Stylistics

Written for readers with no background in the subject, this volume introduces stylistics, the study of how language shapes literary texts. Each chapter arrives with practical tasks, study questions, sample analyses, commentary and a key reading, so the material is gathered in one place rather than spread across separate supplements.

The book is organised in a flexible, two-dimensional way. Four stages (introduction, development, exploration and extension) can be studied on their own, and any single topic can be followed through all four, so understanding builds step by step. The twelve chapters move from metre and metaphor to dialogue and discourse, explaining both the core concepts and the major research approaches used to analyse language in literature.

Examples are drawn from the literary canon as well as recent poetry, fiction and drama. This second edition adds new exercises and worked examples and covers newer directions in the field, including corpus, cognitive and multimodal approaches to style. The companion website has also been revised, with links, worked examples and a new strand on style and humour. The edition includes fresh readings by contemporary researchers alongside the classic readings from the first edition.

The author has taught and researched in the field, and the book is aimed at students of English language, linguistics and literature who need a structured introduction to stylistic analysis.