Literary Texts and Descriptive Language

Literary Texts and Description

Description in literature involves detailed portrayal through language. Unlike the dynamic nature of narrative, description is static, slowing or halting the action to focus on the described element. Text can be classified based on various criteria, such as the author's intention (objective description reflecting reality) or the described item.

Descriptive Language

Descriptive language requires precision, attention to detail, and careful selection of linguistic resources. These resources are present at every level of a literary text.

What is a Literary Text?

A literary text uses language in a specific way, employing elements of literary communication. It's a communicative and social phenomenon, a form of delayed communication where contact between sender and receiver isn't direct. Key elements include:

• Emitter (Author): The individual author conveys their subjective worldview.
• Receptor (Reader): The universal reader interprets the text's meaning.
• Message: This has a dual meaning: the author's intended meaning and the reader's individual interpretation.
• Channel: The author aims for the text to endure, remaining unaltered over time. Originally, texts were transmitted orally.
• Code: The author adapts language rules and structures to their communicative intent.
• Extralinguistic Situation: The circumstances surrounding the text, including the pursuit of beauty through words, contribute to the literary text's characteristics.

Characteristics of Literary Texts

• Subjectivity: The author expresses their personal vision of reality with creative freedom.
• Literary Devices: Expressive effects, like literary figures, surprise the reader.
• Multiple Meanings: Polysemous terms with different meanings are frequently used.
• Language Functions: The poetic function is dominant, often alongside referential, metalinguistic, phatic, and appellative functions.

Textual Modalities

Different textual modalities serve dual purposes:

• Narration: Develops actions happening to characters.
• Description: Defines elements to create a clear image for the reader.
• Dialogue: Represents conversations between characters, providing information and expanding the reader's knowledge.
• Argumentation: Persuades the reader of a specific idea.