Synthesizing Stylistic Repetition and Repetition Compulsion: Echoes of Postcolonial Trauma in Gurnah’s Selected Novels
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1510.33Keywords:
stylistics, qualitative research design, cognitive poetics, anaphora, semantic prosodyAbstract
The study of language's role in conveying ideas and ideologies remains a focal point within literary discourse. Analyzing prominent literary figures and their distinctive writing styles has persistently sparked scholarly inquiry. Abdulrazak Gurnah's stylistic approach notably engages syntactic repetition as a foregrounding device. This research focuses on identifying and exploring syntactic repetitions found in Gurnah’s selected novels and analyzing their underlying motivations and effects. Additionally, drawing on Short and Leech’s framework outlined in “Style in Fiction", the study categorizes these repetitions into three stylistic levels: syntactic, phonological, and semantic (Leech & Short, 2007). These levels encompass a variety of devices, including anaphora, epiphora, antithesis, anadiplosis, phonaestheme, phoneme cluster, semantic prosody, hyponymy, polysemy, collocation, ambiguity, and so on. Using a qualitative research design and drawing on Cathy Caruth’s theory of repetition and iteration, this study explores Gurnah’s distinctive stylistic choices and underlying thematic concerns. The findings reveal Gurnah’s conscious use of language through repetitive devices to establish a sensible connection with readers. This conscious use enables readers to discern the predominant images and themes within the author’s mind. Notably, anaphoric devices emerge prominently as a key tool in conveying the overarching semantic theme of “Postcolonial Trauma” (Craps, 2008) to readers. This thematic focus accentuates Gurnah’s exploration of the enduring impact of colonialism and the complexities of postcolonial identity narratives.
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