Chapter 10. “She enjoys being stroked”, “They are affectionate, lively and interactive boys”
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Daniela Francesca Virdis
Abstract
This chapter analyses animal agency in a corpus of texts from the website of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, an English charity rehoming dogs and cats, more precisely from the cat rehoming gallery. The chapter firstly provides definitions of alternative discourse and of agency in the disciplines of human-animal studies and Hallidayan functional grammar. Secondly, the theoretical framework and methodology of functional grammar are applied to the corpus in order to classify all the processes performed by the cats into the six Hallidayan process types and to examine their stylistic representation. In accordance with the aims and scope of ecostylistics, the main research purpose is to demonstrate that the website constructs an environmentally-conscious alternative discourse instilling respect for the Battersea cats and paying tribute to them as independent living beings with their own experiences and priorities.
Abstract
This chapter analyses animal agency in a corpus of texts from the website of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, an English charity rehoming dogs and cats, more precisely from the cat rehoming gallery. The chapter firstly provides definitions of alternative discourse and of agency in the disciplines of human-animal studies and Hallidayan functional grammar. Secondly, the theoretical framework and methodology of functional grammar are applied to the corpus in order to classify all the processes performed by the cats into the six Hallidayan process types and to examine their stylistic representation. In accordance with the aims and scope of ecostylistics, the main research purpose is to demonstrate that the website constructs an environmentally-conscious alternative discourse instilling respect for the Battersea cats and paying tribute to them as independent living beings with their own experiences and priorities.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
- Chapter 2. Thematic adverbial adjuncts of place and direction and their relationship to conceptual metaphor in A. E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad 17
- Chapter 3. Death by nature in two poems by Alden Nowlan 45
- Chapter 4. Liminal islands 65
- Chapter 5. Urban metaphors 85
- Chapter 6. The Arabic of Dune 105
- Chapter 7. (Re)mapping “authentic” London 125
- Chapter 8. “Boston Strong” 147
- Chapter 9. Naming as styling 167
- Chapter 10. “She enjoys being stroked”, “They are affectionate, lively and interactive boys” 189
- Chapter 11. “Your planet needs you” 209
- Chapter 12. London past and present 229
- Name Index 253
- Subject Index 255
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
- Chapter 2. Thematic adverbial adjuncts of place and direction and their relationship to conceptual metaphor in A. E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad 17
- Chapter 3. Death by nature in two poems by Alden Nowlan 45
- Chapter 4. Liminal islands 65
- Chapter 5. Urban metaphors 85
- Chapter 6. The Arabic of Dune 105
- Chapter 7. (Re)mapping “authentic” London 125
- Chapter 8. “Boston Strong” 147
- Chapter 9. Naming as styling 167
- Chapter 10. “She enjoys being stroked”, “They are affectionate, lively and interactive boys” 189
- Chapter 11. “Your planet needs you” 209
- Chapter 12. London past and present 229
- Name Index 253
- Subject Index 255