Unspeakable Sentences (Routledge Revivals) Narration and Representation in the Language of Fiction

First published in 1982, this title grew from a series of essays on various aspects of narrative style; the result is a finished product that melds literary theory with linguistic methodology. It is argued that, where linguistic theory intersects with literary theory, it is narrative that provides the crucial ‘experiment’ for deciding between a communication and a non-communication theory of language and, by extension, of literature. Chapters discuss such areas as subjectivity in direct and indirect speech, the absence of the narrator, and the development of narrative style. With a detailed introduction to the subject, this reissue will be of value to students of linguistics and literature with a particular interest in narrative style and linguistic theory.

Preface; Introduction; 1. The expression of subjectivity and the sentences of direct and indirect speech 2. The sentence of represented speech and thought 3. Communication and the sentence of discourse 4. The sentences of narration and discourse 5. The sentence representing non-reflective consciousness and the absence of the narrator 6. The historical development of narrative style; Conclusion: Narration and representation: the knowledge of the clock and the lens; Notes; Bibliography; Name index; Subject index

Ann Banfield