This article aims to provide a stylistically founded model of pathetic fallacy (PF hereafter). Pathetic fallacy is a Romantic literary technique used in art and literature to convey emotions through natural elements. This technique has been researched mostly from a literary viewpoint, but no linguistic model exists to define it. It is difficult to identify it precisely or consensually because definitions and uses vary, and it is often associated with other techniques (i.e. personification). Despite those inconsistencies, PF is likely to be taught as part of the Department for Education subject content in the English National Curriculum for students studying English Literature at GCSE and A Level. I thus conducted a survey of English teachers to collect data on PF, and based on their answers and suggested texts, created an updated stylistic model of PF using a combination of (cognitive) stylistic frameworks. The model defines PF as a projection of emotions from an animated entity onto the surroundings. I identify three ‘linguistic indicators’ of PF in my corpus: imagery, repetition and negation. I draw on metaphor research to further analyse the metaphorical nature of PF and its effects in texts from my corpus. Four effects of PF are identified: communicating implicit emotions, building ambience, building characters and plot foreshadowing.
In this article, Kimberley Pager is dedicated to the question »how is Jane's character built from the first page of the novel?«. To answer, a stylistic approach is used to analyse the extract closely and focuses on three powerful elements, all of which contribute to Jane's characterisation: the use of pathetic fallacy, iconicity, and other characters' point of view. It is argued that those implicit elements contribute to readers' first impression of Jane whilst rendering Brontë's style unique and aesthetic.
Pathetic fallacy (hereafter PF) has received varied definitions by educators, scholars, and literary critics. Pager-McClymont created a model of PF based on a survey of English teachers, using a checklist of stylistic tools and foregrounding theory. The model views PF as a specific type of conceptual metaphor: a master metaphor, and defines it as a projection of emotions from an animated entity onto the surroundings. Three indicators of PF were identified: imagery, repetition, and negation. Furthermore, multiple effects of PF were observed, such as conveying suspense through surroundings, particularly thunder and lightning. In this paper, I explore if Pager-McClymont’s model of PF can be applied to texts from popular culture, such as the television show RuPaul’s Drag Race, the film Clue, and the song “The Thunder Rolls”. The analysis employs McIntyre’s multimodal stylistic methodology to the texts’ transcripts and focuses on the multimodal presentation of PF’s criteria and indicators. Findings show that PF’s effects are present in popular culture texts and contribute to enriching suspense, thus making Pager-McClymont’s model of PF applicable to everyday entertainment.
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