Old and new information in terms of text organization: Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance

Authors

  • Ömer Şekerci Süleyman Demirel University

Keywords:

Old and new information, text organization, drama, Wilde.

Abstract

This study aims to analyse “given” (or old) versus “new” information and topicality in Oscar Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance (1893). It examines appropriate patterns from the mentioned functional styles in A Woman of No Importance. It is a four-act- play. It is a society comedy. We have chosen the first act for analysis. The dialogues chosen from the first act are informal. Though numerous authors have written on the subject of “given” (or old) versus “new” information and topicality, it is hardly applied to drama texts. In order to analyse the deep structure of dramatic texts it is important to apply the principles of linguistics to drama. This study tends to analyse the selected play by Wilde from the perspective of “old” and “new” information and topicality. It deals with “givenness, predictability and relatedness”. It covers how “old” and “new” information is defined by leading linguists and figures and its application to specified dialogues. The case with the interpretation of “givenness” is sought for in it.


Özet

Çalışma, Oscar Wilde’ın Önemsiz Bir Kadın (1893) adlı oyunundaki “eski”, “yeni” bilgiyi konusallık bakımından, metindeki uygun dizinleri inceleyerek ele almaktadır. Birçok yazar “eski, yeni bilgi ve konusallık” üzerine birçok yazılar yazmalarına ve bu konuya eğilmelerine rağmen, “eski”, “yeni” bilgi, drama metinlerine nadiren uygulanmaktadır. Oscar Wilde’ın dört perdelik sosyal komedi olarak kabul edilen oyununun birinci perdesinin birinci sahnesinde geçen oldukça gayrı resmi diyaloglar “eski” “yeni” bilgi bakımında incelenmiştir. Drama metinlerindeki derin yapıyı analiz etmek için dilbilimin bazı unsurlarını drama metnine uygulamak son derece önem taşımaktadır. Çalışma “eski ve yeni” bilginin önde gelen dilbilimciler tarafından nasıl tanımlandığını verdikten sonra, oyunda geçen diyalogları eski bilgi (verilen bilgi), öngörülebilirlik, ilişki ve işlevsellik bakımında incelemektedir. Özellikle, diyaloglarda geçen verilen bilginin yorumlanması araştırılmıştır.

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Author Biography

Ömer Şekerci, Süleyman Demirel University

Assoc. Prof. Dr., Suleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Science and Letters, Department of English Language and Literature

References

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Published

2017-11-24

How to Cite

Şekerci, Ömer. (2017). Old and new information in terms of text organization: Wilde’s A Woman of No Importance. Journal of Human Sciences, 14(4), 3230–3238. Retrieved from https://j-humansciences.com/ojs/index.php/IJHS/article/view/4759

Issue

Section

English Literature and Teaching