马丁 路德金 《我有一个梦》的文体分析

Abstract:Onthebaseofthedefinitionofstylistics,thisthesisgivesadetailedanalysisofsometheofstylisticdevicesusedinthefamousspeechbythewell-knownAmericancivilrightsmovementleaderMartinLutherKing,Jr.,andthenprobesintothestylisticcharacteristicsofspeechasastyle.Keywords:Stylistics,Stylisticdevices,analysis,speech.马丁.路德.金《我有一个梦》的文体分析摘要：本文首先阐述了文体学的定义，并在此基础上对对美国著名黑人领袖马丁.路德.金的著名演讲《我有一个梦》中所使用的文体手段进行了详尽的分析，进而对演讲文体的风格进行了简要的论述。关键词：文体学；文体手段；分析；演讲Asaninterdisciplinaryfieldofstudy,stylisticspromisestoofferusefulinsightsintoliterarycriticismandtheteachingofliteraturewithitsexplicitaimsandeffectivetechniques.Itisveryusefulintheanalysisofvariousstylesofwriting.Inthisthesis,theauthortriestoofferastylisticanalysisofthefamousspeechbyMartinLutherking,Jr.IHaveaDream.1.Introduction:DefinitionofStylisticsandStylisticAnalysisAsfarasthedefinitionofstylisticsisconcerneddifferentscholarsdefinethebranchofstudyindifferentways.Walesdefinesstylisticssimplyas“thestudyofstyle”(1989:437),whileWiddowsonprovidesamoreinformativedefinitionas“thestudyofliterarydiscoursefromalinguisticorientation”andtakes“aviewthatwhatdistinguishesstylisticsfromliterarycriticismontheonehandandlinguisticsontheotheristhatitisessentiallyameansoflinkingthetwo”(1975:3).Leechholdsasimilarview.Hedefinesstylisticsasthe“studyoftheuseoflanguageinliterature”(1969:1)andconsidersstylisticsa“meeting-groundoflinguisticsandliterarystudy”(1969:2).FromwhatWiddowsonandLeechsay,wecanseethatstylisticsisanareaofstudythatstraddlestwodisciplines:literarycriticismandlinguistics.Ittakesliterarydiscourse(text)asitsobjectofstudyanduseslinguisticsasameanstothatend.Stylisticanalysisisgenerallyconcernedwiththeuniquenessofatext;thatis,whatitisthatispeculiartotheusesoflanguageinaliterarytextfordeliveringthemessage.Thisnaturallyinvolvescomparisonsofthelanguageofthetextwiththatusedinconventionaltypesofdiscourse.StylisticiansmayalsowishtocharacterizethestyleofaliterarytextbySystematicallycomparingthelanguageusesinthattextwiththoseinanother.Hallidaypointsout,“Thetextmaybeseenas‘this’incontrastwith‘that’,withanotherpoemoranothernovel;stylisticsstudiesareessentiallycomparativeinnature…”(1971:341).Onthispoints,WiddowsonisofthesameopinionasHalliday.Hesays：“Allliteraryappreciationiscomparative,asindeedisarecognitionofstylesingeneral”(1975:84).Thus,wemayconcludethatstylisticanalysisisanactivitythatishighlycomparativeinnature. 2.RelatedInformationoftheSpeechIHAVEADREAMandItsAuthorMartinLutherKing,jr.wasbornonJanuary15,1929inAtlanta,Georgia,thesonofaclergymanandthegrandsonofaslave.AfterattendingseveralcollegeshereceivedhisPh.D.intheologyfromBostonUniversityin1955.HeledthebusboycottinMontgomery,Alabamain1955-1956.AspresidentoftheSouthernChristianLeadershipConference,hethenledcivilrightsdemonstrationsinmanycities.In1963hehelpedorganizethemarchonWashington,whichbroughttogethermorethan200,000people.Aleaderinestablishinganonviolentcivilrightsmovement,KingwasawardedtheNobelPeacePrizefor1964.KingwasassassinatedinMemphis,Tennessee,in1968,shortlybeforehisfortiethbirthday.Sincethen,hehasbecomeanAmericanfolkhero,andonNovember2,1983,alawhonoringDr.KingwassignedbyPresidentRigan,effectiveJanuary1986,makingthethirdMondayofJanuaryanationalholiday.HeistheonlyU.S.citizenotherthanGeorgeWashingtontoberecognizedinthisway.In1863PresidentAbrahamLincolnissuedtheEmancipationProclamationfreeingallslavesintheUnitedStates.Onehundredyearsafterthisdecreewassigned,however,thelifeofblackswasstill“sadlycrippledbythemanaclesofseGREgationandtheChainsdiscrimination.”OnAugust28,1963,aquarterofmillionpeopleofallracescametoWashington,D.C.,toshowtheirsupportforfreedomandjusticeforallAmericans,andforblackpeopleinparticular.Atthatdemonstration,MartinLutherKing,jr.deliveredthisfamousspeechIHAVEADREAM,widelyregardedasthemosteloquentstatementoftheblackpeople’sdreamsandaspirationsevermade.Inhisspeech,Dr.Kingtoldtheworld,“Ihaveadream”thatequalitywouldcome“toallofGod’schildren.”Hesaidhewantedeveryonetobeableto“joinhandsandsinginthewordsoftheoldNegrospiritual,‘Freeatlast!Freeatlast!…’”3.AStylisticAnalysisoftheSpeech(Ananalysisofsomeofthestylisticdevicesusedinthespeech)MartinLutherKing’sspeechofAugust28,1963iswidelyregardedasoneofthemostpowerfuleverdeliveredintheUnitedStates.Althoughthisaddresswasdeliveredorally,itwasreadfromawrittentextcomposedwithGREatcare.ItisanexampleofformalEnglishwithaconvincingstyle.Herearesomeofthestylisticdevices(whichmaybeconsideredtraditionallyasrhetoricaldevices)usedbyDrKingtoinspireandpersuade.3.1Repetition:Throughoutthespeech,Dr.Kingrepeatswordsandsentence.Thisisaveryoutstandingfeatureinthisspeechcalledrepetition.Itbelongstothestylisticdeviceofsyntacticover-regularity.Thetermrepetitionisrestrictedtomeanthecaseofexactcopyingofacertainpreviousunitinatextsuchasaword,phraseorevenasentence(Leech,1969),becausealltheover-regularfeaturesinliteratureareinsomesenserepetitious.Usedinspeech,repetitionnotonlymakesiteasyfortheaudiencetofollowwhatthespeakerissaying,butalsogivesastrongrhythmicqualitytothespeechandmakesitmorememorable.Inparagraphs8through16,forexample,Kingusesthewords“Ihaveadream”ninetimes.Thisrepetitionhelpstoachievethefunctionofcoherenceindiscourseandthefunctionofreinforcementinmoodandemotion,expressingthe speaker’sstrongemotionoflongingforfreedom,justice,righteousnessandamuchmoreunitednationofallofGod’schildren.Ifwestudythewholespeechmorecarefully,itiseasyforustofindmanyotherexamplesofrepetitionused.①Butonehundredyearslater,wemustfacethetragicfactthattheNegroisstillnotfree.Onehundredyearslater,thelifeoftheNegro.②isstillsadlycrippledbythemanaclesofseGREgationandthechainsofdiscrimination.Onehundredyearslater,theNegrolivesonalonelyislandofpovertyinthemidstofavastoceanofmaterialprosperity.Onehundredyearslater,theNegroisstilllanguishinginthecornersofAmericansocietyandfindshimselfanexileinhisownland.Herethephrase“onehundredyearslater”hasbeenrepeatedthreetimes,seeminglyindicatingthatitisreallyalongtimefortheNegrotowaitforthecomingofthetimeofjusticeandrighteousness.②Butwerefusetobelievethatthebankofjusticeisbankrupt.WerefusetobelievethatthereareinsufficientfundsintheGREatvaultsofopportunityofthisnation.(Par.4)thephrase“werefusetobelievethat…”hasbeenusedtwicetoindicatethespeaker’sgoodhope.③Nowisthetimetomakerealthepromisesofdemocracy.NowisthetimetorisefromthedarkanddesolatevalleyofseGREgationtothesunlitpathofracialjustice.NowisthetimetoopenthedoorsofopportunitytoallofGod’sChildren.Nowisthetimetoliftournationfromthequicksandsofracialinjusticetothesolidrockofbrotherhood.