Style as Choice

Narrative Stylistics – Lecture & TD Session

Style as Choice

1. Lecture Introduction: What Does “Style as Choice” Mean?

During the description process of events, thoughts, or actions, writers must choose how to represent these experiences in language. However, these choices are not random, they are what create style.
Through language we can express:

  • what people do
  • what they think, feel, or perceive
  • how things exist
  • how entities are related to each other

This system of representing experience in grammar is known as the experiential function of language.

The transitivity system is one of the main tools through which writers encode experience.
Transitivity, in stylistics, is not only “does the verb take an object?” Instead, it refers to how actions, thoughts, speech, and states are represented in clauses.

Hence, different choices create different stylistic effects.
For example:

  • “The police arrested John.” (clear agency)
  • “John was arrested.” (agency hidden)
  • “There was an arrest.” (agency completely removed)

A narrative voice may choose one form over another to highlight, hide, or shade actions and responsibility.

2. The Six Process Types

A. Material Processes – Processes of Doing

These describe physical actions.

  • Actor = the one performing the action
  • Goal = the entity affected

Example:
“The girl opened the door.”
Actor – Process – Goal
The girl – opened – the door

This describes a concrete action in the world.

B. Mental Processes – Processes of Sensing

These describe thinking, feeling, and perceiving.

  • Sensor = the conscious experiencer
  • Phenomenon = what is sensed

Examples:
Cognition: “Tom remembered the story.”
Perception: “Sara noticed the noise.”
Emotion: “Ali hates spinach.”

Diagnostic test:
Mental verbs usually sound natural in the simple present:
“Tom remembers the story.” ✔
But unnatural in the continuous:
“Tom is remembering the story.” ✘

C. Behavioural Processes – Between Doing and Sensing

These express physiological or psychological behaviour.

  • Behaver = conscious being performing the behaviour

Examples:
“She coughed.”
“He laughed loudly.”

These resemble mental processes but take continuous tense naturally:
“She is coughing / He is laughing.”

D. Verbal Processes – Processes of Saying

  • Sayer = the speaker
  • Receiver = the one addressed
  • Verbiage = the content of speech

Example:
“Mary told John the truth.”
Sayer – Process – Receiver – Verbiage

Even inanimate objects can be Sayers:
“The sign says ‘No Smoking.’”

E. Relational Processes – Processes of Being

These express relationships between entities.

1. Intensive (“x is y”)

“Her idea is brilliant.”

2. Possessive (“x has y”)

“Ahmed has a new laptop.”

3. Circumstantial (“x is at/in/on y”)

“The keys are on the table.”

They can be:

  • Attributive (classifies or describes)
  • Identifying (defines, reversible)
    “Joyce is the author.” = “The author is Joyce.”

F. Existential Processes – Processes of Existing

Use “there” to introduce existence.

Example:
“There was a storm last night.”

Here, “storm” is the Existent.

3. Examples Demonstrating the way Style is a Choice

Writers can choose different transitivity structures to create different effects.

Example situation: A child hurts another child.

  1. Material, active (full responsibility):
    “I hit Daniel.”
  2. Material, passive (agent hidden):
    “Daniel was hit.”
  3. Existential (agency erased completely):
    “There was a hit.”
    → This avoids saying who did it.

This is a strategic stylistic choice, showing how grammar affects meaning and narrative point of view.

4. TD Activities

Activity 1 – Identify the Process Type

Instructions: Identify the process type in each sentence.

  1. “Maria noticed a shadow behind her.”
  2. “The wind blew fiercely.”
  3. “There were two strangers in the room.”
  4. “He whispered a secret to her.”
    1. “The child smiled softly.”     

      Activity 2 – Rewrite to Change the Style (Agency)

      Instructions: Rewrite each sentence in the alternative form (active ↔ passive ↔ existential) and note the stylistic effect.

      Sentence:
      “The committee rejected the proposal.”

      Activity 3 – Classify the Participants

      Sentence:
      “John told Mary the truth yesterday.”

