DONALD
ROSS
210L Lind Hall, (612) 625-5585
rossj001@tc.umn.edu
Department of English, University of Minnesota
"Composition as a Stylistic Feature,", Style, 4 (1970),
1-10.
By describing the placement of key words, and the methods of linking paragraphs
in selected chapters from Thoreau, Emerson, and Carlyle, this essay shows that
composition is a stylistic variable and can be a distinctive feature. Thoreau's
technique is to use one paragraph as the index of what are the chapter's key words;
this is coupled with his avoidance of transitional words and phrases between sentences
and paragraphs. Emerson establishes different key words for the sections of Nature,
but there is little juxtaposition of these words in other sections; he also provides
chains (i.e., pronouns and their antecedents). Carlyle juxtaposes key words, and
by repeating them often throughout the chapter, reinforces his ideas; he counters
a tendency toward static vocabulary (and argument) by beginning about one third
of his paragraphs with pronoun references to earlier words or ideas. Obviously,
these three examples do not illustrate all possible means of organizing chapters,
but we can recognize the important role of keyword location and transitions in
an author's style.
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Last revised 15 November 1999
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