A Stylistic Analysis of William Shakespeare's Poem "Winter"
A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE 'S POEM "WINTER"
Linguistic studies have taken such rapid strides in recent years that the range is baffling
to the innocent and amazingly delightful to the linguistics-oriented. Applied linguistics is
concerned with many fields and subjects on Planet Earth and possibly beyond that.
A piece of literature largely depends on thought and style. The concept of style in
literature is the product of abstraction in the sense that style is based on a special and
unique use of language. It is just one quality contained in any piece of writing. The style
of a novel, a play, an essay or a poem is only one part of its totality.
The study of style has been in use in German, French and English since the early 19th
century. In the early sixties of the 20th century M.A.K.Halliday introduced the term
'linguistic stylistics '. The main concern of descriptive linguistics is the systematic study of
that part of human behavior called language.
William Wordsworth in Lyrical Ballads (1798) suggested that poetry should deal with the
experience of those living close to Nature, especially in the country. It could be "the
language of conversation in the middle and lower classes of society.. "
Long before the Poet of Nature came on the scene, Shakespeare brought the language
close to those who dwelt in the country. Hence my selection of this particular poem.
Keeping in mind all these concepts we can attempt a lexical analysis of the poem
composed in the inimitable style of Shakespeare.
_TEXT OF THE POEM_ : WINTER
'When icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick the shepherd blows the nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail
When blood is nipt and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl
Tuwhoo!
Tuwhit, tuwhoo! A merry note!
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot,
When all around the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson 's saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian
SHAKESPEARE 'S POEM "WINTER"
Linguistic studies have taken such rapid strides in recent years that the range is baffling
to the innocent and amazingly delightful to the linguistics-oriented. Applied linguistics is
concerned with many fields and subjects on Planet Earth and possibly beyond that.
A piece of literature largely depends on thought and style. The concept of style in
literature is the product of abstraction in the sense that style is based on a special and
unique use of language. It is just one quality contained in any piece of writing. The style
of a novel, a play, an essay or a poem is only one part of its totality.
The study of style has been in use in German, French and English since the early 19th
century. In the early sixties of the 20th century M.A.K.Halliday introduced the term
'linguistic stylistics '. The main concern of descriptive linguistics is the systematic study of
that part of human behavior called language.
William Wordsworth in Lyrical Ballads (1798) suggested that poetry should deal with the
experience of those living close to Nature, especially in the country. It could be "the
language of conversation in the middle and lower classes of society.. "
Long before the Poet of Nature came on the scene, Shakespeare brought the language
close to those who dwelt in the country. Hence my selection of this particular poem.
Keeping in mind all these concepts we can attempt a lexical analysis of the poem
composed in the inimitable style of Shakespeare.
_TEXT OF THE POEM_ : WINTER
'When icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick the shepherd blows the nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail
When blood is nipt and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl
Tuwhoo!
Tuwhit, tuwhoo! A merry note!
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot,
When all around the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson 's saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian
References: Carter, Ronald, ed. 1982. Language and literature: An introductory reader in stylistics. Chapman, Raymond. 1973. Linguistics and literature: An introduction to literary stylistics Fowler, Roger, ed. 1966. Essays on style and language. Fowler, Roger. 1986. Studying literature as language. In Theo D 'haen, ed Freeman, Donald C., ed. 1970. Linguistics and literary style. Halliday, M.A.K. 1970. Descriptive linguistics in literary studies Halliday, M.A.K., and Ruqaiya Hasan. 1976. Cohesion in English