After reading chapter 6 (pp. 127-150) of Brian Paltridge's An Introduction to Discourse Analysis, explore patterns of cohesion in the last section of "Symbols and Signs" by Vladimir Nabokov (from "Bending with difficulty" until the end of the short story).
"Symbols and Signs" is a very complex short story if we analyse it with deep attention. In order to keep the story fluent and connect every piece together, the author uses patterns of cohesion that help us follow along more easily. I think, for example, the use of references is the most recurrent one, especially anaphoric references through deiticts and pronouns. I'd say this happens a lot of times in this story as we dont have the characters names, so many "He", "She", "They" are used. For example, when mentioning Prince (the father's brother) the narrator then uses "He won't have much to say anyway...". (Maybe there's an exophoric reference in the phrase "... the maid Elsa and her bestial beau" as we cant really understand what it means as the story doesnt explain it?)
ReplyDeleteWe can also find examples of: collocation such as "bald head", "moist lips", "playing cards and "birthday present"; hyponymy, like "apricot, grape, beach plum, quince" and "the knave of hearts, the nine of spades, the ace of spades...", that are also enumerations; synonymy: "toneless" - "dull" and "in high spirits" - "excited"; antonymy: "wrong number" - "incorrect number", that could also be a repetition, such as "The telephone rang. It was an unusual hour for it to ring.".
I would like to focus on the theme progression in the suggested excerpt.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, most clauses are composed of unmarked simple themes, primarily personal pronouns (“She,” “He,” “I,” “We,” “It,” “You,” and “They”). The frequent incorporation of short, simple themes contributes to the text's flow.
It is also worth mentioning that the themes of interrogative clauses have unique properties. This section has two interrogative clauses. The first (para.3, l.1) is a "yes/no question" with unmarked multiple themes: “Can” is an interpersonal theme, and “I” is a topical theme. The second (para.4, l.1) is a "wh-question" with “What” as an interpersonal and topical theme.
A significant proportion of the multiple themes in these paragraphs have textual themes, which connect the clause to the preceding text (e.g., "because" on para.1, l.6; "and" on six separate clauses), and/or interpersonal themes, which denote the relationship between participants or the stance being taken in the clause (e.g., "Bending with difficulty" on para.1, l.1; "immediately" on para.6, l.1).
Additionally, there are instances of linear and constant themes. Linear themes adopt prior rhemes as the topic of a clause (e.g., “It does not matter what the Prince says. He” on para. 1, ll.5-6). Constant themes correspond to the repetition of a theme across multiple clauses (e.g., “The telephone rang. It” on para.2, l.1). Both contribute to improving textual cohesion.
As a quick aside, the complex clause "He smiled a quick smile and immediately resumed his excited monologue" (para.6, l.1) is an instance of subject suppression in order to avoid repetition. The subject and topical theme, "he," is not explicitly stated in the second clause.
Finally, the telephone plays an important role in the story's finale, as evidenced by its inclusion as a theme in three clauses (a simple theme in para.2, l.1, and in para.7, l.1; and a topical theme in para.10, ll.7-8). Moreover, there are clearly more unmarked simple themes focused on detail and description near the end (e.g., “The vein on the side of his bald head” on para.10, l.3; “His clumsy, moist lips” on para.10, l.6).
In sum, by pointing out how theme and rheme interact, we are able to assess what the focal points of the text are and how the information develops throughout it. Therefore, by analysing the theme-rheme relationships in this excerpt, we may conclude that, besides the aforementioned aspects, the characters play a central role in the narrative while remaining impersonal.