32.1916, Review: Ling & Literature; Syntax: Marszalek (2020)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-32-1916. Wed Jun 02 2021. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 32.1916, Review: Ling & Literature; Syntax: Marszalek (2020)

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Date: Wed, 02 Jun 2021 17:52:21
From: Kimberley Pager-McClymont [kimberley.pager at hud.ac.uk]
Subject: Style and Emotion in Comic Novels and Short Stories

 
Discuss this message:
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/reviews/get-review.cfm?subid=36686317


Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/31/31-3164.html

AUTHOR: Agnes  Marszalek
TITLE: Style and Emotion in Comic Novels and Short Stories
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Publishing (formerly The Continuum International Publishing Group)
YEAR: 2020

REVIEWER: Kimberley Pager-McClymont, University of Huddersfield

SUMMARY

Agnes Marszalek’s Style and Emotion in Comic Novels and Short Stories offers a
stylistic approach to comedy by discussing the linguistic cues of humour and
the emotions they can trigger. 

Chapter 1 introduces the key concepts used throughout the monograph and its
relevance by situating humour experiences in relation to text-worlds. The two
main cues (that is to say stylistic features of comic narrative) used
throughout are defined: stabilizing cues “signal amusement and stabilize our
experience of comedy” and they “distance us from the narrative world to
encourage a detached, playful, sometimes mocking towards the world”
(Marszalek, p.6). On the other hand, destabilizing cues “signal non-humorous
emotions that destabilize our experience of comedy” and they “lead us to
immerse ourselves in the narrative world and form feelings and attachments for
entities” (Marszalek, p.7). Those cues are discussed in terms of modes and
moods, characterization, and structure. Comic novels and short stories are
used to illustrate each of the linguistic cues of comedy analysed. 

In Chapter 2, Marszalek reviews existing literature drawn on in the analysis
chapters of the book (Chapters 3, 4 and 5). First, cognitive and emotional
responses to reading are discussed using text-world theory (Werth 1999,
Gavins, 2007). The aim is to show how worlds are built for readers to
experience humour expressed through a variety of language devices. Three main
schools of humour are then presented: superiority theories (humour as a means
denigrating other individuals and the feeling of superiority that comes with
this mockery), release theories (humour as psychological relief for some form
of tension through laughter), and incongruity theories (view discordance as a
humorous stimulus for the receiver, and view laughter as a response to
unexpected combination of contrasting features). Marszalek concludes by
pointing out that although she is concerned with humour, she views it as “one
of the emotional reactions cued by the stylistics techniques that shape our
experience of humorous novels and short stories” (Marszalek,, p.26).

In Chapter 3, Marszalek explores the modes and moods of humour, using
psychology, literary and film studies before a direct application of those
concepts is applied onto stabilizing and destabilizing cues. Mood is described
as an “affective state” or “emotion” in psychology, whereas in literary and
film studies the idea of “atmosphere” or “tone” seems more suited to define
it. Stockwell’s cognitive stylistic term of “ambience” (Stockwell, 2014,
p.365) which combines the two is preferred by Marszalek for its precision.
Humorous mode is defined as “the larger comic frame of discourse that is
communicated by the sender of the text, and which evokes a playful cognitive
state that facilitates a humorous interpretation” and it generates a
“cognitive expectation of comedy” (Marszalek, p.33). Humorous mood is
described as “the pleasurable, low-intensity affective state that predisposes
us towards experiencing the emotion of amusement” and it “creates an affective
expectation of comedy” (Marszalek, p.33). Both the mode and the mood of comic
narratives should be used for comic narratives to be successful. 

Other situational stabilizing cues are discussed, such as paratexts and
openings. Genette’s definition of paratexts is put forward: “the mediation
between the reader, author, publisher and the book itself” (Genette, 1997). In
other words, they are elements that situate the text but are not part of the
text itself. For instance, Marszalek illustrates how paratexts can contribute
to the expectation of humour through blurbs and reviews on book covers
describing a text as “funny”, titles or authors’ names, which can prime
readers to expect humour from a text and the creation of a mood. Openings are
also discussed as situational stabilizing cues, and they are divided into two
categories: “humorous” and “non-humorous” humorous cues. “Humorous” humorous
cues are explicit and deliberate cues of amusement, such as jokes or
incongruous situations in openings. “Non-humorous” cues are implicit and not
humorous in themselves but can help to trigger amusement in the reader. Two
techniques in particular achieve this trigger: distancing and downgrading.
Distancing aims to “distance the reader’s detachment from the narrative world”
and downgrading is used to “reduce the value of the narrative world”
(Marszalek, p.42). The theory of defamiliarization and foregrounding
(Shklovsky, 1965) is used to analyse and explain distancing cues: it draws the
readers’ attention to a layer of the work and has for effect to alienate the
reader from the narrative.

