes, smiling, it was as if the ship had turned and the sun
had struck its sails again [FID], and Lily thought with some amusement because she was
relieved, Why does she pity him? For that was the impression she gave, when she told him
that his letters were in the hall [IS]. Poor William Bankes, she seemed to be saying, as if
her own weariness had been partly pitying people, and the life in her, her resolve to live
again, had been stirred by pity. And it was not true, Lily thought; it was one of those
misjudgments of hers that seemed to be instinctive and to arise from some need of her
own rather than of other people’s. He is not in the least pitiable. He has his work, Lily
said to herself. She remembered, all of a sudden as if she had found a treasure, that she
too had her work. In a flash she saw her picture, and thought, Yes, I shall put the tree
further in the middle; then I shall avoid that awkward space. That’s what I shall do. That’s
what has been puzzling me. She took up the salt cellar and put it down again on a flower
in the pattern in the table-doth, so as to remind herself to move the tree [NRA]. […]
Speech and Thought Presentation in To the Lighthouse
(“The Window”, section 17)
He [Mr. Tansley] was really, Lily Briscoe thought, in spite of his eyes, but then look
at his nose, look at his hands [FDT], the most uncharming human being she had
ever met [IT]. Then why did she mind what he said? Women can’t write, women
can’t paint – what did that matter coming from him, since clearly it was not true to
him but for some reason helpful to him, and that was why he said it? Why did her
whole being bow, like corn under a wind, and erect itself again from this abasement
only with a great and rather painful effort? She must make it once more [FID].
There’s the sprig on the table-cloth; there’s my painting; I must move the tree to the
middle; that matters – nothing else. Could she not hold fast to that, she asked
herself, and not lose her temper, and not argue; and if she wanted a little revenge
take it by laughing at him?
“Oh, Mr. Tansley,” she said, “do take me to the Lighthouse with you. I should so
love it.” [DS]
To the Lighthouse and Its Italian Translation by Anna Nadotti
(Einaudi)
But what have I done with my life? thought Mrs. Ma che ne ho fatto della mia vita? pensava la
Ramsay, taking her place at the head of the table, signora Ramsay sedendosi a capotavola e
and looking at all the plates making white circles scrutando i cerchi bianchi dei piatti. – William, si
sieda vicino a me, – disse. – Lily, – disse
on it. “William, sit by me,” she said. “Lily,” she stancamente, – là –. […] All’altro capo del tavolo
said, wearily, “over there.” […] At the far end, sedeva suo marito, tetro, corrucciato. Perché?
was her husband, sitting down, all in a heap, Non lo sapeva. Né le importava. Non capiva
frowning. What at? She did not know. She did not come e quando avesse potuto provare
mind. She could not understand how she had un’emozione o qualche affetto per lui. Aveva la
ever felt any emotion or any affection for him. sensazione di essere al di là di tutto, indifferente
She had a sense of being past everything, through a tutto, fuori da tutto, mentre serviva la minestra,
come se ci fosse un turbine – lí – e si potesse
everything, out of everything, as she helped the starci dentro, oppure fuori, e lei ne era fuori. È
soup, as if there was an eddy – there – and one tutto finito, pensava, mentre entravano uno
could be in it, or one could be out of it, and she dopo l’altro, Charles Tansley, «Si sieda là, prego»,
was out of it. It’s all come to an end, she thought, Augustus Carmichael, e prendevano posto.
while they came in one after another, Charles Intanto lei aspettava, passivamente, che qualcuno
Tansley – “Sit there, please,” she said – Augustus le desse una risposta, che accadesse qualcosa. Ma
Carmichael – and sat down. And meanwhile she questo, pensava scodellando la minestra, non si
può dire.
waited, passively, for someone to answer her, for
something to happen. But this is not a thing, she
thought, ladling out soup, that one says.
