Literary Theory, Rhetoric, and Stylistics: Implications for Psychology

Abstract

This chapter shows that literary theory, rhetoric, and stylistics can provide an important source of theoretical ideas for experimental psychologists studying discourse. It provides an attempt to survey these areas to see whether the constructs that have been developed can be of help in developing a psychological theory of discourse. The chapter discusses to develop a theory of discourse types that arises out of the traditional work in rhetoric and literary theory, but is designed to serve the purposes of cognitive psychology. It also discusses a number of additional problems and complexities with the classification scheme. The chapter addresses some of the types of rhetorical devices available for each of the three basic modes of discourse. It explains a large number of problems with the psychological classification of discourse types, none seem fatal to the scheme. The specific proposal for classification of discourse by underlying cognitive structure has a number of implications.