      Identify:

      • Sayer
      • Receiver
      • Verbiage
      • Circumstance                                                                                                   

        Activity 4 – Choose the Correct Process Type (MCQ)

        1. “The students understood the instructions.”
          a) Material
          b) Mental
          c) Relational
        2. “Her bag is under the chair.”
          a) Circumstantial relational
          b) Existential
          c) Verbal
        3. “She dreamed about flying.”
          a) Behavioural
          b) Material
          c) Verbal 
        4. “There was a loud scream.”
          a) Existential
          b) Material
          c) Intensive relational

Narrative stylistics

Introduction to Narrative Stylistics

Narrative stylistics is considered as a branch of stylistics examining the way language shapes the way stories are told and experienced. While narrative theory focuses on the structure of stories (the plot, characters, perspectives, and temporal organization) stylistics investigates the linguistic choices that give these narrative elements their distinctive texture and meaning. Taking into consideration the two fields together helps explore not only what a story tells, but how it tells it.

In narrative stylistics, the style of narration is approached as a key element of interpretation: how point of view, lexical selection, sentence structure, and figurative language construct the narrator’s voice, guide the reader’s attention, and influence the emotional and cognitive impact of the text. This approach recognizes that narrative meaning does not arise solely from events or characters, but from the linguistic strategies through which the writer mediates these elements.

By linking narrative theory with stylistic analysis, narrative stylistics provides a powerful framework for understanding literary texts. It shows how narrative choices and stylistic patterns work together to create perspective, shape character consciousness, organize time, and build the overall aesthetic effect of the story. This session introduces students to these intersections, highlighting the importance of language as the foundation of narrative artistry.

Generally speaking, narrative is defined as a fundamental way of recounting experience by arranging linguistic patterns into a sequence of events. It is the process of transforming words into action.
At its simplest, a narrative consists of two temporally ordered clauses.

Basic Principle

Changing the order of narrative clauses changes:

  • the temporal sequence
  • the causal interpretation

Example:
(1) John dropped the plates and Janet laughed suddenly.
→ John’s action causes Janet’s reaction.

(1b) Janet laughed suddenly and John dropped the plates.
→ The laughter seems to cause the dropping.

2. Why Minimal Narratives Feel Incomplete

Labov (1972) demonstrated that effective narratives require more than a simple sequence.
Look at the example:

(2)
well this person had a little too much to drink
and he attacked me
and the friend came in
and she stopped it

This narrative:

  • lacks context (place, time, identities)
  • lacks evaluation (“so what?”)
  • lacks resolution
  • lacks narrative flourish or personality

Conclusion: Narrative requires structure, elaboration, and stylistic enrichment.

3. Key Distinction: Plot vs. Discourse

Concept

Definition

Example

Plot

The abstract, chronological sequence of events.

“A man gets drunk → attacks someone → a friend intervenes.”

Discourse

The manner in which the story is narrated (order, style, technique).

Flashback, repetition, manipulation of time, narration style.

Rhythm and Metre in Stylistic Analysis

Objective:

By the end of this session, students will be able to:

  • Define rhythm and metre in literary texts.
  • Identify different metrical feet (iambic, trochaic, dactylic, etc.).
  • Analyse how rhythm and sound patterning shape meaning in poetry.
  • Recognize variations and reader freedom in metrical interpretation.
  • Apply rhythmical analysis to non-literary texts (e.g., jingles).

 

Introduction: Why Sound Still Matters in Written Language

Even though literature is written, it speaks. When you read a poem aloud—or even silently—you hear its rhythm.
That pulse, that beat, is what gives poetry its musicality, and sometimes, its emotional force.

When students first encounter stylistics, they often think phonology (sound) doesn’t matter much for written texts. But the truth is: sound patterning shapes tone, emotion, and even meaning.

Think of how quickly we recognize that something is a poem—even before we understand it.
Why? Because of metre, the organized alternation of strong and weak syllables that creates a pattern of rhythm.

 

1. What Is Metre?

Metre is an organized pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
It’s what separates verse from prose.

  • Stress: the relative emphasis we put on certain syllables.
  • Foot: the basic unit of rhythm in a line of verse.

Common Types of Feet:

Foot Type

Pattern

Example Sound

Example Word

Iamb

weak + strong (w s)

de DUM

“reLEASE”

Trochee

strong + weak (s w)

DUM de

“TAble”

Dactyl

strong + weak + weak (s w w)

DUM de de

“BEautiful”

Anapest

weak + weak + strong (w w s)

de de DUM

“interVENE”

When these feet repeat in a line, they create a metre.
For instance, five iambs in a line = iambic pentameter.

 

2. Example 1: Iambic Pentameter

(1) The ploughman homeward plods his weary way
— Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751)

Let’s mark it:

The plough | man home | ward plods | his wea | ry way 

w s | w s | w s | w s | w s

That’s five iambs, hence iambic pentameter.

