On Stylistics (in response to S E Fish)
This article was written as a commentary on the article "What Is Stylistics and Why Are They Saying Such Terrible Things About It?" by Stanley E Fish. I wrote it while I was studying for a general diploma at Ain Shams University in 2006. Works of art are not created in a vacuum. They signify a specific meaning the writer has in mind which s/he tries to convey through language. Language form is not a conveyor of meaning unless contextualized. The choices the writer makes from among the different linguistic forms available to him/her are deliberate – unless otherwise stated by the writer him-/herself – on the belief that they help him/her in getting his/her message through. Even if this selection is not deliberate, it comes by naturally and is therefore an evidence of a deep linguistic understanding that has become so natural as to be recalled unconsciously to express specific meanings. As we have learnt from sociolinguistics, no single linguistic form is restricted to c...