A pragma-stylistic analysis of E. E. cummings' play him

Abstract EN

This study investigates Cummings' play Him pragma-stylistically.

This study is an attempt to show the way pragmatic theories are exploited stylistically in literary discourse in general and in dramatic discourse in particular.

Searle's Speech Acts Theory and Grice's Cooperative Principle are applied to the selected data.

Thus, the study aims at: (1) Specifying the most dominant categories of speech acts used by each character along with the stylistic effects achieved through their use in Cummings' play.

(2) Showing how non-observance of maxims yields stylistic effects on the two levels of interaction in Cummings' play.

For the present study to achieve its aims, it is hypothesized that: (1) There are consistent patterns of speech acts that seem to provide contextual details about the characters' psychological states and the dimensions of their personalities and orientations, (2) Grice's four maxims are exploited by Cummings and the characters in the play to convey ideas and messages indirectly.

Then, in order to achieve the aims of the study and test its hypotheses, the following procedures are adopted: (1) Presenting a theoretical background about the interaction between pragmatics and stylistics as well as their effects on literary discourse in general and dramatic discourse in particular with some related notions that are significant to the aims of the study.

(2) Analyzing (six) extracts of Him according to an eclectic model developed by the study.

The findings of the analysis verify the above mentioned hypotheses.