Linguistic Stylistics and Literary Interpretation: An Alternative Interpretation to Awonuga's Analysis of 'If'

Abstract
This study criticizes the linguistic stylistic procedure employed by Awonuga (1988) to interpret the poem 'If' by Jared Angira in his recent article in Ife Studies in English Language. The paper observes that while Awonuga's conception of linguistic stylistics and its principles is correct, his method of illustrating the approach is inadequate and inappropriate when considered, particularly, from the point of view of its relevance to learners/users of English as a Second Language. While the paper agrees to the fact that the linguistic stylistics approach always focuses the description of form in literary texts, it also believes firmly that such a description should never lose sight of the cultural context and speech situation of the texts under study. As it were, Awonuga's article can claim to have successfully spite of the latter's primary role in communicative language teaching.
Description
Keywords
Linguistic stylistics, Textual interpretation, Textual analysis, Use of "If", Function of "If"
Citation
Adegbite, Wale (1994) Linguistic Stylistics and Literary Interpretation: An Alternative Interpretation to Awonuga's Analysis of 'If'. Ife Studies in English Language, 3(1).