Notice:

  • The rhythm gives the line a slow, heavy movement—like the ploughman’s steps.
  • The alliteration (“ploughman… plods”, “weary… way”) enhances the rhythm and ties sound to meaning.
  • The metre mirrors the content—slow, rhythmic trudging.

Now rearrange it:

“The ploughman plods his weary way homeward.”
The rhythm changes, the music disappears.
→ Meaning and rhythm are intertwined.

 

3. Example 2: Trochaic Tetrameter

(2) By the margin, willow veiled / Slide the heavy barges trailed
— Alfred Tennyson, The Lady of Shalott

Marked:

By the | margin | willow | veiled 

s w | s w | s w | s w

That’s trochaic tetrameter — four strong-weak feet.

Trochaic rhythm often gives a falling motion, a melancholic tone — perfect for Tennyson’s wistful atmosphere.

 

4. Example 3: Dactylic Trimeter

(3) O what is that sound that so thrills the ear
— W. H. Auden, The Quarry

O | what is that | sound that so | thrills the ear 

w | s w w | s w w | s w w

→ Dactylic trimeter (three dactyls)

The rhythm feels like a gallop — a quick, thrilling pace that mirrors the excitement in the line.

 

5. Rhythm Is Flexible

Not all readers hear stresses the same way.
Some may emphasize “ear” or “so” in Auden’s line, giving it a different pulse.

→ Rhythm is interpretive, not mechanical.
→ Metre is a guide, not a cage.

Even Shakespeare’s “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” varies slightly between readers — yet all maintain that iambic hint.

 

6. Beyond Poetry: Rhythm in Everyday Language

Metre isn’t exclusive to poetry.

(5) Never undress / for anything less!
— Advertising jingle

Pattern:

Nev er | un dress 

s w | w s 

 

for | an y | thing less 

w s | w s | s

Catchy, memorable, and perfectly rhythmic — sound used for persuasion.
→ This shows rhythm’s functional power even in non-literary texts.

 Conclusion

  • Rhythm and metre give literature its pulse.
  • They shape emotion, tone, and even syntactic structure.
  • Analysing them reveals how form creates meaning.
  • Even prose and ads use rhythmic design to move and persuade readers.

    TD Session: Practice and Activities

    Activity 1: Scansion Challenge

    Mark the metre of these lines. Identify the type of foot and the overall metrical scheme.

    1. And miles to go before I sleep — Robert Frost
    2. Double, double toil and trouble — Shakespeare
    3. The curfew tolls the knell of parting day — Thomas Gray

    Discuss how the rhythm matches (or disrupts) the meaning.

    Activity 2: Rewrite and Reflect

    Take this line: The night is dark and full of fear.

    1. Rewrite it into iambic pentameter.
    2. Rewrite it into trochaic tetrameter.
    3. Discuss how the rhythm changes the emotion.

    Activity 3: Sound in Advertisement

    Invent a 2-line jingle for a product (e.g., coffee, perfume, or shoes).
    Try to use alliteration and rhythm.
    Perform it aloud and analyse its metrical pattern.

    Activity 4: Analytical Commentary

    Choose one of the examples from the lecture (Gray, Tennyson, Auden).
    Write a short paragraph (5–7 lines) explaining how rhythm and sound contribute to meaning and mood.

    Quiz: Check Your Understanding

    1. What is a “foot” in poetry?
      a) A rhyme scheme
      b) A metrical unit of stressed and unstressed syllables
      c) A type of alliteration
    2. Which of the following lines is iambic pentameter?
      a) By the margin, willow veiled
      b) The ploughman homeward plods his weary way
      c) Never undress for anything less!
    3. A dactyl consists of:
      a) One stressed + one unstressed syllable
      b) One stressed + two unstressed syllables
      c) Two stressed + one unstressed syllable
    4. True or False: Metre always follows word boundaries.
      →
                What feature connects poetry and advertising jingles?
                →

Grammar and Stylistics

Objectives:

By the end of the session, students will be able to:

  • Apply the rank scale to linguistic analysis
  • Identify clause elements using SPCA
  • Distinguish between coordination, apposition, ellipsis, and minor clauses
  • Perform stylistic analysis on a literary passage with grammatical evidence
  • Use grammatical patterning to interpret meaning and effect

  • 1. Theoretical Input

    1.1 Grammar in Stylistics

    In stylistics, grammar is not a set of prescriptive rules. It is an organic system of categories, relations, and structures that shape meaning.

