英语毕业论文范文

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Asaninterdisciplinaryfieldofstudy,stylisticspromisestoofferusefulinsightsintoliterarycriticismandtheteachingofliteraturewithitsexplicitaimsandeffectivetechniques.Itisveryusefulintheanalysisofvariousstylesofwriting.Inthisthesis,theauthortriestoofferastylisticanalysisofthefamousspeechbyMartinLutherking,Jr.IHaveaDream.

1.Introduction:DefinitionofStylisticsandStylisticAnalysis

Asfarasthedefinitionofstylisticsisconcerneddifferentscholarsdefinethebranchofstudyindifferentways.Walesdefinesstylisticssimplyas“thestudyofstyle”(1989:437),whileWiddowsonprovidesamoreinformativedefinitionas“thestudyofliterarydiscoursefromalinguisticorientation”andtakes“aviewthatwhatdistinguishesstylisticsfromliterarycriticismontheonehandandlinguisticsontheotheristhatitisessentiallyameansoflinkingthetwo”(1975:3).Leechholdsasimilarview.Hedefinesstylisticsasthe“studyoftheuseoflanguageinliterature”(1969:1)andconsidersstylisticsa“meeting-groundoflinguisticsandliterarystudy”(1969:2).FromwhatWiddowsonandLeechsay,wecanseethatstylisticsisanareaofstudythatstraddlestwodisciplines:literarycriticismandlinguistics.Ittakesliterarydiscourse(text)asitsobjectofstudyanduseslinguisticsasameanstothatend.

Stylisticanalysisisgenerallyconcernedwiththeuniquenessofatext;thatis,whatitisthatispeculiartotheusesoflanguageinaliterarytextfordeliveringthemessage.Thisnaturallyinvolvescomparisonsofthelanguageofthetextwiththatusedinconventionaltypesofdiscourse.StylisticiansmayalsowishtocharacterizethestyleofaliterarytextbySystematicallycomparingthelanguageusesinthattextwiththoseinanother.Hallidaypointsout,“Thetextmaybeseenas‘this’incontrastwith‘that’,withanotherpoemoranothernovel;stylisticsstudiesareessentiallycomparativeinnature…”(1971:341).Onthispoints,WiddowsonisofthesameopinionasHalliday.Hesays：“Allliteraryappreciationiscomparative,asindeedisarecognitionofstylesingeneral”(1975:84).Thus,wemayconcludethatstylisticanalysisisanactivitythatishighlycomparativeinnature.

2.RelatedInformationoftheSpeechIHAVEADREAMandItsAuthor

MartinLutherKing,jr.wasbornonJanuary15,1929inAtlanta,Georgia,thesonofaclergymanandthegrandsonofaslave.AfterattendingseveralcollegeshereceivedhisPh.D.intheologyfromBostonUniversityin1955.HeledthebusboycottinMontgomery,Alabamain1955-1956.AspresidentoftheSouthernChristianLeadershipConference,hethenledcivilrightsdemonstrationsinmanycities.In1963hehelpedorganizethemarchonWashington,whichbroughttogethermorethan200,000people.Aleaderinestablishinganonviolentcivilrightsmovement,KingwasawardedtheNobelPeacePrizefor1964.KingwasassassinatedinMemphis,Tennessee,in1968,shortlybeforehisfortiethbirthday.Sincethen,hehasbecomeanAmericanfolkhero,andonNovember2,1983,alawhonoringDr.KingwassignedbyPresidentRigan,effectiveJanuary1986,makingthethirdMondayofJanuaryanationalholiday.HeistheonlyU.S.citizenotherthanGeorgeWashingtontoberecognizedinthisway.

In1863PresidentAbrahamLincolnissuedtheEmancipationProclamationfreeingallslavesintheUnitedStates.Onehundredyearsafterthisdecreewassigned,however,thelifeofblackswasstill“sadlycrippledbythemanaclesofseGREgationandtheChainsdiscrimination.”OnAugust28,1963,aquarterofmillionpeopleofallracescametoWashington,D.C.,toshowtheirsupportforfreedomandjusticeforallAmericans,andforblackpeopleinparticular.Atthatdemonstration,MartinLutherKing,jr.deliveredthisfamousspeechIHAVEADREAM,widelyregardedasthemosteloquentstatementoftheblackpeople’sdreamsandaspirationsevermade.Inhisspeech,Dr.Kingtoldtheworld,“Ihaveadream”thatequalitywouldcome“toallofGod’schildren.”Hesaidhewantedeveryonetobeableto“joinhandsandsinginthewordsoftheoldNegrospiritual,‘Freeatlast!Freeatlast!…’”