(Par.4)Inthisshortpassage,theclause“Nowisthetimeto…”hasbeenusedfourtimestoemphasizethefierceurgencyof“NOW”andtoencourageandpersuadetheblackstotakeimmediateactiontoriseaboveandgaintheirownrightsandfreedom.Otherexamplesofrepetitioncanstillbeeasilyfoundthroughoutthespeech.Inpar.7,thewords“wecannever/cannotbesatisfiedaslongas…”hasbeenusedasmanyasfivetimestoshowthedeterminationandpersistenceoftheblackpeople;inpar.17,thewords“withthefaithwewillbeableto…”hasbeenrepeatedtwiceforthepurposeofshowinghowstrongthefaithoftheblackpeopleistostruggleforthebrotherhoodof“allofGod’schildren”,andhowstrongthefaithoftheblackpeopleistobelievethatthey“willbefreeoneday”.Nowlet’senjoyanotherexample.④AndifAmericaistobeaGREatnationthismustbecometrue.SoletfreedomringfromtheprodigioushilltopsofNewHampshire!LetfreedomringfromtheheighteningAllegheniesofPennsylvania! LetfreedomringfromthesnowcappedRockiesofColorado!LetfreedomringfromthecurvaceousslopesofCalifornia!Butnotonlythat;letfreedomringfromStoneMountainofGeorgia!LetfreedomringfromLookoutMountainofTennessee.LetfreedomringfromeveryhillandmolehillofMississippi.Fromeverymountainside,letfreedomring.Whenweletfreedomring,whenweletitringfromeveryvillageandeveryhamlet,fromeverystateandeverycity…(Paragraphs19through25)thewords“LetFreedomring…”hasbeenrepeatedasmanyasninetimestoindicatethatitisthewholeoftheUnitedStatesratherthananypartofitthatshouldbebathedinthesunshineoffreedom.3.2UseofParallelismParallelismisanothersyntacticover-regularity.Itmeansexactrepetitioninequivalentpositions.Itdiffersfromsimplerepetitioninthattheidentitydoesnotextendtoabsoluteduplication,it“requiressomevariablefeatureofthepattern-somecontrastingelementswhichare‘parallel’withrespecttotheirpositioninthepattern”(Leech,1969:66).Toputitsimply,parallelismmeansthebalancingofsentenceelementsthataregrammaticallyequal.Totakethemparallel,balancenounswithnouns,verbswithverbs,prepositionalphraseswithprepositionalphrases,clauseswithclauses,andsoforth.Inhisspeech,MartinLutherKingusesparallelismtocreateastrongrhythmtohelptheaudiencelineuphisideas.Herearefewexamples:⑤…bythemanaclesofseGREgationandthechainsofdiscrimination…(Par.2,twoparallelnounphrases)⑥“Thisisnotimetoengageintheluxuryofcoolingoffortotakethetranquilizingdragofgradualism.”(Par.4,twoparallelinfinitivephrases:“toengage…totake…”)⑦“therewillbeneitherrestnortranquilityinAmerica…”(Par.5,twoparallelnounsjoinedwith“neither…nor”)⑧“Weshallneverbesatisfiedaslongasourchildrenarestrippedoftheirselfhoodandrobbedoftheirdignity…”(Par.7,twoparallelverbphrases)Itistraditionallybelievedthatparallelismisusedforthepurposeofemphasizingandenhancing,esp.inspeech,theideasexpressedbythespeaker(orauthorinwrittenversions),thusalways encouragingandinspiringtheaudience.WeneednottobeverycarefullytofindoutmanymoreexamplesofparallelismusedinKing’sspeechandclassifiedasisfollowed:3.2.1parallelnouns:⑨Thisnotwasapromisethatallmenwouldbeguaranteedtheinalienablerightsoflife,libertyandthepursuitofhappiness.(Par.3,threeparallelnounsasattributive)⑩1963isnotanend,butabeginning(Par.5,twoparallelnounsjoinedwith“not…but…”)⑾Againandagainwemustrisetothemajesticheightsofmeetingphysicalforcewithsoulforce.(Par.6)⑿…havecometorealizethattheirdestinyistiedupwithourdestinyandtheirfreedomisinextricablyboundtoourfreedom.(Par.6,twopairsofparallelnouns).⒀Isaytoyoutoday,myfriends,thatinspiteofthedifficultiesandfrustrationsofthemoment…(Par.8)⒁…adesertstateswelteringwiththeheatofinjusticeandoppression,willbetransformedintoanoasisoffreedomandjustice.(Par.11,twopairsofparallelnouns).3.2.2Parallelnounphrases:⒂Sowehavetocametocashthischeck-acheckthatwillgiveasupondemandtherichesoffreedomandThesecurityofjustice.