Charles Dickens Syntax

Charles Dickens Superiority

Grammar – it’s a big word, and the word has different meanings – to a lot of different people. But, the aspects of grammar discussed in this paper, pertain to the link between cohesion, rhythm, and voice that is found through syntactic structure and context. Accurate sentence structure requires effective handling of syntax, the structure of sentences, to produce unity. Context provides meaning, which in turn, enables the writer to communicate efficiently to the reader. This research examines Charles Dickens’ use of cohesion, rhythm, and voice using the structure of linguistic syntax to investigate how Dickens constructed sentences. Additionally, this paper will attempt to prove or disprove if context and meaning

is affected by cohesion, rhythm and voice in two Dickens books: Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.
COHESION
Cohesion is the property of unity in linguistics, the act of sticking words and meaning together. Text and meaning are linked together using cohesive devises. “Cohesive devices show the reader the relationship between one idea and another. The five rhetorical devices that writers use to show the connection between sentences are reference, ellipsis, substitution, lexical cohesion, and conjunction” (Dr. Roy). For this paper, we will discuss the vital category of reference; specifically anaphoric reference. Susan Strauss and Parastou Feiz, authors of, "Putting our World into Words – Discourse Analysis” wrote, “Anaphoric reference is, without a doubt, the most basic, the most essential of all cohesive devices in language and discourse” (Strauss and Feiz 148). The anaphoric reference in the text points backwards to a referent that is a thing or idea previously mentioned in the text. For example, Charles Dickens uses the anaphoric reference in Oliver Twist in the following passage, “Oliver, being left to himself in the undertaker's shop, set the lamp down on a workman's bench, and gazed timidly about him with a feeling of awe and dread, which many people a good deal older than he will be at no loss to understand” (p 33). This anaphoric reference has several units: himself, him, and he; which refer back to Oliver, who was introduced earlier in the text. Please note, without the dependent clause at the end of the sentence, the context would have changed. Examination of context and meaning are done later in this paper. But for now, Charles Dickens skillfully uses anaphoric resource to add context, create cohesion, and also build a rhythmic structure in his writing.
RHYTHM
Cohesion and rhythm are linked through syntactic structure and context. Arranging units and sentences to illuminate specific words and phrases creates rhythmic beats. These rhythmic beats are the result of both sentence structures and the author’s interpretation. It is true that rhythm is a regular term for repetition in the structure, but there is also a rhythm that is a form of subjectivity; interpretation based on personal opinions. “Every writer has a personal rhythm; individuality is expressed through rhythm,” (Burch and Verdicchio p 162-163). For instance, each time a writer highlights words by placement within the sentence structure, they are creating individual rhythm. It is safe to say, Dickens established rhythm in his writing by using specific words and phrases and he arranged them in such a way as to display meaning prominently throughout his work.
Literary structure, transitional phrases, word arrangement, punctuation and grammar are key components to establish rhythm. "If we want readers to understand our intentions and to focus on the important information, we must help them by taking sentence rhythm into account" (Kolln and Gray, 102). Take for example, in the following sentence from David Copperfield, Dickens uses systematic rhythm with commas to lend depth to the passage: "The fire was bright, the ashes were thrown up, the locker was ready for Emily in her old place" (517). With the comma, Dickens creates rhythm by placing emphasis on specific words, bright and up. It is becoming clear that meaning and context are definitely affected by Dickens's rhythm, which in turn, provides uniqueness to the author’s voice.
VOICE
Voice is a common term for how individuals communicate verbally, but the term is also used to describe the style of the author’s writing. Paul Elbow author of Writing without Teachers wrote, ‘‘In your natural way of producing words there is a sound, a texture, a rhythm–a voice–which is the main source of power in your writing” (p. 6). An author combines syntax a cohesive and rhythmic pattern to create voice. Cohesive and rhythmic patterns are a result of grammatical composition, but again, the words must include expression and meaning. For instance, the interest that makes the reader pay attention to an author’s words is called: a generating of expression – it is the drive that energizes the meaning and unity (Elbow p. 6). Meaning – here we have the word again. Let’s look at an example from David Copperfield; Dickens combines this sentence with unique words and phrases into a cohesive text to make a statement, “My advice is, never do tomorrow what you can do today” (p 189). What Dickens did was give voice to his unique expression through syntactic arrangement but also meaning.
Additionally, there are different types of a subordinate clause that allow writers to group clauses into cohesive portions of text to make them more powerful (Miller p 164). This means that Dickens can alter the voice of his writing by reordering words to generate specific meaning.
CONTEXT AND MEANING
Context is the part of writing that follows or precedes a word or phrase, which contributes to the full meaning of the text.

While effective syntactic knowledge provides tools to control specific words and phrase, it’s context that puts meaning to the text. Writers consider how to shape their writing by bearing in mind context. For example, specific phrases can be rearranged to highlight particular words, but if left out of the sentence or even a paragraph, the context and meaning can become lost or change. Consider when Charles Dickens author of Oliver Twist wrote the following passage, “It was a cheerless morning when they got into the street; blowing and raining hard; and the clouds looking dull and stormy” (p 176). Now imagine quoting only part of the sentence: “It was a cheerless morning when they got into the street.” Strictly speaking this is an accurate quote because it did come from the original sentence, but it is misleading –because, it is missing information that you need in order to understand what Dickens is trying to say. What has been omitted from the sentence is context that provides additional meaning. Context is meaningful information that is needed to interpret a word or phrase that could otherwise be interpreted in a number of different ways. Without the context, Dickens appears to be speaking about a cheerless morning, which could mean the group is miserable. When the context is added back in, it is clear that Dickens is speaking about gloomy

weather.
“Not all of language meaning depends on the words in the sentence or even the structure of the sentence” (Dr. Roy). What Dr. Roy is pointing toward, is an even deeper meaning to the words that support the context. Consider the world that Dickens lived in; the context, or rather the meaning, of his writing, was influenced by the world around him. While syntactic language and rhetorical devices help Dickens construct his writing, his words were swayed by his environment, as well as his past and present experiences and circumstances.
CONCLUSION
Studies showed the three features of writing cohesion, rhythm and voice are very much link and interconnected to each other.

These three features rely tightly on a syntactic structural foundation that the aspects would struggle and cease to exist without each other. However, it is my findings that these three features do not rely strictly on sentence structure to create flow. The author creates and builds individualism through a deeper understanding of the environment around him and his readers. What is going on in the world around the readers and writers, will influence thoughts and feelings that give specific meaning and voice to the text. Putting it all together, cohesion, rhythm, voice, context and meaning is what made Dickens superior at his

craft.