ABSTRACT
The aim of this last chapter is ‘theoretical’ – or perhaps ‘philosoph-ical’. It is to put the framework of stylistic analysis, as presented in this book, in the context of other people’s thinking, and to draw a few simple conclusions about the text, interpretation, history and linguisticliterary education. To many readers this may seem like a reversion to the ‘bad’ old days of New Criticism and Jakobsonian formalism. However, I maintain that a balance needs to be struck between the analysis of texts and the understanding of processes and sources of interpretation. In the 1950s, the emphasis was too much on the text as a linguistic object, a ‘verbal icon’. Since that time, there has been a movement to the other extreme of seeking enlightenment and purpose from what is outside the text. Consequently, the virtues of close engagement with the text have been too often forgotten. If this book serves to restore this balance, from the theoretical viewpoint it will have served its main purpose.