3.AStylisticAnalysisoftheSpeech(Ananalysisofsomeofthestylisticdevicesusedinthespeech)

MartinLutherKing’sspeechofAugust28,1963iswidelyregardedasoneofthemostpowerfuleverdeliveredintheUnitedStates.Althoughthisaddresswasdeliveredorally,itwasreadfromawrittentextcomposedwithGREatcare.ItisanexampleofformalEnglishwithaconvincingstyle.Herearesomeofthestylisticdevices(whichmaybeconsideredtraditionallyasrhetoricaldevices)usedbyDrKingtoinspireandpersuade.

3.1Repetition:

Throughoutthespeech,Dr.Kingrepeatswordsandsentence.Thisisaveryoutstandingfeatureinthisspeechcalledrepetition.Itbelongstothestylisticdeviceofsyntacticover-regularity.Thetermrepetitionisrestrictedtomeanthecaseofexactcopyingofacertainpreviousunitinatextsuchasaword,phraseorevenasentence(Leech,1969),becausealltheover-regularfeaturesinliteratureareinsomesenserepetitious.Usedinspeech,repetitionnotonlymakesiteasyfortheaudiencetofollowwhatthespeakerissaying,butalsogivesastrongrhythmicqualitytothespeechandmakesitmorememorable.Inparagraphs8through16,forexample,Kingusesthewords“Ihaveadream”ninetimes.Thisrepetitionhelpstoachievethefunctionofcoherenceindiscourseandthefunctionofreinforcementinmoodandemotion,expressingthespeaker’sstrongemotionoflongingforfreedom,justice,righteousnessandamuchmoreunitednationofallofGod’schildren.

Ifwestudythewholespeechmorecarefully,itiseasyforustofindmanyotherexamplesofrepetitionused.

①Butonehundredyearslater,wemustfacethetragicfactthattheNegroisstillnotfree.Onehundredyearslater,thelifeoftheNegro.

②isstillsadlycrippledbythemanaclesofseGREgationandthechainsofdiscrimination.Onehundredyearslater,theNegrolivesonalonelyislandofpovertyinthemidstofavastoceanofmaterialprosperity.Onehundredyearslater,theNegroisstilllanguishinginthecornersofAmericansocietyandfindshimselfanexileinhisownland.

Herethephrase“onehundredyearslater”hasbeenrepeatedthreetimes,seeminglyindicatingthatitisreallyalongtimefortheNegrotowaitforthecomingofthetimeofjusticeandrighteousness.

②Butwerefusetobelievethatthebankofjusticeisbankrupt.WerefusetobelievethatthereareinsufficientfundsintheGREatvaultsofopportunityofthisnation.(Par.4)

thephrase“werefusetobelievethat…”hasbeenusedtwicetoindicatethespeaker’sgoodhope.

③Nowisthetimetomakerealthepromisesofdemocracy.NowisthetimetorisefromthedarkanddesolatevalleyofseGREgationtothesunlitpathofracialjustice.NowisthetimetoopenthedoorsofopportunitytoallofGod’sChildren.Nowisthetimetoliftournationfromthequicksandsofracialinjusticetothesolidrockofbrotherhood.(Par.4)

Inthisshortpassage,theclause“Nowisthetimeto…”hasbeenusedfourtimestoemphasizethefierceurgencyof“NOW”andtoencourageandpersuadetheblackstotakeimmediateactiontoriseaboveandgaintheirownrightsandfreedom.

Otherexamplesofrepetitioncanstillbeeasilyfoundthroughoutthespeech.Inpar.7,thewords“wecannever/cannotbesatisfiedaslongas…”hasbeenusedasmanyasfivetimestoshowthedeterminationandpersistenceoftheblackpeople;inpar.17,thewords“withthefaithwewillbeableto…”hasbeenrepeatedtwiceforthepurposeofshowinghowstrongthefaithoftheblackpeopleistostruggleforthebrotherhoodof“allofGod’schildren”,andhowstrongthefaithoftheblackpeopleistobelievethatthey“willbefreeoneday”.Nowlet’senjoyanotherexample.

