Corpus Stylistics and Dickens’ Fiction

This book presents a way into the Dickensian world that starts from linguistic patterns, employing corpus linguistic methodology to study electronic versions of his texts. The analysis begins with clusters -- i.e. repeated sequences of words -- as pointers to local textual functions, and quantitative findings are completed with qualitative analyses and linguistic patterns of various degrees of flexibility are identified. The study also incorporates comparable data from other nineteenth-century writers. With its corpus stylistics focus, the book presents an innovative approach to the language of one of the most popular English authors, taking a fresh view on aspects such as characterization, speech and body language. Thus, Mahlberg bridges the gap between linguistic and literary studies, providing a useful resource for both researchers and students of language and literature.