Introduction

This edited volume celebrates cutting-edge research in stylistics and, more specifically, recent work on sense and the senses. The title originated in the Poetics and Linguistics Association (PALA) 2022 conference and marks the 40th onsite event by showcasing some of the excellent papers delivered on that occasion.

Content and Focus

The selected chapters fall into 4 parts each of which gives pride of place to how style makes sense and how senses make style. The chapters follow research in neuroscience and sociocognition, investigate how body and mind are inextricably linked through embodied meaning; how emotions are both conveyed and perceived; and how impressions, thoughts and worldviews can be induced by a certain style.

Theoretical Approaches

The apprehension of the senses is carried through a variety of theories (cognitive linguistics and stylistics, ecostylistics, phenomenology, simulation theory, enactivism, metaphor theory, Text World Theory) and is applied to various genres (poetry, novels, short stories, detective fiction, restaurant reviews) and media (the oral vs written tradition, ekphrasis, and semiotic transfers).

Intended Audience

This book will be of interest to students and academics in stylistics, cognitive linguistics, discourse analysis, ecostylistics, and multimodality.