(Par.4)⒃IhaveadreamthatonedayontheredhillsofGeorgiathesonsofformerslavesandthesonsofformerslave-ownerswillbeabletositdowntogetheratthetableofbrotherhood(Par.10)3.2.3Parallelinfinitivephrases:⒄ItwouldbefetalforthenationtooverlooktheurgencyofthemomentandtounderestimatethedeterminationoftheNegro.(Par.5,twoparallelinfinitivephrases)⒅Withthisfaith,wewillbeabletoworktogether,topraytogether,tostraggletogether,togotojailtogether,tostandupforfreedomtogether,knowingthatwewillbefreeoneday.(Par.7,fiveparallelinfinitivephrases).3.2.4Parallelprepositionalphrases⒆Ihaveadreamthatmyfourlittlechildrenwillonedayliveinanationwheretheywillnotbejudgedbythecoloroftheirskinbutbythecontentoftheircharacter.(Par.12)⒇…,whenweletitringfromeveryvillageandeveryhamlet,fromeverystateandeverycity,…(Par.25) E.Parallelclauses:(21)…,havecometorealizethattheirdestinyistiedupwithourdestinyand(that)theirfreedomisinextricablyboundtourfreedom.(Par.6,twoparallelobjectiveclause)(22)Ihaveadreamthatonedayeveryvalleyshallbeexalted,everyhillandmountainshallbemadelow,theroughplacewillbemadeplain,andthecrookedplaceswillbemadestraight,andthegloryoftheLordshallberevealed,andallfleshshallseeittogether.(Par.6,sixparallelclausesusedasappositionsofthenoun“dream”).3.3UseofSimilesandMetaphorsAstwoveryimportanttypesofmeaningtransferenceinliterature,similesandmetaphorsarecomparisonsthatshowsimilaritiesinthingsthatarebasicallydifferent,whichcanbeusedtoaddvividnessandvitalitytowriting.AsLeechpointsout,metaphorisassociatedwithaparticularruleoftransferencewhichmaybecalledthe“metaphoricrule”(1969:151).Thatis,thefigurativemeaningisderivedfromtheliteralmeaningoritis,asitwere,theliteralmeaning.Throughoutthespeech,Kingmakesextensiveuseofsimilesandmetaphors.Inparagraph1,forexample,KingcomparesTheEmancipationProclamationtotwoformsofbrilliantlightcuttingthroughdarkness.Thefirst-“ajoyousdaybreak”-comparesittothesunrise,which(inthiscase)ends“thelongnightofcaptivity”.Inparagraph2,hespeaksof“themanaclesofseGREgationandthechainsofdiscrimination,”comparingsegregationanddiscriminationunderwhichtheNegropeoplelivetothemanaclesandchainsonceusedonslaves.Therefore,itisveryclearthattheusingofsimilesandmetaphorscandefinitelyaddvividnessandvitalitytowritingandmakeiteasyforthereadersoraudiencetounderstand.Nowlet’scitesomeofthesimilesandmetaphorsusedinKing’sspeech.(23)Onehundredyearslater,theNegrolivesonalonelyislandofpovertyinthemidstofavastoceanofmaterialprosperity.(Par.2,metaphors)(24)Butwerefusetobelievethatthebankofjusticeisbankrupt.WerefusetobelievethatthereareinsufficientfundsintheGREatvaultsofopportunityforthisnation(Par.4,metaphors)(25)Thisisnotime…totakethetranquilizingdragofgradualism.(Par.4,metaphor)(26)ThisswelteringsummeroftheNegro’slegitimatediscontentwillnotpassuntilthereisaninvigoratingautumnoffreedomandequality.(Par.5,Metaphors)(27)…wewillnotbesatisfieduntiljusticerollsdownlikewatersandrighteousnesslikeamightystream.(Par.7,Similes)(28)…asituationwherelittleblackboysandblackgirlswillbeabletojoinhandswithwhiteboysandwhitegirlsandwalktogetherassistersandbrothers.(Par.14,Similes) 3.4UseofContrastAlthoughmaybearhetoricaldeviceinsteadofastylisticone,contrasthasalsobeenusedeffectively,likerepetition,inthisspeech,achievingthefunctionofmakingcleartheideasofthespeaker.Inparagraphl,forexample,“GREatbeaconlightofhope”iscontrastedwith“flamesofwitheringinjustice,”and“joyousdaybreak”withlongnightofcaptivity.”Asitisdefined,contrastisusedtoshowthedifferencebetweentwothings.Therefore,itisnotverydifficultforustounderstandwhythespeakerkingusessomanycontrastsinhisspeech.