Linguistic tools and a holistic context for literary criticism (Kenneth Lee Pike, Roman Osipovich Jakobson)

The literary critic has an important service to perform for society today that includes clarifying theories of meaning as well as interpreting works of literature. Kenneth Lee Pike and Roman Osipovich Jakobson are two linguists who assert the value of linguistics in literary studies. Pike has developed the theory of tagmemics from its beginning about 1948 until his death in 2000. Tagmemics is a comprehensive theory that began as a tool for language translation but later developed into a system to unify language and other human behaviors. Pike suggested tagmemics for literary criticism; however, the major part of his own work was linguistic and not literary. Jakobson included literary research along with his work in linguistics and has influenced the development of literary criticism. Tagmemics has not been influential in criticism as it has been in linguistics, but this dissertation will examine and assert its value for criticism.; My chapter one includes a tagmemic analysis of Wallace Stevens' poem "The Emperor of Ice-Cream" as well as issues in language that impact culture. I assert the need for interface studies for a more holistic view of literature and discuss the role of the critic in society. Chapter two highlights tagmemics in comparison with Noam Chomsky's influential work in linguistics and explains the use of the tagmemic heuristic in composition. Pike's major work is surveyed for what may interest a literary critic. A chapter on the anlaysis of poetry using Jakobson and Pike and another on analysis of fiction both examine the use of tagmemics. Chapter five discusses challenges to meaning, compares tagmemics to deconstruction, and asserts a theistic starting point for criticism.