To the Lighthouse and Its Italian Translation by Anna Nadotti
(Einaudi)
Raising her eyebrows at the discrepancy – that Inarcando le sopracciglia di fronte a tale
was what she was thinking, this was what she was discrepanza – a quello pensava, questo stava
facendo, scodellava la minestra – si sentí sempre
doing – ladling out soup – she felt, more and piú fuori dal turbine; o come se fosse calata
more strongly, outside that eddy; or as if a shade un’ombra e, cancellato il colore, vedesse le cose
had fallen, and, robbed of colour, she saw things per ciò che erano. La stanza (si guardò intorno)
era davvero misera. Non c’era alcuna bellezza. Si
truly. The room (she looked round it) was very vietò di guardare Tansley. Sembrava che nulla si
shabby. There was no beauty anywhere. She fosse amalgamato. Sedevano ognuno separato
forebore to look at Mr. Tansley. Nothing seemed dagli altri. E tutto lo sforzo di amalgamare,
to have merged. They all sat separate. And the espandere e creare pesava su di lei. […]
whole of the effort of merging and flowing and Come sembra vecchia, come sembra sciupata,
creating rested on her. […] pensava Lily Briscoe, e lontana. Poi, quando la
signora Ramsay si rivolse a William Bankes,
How old she looks, how worn she looks, Lily sorridendo, fu come se la nave avesse virato e il
sole scaldasse di nuovo le vele, e Lily, ora piú
thought, and how remote. Then when she turned tranquilla, pensò con un certo divertimento,
to William Bankes, smiling, it was as if the ship Perché lo compatisce?
had turned and the sun had struck its sails again,
and Lily thought with some amusement because
she was relieved, Why does she pity him?
To the Lighthouse and Its Italian Translation by Anna Nadotti
(Einaudi)
For that was the impression she gave, when she Era quella infatti l’impressione che dava,
told him that his letters were in the hall. Poor mentre gli diceva che le sue lettere erano
William Bankes, she seemed to be saying, as if nell’ingresso. Povero William Bankes,
her own weariness had been partly pitying people, sembrava dire, come se la sua stanchezza
and the life in her, her resolve to live again, had derivasse in parte dalla pietà che provava per
been stirred by pity. And it was not true, Lily gli altri, e la vita, la decisione di riprendere a
thought; it was one of those misjudgments of vivere, fosse stata sollecitata dalla pietà. E
hers that seemed to be instinctive and to arise non era vero, pensava Lily; era uno di quei
from some need of her own rather than of other fraintendimenti istintivi in lei, frutto di un
people’s. He is not in the least pitiable. He has his bisogno suo, non di necessità altrui. Bankes
work, Lily said to herself. She remembered, all of non è certo da compatire, ha il suo lavoro,
a sudden as if she had found a treasure, that she
disse Lily a se stessa. Si ricordò
all’improvviso, come se avesse trovato un
too had her work. In a flash she saw her picture, tesoro, che anche lei aveva un lavoro. In un
and thought, Yes, I shall put the tree further in lampo vide il suo quadro e pensò, Sì,
the middle; then I shall avoid that awkward space. metterò l’albero proprio al centro,
That’s what I shall do. That’s what has been eliminando quel vuoto inopportuno. Sì, farò
puzzling me. She took up the salt cellar and put it così. Ecco cos’è che mi tormentava. Prese la
down again on a flower in the pattern in the saliera e la posò su un fiore della tovaglia,
table-doth, so as to remind herself to move the per ricordarsi di spostare l’albero. […]
tree. […]
To the Lighthouse and Its Italian Translation by Anna Nadotti
(Einaudi)
He [Mr. Tansley] was really, Lily Briscoe thought, Nonostante gli occhi, pensava Lily Briscoe, era
in spite of his eyes, but then look at his nose, davvero l’essere umano meno attraente che
look at his hands, the most uncharming human avesse mai conosciuto. Perché dunque dargli
being she had ever met. Then why did she mind ascolto? Le donne non sanno dipingere, le
what he said? Women can’t write, women can’t donne non sanno scrivere – che importanza
paint – what did that matter coming from him, aveva, detto da lui, visto che chiaramente non lo
since clearly it was not true to him but for some pensava ma per qualche ragione gli tornava utile,
reason helpful to him, and that was why he said e perciò lo diceva? Ma allora perché l’intero suo
it? Why did her whole being bow, like corn under essere si piegava, come grano al vento, e riusciva
a wind, and erect itself again from this abasement a risollevarsi da tale mortificazione solo con uno
only with a great and rather painful effort? She sforzo tremendo e piuttosto penoso? Doveva
must make it once more. There’s the sprig on the sforzarsi per l’ennesima volta. Ecco i fiorami
table-cloth; there’s my painting; I must move the sulla tovaglia; ecco il mio quadro; devo mettere
tree to the middle; that matters – nothing else. l’albero al centro; è l’unica cosa che conta.