④AndifAmericaistobeaGREatnationthismustbecometrue.SoletfreedomringfromtheprodigioushilltopsofNewHampshire!LetfreedomringfromtheheighteningAllegheniesofPennsylvania!

LetfreedomringfromthesnowcappedRockiesofColorado!

LetfreedomringfromthecurvaceousslopesofCalifornia!

Butnotonlythat;letfreedomringfromStoneMountainofGeorgia!

LetfreedomringfromLookoutMountainofTennessee.

LetfreedomringfromeveryhillandmolehillofMississippi.Fromeverymountainside,letfreedomring.

Whenweletfreedomring,whenweletitringfromeveryvillageandeveryhamlet,fromeverystateandeverycity…(Paragraphs19through25)

thewords“LetFreedomring…”hasbeenrepeatedasmanyasninetimestoindicatethatitisthewholeoftheUnitedStatesratherthananypartofitthatshouldbebathedinthesunshineoffreedom.

3.2UseofParallelism

Parallelismisanothersyntacticover-regularity.Itmeansexactrepetitioninequivalentpositions.Itdiffersfromsimplerepetitioninthattheidentitydoesnotextendtoabsoluteduplication,it“requiressomevariablefeatureofthepattern-somecontrastingelementswhichare‘parallel’withrespecttotheirpositioninthepattern”(Leech,1969:66).Toputitsimply,parallelismmeansthebalancingofsentenceelementsthataregrammaticallyequal.Totakethemparallel,balancenounswithnouns,verbswithverbs,prepositionalphraseswithprepositionalphrases,clauseswithclauses,andsoforth.

Inhisspeech,MartinLutherKingusesparallelismtocreateastrongrhythmtohelptheaudiencelineuphisideas.Herearefewexamples:

⑤…bythemanaclesofseGREgationandthechainsofdiscrimination…(Par.2,twoparallelnounphrases)

⑥“Thisisnotimetoengageintheluxuryofcoolingoffortotakethetranquilizingdragofgradualism.”(Par.4,twoparallelinfinitivephrases:“toengage…totake…”)

⑦“therewillbeneitherrestnortranquilityinAmerica…”(Par.5,twoparallelnounsjoinedwith“neither…nor”)

⑧“Weshallneverbesatisfiedaslongasourchildrenarestrippedoftheirselfhoodandrobbedoftheirdignity…”(Par.7,twoparallelverbphrases)

Itistraditionallybelievedthatparallelismisusedforthepurposeofemphasizingandenhancing,esp.inspeech,theideasexpressedbythespeaker(orauthorinwrittenversions),thusalwaysencouragingandinspiringtheaudience.WeneednottobeverycarefullytofindoutmanymoreexamplesofparallelismusedinKing’sspeechandclassifiedasisfollowed:

3.2.1parallelnouns:

⑨Thisnotwasapromisethatallmenwouldbeguaranteedtheinalienablerightsoflife,libertyandthepursuitofhappiness.(Par.3,threeparallelnounsasattributive)

⑩1963isnotanend,butabeginning(Par.5,twoparallelnounsjoinedwith“not…but…”)

⑾Againandagainwemustrisetothemajesticheightsofmeetingphysicalforcewithsoulforce.(Par.6)

⑿…havecometorealizethattheirdestinyistiedupwithourdestinyandtheirfreedomisinextricablyboundtoourfreedom.(Par.6,twopairsofparallelnouns).

⒀Isaytoyoutoday,myfriends,thatinspiteofthedifficultiesandfrustrationsofthemoment…(Par.8)

⒁…adesertstateswelteringwiththeheatofinjusticeandoppression,willbetransformedintoanoasisoffreedomandjustice.(Par.11,twopairsofparallelnouns).

