Speech Acts and Literary Theory

by Sandy Petrey

This book, first published in 1990, combines an introduction to speech-act theory as developed by J. L. Austin with a survey of critical essays that have adapted Austin's thought for literary analysis. Speech-act theory emphasizes the social reality created when speakers agree that their language is performative - Austin's term for utterances like: "we hereby declare" or "I promise" that produce rather than describe what they name. In contrast...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1138689742
• ISBN13: 9781138689749
• Release Date: January 2018
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.2"