A Study Of Far From The Madding Crowd-from The Perspective Of Register Theory

Far from the Madding Crowd is Thomas Hardy's first successful novel as well as his first of his Wessex novels. Most of the comments on this novel are in the literary critical field while few studies in a linguistic way have been found. As a representative of his early successful works, the way that its subject matter has been built up, how the relationships between the characters are depicted and the techniques for plot development are of great implications to his later works. Register is a preferable theory to conduct research on the three aspects above. This thesis is an attempt to analyze this novel from the functional linguistic perspective of register.Register theory is a very important theory in functional grammar. The great linguist Halliday put forward the concept of register. He holds that register is composed of three variables:field, tenor and mode. Field of discourse is concerned with what is happening, the content of a conversation and the whole activity between the speaker and other participants. It is always equated with subject matter and determines the language choices for the discourse. Tenor of discourse refers to the relationships between the participants, including their social status and role. Mode of discourse determines the channel of communication.This thesis applies register theory to the analysis of the Far from the Madding Crowd, in terms of the three register aspects. Field analysis illustrates the subject matter of Far from the Madding Crowd through discussion of the topics of the conversations between both the main characters and small characters; it has been found that the well-chosen topics are helpful to build up the subject matter of the novel; studies have also been conducted to the linguistic features at phonological and lexical levels of the language variations which is apt to the setting, local dialect, which is of great help to reveal the background information of the small characters in the novel, including their occupation, education and social position. Tenor analysis reveals the development as well as changes of the relationships between the main characters, Bathsheba and Oak, Bathsheba and Troy. Meanwhile, the changes of social status of Bathsheba and Oak have been exposed when we probe into their language choices in different periods. It turns out that the language choices in the conversations of the character are important for the creation of their relationship and revelation of their social status and its changes. Mode analysis reveals particular communication channels in the novel, including dialogue, comments from the invisible narrator and scenery description in which the characters'dispositions are set off by contrast. The mode analysis has given implications on how dialogues and comments from the invisible narrators help the readers to better understand the personalities of the characters and how proper scenery description brings a new angle for them to appreciate the language of the novel.In this thesis, with the use of register theory, one of the most important notions in systematic-functional grammar, the author has conducted a detailed study of a literary text in a linguistic way, which will interpret the feasibility of probing into the literary text from the perspective of linguistics and provide implications to literary writers and a broader angle for literary appreciation.