Author: Dr. Masadul Islam
DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.70798/Bijmrd/04020021
Abstract: This study foregrounds the remarkable significance of the rhetorical analysis and stylistic dissection, especially the phono-stylistic devices incorporated in the literary writing in the enhancement of the comprehension of a text, focusing on Alexander Pope’s heroical-satirical work The Rape of the Lock (Canto I and II) as the primary text. The paper focused much on the intersection of the rhetoric and stylistic studies for better the understanding of literary texts. Phono-stylistics, as a branch of the linguistics deals with the study of the expressive potency of the sound devices, is used to evaluate how Pope’s deployment of numerous phonological devices like alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, euphony, cacophony and metrical variations supplement to the expression of ironic and the satirical tone of the epic poem. Through the textual analysis of selected lines, the study highlights how the poet’s incorporation of phonological patterns established the poem’s rhetorical elegance which deepens the thematic critique of the eighteenthcentury aristocratic London society with their vanity and superficial frivolity. Shedding light on the classical rhetorical theory with modern stylistic approaches, this work exposes that Alexander Pope’s employment of language in his poetry is not just the ornamental but it is more functionally rhetorical, every sound pattern has the special purpose like reinforcing the satire, amplifying the parody, and enhancing to the aesthetic value of it. The close textual analysis in the paper reveals that rhetorical and other phono-stylistic features are very vital in shaping both the meaning and the reader response, to affirm the central thesis that the rhetoric and stylistic are indispensable tools for the critical appreciation of a literary piece and its artistry. The research findings withhold that the stylistic analysis and rhetorical exploration persuaded readers’ engagement with literary texts to explore intricate layers of meaning, embedded in numerous linguistic forms. The study also presents the pragmatic significance of phonological studies in stylistic criticism and its vital role in the enrichment of literary comprehension.
Keywords: Phono-Stylistics, Rhetoric, Stylistics, Mock-Epic, Satire, Sound Devices, Superficial, Society
Page No: 172-181