An Analysis Of Verbal Irony In Pride And Prejudice From The Perspective Of Echoic Interpretation Theory Of Irony

Verbal irony is a common linguistic phenomenon in verbal communication,which has been a research hotspot among pragmatists.An increasing number of pragmatists start to carry out researches on this phenomenon under the guidance of different pragmatic theories.Austin and Searle's Speech Act Theory,Grice's Cooperation Principle,and Leech's Principle of Politeness are among the most influential and frequently-used theories.Based on previous researches,this thesis analyzes verbal irony from the perspective of Relevance Theory.By using the echoic interpretation theory of irony proposed by Sperber and Wilson,this thesis studies specific verbal irony cases in the novel Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen,trying to test the effectiveness and feasibility of this theory in the analysis of literature texts and developing a new way to analyze literary works.Based on echoic interpretation theory of irony,twenty three verbal irony cases excerpted from Pride and Prejudice are analyzed and classified into three groups according to different attributed contents being echoed:direct and immediate echoes,echoes of(real or imaginary)attributed thoughts and echoes of norms or standard expectations.Through this research,it is found that all the cases can be explained under Sperber and Wilson's echoic interpretation theory of irony,which successfully proves the effectiveness,feasibility and the strong explanatory power of this theory in literary text.Besides,the application of echoic interpretation theory of irony in the novel Pride and Prejudice can help readers to understand this novel better and appreciate Jane Austen's favorite style of writing.What's more,it can help readers grasp the essence of literary works and realize the artistic charm of literature texts.It can help readers to understand this novel better and appreciate Jane Austen's favorite style of writing.Most importantly,it offers literary pragmatists a new perspective to appreciate the art of verbal irony in other five novels of Jane Austen,as well as works of other authors both at home and abroad.