Multivariate Analysis of Stance in Fiction

Abstract

This study investigates the expression of stance in Samuel Beckett’s prose work. Following Biber and Finegan (1989), a wide variety of stance markers are identified and calculated in the texts. A multivariate statistical methodology is then used to analyze the way in which these markers of stance interact in the texts. The results are plotted two-dimensionally to enable visualizing the similarities and differences between the texts. These are also illustrated using examples from the texts. Some of the findings are a little surprising and, therefore, a new tool is used to plot the results three-dimensionally, enabling a better understanding of how stance is reflected and how the texts resemble and deviate from one another. Finally, the usefulness of this analysis is discussed.