    Traditional rules such as

    • “Do not split infinitives”
    • “Never use double negatives”
      are ad hoc: invented for specific situations, not based on real usage or linguistic evidence.

    Stylistics focuses instead on descriptive grammar: the actual structures native speakers use.

    1.2 The Rank Scale

    Most linguistic models (Hallidayan, structuralist, etc.) accept that grammar is organized into a hierarchy from larger to smaller units:

    1. Sentence / Clause complex
    2. Clause
    3. Phrase / Group
    4. Word
    5. Morpheme

    A clause is central in stylistic work because it expresses:

    • tense
    • modality
    • transitivity
    • voice
    • mood (declarative, interrogative, imperative)
    • negation
    • proposition structure

      1.3 Clause Elements: SPCA

      The internal structure of the clause consists of:

      • Subject (S): what the clause is about
      • Predicator (P): the verbal element
      • Complement (C): completes the meaning (object or subject complement)
      • Adjunct (A): optional information (time, place, manner…)

      Example:
      “The researcher analysed the data carefully in the laboratory.”

      • S: The researcher
      • P: analysed
      • C: the data
      • A: carefully / in the laboratory

        1.4 Identifying Elements: Tests

        • Subject test: “Who/what + verb?”
        • Complement test: “Verb + who/what?”
        • Adjunct test: “How? When? Where? Why?”
        • Tag question test: confirms the Subject
          • “The researcher analysed the data, didn’t she?”

            1.5 Structures Relevant in Stylistic Study

            Coordination

            Two separate elements joined by and, or
            → tag: plural
            “John and Mary arrived, didn’t they?”

            Apposition

            Two phrases refer to the same person/entity
            → tag: singular
            “Sara, the director of the centre, welcomed us, didn’t she?”

            Minor Clauses

            Imperatives, formulaic expressions, elliptical responses
            “Quiet!”
            “Coming?”
            “In the garden!”

            These are stylistically meaningful in dialogue, narrative economy, and characterisation.

             

            2. Passage for Stylistic Study

            Text:
            “The old lighthouse stood alone on the cliff, and the wind pushed against it with a strange, restless energy. Inside, a single lamp flickered as if arguing with the darkness.”

             

            3. Guided Analysis (with Answers)

            3.1 Rank Scale

            • Sentence: compound
            • Clause 1: The old lighthouse stood alone on the cliff
            • Clause 2: the wind pushed against it with a strange, restless energy
            • Clause 3 (nonfinite): as if arguing with the darkness (participial)

            Phrases:

            • NP: the old lighthouse; the wind; a strange, restless energy
            • VP: stood; pushed; flickered; arguing
            • PP: on the cliff; against it; with the darkness

             

            3.2 SPCA Analysis

            Clause 1

            • S: The old lighthouse
            • P: stood
            • C: alone
            • A: on the cliff

            Clause 2

            • S: the wind
            • P: pushed
            • C: against it
            • A: with a strange, restless energy

            Clause 3 (non-finite)

            • Functions as an adjunct modifying “lamp flickered”

             

            3.3 Stylistic Interpretation

            A graduate-level interpretation includes:

            1. Personification

            • Wind “pushed”
            • Lamp “arguing” with the darkness

            These verbs animate objects, giving the scene tension.

            2. Adjective clustering

            “A strange, restless energy”—coordinated adjectives intensify atmosphere.

            3. Spatial imagery

            “Stood alone on the cliff” foregrounds isolation; typical of Gothic settings.

            4. Clause structure

            The use of a compound sentence followed by a dependent nonfinite clause produces a rhythm of movement: stability (lighthouse), force (wind), conflict (lamp vs darkness).

            4. Activity Worksheet (For Students)

            Task 1: Identify SPCA

            Analyse the following:

            “The young scholar placed her notes beside the computer and reread the introduction silently.”

            1. Identify all SPCA elements.
            2. Determine whether “silently” is an adjunct or complement.
            3. Add a tag question.

            Task 2: Rank Scale Exercise

            Break the sentence into:
            sentence → clause → phrases → words → morphemes

            “New ideas often grow from small, uncertain beginnings.”

            Task 3: Stylistic Observation

            Explain how the grammar creates meaning in this line from Woolf:

            “The waves fell; withdrew; fell again.”

