BY
DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES
COMSATS INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY,
VIRTUAL CAMPUS
FALL 2016
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A Stylistic Analysis of Robert Frosts Poems: Fire and Ice & A Question
A Research Project submitted in the partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of
Arts in English
BY:
MUHAMMAD ALI BAIG
CIIT/SP15-MENG-007/CVC
MUHAMMAD ADNAN QURESHI
CIIT/SP15-MENG-008/CVC
MUHAMMAD SAEED QASIM
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-035/CVC
MUHAMMAD FAZL UL HAQ
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-036/CVC
ADIL WAHID BUTT
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-046/CVC
USMAN RASHEED
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-052/CVC
MUHAMMAD FAROOQ
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-053/CVC
SAFDAR ABBASS KAZMI
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-057/CVC
SHAMS UL HASSAN
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-066/CVC
ABDUL HAFEEZ
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-101/CVC
WAQAS MEHMOOD
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-160/CVC
MUHAMMAD AZHAR TUFAIL
CIIT/ FA14-MENG-082/CVC
MUHAMMAD FAROOQ
CIIT/ FA14-MENG-084/CVC
IMRAN SHAHZAD
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-081/CVC
WAQAS KHAWAR
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-089/CVC
QAISAR ABBAS
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-093/CVC
HABIB UR REHMAN
CIIT/ SP15-MENG-102/CVC
SUPERVISOR:
ANMOL AHMAD
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SESSION 2014-16
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FINAL APPROVAL
By
________________________ _______________________
DECLARATION
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We hereby declare that the research project A Stylistic Analysis of Robert Frosts Poems:
Fire and Ice & A Question is the work of our independent investigation except where we
have indicated our indebtedness to other sources. We also declare that this thesis has not been
submitted for any other degree elsewhere.
Candidate (WaqasKhawar)
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DEDICATION
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of the world,
To our kindteachers who paved the path for us to make our studies, a
that we are,
And,
To all those people who have kept humanity alive in their souls
despite knowing the fact that being human is the hardest chapter in
the book of life, there are millions of humans yet humanity is a rarity
to be found.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The utmost appreciation to the Almighty Allah to whom we bow down, for blessing
us with the wealth of Emaanand making us reach at this point in the journey of life.Further
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on, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the following people who have been so
It is with immense gratefulness that we acknowledge the support and help of our
priceless suggestions, the completion of this research project would not have been possible.
families and our friends, who made us learn those valuable lessons of life which are not to be
We place on record, tremendous thanks to our respective mothers for their heart
It is crucial to thank our kind teachers for their guidance and patience during the
coursework of our studies; their care, assistance and keenness is highly appreciated by all of
us.
own group mates who have worked for this venture as a team and have given each other
ABSTRACT
Stylistics is the linguistic study of word choice by an author within a text for the reflection of
authorial intent. Due to its widespread application, the aim of this research project was to
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stylistically analyze the poems written by Robert Frost. Convenient Sampling technique was
used to collect two poems written by Robert Frost, Fire and Ice and A Question as the
population of this study. The findings revealed that fire and ice by Robert Frost is a literary
Irony in which he has chosen to talk about the darkest aspect of human world. This analysis
helps the reader to understand the theme of the poem that the fire represents desire and ice
represents hate. The poem is symbolic and the diction is simple but evocative. Various
stylistic devices like imagery, paradox and assonance are used in this single nine line stanza
poem. Although the poem is short but it contains the deeper connotations. The poem ' A
Question revolves around a vivid and compelling question about the existence of human
being on earth and the price they have to pay for their birth on the earth. The diction used in
the poem is very vivid and elaborative which clearly expresses the thoughts and feelings of
the poet, thus creating a pictorial image of human life, death and sufferings. The
aforementioned results paved the way for young researchers to apply the technique of
stylistic analysis on many other renowned literary works for their improved comprehension.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE i
DECLARATION FORM v
DEDICATION viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ix
ABSTRACT x
TABLE OF CONTENTS xi
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1. Language 1
1.2. Linguistics 5
1.3.8 Micro-Linguistics 8
1.3.9 Macro-Linguistics 9
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1.4. Stylistics 9
1.6. Objectives 12
1.7. Rationale 12
1.8. Research Questions 13
1.9. Significance of the Study 13
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW 15
2.1. Style 15
2.2. Stylistics 16
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 22
3.1.1.Interpretivism 23
3.1.2. Constructivism 23
3.4. Population 25
3.5. Sampling 25
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CHAPTER 4
4.1.1.Title 26
4.1.2.Theme 27
4.1.5.Rhyme Scheme 28
4.1.6. Paradox 28
4.1.7.Irony 29
4.1.8.Stylistic Devices 29
4.1.8.1 Assonance 29
4.1.8.2 Cacophony 30
4.1.8.3 Consonance 30
4.1.8.4 Alliteration 30
4.1.8.5 Onomatopoeia 31
4.1.8.6 Imagery 31
4.1.8.7 Personification 32
4.1.8.8 Antithesis 32
4.1.8.9 Metaphor 33
4.1.8.10 Symbolism 33
4.1.8.11 Connotation 33
4.2.1.Title 34
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4.2.2.Theme 34
4.2.5.Rhyme Scheme 35
4.2.6. Paradox 35
4.2.7.Irony 36
4.2.8.Stylistic Devices 36
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION 39
REFERENCES 41