Nigel Fabb

`This is a textbook for the times, which addresses itself brilliantly to the twin phenomena of expanding horizons and diminishing resources of English studies.' - David Lodge

This book offers a psychological account of thrills (goosebumps and tears), of the epiphanic experience of seeing ordinary things in a profoundly new way, and of the experience of the sublime. The unifying characteristic of these ‘strong experiences’ is that they all begin with surprise. They are important in literature: literature is about these experiences, and literature can cause these experiences. This book offers an overview of theories of these kinds of experience, and of what might cause them to happen. In the final chapter, various literary strategies are explored as possible causes. The book draws on psychological accounts of surprise, and of emotion, and cognitive approaches to what knowledge is, why it is possible to have feelings of profound knowledge, and why what we know can sometimes not be put into words.

This interdisciplinary collection explores the forms and aesthetics of rhyme in a variety of languages and from a variety of perspectives. A wide-ranging introduction that ends with a list and associated bibliography of rhyming traditions of the world is followed by thirteen chapters. These explore the history of rhyme, including Arabic and medieval Latin and the older Germanic languages, as well as literary and folk traditions in Northern Europe where rhyme plays a complex role alongside alliteration. Literary rhyme is explored from a psychological perspective, and oral composition with end rhyme is addressed. Discussions of modernist poetry, rap lyrics, and previously undiscussed traditions shed new light on the possibilities of rhyme. The book will be of interest to literary scholars, folklorists, and anyone interested in written, oral, and song traditions. Students, poets, and songwriters will find insights into the functions and aesthetics of rhyme.

This book offers a psychological account of thrills (goosebumps and tears), of the epiphanic experience of seeing ordinary things in a profoundly new way, and of the experience of the sublime. The unifying characteristic of these ‘strong experiences’ is that they all begin with surprise. They are important in literature: literature is about these experiences, and literature can cause these experiences. This book offers an overview of theories of these kinds of experience, and of what might cause them to happen. In the final chapter, various literary strategies are explored as possible causes. The book draws on psychological accounts of surprise, and of emotion, and cognitive approaches to what knowledge is, why it is possible to have feelings of profound knowledge, and why what we know can sometimes not be put into words.

The first book that literature students should read, this guide reveals the distinct set of skills, conventions and methods of essay and dissertation writing.Taking students through the various stages of writing, from planning to final submission, it offers specific guidelines and a lively, detailed commentary on actual examples of student work at each stage.

Poetry, defined as language divided into lines, is found in most known human cultures. This masterful survey of poetry and its constituent components demonstrates the functions performed by metre, rhyme, alliteration and parallelism, arguing that each line of a poem fits as a whole unit into the limited capacity of human working memory. Using examples from around the world, Fabb surveys the wide varieties of poetry and the ways they are performed, including those in songs and signed literatures. Focusing on language, form and memory, he helps us understand why poetry is a particularly valued way of using language. A fresh exploration of poetry, the book will be welcomed by students and researchers of literature, linguistics and psychology, as well as anyone interested in poetry.

Many of the great works of world literature are composed in metrical verse, that is, in lines which are measured and patterned. Meter in Poetry: A New Theory is the first book to present a single simple account of all known types of metrical verse, which is illustrated with detailed analyses of poems in many languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, French, classical Greek and Latin, Sanskrit, classical Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Latvian. This outstanding contribution to the study of meter is aimed both at students and scholars of literature and languages, as well as anyone interested in knowing how metrical verse is made.

Many of the great works of world literature are composed in metrical verse, that is, in lines which are measured and patterned. Meter in Poetry: A New Theory is the first book to present a single simple account of all known types of metrical verse, which is illustrated with detailed analyses of poems in many languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, French, classical Greek and Latin, Sanskrit, classical Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Latvian. This outstanding contribution to the study of meter is aimed both at students and scholars of literature and languages, as well as anyone interested in knowing how metrical verse is made.

Sentence Structure:introduces the evidence for sentence structure and reveals its purposeis based on a problem-solving approach to languageteaches the reader how to identify word classes, such as noun, preposition and demonstrativeuses simple tree structures to analyse sentencescontains numerous exercises to encourage practical skills of sentence analysisincludes a database and exercises that compare the structure of English with other languages.The second edition of Sentence Structure has been revised and updated throughout and includes new material on tense, aspect, modality and the verb phrase, whilst the order of topics has been rearranged to improve clarity.

Sentence Structure:introduces the evidence for sentence structure and reveals its purposeis based on a problem-solving approach to languageteaches the reader how to identify word classes, such as noun, preposition and demonstrativeuses simple tree structures to analyse sentencescontains numerous exercises to encourage practical skills of sentence analysisincludes a database and exercises that compare the structure of English with other languages.The second edition of Sentence Structure has been revised and updated throughout and includes new material on tense, aspect, modality and the verb phrase, whilst the order of topics has been rearranged to improve clarity.

This grammar provides one of the most detailed accounts available of the syntax of a Nilo-Saharan language. It fully describes some of the unusual characteristics of Ma'di, including the different word orders associated with different tenses, the particle-based modal and focus systems, the full range of adverbials, and the structure and meaning of the noun phrase. The grammar also describes the phonetics, phonology, morphology, and aspects of the lexicon of the language.

How does a literary text get to have literary form, and what is the relation between literary form and linguistic form? This theoretical study of linguistic structure in literature focuses on verse and narrative from a linguistic perspective. Nigel Fabb provides a simple and realistic linguistic explanation of poetic form in English from 1500–1900, drawing on the English and American verse and oral narrative tradition, as well as contemporary criticism. In recent years literary theory has paid relatively little attention to form; this book argues that form is interesting. Fabb offers a new linguistic approach to how metre and rhythm work in poetry, based on pragmatic theory and provides a pragmatic explanation of formal ambiguity and indeterminacy and their aesthetic effects. He also uses linguistics to examine the experience of poetry. Language and Literary Structure will be welcomed by students and researchers in linguistics, literary theory and stylistics.

How does a literary text get to have literary form, and what is the relation between literary form and linguistic form? This theoretical study of linguistic structure in literature focuses on verse and narrative from a linguistic perspective. Nigel Fabb provides a simple and realistic linguistic explanation of poetic form in English from 1500–1900, drawing on the English and American verse and oral narrative tradition, as well as contemporary criticism. In recent years literary theory has paid relatively little attention to form; this book argues that form is interesting. Fabb offers a new linguistic approach to how metre and rhythm work in poetry, based on pragmatic theory and provides a pragmatic explanation of formal ambiguity and indeterminacy and their aesthetic effects. He also uses linguistics to examine the experience of poetry. Language and Literary Structure will be welcomed by students and researchers in linguistics, literary theory and stylistics.

Linguistics and Literature is the first book to offer an overview of how linguistic theory can be applied to the oral and written literatures of the world