Cleft Construction Is a Salient Feature in the ‘City of Glass’ a Novel by Paul Auster: A Stylistic Study

Abstract

The present study is an attempt to investigate using the grammatical devices of cleft construction as a stylistic feature in the ‘city of Glass’ a post-modernist novel by Paul Auster. The purpose behind using cleft sentence is to highlight the element which is a part of the sentence and it is important for the author’s perspective. The construction of cleft sentence composes of a matrix clause headed by copula and relative or relative-like clause. Both (matrix and relative) reflect a simple logical proposal, That could’ve been conveyed in the consisting of a specific attribute without changing the truth circumstances. So this structure allows the writer focusing on the important element that he /she believes to reveal the creative use of language.