Destabilizing cues are also reviewed, as they can disrupt positive mood in
narratives  through what Marszalek refers to as “dark elements”, meaning
serious subjects in comic narratives. Schema theory (Bartlett, 1995) is
employed to analyse and explain this phenomenon: schematas are mental stores
of information which create the background knowledge about the world we use
when we process discourse. Emotional states (positive or negative) can be
associated with our world-knowledge, thus triggering a reaction. Another
destabilizing cue is the switch between humorous and non-humorous moods.
Marszalek further draws on text-world theory (Werth, 1999; Gavins, 2007) and
the concept of “world-switches” which forces readers to construct new
text-worlds due to a temporal or spatial switch. Marszalek builds on Gavins’s
point to provide evidence that this switch is not only temporal or spatial but
also emotional. 

The enhancement of humorous mood through the use of a dark element is also a
destabilizing cue explored, referred to as dark or black humour which leads
readers to shift their mental sets from an innocuous script to an unpleasant
one. Finally, the blending of humorous and non-humorous mood can occur when
destabilizing cues and dark elements occur in an otherwise positive ambience.

In Chapter 4, Marszalek focuses on stabilizing and destabilizing cues of
humour that allow engagement with characters. Those cues contribute to
representing laughable characters and create funny interactions. Marszalek
draws on Culpeper’s (2001) approach to characterization which suggests that
our perception of characters is guided by our perception of real people. Our
engagement with characters in narratives can trigger affective responses such
as empathy, sympathy or identification, which can be explained by the metaphor
READING IS INVESTMENT (Stockwell, 2009). 

Stabilizing cues of comic narrative can be found in stereotypes, that is to
say classifying people based on social categories such as ethnicity. This
classification allows for a recurring mental representation of characters
based on cues in the text. Another stabilizing cue of comic narratives are the
roles played by characters, such as hero or villain. Marszalek discusses
“misfit” characters: eccentric characters who stand out humorously and disrupt
a situation, often have roles of impostor, buffoon or churl. Finally,
stabilizing cues of humorous interactions are explored. Interactions are
divided into two categories: interactions which cause miscommunication and
interactions which produce impoliteness. 

Destabilizing cues of engagement with characters in comic narratives are also
reviewed. The misfit character is often presented from the
“everymen/everywoman”, which stands as an average narrator. The contrast
between the two types of characters often leads to humorous interactions. The
protagonist can be perceived by readers as “one of us”, which triggers
emotional affect for this character. On the other hand, protagonists can also
be misfit characters with narcissist tendencies. Another source of character
humour is observing protagonists unsuccessfully navigating social situations.
Two reader reactions are possible: the comedy grants us protection from
feeling embarrassed for the character in question or feeling a negative
emotion at the embarrassment stemming from the amusement (cringe humour). 

Chapter 5 explores the role story structures play in the perception of humour
in comic narratives. Marszalek explains that the ordering and structuring of
events in comic narrative can contribute to amusement and destabilize comedy
by cueing responses unrelated to amusement (Marszalek, p.113). Certain comic
situations such as jokes, or gags can trigger amusement due to their
recognizable humour implications. One factor that contributes to amusement is
the concept of recurrence, which is seen as a “humour enhancer”. Stabilizing
cues of humour in the ordering of comic narratives are foreshadowing,
complications and resolutions of situations. Foreshadowing means that elements
of the narratives are scattered to help the reader infer how a narrative can
develop, thus creating a certain repetition.  Humorous complications are
surprising negative events which are presented as humorous to the reader due
to their incongruous qualities. Humorous resolutions occur once the reader has
distanced themselves from the problem and the humorous problem is resolved.  

Destabilizing cues of humour in the structure and ordering of comic novels and
short stories aim to enhance the reader’s involvement in the story. They
transform problems in plots into a source of amusement. Suspense and comic
suspense are the first destabilising cues explored by Marszalek due to the
element of surprise they bring to the narrative. Comic suspense involves
predictability and delay, thus creating a situation with a predictable
situation but delaying its revelation. Other destabilizing cues manipulate the
degree of knowledge and amount of information the reader has, by using
dramatic irony (the reader knows information certain characters ignore) and by
using recurrence. Recurrence is the repetition of humorous situation such as
running jokes. Marszalek gives the example of Warner Bros’s Road Runner
cartoons, in which the Coyote will systematically fail to catch the Road
Runner. 

