refers to the choice of words/expressions in a given context by a given person, for a given purpose, and so on

according to him "“the selection and arrangement of linguistic features which are open to choice”

according to him "“effectiveness of a mode of expression”.

Style may be said to relate to

“the study of style.”

NATURES OF STYLISTICS

This considers style as the characteristic choices that a writer/speaker makes in a text at the various levels of language description

What is deviant i.e. what does not conform to the ‘standard’ is said to be stylistically significant.

The situation is the context in which a text comes to life. This could be physical, socio-cultural, pragmatic, etc.

This deals with the time of relevance of time. That is, whether it is still in vogue or not (ancient or modern). A good example is Old English versus Modern English.

This focuses on the specific features that are associated with particular individuals. - i.e. writers’ or speakers’ idiolects

The Goals of Stylistics

stylistics looks at many features of a text such as:

Nigerian playwright and political activist who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986.

writer noted for his critique of societal problems and his use of African traditional performances and surrealism in some of his plays.

He sometimes wrote of modern West Africa in a satirical style, but his serious intent and his belief in the evils inherent in the exercise of power were usually evident in his work as well.

A frequent theme that his drama explore is the conflict between good and evil. He is a didactic writer whose works seek to correct his decadent society.

babafemi adeyemi osofisan wrote poem under the pseudonym

Stylistics studies the peculiarities that characterize the discourse of a writer, speaker, period, people, or genre.

Stylistics involves the appreciation of discourse in order to increase our enjoyment of the discourse.

It opens the reader’s mind to the form and function of a particular discourse.

It unfolds the beauty in authorial and characters’ linguistic choices and opens the reader or listener’s mind to the aesthetic appeals of such choices. 17 Presentatio

An author’s style is the product of a particular linguistic habit, conditioned by some social, cultural, and ideological environments.

The objective of stylistics is to help determine the linguistic background and orientation of a given writer or speaker.

This knowledge would lead us to arrive at an objective rather than a subjective conclusion.

The aim of stylistics is to analyze language habits with the main purpose of identifying, from the general mass of linguistic features common to English as used on every conceivable occasion, those features which are restricted to certain kinds of social context;

The application of stylistics to discourse may help a stylistician to make an evaluative or critical judgment.

The critical judgments made, based on veritable data are usually objective, hence, stylistics can help us reveal a good style from a bad one.

Through these features, a stylistician can reasonably explore and give descriptions of the physical appearance of a literary text.

such features as the use of punctuation marks to create stylistic effects are significant.

In this instance, certain words are foregrounded or brought to the fore to give them prominence through the use of italics, capital letters, underlining, and so on.

identification of the effects created by the various sentence types in a text. Such aspects as ellipses, parataxis, hypotaxis, right and left-branching sentences, etc. are considered significant.

dislocation in syntax is occasionally used to demonstrate the dislocation in human thoughts (stream of consciousness) and this is highly manifested in James Joyce’s novels. 30 Presentation title

The stylistic use of words here may produce denotative, connotative, collocative, affective, thematic, or stylistic meanings based on the speaker’s or writer’s intention.