The Stylistic Approach in Teaching Literature by Marichelle G.

Dones, MA
(January, 2008)
The study of literature is a fascinating activity that offers both teacher and
learner manifold and tremendous benefits. For what other activity would
enable the reader to enter into a multiplicity of worlds and savor the wonders
of encountering, albeit vicariously, a vast variety of people (including
magical creatures), cultures, places in reality and beyond; defy the
boundaries of time to travel to and fro in the distant past then whiz back to
the present at the turn of a page?
The greatest values to be gained from these benefits are the potential for
growth in knowledge and wisdom; the acquisition of a keen understanding of
human nature and of human relationships; and the freedom of choice to
enter into each characters heart and mind and live his life, his adventures
fully during the course of one story, one novel, one poem. Such are the
acknowledged values of engaging in the pleasurable study of literature.
To study literature, specifically to be able to teach it effectively, means that
one must be familiar with the various methods, approaches, techniques, and
strategies commonly utilized in such a serious task. To study literature
means to study language for literature and language are inextricably bound
together. Language indeed is the blood and meat of literature. Hence, the
competent teacher of literature must know the structure of the language of
the literary work being studied, be it written in English, Filipino, French,
Spanish, etc.
To know a language means to know its sound system (phonology), its
meaning system (morphology), and its syntactic system (syntax which deals
with the structure of the utterances in the language). The three branches,
linked together in the science of linguistics, are great aids in understanding
the language of literature. Besides these three, two other very important
branches of linguistics are semantics and the most recent addition, stylistics.
On this article Im proceeding on the assumption that many, if not all, of the
teachers of English and particularly of literature have had courses in
linguistics and possess some knowledge of semantics and stylistics.
Stylistics, having to do largely with style, is a discipline concerned with the
study of language of literature. It is the study of language as art. As the

study of style, it seeks to examine the expressive and suggestive devices

which have been invented in order to enforce the power and penetration of
speech.
At the outset I suggest that the teacher should first utilize all the traditional
methods of explicating a literary work and then attempt to introduce a
refreshing new dimension, an innovative way of looking at the style of a
specific literary piece from the point of view of stylistics. This activity could
well fall under the enrichment activity as an exciting challenge to the more
advanced classes in literature.
These conventional approaches which we will refer to as the extratextual
approaches, include: the thematic approach, the interpretation of
characters, the elements of narration, imagery and the poetic (expressive
and suggestive) devices. These constitute the major elements inevitably
discussed in the analysis of all forms of literary discourse.
I. Thematic Approach
The theme of any literary work is the main idea or message that the author
wants to convey. The theme may have psychological, sociological, ethical, or
didactic value. It is the skeletal framework or the peg from which the whole
story hangs. The author comes up with an idea. It obsesses him and he is
compelled to express it; to give flesh and all the trappingsthat give it a
concrete form; and to embellish it, so0 to speak, so that it will have both
internal and external values. These values distinguish it from all other works
of literary art.
Thus, language becomes the authors main linguistic tool-using sound,
meaning, and sentence structure. But apart from the linguistic components,
the author will have to clothe his story with style. This is how the theme is
expanded. Otherwise, there will be no story or poem.
II. Interpretation of Characters
Under this approach there are four types of interpretation open to the
teachers or the learners choice:
Psychologically oriented interpretation-the characters are representatives of
certain mental types.

Sociological interpretation-the characters are treated as members of a

certain moment of social history.
Metaphysical interpretation-the characters are images of certain human
conditions, e.g., aggressors vs. victims, the damned creatures in hell, etc.
Ethical interpretation-the characters are representatives of a certain morality
(or immortality).

This is more popularly known as the character analysis approach. Character

analysis is an intriguing activity. Teachers often are expected to fall back on
their knowledge of psychology in their attempt to help their students to
understand the motivations of the characters in the story and how these
affects their social behavior and the outcome of the story.
III. The Elements of Narration
Explicating a literary selection by means of formal analysis of the elements
of narration involves analyzing the structure of the story, i.e., taking it apart,
element by element. What are these formal elements? Most, if not all stories,
contain these basic elements: setting, characters, plot. Each of these basic
elements can be subjected or further analyzed to give the reader a
comprehensive idea of what is meant by the structure of the story.
IV. Imagery and Poetic Devices
A. Imagery
Style is the primary focus of this particular approach which deals with
imagery and poetic devices. It is defined as a characteristics manner of
expression in prose or verse; how a speaker or writer says whatever he/she
says. The style of a work depends on its diction or choice of words, the
figurative language used (frequency and types), its rhythmic patterns, the
structure of its sentences, and its rhetorical devices and effects.
Imagery refers to the images abounding in the literary work, created
consciously or unconsciously by the writers artistry. There are two generally
accepted meanings of image: one in the sense of mental representation;

the other in the sense of figure of speech expressing some similarity or

analogy.
A distinction must be made between imagery and analogy. In imagery, the
resemblance has a concrete and sensuous quality. In analogy, some striking
or unexpected common element is observed in two seemingly disparate
objects or experiences.
A study of poetic devices, which are the stylistic resources of particular
languages and which increase the power and impact of words, leads us to a
wide range of linguistic features which alone covers: emotive overtones or
connotations, emphasis, rhythm, symmetry and the evocative elements.
Closely connected with expressiveness is the element of choice, i.e., the
writer is free to choose between two or more alternatives or stylistic variantsthe use of synonyms or the use of the inverted word order in place of the
normal word order in sentence structure. Inversions, when resorted to,
provides for emphasis, delay and suspense, pathos, finality, irony, parody
and impressionism.
Evocative devices are popular sources of comedy and satire. They derive
their stylistic effects from being associated with a particular milieu or register
of style.
B. Poetic Devices
In poetry the pervasive employment of imagery, particulary the use of the
metaphor, simile, and other figures of speech is a given. Without these
poetic devices poetry is not possible. Add to these the other conventional
features that attach to poetry as a literary genre.
Specifically, these conventional features comprise meter,(in its various
forms), the suprasegmental features,(stress,pitch,intonation
contours,juncture), rhyme, alliteration, enjambment,(the syntactic running
over of the line), and caesura (a syntactic break inside the line, usually near
the middle of the line).
It is a wise teacher who will use his sound judgment in choosing the
approach and strategy that best suit to the particular literary work being
studied. It is also the pragmatic, versatile teacher who will use a combination

of the suggested methods, techniques, and strategies to the best advantage

so that his/her students will grow along with him/her, expand their
knowledge of the world and its diversity of cultures, and share in the
enriching experiences found in literature.