Could she not hold fast to that, she asked herself, Perché non si concentrava su questo, si
and not lose her temper, and not argue; and if domandò, invece di arrabbiarsi, invece di
she wanted a little revenge take it by laughing at discutere; e se voleva una piccola vendetta,
him? perché non prendersela ridendo di lui?
“Oh, Mr. Tansley,” she said, “do take me to the – Oh, signor Tansley, – disse, – mi porti al
Lighthouse with you. I should so love it.” Faro con lei. Mi piacerebbe moltissimo.
Speech and Thought Presentation in To the Lighthouse
(“The Window”, section 19)
“You won’t finish that stocking to-night,” he said [DS], pointing to her stocking
[NRA]. That was what she wanted – the asperity in his voice reproving her [FID].
If he says it’s wrong to be pessimistic probably it is wrong, she thought; the
marriage will tum out all right [FDT].
“No,” she said, flattening the stocking out upon her knee, “I shan’t finish it.”
And what then? For she felt that he was still looking at her, but that his look had
changed. He wanted something – wanted the thing she always found it so difficult
to give him; wanted her to tell him that she loved him. And that, no, she could not
do. He found talking so much easier than she did. He could say things – she never
could. So naturally it was always he that said the things, and then for some reason
he would mind this suddenly, and would reproach her. A heartless woman he called
her; she never told him that she loved him. But it was not so – it was not so. It was
only that she never could say what she felt. Was there no crumb on his coat?
Nothing she could do for him?
Speech and Thought Presentation in To the Lighthouse
(“The Window”, section 19)
Getting up she stood at the window with the reddish-brown stocking in her hands, partly
to tum away from him, partly because [NRA] she did not mind looking now, with him
watching, at the Lighthouse. For she knew that he had turned his head as she turned; he
was watching her. She knew that [FID] he was thinking, You are more beautiful than ever
[FDT]. And she felt herself very beautiful. Will you not tell me just for once that you love
me? He was thinking that, for he was roused, what with Minta and his book, and its being
the end of the day and their having quarrelled about going to the Lighthouse. But she
could not do it; she could not say it. Then, knowing that he was watching her, instead of
saying anything she turned, holding her stocking, and looked at him. And as she looked at
him she began to smile, for though she had not said a word, he knew, of course he knew,
that she loved him. He could not deny it. And smiling she looked out of the window and
said (thinking to herself, Nothing on earth can equal this happiness) –
“Yes, you were right. It’s going to be wet to-morrow.” [DS] She had not said it, but he
knew it. And she looked at him smiling. For she had triumphed again.
To the Lighthouse and Its Italian Translation by Anna Nadotti
(Einaudi)
“You won’t finish that stocking to-night,” he – Non lo finirai stasera quel calzerotto, – le
said, pointing to her stocking. That was what disse, indicando il lavoro a maglia. Era ciò
she wanted – the asperity in his voice che lei voleva – l’aspro tono di rimprovero
reproving her. If he says it’s wrong to be della sua voce. Se dice che essere pessimisti è
pessimistic probably it is wrong, she thought; sbagliato, pensava lei, probabilmente è
the marriage will tum out all right. sbagliato; il matrimonio avrebbe funzionato.
