Ehrlich Susan. Point of View: A Linguistic Analysis of Literary Style

Routledge, 2014. — x, 132 pages. — ISBN13: 978-1-315-77125-0.The purpose of 'Point of View', first published in 1990, is twofold: from the perspective of linguistics, to analyse the discourse structure of texts; from the perspective of literary studies, to explain certain non-linguistic aspects of the texts in terms of linguistic form. This study therefore aims to provide a balanced and sufficiently comprehensive account of the relationship between linguistic form and point of view. It will be of particular value to literature students with an interest in linguistics, and literary style.Sentence-Based Approaches to Point of ViewGeneral description
Limitations of sentence-based approaches to RST
RST/narration and foreground!background
Cohesion, Coherence, and EpisodesCoherence
Explicit coherence: cohesionReferential and Semantic Connector LinkingDominance and sentences containing parentheticals
Cohesion and sentences containing parentheticals
Demarcation of discourse unitsTemporal LinkingTemporal linking as a cohesive device
Interpretation of temporal expressions
Temporal interpretation of sentences of RST
Anchoring predicates
Demarcation of discourse unitsAspect, Coherence, and Point of ViewPast progressive and point of view
Progressive vs simple aspect
Progressive in other contextsConclusionsSummary: cohesion, coherence, and RST
Summary: demarcation of RST units
Function of RST inter-sentential devices
Implications: the Foreground / Background DistinctionThe foreground/background distinction
Narration/RST and foreground/background
Linguistic correlates of foreground and background material