3.2.2Parallelnounphrases:

⒂Sowehavetocametocashthischeck-acheckthatwillgiveasupondemandtherichesoffreedomandThesecurityofjustice.(Par.4)

⒃IhaveadreamthatonedayontheredhillsofGeorgiathesonsofformerslavesandthesonsofformerslave-ownerswillbeabletositdowntogetheratthetableofbrotherhood(Par.10)

3.2.3Parallelinfinitivephrases:

⒄ItwouldbefetalforthenationtooverlooktheurgencyofthemomentandtounderestimatethedeterminationoftheNegro.(Par.5,twoparallelinfinitivephrases)

⒅Withthisfaith,wewillbeabletoworktogether,topraytogether,tostraggletogether,togotojailtogether,tostandupforfreedomtogether,knowingthatwewillbefreeoneday.(Par.7,fiveparallelinfinitivephrases).

3.2.4Parallelprepositionalphrases

⒆Ihaveadreamthatmyfourlittlechildrenwillonedayliveinanationwheretheywillnotbejudgedbythecoloroftheirskinbutbythecontentoftheircharacter.(Par.12)

⒇…,whenweletitringfromeveryvillageandeveryhamlet,fromeverystateandeverycity,…(Par.25)

E.Parallelclauses:

(21)…,havecometorealizethattheirdestinyistiedupwithourdestinyand(that)theirfreedomisinextricablyboundtourfreedom.(Par.6,twoparallelobjectiveclause)

(22)Ihaveadreamthatonedayeveryvalleyshallbeexalted,everyhillandmountainshallbemadelow,theroughplacewillbemadeplain,andthecrookedplaceswillbemadestraight,andthegloryoftheLordshallberevealed,andallfleshshallseeittogether.(Par.6,sixparallelclausesusedasappositionsofthenoun“dream”).

3.3UseofSimilesandMetaphors

Astwoveryimportanttypesofmeaningtransferenceinliterature,similesandmetaphorsarecomparisonsthatshowsimilaritiesinthingsthatarebasicallydifferent,whichcanbeusedtoaddvividnessandvitalitytowriting.AsLeechpointsout,metaphorisassociatedwithaparticularruleoftransferencewhichmaybecalledthe“metaphoricrule”(1969:151).Thatis,thefigurativemeaningisderivedfromtheliteralmeaningoritis,asitwere,theliteralmeaning.

Throughoutthespeech,Kingmakesextensiveuseofsimilesandmetaphors.Inparagraph1,forexample,KingcomparesTheEmancipationProclamationtotwoformsofbrilliantlightcuttingthroughdarkness.Thefirst-“ajoyousdaybreak”-comparesittothesunrise,which(inthiscase)ends“thelongnightofcaptivity”.Inparagraph2,hespeaksof“themanaclesofseGREgationandthechainsofdiscrimination,”comparingsegregationanddiscriminationunderwhichtheNegropeoplelivetothemanaclesandchainsonceusedonslaves.Therefore,itisveryclearthattheusingofsimilesandmetaphorscandefinitelyaddvividnessandvitalitytowritingandmakeiteasyforthereadersoraudiencetounderstand.

Nowlet’scitesomeofthesimilesandmetaphorsusedinKing’sspeech.

(23)Onehundredyearslater,theNegrolivesonalonelyislandofpovertyinthemidstofavastoceanofmaterialprosperity.(Par.2,metaphors)

(24)Butwerefusetobelievethatthebankofjusticeisbankrupt.WerefusetobelievethatthereareinsufficientfundsintheGREatvaultsofopportunityforthisnation(Par.4,metaphors)

(25)Thisisnotime…totakethetranquilizingdragofgradualism.(Par.4,metaphor)

(26)ThisswelteringsummeroftheNegro’slegitimatediscontentwillnotpassuntilthereisaninvigoratingautumnoffreedomandequality.(Par.5,Metaphors)

(27)…wewillnotbesatisfieduntiljusticerollsdownlikewatersandrighteousnesslikeamightystream.(Par.7,Similes)

(28)…asituationwherelittleblackboysandblackgirlswillbeabletojoinhandswithwhiteboysandwhitegirlsandwalktogetherassistersandbrothers.(Par.14,Similes)

3.4UseofContrast

Althoughmaybearhetoricaldeviceinsteadofastylisticone,contrasthasalsobeenusedeffectively,likerepetition,inthisspeech,achievingthefunctionofmakingcleartheideasofthespeaker.Inparagraphl,forexample,“GREatbeaconlightofhope”iscontrastedwith“flamesofwitheringinjustice,”and“joyousdaybreak”withlongnightofcaptivity.”