Chapter 6 concludes the monograph by condensing the key findings of each
chapter in a clear and efficient way. A table is provided (Marszalek, pp.
148-150) to summarise and cross-reference the narrative world components, the
quality of the cues (stabilizing or destabilizing), the cues themselves, a
brief description of the technique and the effects on the narratives. This
table is a visual summary of the book itself and a good way to visually
represent the findings discussed, in a pedagogical, systematic way. 

EVALUATION

The book is written clearly and is organised logically. Chapters 3, 4 and 5
are the main contribution to knowledge within the book as they discuss the
varied cues of humour. Those chapters are organised thematically (modes and
moods of humour, humour and characters, humorous structures) as opposed to
simply listing the stabilising and destabilizing cues of humour. This allows
for a contrast to be made between the cues and thus provides a clear picture
of how those cues can work together in narratives to generate comedy.

In the introductory chapter, Marszalek announces that the overall aim of the
book is to explore how the language of humour in novels and short stories
shapes our emotional reactions when reading. This goal is achieved in two
ways: through the approach to analysis and through the wide range of examples
used throughout the book. 

The approach put forward in Style and Emotion in Comic Novels and Short
Stories is systematic, rigorous, and inclusive of different scenarios. The
strength of Marszalek’s approach to comic language resides in its
interdisciplinary nature: it draws not only on humour theories, but also on
linguistics, cognitive stylistics, psychology, and literary and film studies,
amongst others. Varied linguistic tools and theories are used throughout the
book, such as the theory of foregrounding, text world theory, schema theory,
amongst others, thus resulting in a comprehensive and qualitative analysis of
the cues put forward. This makes the approach applicable to literary instances
of humour, but also to films and plays. 

Additionally, the explanations provided are equally systematic, rigorous and
inclusive as the author provides a wide range of example for each point made.
The cues analysed are applicable to a wide range of texts and account for a
variety of humorous scenarios and cues. The monograph counts thirty-six
examples of analysis, and many more explanatory examples from varied sources
to support the author’s stance for each language cue analysed, thus showing
the versatile nature of the approach. For instance, Marszalek uses seven
novels and short stories selected for the analysis, such as Fielding’s Bridget
Jones’s Diary (1998). Reader-responses such as comments on Goodreads are also
used, as well as other alternative examples, such as Warner Bros’s Road
Runner.

Overall, Marszalek’s “Style and Emotion in Comic Novels and Short Stories”
expertly contributes to knowledge by shedding light on how language triggers
readers’ reaction to humour in comic narratives. The systematic and versatile
approach combined with the variety of example makes this monograph accessible
to students or anyone interested in the stylistics of humour, thus achieving
the goal set by Marszalek in Chapter 1.

REFERENCES 

Bartlett, Frederic C. 1995. Remembering: A study in experimental and social
psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Culpeper, Jonathan. 2001Language and characterisation: People in plays and
other texts. Harlow: Pearson.

Fielding, Helen. 1998. Bridget Jones’s Diary. London: Routledge. 

Gavins, Joanna. 2007. Text World Theory: An Introduction: An Introduction.
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Genette, Gérard. 1997. Paratexts: Thresholds of interpretation. No. 20.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Shklovsky, Victor, Lemon, L. T., and Reis, M. J. 1965. ''Art as technique.
Russian Formalist criticism: four essays.'' Trans. Lee T. Lemon and Marion J.
Reis. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Stockwell, Peter. 2009. Texture: A cognitive aesthetics of reading. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press.

Stockwell, Peter. 2014. ''Atmosphere and tone.'' The Cambridge handbook of
stylistics 360-374. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Werth, Paul. 1999. Text worlds: Representing conceptual space in discourse.
Harlow: Longman.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Kimberley Pager-McClymont is a PhD researcher in Stylistics at the University
of Huddersfield. She teaches Academic English Skills for the International
Study Centre at the University of Huddersfield. Her research interests are on
the communication of emotions and figurative language, particularly the impact
it has on readers and the process of characterisation. Her PhD aims to provide
an updated model of pathetic fallacy using a stylistic approach and Conceptual
Metaphor Theory.





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