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Abstract:Onthebaseofthedefinitionofstylistics,thisthesisgivesadetailedanalysisofsometheofstylisticdevicesusedinthefamousspeechbythewell-knownAmericancivilrightsmovementleaderMartinLutherKing,Jr.,andthenprobesintothestylisticcharacteristicsofspeechasastyle.
Keywords:Stylistics,Stylisticdevices,analysis,speech.
马丁.路德.金《我有一个梦》的文体分析
摘要:本文首先阐述了文体学的定义,并在此基础上对对美国着名黑人领袖马丁.路德.金的着名演讲《我有一个梦》中所使用的文体手段进行了详尽的分析,进而对演讲文体的风格进行了简要的论述。
关键词:文体学;文体手段;分析;演讲
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.
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