Abstract
This stylistics analysis of Margaret Atwood’s poem examines the persona as a paradoxical element whose interpretation was derived by applying the deictic shift theory. The use of the theory demonstrates how meaning was derived from the literary work that allows anchor-points in time and space to position the reader. While Atwood’s poem has always been interpreted along the sphere of feminism whereby women are perceived as being marginalized and relegated to the domestic fold and are unworthy to express their identity and rise above the surface of a sea of domestic responsibilities, by using a more formalist approach, the process enabled an analysis of the theme, effects and meaning based on the language of the poem as evidentiary support. Deixis, as a linguistic feature, was employed as a tool of analysis, deriving meaning from verb tense and aspect, personal pronouns, and adverbs of time and place. These linguistic features were viewed and interpreted on the context of their utterance. Additionally, the concurrent use of the text-world theory facilitates the reader’s capacity to build the world of the text. Hence, the formalist approach employed in the analysis enabled recourse to the language of the poem that allowed the persona to be revealed. DOI: http://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2016-1602-07
Highlights
Language is crucial to the production of literature and discourse. Todorov (1977) maintains this view when he defined literature as a verbal work of art
With deictic shift, text-world theories, and deixis categories adapted from Stockwell (2002) as the analytical platform, the study demonstrates that the deployment of deictics: personal pronouns, locative adverbs and temporal adverbs helps the poet to relate her experiences and propositions within specific spatial or temporal frameworks, and paves the way for the reader to navigate their way through the text worlds (Werth, 1999) of the poem
The study is informed by Deictic Shift Theory, adapting Stockwell's (2002) deixis categories; and Werth’s Text World Theory
Summary
Language is crucial to the production of literature and discourse. Todorov (1977) maintains this view when he defined literature as a verbal work of art. Todorov (1977) maintains this view when he defined literature as a verbal work of art This implies that to fully grasp the meaning and aesthetics of a literary text, one needs to make recourse to language at all levels of linguistic description because it is the only mode of its expression. Lyons (1977) echoes a similar viewpoint when he averred that language function appears to be reflected in its grammatical and lexical structure. It is this same notion that underpins this study with the goal of investigating the stylistic value of lexico-grammatical encoding in reinforcing aspects of meaning and aesthetics in the poem under study. With deictic shift, text-world theories, and deixis categories adapted from Stockwell (2002) as the analytical platform, the study demonstrates that the deployment of deictics: personal pronouns, locative adverbs and temporal adverbs helps the poet to relate her experiences and propositions within specific spatial or temporal frameworks, and paves the way for the reader to navigate their way through the text worlds (Werth, 1999) of the poem
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