A Literary Stylistic Analysis Of Anne Of Green Gables

This thesis emphasizes on the stylistic features of a Canadian novel Anne of Green Gables by means of literary stylistic theory and methods. As the masterpiece of Lucy Maud Montgomery, the novel has brought the author sound reputation and made her one of the world well-known novelists. After being published in1908, its popularity and success among the readers stimulated the publication of another seven Anne series. The novel is also one of the bestsellers among the numerous world classics, and it is commonly regarded as a moving story for children that has touched millions of readers from the bottom of their heart. Anne, the heroine in the novel, comforts the lonely heart of old Mark Twain who was once deeply moved and commented the girl as "the most lovable child in fiction since the immortal Alice". Nowadays, Anne still enjoys her enduring and lasting charm among the readers all around the world. Except being transferred into various versions and forms of TV series and films, Anne of Green Gables has enlarged and deepened its influence in the literary critical criteria with an increasing number of scholars home and abroad who focus on the novel from various researching perspectives. In this respect, the studying scope and emphasis of this classic work is perfectly extended and gradually improved. This thesis stresses on the comprehensive analysis of the styles and stylistic features reflected in the whole text at every stylistic level with the specific illustration and exemplification of the chosen paragraphs. Therefore, the distinctive aesthetic value of the novel which has been considered as one of the world classic works will be revealed and exhibited clearly through the detailed stylistic analysis.Stylistics aims at studying the various styles of the textual language with linguistic methods through analyzing linguistic elements, such as phonology, lexis, syntax, text, context; and multi-leveled stylistic modes and stylistic features like point of view, presentation of speech and thought, figure of speech as well as other stylistic concerns. The focus of stylistics is to analyze the text with the help of the detailed exploration of the textual language in order to obtain a more rational and more objective stylistic research. As a branch of stylistics, literary stylistics emphasizes on the stylistic features of the literary language chose in a literary work. As the linking bridge between literature and linguistics, literary stylistics aims at researching the literary language with the linguistic theories and methods in order to analyze the literary work from the stylistic perspectives. In this respect, it obtains an objective and rational literary criticism which demonstrates the aesthetic values of the literary work thoroughly as well as supplies a new path in the literature appreciation. Meanwhile, literary stylistics stimulates the future development and further study of linguistics and literary more comprehensively and completely.The thesis is composed of three parts. The first part is the introduction which presents the literature review of Anne of Green Gables home and abroad. It also includes the argumentation, the researching purpose and the innovative significance of the thesis.The second part is the main body of the thesis. It is made up of four chapters. Chapter One is the theoretical foundation which firstly and briefly introduces the conceptual illustration of stylistics, and then offers a general introduction to its disciplinary development home and abroad. As a significant branch of stylistics, literary stylistics works as the theoretical foundation of the thesis. A general introduction to the related theory and methodology of literary stylistics is presented in this part as to outline the theoretical framework of the thesis. Through the analysis of Montgomery’s writing styles and the exploration of contributing factors in forming her styles, a better combination of the related literary stylistic theories and Anne of Green Gables can be foreshadowed and prepared.Chapter Two focuses on the analysis of the stylistic modes of the novel at four levels, including lexical level, syntactic level, textual level and contextual level. At the lexical level, a large number adoptions of nouns related to the natural world, the successive utilization of animated verbs, as well as the application of evaluative and descriptive adjectives contribute to the abundance of the description of the natural scenery and the vividness of the fictional characters. Meanwhile, the stylistic features at the lexical level have nurtured and colored the literary language in the novel. At the syntactical level, the combination of various sentence patterns strengthens the arrangements and rhythm of the novel. At the textual level, the coherence and cohesion of the discourse help depict the characters’ personality and reveal the thematic meaning of the novel. At the contextual level, the stylistic features have been sensed from the field, tenor, and mode of discourse. Chapter Three concentrates on the stylistic features containing the narrative point of view, the presentation of speech and thought, and the figures of speech employed in the scenery description and figurative portrayal. The narrative point of view in this novel is revolving around the omniscient narrator which belongs to the third-person narrative point of view. In this respect, the fictional images have been portrayed thoroughly with the detailed or sketchy depiction. As the main presentation of speech and thought, the combination of direct speech and indirect speech, as well as the alternative adoption of long sentences and short sentences enrich the linguistic level of the literary language in the novel. This chapter stresses on the figures of speech which perform as a unique role in depicting the surroundings and portraying figures in the novel. The illustration has been made available through the exemplification of the chosen passages.The last part is the conclusion that summarizes the researching findings based on the various stylistic perspectives, points out the limitations in the thesis and accordingly offers suggestions as well as proposes the necessity of applying the literary stylistics analysis to novels appreciation.The literary stylistic analysis of Anne of Green Gahles has opened up a new path for the research on the novel, and has supplied new proof to the study on the writing styles and techniques of Montgomery. Through the literary stylistic analysis of literary works, the lexical choice, the syntactical structure and the textual features can be presented thoroughly at the linguistic level. In this respect, it reveals and demonstrates the positive effect and influence brought by stylistic features in illustrating the theme and strengthening the effect of expression in a literary work. Moreover, the stylistic research on the literary language contributes to promote the level in appreciating English literary works and language as well as cultures, and to stimulate the interest and efficiency of English learning.