            Consider:

            • clause fragmentation
            • repetition
            • verb choice
            • rhythm

            Answer Key

            Task 1

            • S: The young scholar
            • P: placed / reread
            • C: her notes / the introduction
            • A: beside the computer / silently
            • Tag: “…didn’t she?”

            Task 2

            • Sentence: simple
            • Clause: “New ideas often grow from small, uncertain beginnings.”
            • Phrases:
              • NP: New ideas
              • VP: often grow
              • PP: from small, uncertain beginnings
            • Words: New / ideas / often / grow / from / small / uncertain / beginnings
            • Morphemes: begin + ning + s, etc.

            Task 3 (model answer)

            The truncated clauses (“fell; withdrew; fell again”) imitate the movement of waves.
            Repetition of verbs creates a rhythmic, tidal pattern.
            The absence of subjects gives the line impersonality, allowing rhythm to dominate meaning.

            5. Handout for Students (Revision Sheet)

            SPCA:

            • Subject = who/what
            • Predicator = verb
            • Complement = completes meaning
            • Adjunct = optional information

            Rank Scale:
            sentence → clause → phrase → word → morpheme

            Tests:

            • Who + verb?
            • Verb + what?
            • How/when/where?
            • Tag question repeats Subject.

            Structures for stylistic focus:
            coordination, apposition, minor clauses, ellipsis, nonfinite clauses.

             

            2. Literary Passage for Stylistic Analysis

            Passage:
            “Evening drifted slowly over the city, and the first lights blinked awake in the tall buildings. A woman crossed the empty square with a determined pace, her coat fluttering behind her like a quiet flag. Above her, clouds gathered in patient layers, waiting for the night to settle.”

            Suggested stylistic angles:

            • personification (“lights blinked awake”)
            • metaphor of the coat (“quiet flag”)
            • adjunct-heavy description
            • SPCA variation
            • imagery and rhythm

            3. In-Class Group Activity Sheet

            Activity 1: SPCA Dissection (Groups of 3)

            Analyse SPCA in each clause:

            1. “Evening drifted slowly over the city.”
            2. “The first lights blinked awake in the tall buildings.”
            3. “A woman crossed the empty square with a determined pace.”
            4. “Her coat fluttered behind her like a quiet flag.”

            Questions:
            a. Identify S, P, C, A.
            b. Which clause contains personification?
            c. How do the adjuncts develop atmosphere?

            Activity 2: Rank Scale Breakdown

            Break this into all ranks:

            “Clouds gathered in patient layers.”

            Activity 3: Stylistic Transformation

            Rewrite the same idea using different grammar to compare effect.

            Original:
            “A woman crossed the square.”

            Rewrite in 3 ways:

            1. With two adjuncts
            2. With coordination
            3. As an interrogative

            Discuss: How does grammar shift tone and style?

            Activity 4: Writer’s Choice

            Students choose one clause from the passage and:

            • convert it to imperative
            • convert it to interrogative
            • remove adjuncts
            • add a minor clause

            Explain: Which version feels most dramatic? Why?

            4. Quiz (With Answers)

            Quiz: 10 Minutes

            Q1. Define the rank scale in correct order.

            Q2. Identify the Subject in:

            “The silent trees waited along the road.”

            Q3. Give one test for locating the Complement.

            Q4. What does a tag question help confirm?

            Q5. Identify the grammatical phenomenon:

            “Sara, the new coordinator, explained the plan.”

            Q6. What type of clause is: “Quiet!”

            Q7. Identify the Adjunct(s):

            “He placed the box on the shelf yesterday.”

            Q8. Rewrite this declarative as an interrogative:

            “The wind pushed against the old door.”

            Q9. Identify the clause element that must contain the verb.

            Q10. Why are minor clauses stylistically significant?

Introduction to Stylistics: Definition and Scope

Lecture Content

  • Definition of Stylistics: intersection between linguistics and literary criticism.
  • Key question: How does language create meaning and effect?
  • Levels of stylistic analysis: phonology, morphology, lexis, syntax, semantics, pragmatics.

Example Text:

“And miles to go before I sleep, / And miles to go before I sleep.” – Robert Frost

Discussion Questions:

  1. What makes this line memorable?
  2. How does repetition contribute to meaning?

Exercise:

  • Identify stylistic features (repetition, alliteration, imagery) in a short poem.

TD Task:

  • Group discussion: linguistic vs. literary approaches to style.