(29)Onehundredyearslater,theNegrolivesonalonelyislandofpovertyinthemidstofavastoceanofmaterialprosperity.(Par.2)(30)NowisthetimetorisefromthedarkanddesolatevalleyofseGREgationtothesunlitpathofracialjustice.(Par.4)(31)Nowisthetimetoliftournationfromthequicksandsofracialinjusticetothesolidrockofbrotherhood(Par.4)(32)ThisswelteringsummeroftheNegro’slegitimatediscontentwillnotpassuntilthereisaninvigoratingautumnoffreedomandequality.(Par.5)(33)1963isnotanend,butabeginning.(Par.5)(34)Againandagainwemustrisetothemajesticheightofmeetingphysicalforcewithsoulforce.(Par.6)(35)Andaswewalk,wemustmakethepledgethatweshallalwaysmarchahead.Wecannotturnback.(Par.7)(36)…thesonsofformerslavesandthesonsofformerslave-ownerswillbeabletositdowntogetheratthetableofbrotherhood.(Par.10)(37)…adesertstateswelteringwiththeheatofinjusticeandoppression,willbetransformedintoanoasisoffreedomandjustice.(Par.11)(38)…wheretheywillnotbejudgedbythecoloroftheirskinbutbythecontentoftheircharacter.(Par.12)(39)Withthisfaithwewillbeabletohewoutofthemountainofdespairastoneofhope.(Par.17)(40)Withthisfaithwewillbeabletotransformthejanglingdiscordsofournationintoabeautifulsymphonyofbrotherhood.4.Conclusion Aswehaveanalyzedabove,stylisticdevicesarefrequentlyusedinthediscourseofliteraryworksespeciallyinspeech,toachievecertainspecificpurposes.Thusmakingthestyleofaspeechsomewhatparticulartotheothers.Generallyspeaking,aspeechmayhavethefollowingstylisticcharacteristics:Tobeginwith,itmustbeverypersuasive.Thusthesentencepatternsareverywell-organized,withrepetitions,parallelismandcontrastsfrequentlyused.Secondly,itshouldbeemotionalsoastobeconvincing,becausethespeakershouldfacetheaudiencedirectlyandhiswordsshouldnotonlybeorderlyandinformativebutalsobeexpressiveandinspiring.Therefore,thestylisticdevicessuchassimilesandmetaphorsareofteninvolved.Finally,inmanycases,written-conversationalstyleisusuallyusedwithnotveryformaldictionandnotverycomplicatedsentencestructure.Bibliography:[1].MartinLutherKing,Jr.,IHaveaDream,August28,1963[2].WangShouyuan,EssentialsofEnglishStylistics,ShandongUniversityPress,July,2000[3].PanShaozhang,EnglishRhetoricandWriting,ShanghaiTransportationUniversityPress,December,1998[4].Widdowson,H.G.StylisticsandtheTeachingofLiterature,Longman,1975[5].Leech,G.N.“‘ThisbreadIbreak’Languageandinterpretation”.InD.C.Freeman.(ed.).LinguisticsandLiteratureStyle.NewYork:Holt,Rinhart&Winston.Acknowledgements:ItwasreallyalaborioustasktoaccomplishaB.Athesis.Manypeoplegavemesupportandhelpintheprocessofwritingthepaper.I’dlikefirsttogivemygratetomydearteacher,viceprofessorMr.LiuFagong,whogenerouslygavemehiskindlyhelpandinstructionsduringthewholeprocessofmypaper-writing.ThenI’dliketogivemymanythankstomyclassmateswhohelpedmealotwithmyinformationcollectingandpaper-polishing.Mostimportantofall,IwanttogivemythankstomymotheruniversityandalltheteachersintheEnglishCollege,whoeducatedandcultivatedmetobeaqualifiedteacherinthefuture.ABriefIntroductiontotheAuthor:SuZhanghai,astudentinClassOne1988Grade,majoringinEnglishEducation,andawell-to-beteacherinShandongAgriculturalUniversity,whowhole-heartedlygiveshisbestwishestoalltheteachersinQufuNormalUniversity.