Fundamentals of Decoding Stylistics

There are two main directions in the stylistic analysis - analysis from the author's point of
view (encoding stylistics) and from the reader's point of view (decoding stylistics).
Encoding stylistic analysis presupposes that the peculiarities of the author's style are
singled out on the basis of comparison with other writers. Encoding stylistic analysis includes
the critical study of the author's style, vocabulary means used by him. Much attention is paid to
the author's ideas concerning the creative work in general and his work in particular. Ideas can
be extracted from the writer's diaries, letters, articles, etc. Encoding stylistic analysis takes into
consideration the facts of the writer's biography, the genesis of the work in question, the
characteristic features of the epoch and literary trend. This kind of analysis is based on the
thorough knowledge of the History of Literature. Analysis from the author's point of view treats
the work of art as a result or consequence of creative activity.
The analysis of the text goes through a number of definite stages. It begins with the
analysis of main ideas and themes of the literary work which include the complex of
philosophical, moral, social, political, psychological problems and author's emotions, attitudes
and view on them. This stage is followed with the analysis of the composition and the system of
images of the literary work connected with the plot, characters and setting. Then follows the
analysis of lexical and grammatical expression of the images - stylistic devices and means. And
finally we pay attention to phonetic or sound form of the text and its graphical representation.
But the reader usually follows the reversed way. He transforms the graphical presentation
into words, then into the system of images, feelings, thoughts of the author, and at last the reader
can grasp the main idea of the author. Much attention is paid to the text, less to the writer. A work
of art is treated as a source of information and impressions. This is another kind of stylistic
analysis, i.e. from the reader's point of view, or decoding stylistics.
This approach was born in 1950-1960s and it was worked out by an American linguist
Michael Riffaterre who combined the concepts of modern linguistics with those of information
theory. The first person to mention the importance of information theory for linguistics was a
mathematician. Claude Shannon created the theory of information and described it in his book
"The Mathematic Theory of Communication" (1949). The theory of information makes use of
such terms as: information, message, code, communication, channel, to encode, to decode,
feedback. Shannon spoke about the chain of communication:
objective reality > transmitter/encoder > message/text > receiver/ decoder > objective reality
(surrounding the adressee).
Shannon's idea was interpreted for the purposes of linguistics in general and stylistic
analysis in particular. Literature is a social phenomenon and it controls the reader's perception of
reality and his activities in real life. Shannon's chain can look the following way:
social reality (surrounding the writer) > writer (encoder) > literary work > reader (decoder) >
social reality (surrounding the reader).
The term "decoding stylistics" implies that we concentrate our attention on the receiving end of
Shannon's chain of communication.
In Russia this approach was developed by the Leningrad school of linguistics and I.V.
Arnold in particular. By code Arnold means a set of signs (and rules in which they are arranged)
used for transmitting messages through some specific channel. By message she means a sum
total of properties of the source reflected and transmitted to the adressee or, in other words, it is
one system rendered by elements of another system.
Sign can mean a discrete physical element that carries information, i.e. something
material which can be distinguished by the senses and stands for something else. In each letter of
the alphabet we recognize a distinct shape different form that of any other letter and standing for
some sound. Simple signs are combined in more complicated codograms, and these form
codograms on a higher level. Finally, a complete message results. In language all small units
become parts of larger ones. A text is an arrangement of static material signs situated on a page,
framed by a margin and arranged typographically in a certain way.
By encoding (coding) Arnold means the operation of identification of symbols and
groups of symbols of one kind with symbols and groups of symbols of a different kind.
Decoding by the receiver is the reconstruction of the message by knowing code combinations.
Literary text can be identified with the communication channel at the stage of transmission. The
signal is mixed with inevitable noise which can bring disturbances to the process of
communication and interfere with the reception of information. The sources of noise may be
different. There may be changes that occur in one of the codes used during the time that has
passed between the moments of encoding and decoding (jokes may lose their points, manners
can change).
Literary Text as a Poetic Structure
Literary text has two layers: verbal and supraverbal. Verbal layer is represented by words
which are combined into phrases, phrases are combined into sentences, sentences - into
paragraphs, which in their turn make up large units. At the same time when we deal with the
literary text we can see that there is one more layer emerging out of the verbal one. The reader
can see that word sequences represent series of events, conflicts, characters, a definite
composition of a literary text. All these word sequences form a plot of the work of art, which in
its turn belongs to a definite literary genre. The image of reality is created with the help of words
and through this image the author conveys his message. Thus, we talk about the supraverbal, or
poetic, layer of the literary text. Supraverbal and verbal layers are inseparable from each other,
and it is impossible to change anything in the form of the text without causing the changes in the
contents. We talk about the cohesion of two layers of the literary text.
Poetic structure of a literary text, its supraverbal layer, involves such entities as image,
theme, idea, composition and genre. As components of poetic structure they are essentially
inseparable from each other, but as basic categories of the theory of literature they may be treated
in isolation.
1. Image.
Literature interprets life by recreating it in the form of images inspired by life and in
accordance with the author's point of view. All images in the literary work present a hierarchy.
The top-image is the macro-image, i.e. the literary work itself, understood as an image of life
envisioned and depicted by the writer. Within the literary work the top position is occupied by
the image of character/characters. At the bottom of the hierarchy there is a word-image (a micro-
image): simile, metaphor, epithet. They together with other elements create event-images,
landscape-images, etc. Each micro-image, taken separately, is just a SD, but within the poetic
structure of the text it is an element which, together with other elements, helps to express the
content.
2. Theme.
The theme of the literary work can be understood as an interaction of human characters
under certain circumstances, such as some social or psychological conflict. Within a single work,
the basic theme can alternate with rival themes and by-themes. For example, in War and Peace
the basic theme is the life of the Russian society of the first half of XIX century, the rival theme
is the family relationships, by-themes are numerous. Theme is more general than idea (message).
3. Idea.
Idea is the underlined thought and emotional attitude transmitted by the whole poetic
structure of the literary text. Idea is the mode of representation, which reveals the unity of form
and content.
4. Composition.
The subject matter of a literary work (the sequence of events, character collisions, etc.)
may be represented in a variety of ways. Authors usually choose their technique according to the
message they want to bring to the reader. Composition is closely connected with plot. Plot is a
sequence of events in which the characters are involved, the theme and idea are revealed. The
usual elements of the plot are exposition, story, climax and denouement. The arrangement of all
this elements makes up the composition of the literary work.