Asitisdefined,contrastisusedtoshowthedifferencebetweentwothings.Therefore,itisnotverydifficultforustounderstandwhythespeakerkingusessomanycontrastsinhisspeech.

(29)Onehundredyearslater,theNegrolivesonalonelyislandofpovertyinthemidstofavastoceanofmaterialprosperity.(Par.2)

(30)NowisthetimetorisefromthedarkanddesolatevalleyofseGREgationtothesunlitpathofracialjustice.(Par.4)

(31)Nowisthetimetoliftournationfromthequicksandsofracialinjusticetothesolidrockofbrotherhood(Par.4)

(32)ThisswelteringsummeroftheNegro’slegitimatediscontentwillnotpassuntilthereisaninvigoratingautumnoffreedomandequality.(Par.5)

(33)1963isnotanend,butabeginning.(Par.5)

(34)Againandagainwemustrisetothemajesticheightofmeetingphysicalforcewithsoulforce.(Par.6)

(35)Andaswewalk,wemustmakethepledgethatweshallalwaysmarchahead.Wecannotturnback.(Par.7)

(36)…thesonsofformerslavesandthesonsofformerslave-ownerswillbeabletositdowntogetheratthetableofbrotherhood.(Par.10)

(37)…adesertstateswelteringwiththeheatofinjusticeandoppression,willbetransformedintoanoasisoffreedomandjustice.(Par.11)

(38)…wheretheywillnotbejudgedbythecoloroftheirskinbutbythecontentoftheircharacter.(Par.12)

(39)Withthisfaithwewillbeabletohewoutofthemountainofdespairastoneofhope.(Par.17)

(40)Withthisfaithwewillbeabletotransformthejanglingdiscordsofournationintoabeautifulsymphonyofbrotherhood.

4.Conclusion

Aswehaveanalyzedabove,stylisticdevicesarefrequentlyusedinthediscourseofliteraryworksespeciallyinspeech,toachievecertainspecificpurposes.Thusmakingthestyleofaspeechsomewhatparticulartotheothers.

Generallyspeaking,aspeechmayhavethefollowingstylisticcharacteristics:

Tobeginwith,itmustbeverypersuasive.Thusthesentencepatternsareverywell-organized,withrepetitions,parallelismandcontrastsfrequentlyused.

Secondly,itshouldbeemotionalsoastobeconvincing,becausethespeakershouldfacetheaudiencedirectlyandhiswordsshouldnotonlybeorderlyandinformativebutalsobeexpressiveandinspiring.Therefore,thestylisticdevicessuchassimilesandmetaphorsareofteninvolved.

Finally,inmanycases,written-conversationalstyleisusuallyusedwithnotveryformaldictionandnotverycomplicatedsentencestructure.

Bibliography:

[1].MartinLutherKing,Jr.,IHaveaDream,August28,1963

[2].WangShouyuan,EssentialsofEnglishStylistics,ShandongUniversityPress,July,2000

[3].PanShaozhang,EnglishRhetoricandWriting,ShanghaiTransportationUniversityPress,December,1998

[4].Widdowson,H.G.StylisticsandtheTeachingofLiterature,Longman,1975

[5].Leech,G.N.“‘ThisbreadIbreak’Languageandinterpretation”.InD.C.Freeman.(ed.).LinguisticsandLiteratureStyle.NewYork:Holt,Rinhart&Winston.

Acknowledgements:

ItwasreallyalaborioustasktoaccomplishaB.Athesis.Manypeoplegavemesupportandhelpintheprocessofwritingthepaper.I’dlikefirsttogivemygratetomydearteacher,viceprofessorMr.LiuFagong,whogenerouslygavemehiskindlyhelpandinstructionsduringthewholeprocessofmypaper-writing.ThenI’dliketogivemymanythankstomyclassmateswhohelpedmealotwithmyinformationcollectingandpaper-polishing.Mostimportantofall,IwanttogivemythankstomymotheruniversityandalltheteachersintheEnglishCollege,whoeducatedandcultivatedmetobeaqualifiedteacherinthefuture.

ABriefIntroductiontotheAuthor:

SuZhanghai,astudentinClassOne1988Grade,majoringinEnglishEducation,andawell-to-beteacherinShandongAgriculturalUniversity,whowhole-heartedlygiveshisbestwishestoalltheteachersinQufuNormalUniversity.