Magin_Edward-thesis

136
5.4 On the syntactic level
In the following sections, I discuss instances of syntactic variation in the corpus.
In some instances, an aspect of normal language has not been adhered to, such as normal
constituent order. Other instances exhibit ellipsis or some other syntactic tool the poet has
used for reason of syllable count, rhyme or some other aesthetic effect.
5.4.1.1 Constituent order
The study of constituent orders that deviate from normal constituent order helps
one understand what is permissible in a language. Some constituent order shifts may be
pragmatically motivated. However, some, especially in poetry, and literature in general,
have other motivations. To understand these motivations, we must become familiar with
some new terms.
Foregrounding is a term that was applied to Mukarovský's original term,
aktualisace, when it was translated into English in 1932. It is used to describe a number
of stylistic effects in literature at all levels: phonetic (e.g., alliteration, rhyme),
grammatical (e.g., inversion, ellipsis) and semantic (e.g., metaphor, irony).
Foregrounding occurs when we use language that is other than normal. It causes what is
termed as deautomatization, the disruption of normal cognitive processes, whereas with
normal language, automatization occurs, where there is no disruption of normal
cognitive processes. The more something is foregrounded, the more conscious it becomes
(Miall and Kuiken 1994:390).
Regarding this act of foregrounding, Viktor Shklovsky, the Russian Formalist
critic, had the following to say regarding art in general,
The purpose of art is to impart the sensation of things as they are
perceived and not as they are known. The technique of art is to make
objects "unfamiliar," to make forms difficult, to increase the difficulty and
length of perception because the process of perception is an aesthetic end
in itself and must be prolonged. (1965:12)