英语文体学Chapter 7 Cohesion in Literary Discourse

Chapter7CohesioninLiteraryDiscourseCohesionisaconceptpopularizedbyHallidayandHasan(1976).Itreferstothesetoflinguisticdevicesthatbindatexttogether,thatgiveitunityortexture(VerdonkandWeber,1995).Thesedevicescanbephonological,syntactic,orlexical.Inthischapter,wewilllookateachtypeofthesecohesivedevicesandseehowtheyfunctioninliterarydiscourse.Wewillalsoexamineanothertypeofcohesion,namelythecohesionofforegroundedfeatures.7.1PhonologicalDevicesCohesioncanbeachievedthroughsoundpatternssuchasalliteration,assonanceandrhymewhichwereconsideredinChapterFive.But,theexamplesdiscussedtherewerealltakenfrompoetry.Inthissection,therefore,wewillexamineexamplesfromfictionalprose.Considerthefollowingextract.(1)TheBrangwenshadlivedforgenerationsontheMarshFarm,inthemeadowswheretheErewashtwistedsluggishlythroughaldertrees,separatingDerbyshirefromNottinghamshire...SotheBrangwenscameandwentwithoutfearofnecessity,workinghardbecauseofthelifethatwasinthem,notforwantofthemoney.Neitherweretheythriftless.Theywereawareofthelasthalfpenny,andinstinctmadethemnotwastethepeelingoftheirapple,foritwouldhelptofeedthecattle.Butheavenandearthwasteemingaroundthem,andhowshouldthiscease?Theyfelttherushofthesapinspring,theyknewthewavewhichcannothalt,buteveryyearthrowsforwardtheseedtobegetting,and,fallingbackleavestheyoung-bornontheearth.Theyknewtheintercoursebetweenheavenandearth,sunshinedrawnintothebreastandbowels,andtherainsuckedupinthedaytime,nakednessthatcomesunderthewindinautumn,showingthebirds'nestsnolongerworthhiding.Theirlifeandinterrelationsweresuch;feelingthepulseandbodyofthesoil,thatopenedtotheirfurrowforthegrain,andbecamesmoothandsuppleaftertheirploughing,andclungtotheirfeetwithaweightthatpulledlikedesire,lyinghardandunresponsive,whenthecropsweretobeshornaway.Theyoungcornwavedandwassilken,andthelustreslidalongthelimbsofthemenwhosawit.Theytooktheudderofthecows,thecowsyieldedmilkandpulseagainstthehandsofthemen,thepulseofthebloodoftheteatsofthecowsbeatintothepulseofthehandsofthemen.Theymountedtheirhorses,andheldlifebetweenthegripoftheirknees,theyharnessedtheirhorsesatthewagon,and,withhandonthebridle-rings,drewtheheavingofthehorsesaftertheirwill.Inautumnthepartridgeswhirredup,birdsinflocksblewlikesprayacrossthefallow,rooksappearedonthegrey,wateryheavens,andflewcawingintothewinter.Thenthemensatbythefireinthehousewherethewomenmovedaboutwithsurety,andthelimbsandthebodyofthemenwereimpregnatedwiththeday,cattleandearthandvegetationandthesky,themensatbythefireandtheirbrainswereinert,astheirbloodflowedheavywiththeaccumulationfromthelivingday.(Lawrence,TheRainbow)ThisextractisquotedbyF.R.Leavis(1955)asoneoftheexamplesthatdemonstrateanintenseapprehensionoftheunityoflife(citedinFreeborn,1996:3).Leavispointsout:Wordshereareusedintheway,notofeloquence,butofcreativepoetry(awhollydifferentway,thatis,fromthatofOmayIjointhechoirinvisible):theyestablishasanactualpresence-createaspartofthesubstanceofthebook-somethingthatisessentialtoLawrence'stheme.However,thecriticdoesnotexplainwhatitisthatproducesanintenseapprehensionnordoesheshowthefeaturesofcreativepoetryintheextract.WhatwedohereisanalyzeoneaspectofLawrence'slanguageuseinthisextractthathelpsproducetheeffectspecifiedbyLeavis.Thisistheemploymentofsoundpatterns.Ascanbenoticedinaclosereading,inthisextractalliterationandassonanceareusedquiteextensively.Listedbelowareexamplesofthesetwosoundpatterns.AlliterationandSemi-alliterationTheyfelttherushofthesapinspring......sunshinedrawnintothebreastandbowels,andbecamesmoothandsuppleaftertheirploughing,Theyoungcornwavedandwassilken,andthelustreslidalongthelimbsofthemenwhosawit.Theymountedtheirhorses,andheldlifebetweenthegripoftheirknees,theyharnessedtheirhorsesatthewagon,and,withhandonthebridle-rings,drewtheheavingofthehorsesaftertheirwill.Inautumnthepartridgeswhirredup,birdsinflocksblewlikesprayacrossthefallow,...AssonanceButheavenandearthwasteemingaroundthem,andhowshouldthiscease?Therainsuckedupinthedaytime,nakednessthatcomesunderthewindinautumnshowingthebirdsnestnolongerworthhiding.Feelingthepulseandbodyofthesoil,thatopenedtotheirfurrowforthegrain,andbecamesmoothandsuppleaftertheirploughing,andclungtotheirfeetwithaweightthatpulledlikedesire,...Theyoungcornwavedandwassilken,andthelustreslidalongthelimbsofthemenwhosawit.Theytooktheudderofthecows,thecowsyieldedmilkandpulseagainstthehandsofthemen,thepulseofthebloodoftheteatsofthecowsbeatintothepulseofthehandsofthemen.AswasdiscussedinChapterFive,themajorfunctionofalliterationandassonanceistoestablishsomekindofconnectionbetweenoramongtheitemsthatarephoneticallyassociated.Thealliterationandassonanceinthisextractservepreciselythispurpose.Theyfunctionasimportantdevicesthatknitthetexttogetherandcreateunityofdiscourse.Theextractmaynotbeeloquentinthatitconsistsmainlyofaseriesofmainclausesthatarelinkedeitherwithoutanylinkingwordorbycoordinationonly.Yetitisquitecohesivebecauseoftheextensiveuseofalliterationandassonance.Theharmonyofvowelsandtheunityofconsonantsgreatlyreinforcethethemeoftheextract-theunityoflifeandtheharmonyofthenaturalw