Discourse and Style

This book examines overlaps, differences, and complementarities between narratology and stylistics, and shows the consequences of this examination for the practical analysis of prose narrative.

Narratology identifies discourse as one of its two main objects of study (story being the other), and stylistics, of course, designates style as its concern. Too often, however, work in each of these fields proceeds without attention to developments in the other. This book corrects that situation by looking beneath the superficial similarities between the “discourse” of narratology and the “style” of fictional stylistics. The author shows that the two seemingly interchangeable terms actually refer to different textual elements. For example, both narratology and stylistics identify point of view as an important element of discourse and style, respectively, but each approach conceives of it differently and thus analyzes it differently. This book argues that the different analyses are complementary and shows how they can be brought together. This synthesis leads to richer conceptions of point of view as well as more comprehensive and precise analyses of its functions and effects in individual narratives.

For its theoretical and interpretive contributions, this book will appeal to scholars and students in narrative studies, literary stylistics, and literary theory and criticism.

“It’s high time that someone addressed ‘what narratology and stylistics can do for each other,’ and I can not think of anyone better for the job than Dan Shen. Her deep knowledge of both fields, her wonderful ability to reason through their relationship, and her skill at close reading makes her the ideal author of this book. It’s a significant contribution to narratology and to stylistics.”

James Phelan, Distinguished University Professor of English, the Ohio State University, USA

“Discourse and Style: What Narratology and Stylistics Can Do for Each Other by Dan Shen, who is on the advisory boards of both Narrative and Style, offers a brilliant and ground-breaking theoretical discussion of the difference and complementarity between narratology’s ‘discourse’ and stylistics’ ‘style.’ The fruit of years of interdisciplinary research, Discourse and Style demonstrates the benefits of combining narratological and stylistic methods in the textual analysis of diverse authors such as Sherwood Anderson, Jane Austen, Cao Xueqin, Conrad, Hemingway, Henry James, Mansfield to mention a few.”

William Baker, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English, Northern Illinois University, USA

“With Discourse and Style, Dan Shen delves further into the intricacies of narratology and stylistics, enlighteningly revealing both their points of divergence and complementarity. Through this interdisciplinary perspective on narrative, the author explores various fine points of focalization and of character speech and thought that merit further scrutiny. The innovative positions staked out by Dan Shen are substantiated with a series of keen analyses of relevant short fiction from the Anglo-American canon.”

John Pier, Professor Emeritus of Center for Research in the Arts and Language (CNRS/EHESS), Paris

“This erudite volume is a must read for anyone working in the fields of stylistics, narratology or literary theory. Shen commendably shows how the differing concepts of discourse and style can be brought together through analysis, and how this synthesis can lead to a newer and more lucid conception of the notion of point of view. For any scholar wondering how the analysis of narratology and stylistics might benefit each other, this learned monograph will be indispensable.”

Michael Burke, Professor of Rhetoric, University College Roosevelt, Utrecht University, the Netherlands

“Dan Shen has written the first book to focus directly on the relation between narratology’s ‘discourse’ and stylistics’ ‘style,’ a distinction that, for most narrative scholars, has been hiding in plain sight. Drawing on texts by Sherwood Anderson, Proust, James, Hemingway, and others, Shen carefully lays out a set of complementary differences in nine meticulously argued chapters. In the fields of both narratology and stylistics, this book will be a landmark contribution.”

H. Porter Abbott, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

“Her third monograph from Routledge, Discourse and Style once again showcases Dan Shen’s critical acumen and intellectual prowess. Ingeniously tackling the essential differences between narratology’s discourse and stylistics’ style, Shen firmly stakes an interdisciplinary claim. Making a significant contribution to both narratology and stylistics, Discourse and Style is not only a virtuoso demonstration of how the two disciplines may complement each other, but also a profoundly cross-cultural, translingual work.”

Yunte Huang, Distinguished Professor of English, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

Dan Shen is Boya Chair Professor of English at Peking University, China. She is on the advisory boards of Narrative and Style, and the editorial board of Language and Literature. She has published nine books, including Style and Rhetoric of Short Narrative Fiction: Covert Progressions Behind Overt Plots and Dual Narrative Dynamics with Routledge.

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