Accordingly, it can be said that, song lyrics, along with other more conventional forms of literature such as short stories, poetry, and novels, can make good objects of study in stylistic analyses, since they usually employ many of the same stylistic devices used elsewhere in other forms of literature. As Simpson states, ʻmany forms of discourse (advertising, journalism, popular music – even casual conversation) often display a high degree of stylistic dexterity, such that it would be wrong to view dexterity in language use as exclusive to canonical literatureʼ (2004: 3).
However, this traditional connection between stylistics and literature does not mean that creativity and innovation in language use is exclusive to literary writing. Generally speaking, literature is considered the preferred object of study in stylistics. There is usually a confusion about the realm of stylistics and according to Simpson ʻconfusion about the compass of stylistics is a result of confusion about the compass of languageʼ (Simpson, 2004: 3). ʻThe reason why language is so important to stylisticians is because the various forms, patterns and levels that constitute linguistic structure are an important index of the function of the textʼ (Simpson, 2004: 2). Stylistics is the branch of linguistics which has to do with the study of style in literary texts that is,‘a method of textual interpretation in which primacy of place is assigned to language’(Simpson, 2004: 2).Putting it in Leech and Short's words, stylistics is ʻthe study of language as used in literary texts, with the aim of relating it to its artistic functionsʼ (2007: 13).Widdowson defines stylistics as ʻthe study of literary discourse from a linguistic orientationʼ (1975: 3).
‘The general meaning of style is ‘manner or mode’ but the literary meaning of style refers how a writer’s thoughts take the shape of words’(Batool, 2008).Style has had various meanings throughout the history in and outside the literary text.
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