Impolite Talks In An Ideal Husband

Impoliteness, as the opposite of politeness, plays an important part in daily communication, army training programs, legal context and the like. Although impoliteness study is short in the history of development, various impoliteness frameworks have been built. Among those frameworks, Bousfield’s impoliteness model is at present the most powerful one with high explanatory power and maneuverability. Up to now, seldom researches of impoliteness are carried out with the dramatic discourse as data. Thus the thesis is a pragmatic analysis of the dramatic dialogues of Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband by applying Bousfield’s impoliteness model. Firstly it intends to examine the felicity of Bousfield’s impoliteness model in Oscar’s comedy. Secondly, it aims to analyze how impoliteness reveals the power behind the characters in the interaction of the drama. Thirdly, it attempts to explore impoliteness’ influence upon self-image construction. Based on a comprehensive analysis, the conclusions come as follows. First of all, it has been validated that Bousfield’s impoliteness model is applicable in the area of dramatic dialogues which are the source of conflicts. Moreover, when revealing power, impoliteness and its strategies can help the more powerful participants to maintain or re-assert their power, while the less powerful participants can challenge the power brought by the higher social structure, and the participants who share the balanced power may challenge the power of their interactants for superior status in interaction. Last but not least, impoliteness can help build up a positive or negative image of the participants. The thesis is of some importance in theoretical building and practical application. Theoretically, this thesis offers a new perspective on drama appreciation and enriches the horizons of impoliteness study. Practically, it helps people have a more comprehensive understanding of impoliteness phenomena, aiming to be beneficial to social harmony and cross-culture communication.