A Cognitive Stylistic Approach To Texture

The present research is an attempt to explore the nature of texture from CognitiveStylistic perspective. In this thesis, texture is defined as the experienced quality oftextuality, referring to feelings aroused in the reader during the reading experience throughinteraction between the reader and the text. Texture is translated into “文感” in the Chineselanguage by the present author.Texture, a very important notion in the field of linguistics and literature, has attractedconsistent attention from scholars both at home and abroad. However, little systematic ordetailed analysis has been done on texture, and most scholars only give their generalopinions and touch upon this notion alongside their discussions of other topics. Mostscholars approach this notion from Systemic-Functional Linguistic perspective, and statethat texture refers to the internal quality of text (Halliday&Hasan,1976); while only fewview texture from Cognitive Linguistic perspective, and hold the view that text alone doesnot constitute texture; instead, text and reader work together to form texture (Stockwell,2009).This thesis attempts to conduct a systematic and detailed analysis of texture fromCognitive Stylistic perspective. In this thesis, texture refers to feelings aroused in thereader through his/her engagement with the text he/she is reading. There are two decisivefactors that constitute texture: reader and text. Fine texture will be generated when thedegree of internal features of the text matches the disposition of the reader to the optimaldegree; otherwise only faint texture is achieved. Fine texture displays itself at three levels:resonance, referring to a tone or an atmosphere created in the mind during the readingexperience that seems to persist long after the pages have been put down; sensation andsympathy, which refers to the emotional feelings aroused in the reader when his/herengagement with the text is much deeper; identification and resistance, which indicatesthat at this level readers have a feeling with the characters in the literary text, whether thereader identifies with specific characters or resist ideas presented in the literary text.