Analysing analytical minds. An interpersonal pragmatics approach to literary discourse

Abstract

Taking an interpersonal pragmatics approach, this paper aims to view literary text as social discourse where conversational exchanges convey more than the content of talk. Applying the method of interpersonal pragmatic analysis, centred around the notions of implicatures and the concept of face in pragmatics, the social status of speakers is revealed via expressing their personal desires, preferences and professional ambitions. Combining the models of pragmatic stylistics analysis and the conception of interpersonal rhetoric (Leech, 1983) enables effective exploration of the interplay between characters, their efforts to comply with the cooperative and politeness principles, following particular communicative goals in conversations, making inferences and understanding implicatures. Focusing on the above-stated aims of research, the historical thriller The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld (2006) was chosen as the subject of analysis. In this novel, psychoanalysis and interpretation of a patient’s/victim’s responses, the unique application of professional expertise in psychoanalysis, palpable rivalry between scholars, as well as a desire for international recognition provide rich material for analysis. The presented research contributes new insights into the scholarly debate on interpersonal pragmatics, showing that approaching literary discourse analysis via a pragmatic stylistics approach is relevant and beneficial.