“No,” she said, flattening the stocking out – No, – disse lei, appiattendo il calzerotto
upon her knee, “I shan’t finish it.” sul ginocchio, – non lo finirò.
And what then? For she felt that he was still E allora? Perché sentiva che continuava a
looking at her, but that his look had changed. guardarla, ma il suo sguardo era cambiato.
He wanted something – wanted the thing she Voleva qualcosa – voleva la cosa che le
always found it so difficult to give him; riusciva sempre difficile dargli; voleva che gli
wanted her to tell him that she loved him. dicesse che lo amava. E questo no, non
And that, no, she could not do. poteva farlo.
To the Lighthouse and Its Italian Translation by Anna Nadotti
(Einaudi)
He found talking so much easier than she did. He Per lui parlare era molto piú facile che per
could say things – she never could. So naturally it lei. Lui sapeva dire le cose, lei no. Perciò
was always he that said the things, and then for naturalmente era sempre lui che parlava, poi
some reason he would mind this suddenly, and per qualche ragione a un tratto non gli
would reproach her. A heartless woman he called andava piú di farlo, e la rimproverava.
her; she never told him that she loved him. But it Donna senza cuore, la chiamava; non gli
was not so – it was not so. It was only that she diceva mai che lo amava. Ma non era cosí –
never could say what she felt. Was there no non era cosí. Solo che non riusciva a
crumb on his coat? Nothing she could do for esprimere ciò che provava. Non c’erano
him? delle briciole sulla sua giacca? Niente che
potesse fare per lui? Si alzò e rimase alla
Getting up she stood at the window with the finestra con il calzerotto rossiccio tra le
reddish-brown stocking in her hands, partly to mani, in parte per distogliersi da lui, in parte
tum away from him, partly because she did not perché non le rincresceva adesso di guardare,
mind looking now, with him watching, at the sebbene lui l’osservasse, il Faro. Perché
Lighthouse. For she knew that he had turned his sapeva che aveva girato la testa mentre lei si
head as she turned; he was watching her. She girava; la stava osservando. Sapeva cosa
knew that he was thinking, You are more pensava, Sei piú bella che mai. E si sentiva
beautiful than ever. And she felt herself very molto bella.
beautiful.
To the Lighthouse and Its Italian Translation by Anna Nadotti
(Einaudi)
Will you not tell me just for once that you love Non mi dirai almeno per una volta che mi
me? He was thinking that, for he was roused, ami? A ciò pensava, perché era eccitato, vuoi
what with Minta and his book, and its being the per via di Minta vuoi per via del libro, e
end of the day and their having quarrelled about perché il giorno stava per finire e perché
going to the Lighthouse. But she could not do it; avevano litigato sull’eventualità di andare al
she could not say it. Then, knowing that he was Faro. Ma non era capace; non sarebbe
watching her, instead of saying anything she riuscita a dirlo. Poi, sapendo che la stava
turned, holding her stocking, and looked at him. osservando, invece di dire qualcosa si girò,
And as she looked at him she began to smile, for con il calzerotto in mano, e lo guardò. E
though she had not said a word, he knew, of mentre lo guardava cominciò a sorridere,
course he knew, that she loved him. He could not perché sebbene non avesse detto una parola,
deny it. And smiling she looked out of the
lui sapeva, certo che sapeva, che lo amava.
Non poteva negarlo. E sorridendo guardò
window and said (thinking to herself, Nothing on fuori dalla finestra e disse (tra sé pensando,
earth can equal this happiness) – Nulla al mondo può eguagliare questa
“Yes, you were right. It’s going to be wet to- felicità)… «Sì, avevi ragione. Domani
morrow.” She had not said it, but he knew it. And pioverà». Non l’aveva detto, ma lui capí. E lei
she looked at him smiling. For she had triumphed lo guardò sorridendo. Perché aveva trionfato
again. ancora una volta.