Sovremennye Issledovaniâ Socialʹnyh Problem (Dec 2019)
SPECIFICS OF THE WRITER’S OPEN LECTURE AS AN EXAMPLE OF PUBLIC DISCOURSE (BASED ON THE MATERIAL OF REITH LECTURES BY H. MANTEL)
Abstract
Purpose. The article focuses on the communicative strategies and structure of the public discourse with the reference to the Reith Lectures presented by Hilary Mantel on BBC RADIO 4 in 2017. Method or methodology of the work. The public discourse research has been conducted by means of the structural analysis in combination with the intertextual analysis, semantic and stylistic analysis as well as some elements of the discourse analysis. According to the form and the content, Reith lectures are to be considered a genre variety of public discourse, presupposing audio interaction of the speaker and the audience in order to convey certain information from the stance of the speaker or somebody else’s, whom the speaker respects. Considering the public discourse structural model suggested by O.F. Rusakova, it should be pointed out that the author distinguishes the following interconnected elements, such as ‘intention’, ‘performance’, ‘virtual plan’, and ‘contextual plan’. In H. Mantel’s lectures the intention is manifested in the form of the audio discourse, i.e. performance by means of a unique beginning, figurative and ludic narration, question-answer strategy for maintaining contact with the audience, utilizing formal and colloquial lexis, lingua-stylistic devices – allusions, metaphors, similes, epithets, repetitions. The сontextual plan also comes to the fore, as all the five lectures are traditionally performed at certain locations either connected with the theme of the lecture or the lecturer herself, which is announced by the presenter. Results. It is concluded that the structure of the writer’s open lecture is based on the interaction of the intentional, virtual, contextual and psychological plans, setting the selection of the narrative strategies of the speaker. Depending on the speaker’s intention and individual style, certain elements of the public discourse structure come to the fore. Practical implications. The results of this analysis should be useful for preparing a public performance and getting acquainted with the works of H. Mantel, one of the renowned contemporary English authors.
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