Pub Date : 2026-05-23DOI: 10.1177/09639470261455991
Roi Tartakovsky
In Principles of Literary Criticism , IA Richards articulates succinctly what is perhaps his most pointed position on the centrality of sound in poetry: ‘in most cases’, he writes, the sound ‘is the key to the effects of poetry’. While Richards never says exactly why or how sound is so important, we can begin to understand this when we address what he says elsewhere in the book about sound. This article suggests that two interrelated points in Richards’ thinking help us understand sound as the key to the effects of poetry. First, Richards understands sounds to be in-and-of-themselves empty, gaining meaning or emotional weight only when they are heard within a given context (that of the reader and of the poem). Second, he sees emotional, rather than intellectual, effects as the stuff of poetic language, and so the centrality of sound is logically contingent on a link that Richards hints at between sound and emotion. This article pursues these two points with recourse to Richards and to other, both earlier and later, theorisations of the role of sound, before illustrating Richards’ position with the aid of Keats’ poem ‘On the Sea’.
{"title":"‘The key to the effects of poetry’: IA Richards and the centrality of sound","authors":"Roi Tartakovsky","doi":"10.1177/09639470261455991","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09639470261455991","url":null,"abstract":"In <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Principles of Literary Criticism</jats:italic> , IA Richards articulates succinctly what is perhaps his most pointed position on the centrality of sound in poetry: ‘in most cases’, he writes, the sound ‘is the key to the effects of poetry’. While Richards never says exactly why or how sound is so important, we can begin to understand this when we address what he says elsewhere in the book about sound. This article suggests that two interrelated points in Richards’ thinking help us understand sound as the key to the effects of poetry. First, Richards understands sounds to be in-and-of-themselves empty, gaining meaning or emotional weight only when they are heard within a given context (that of the reader and of the poem). Second, he sees emotional, rather than intellectual, effects as the stuff of poetic language, and so the centrality of sound is logically contingent on a link that Richards hints at between sound and emotion. This article pursues these two points with recourse to Richards and to other, both earlier and later, theorisations of the role of sound, before illustrating Richards’ position with the aid of Keats’ poem ‘On the Sea’.","PeriodicalId":45849,"journal":{"name":"Language and Literature","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148285750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-16DOI: 10.1177/09639470261422520
Yulia Hathaway
Linguistic negation has been described as a natural foregrounding device, with some researchers noting that foregrounding with negators is not always marked grammatically, but also semantically or through textual effect. However, most studies focus on the use of sentential negation (e.g., not, no ), whereas other expressions of negation, such as affixal negation, remain understudied. Recent research indicates that affixal negation is used by speakers to convey a variety of opposite meanings, often in creative and subtle ways. This study is a systematic investigation of the use of negative affixes in an oppositional discourse, namely discourse on race in the USA. The dataset is a specialized corpus, The Corpus of the Non-Fictional Writings by Ta-Nehisi Coates (COCO) (468,899 words, 1996–2018). Methodologically, the study combines corpus linguistic techniques with co(n)textual discourse analysis. The results show that affixal negation in COCO, particularly with the prefixes un-, non- and anti-, is used by Coates to disrupt patterns of collocations, fixed expressions or phrases, producing either lexically or semantically deviant instances. Thus, affixal negation has a foregrounding effect and a potential to introduce evaluative clashes in a discourse. The findings, examined through the lens of linguistic creativity, indicate that Coates employs affixal negation to perform various functions: from explicit foregrounding (e.g., as attention-seeking devices) to a subtle critique of societal norms and established institutional order (e.g., renaming concepts to offer an alternative perspective on reality).
{"title":"Affixal negation and linguistic creativity: A corpus-based case study of negative affixes in Ta-Nehisi Coates’s discourse on race","authors":"Yulia Hathaway","doi":"10.1177/09639470261422520","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09639470261422520","url":null,"abstract":"Linguistic negation has been described as a natural foregrounding device, with some researchers noting that foregrounding with negators is not always marked grammatically, but also semantically or through textual effect. However, most studies focus on the use of sentential negation (e.g., <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">not, no</jats:italic> ), whereas other expressions of negation, such as affixal negation, remain understudied. Recent research indicates that affixal negation is used by speakers to convey a variety of opposite meanings, often in creative and subtle ways. This study is a systematic investigation of the use of negative affixes in an oppositional discourse, namely discourse on race in the USA. The dataset is a specialized corpus, <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">The Corpus of the Non-Fictional Writings by Ta-Nehisi Coates (COCO)</jats:italic> (468,899 words, 1996–2018). Methodologically, the study combines corpus linguistic techniques with co(n)textual discourse analysis. The results show that affixal negation in COCO, particularly with the prefixes <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">un-, non-</jats:italic> and <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">anti-,</jats:italic> is used by Coates to disrupt patterns of collocations, fixed expressions or phrases, producing either lexically or semantically deviant instances. Thus, affixal negation has a foregrounding effect and a potential to introduce evaluative clashes in a discourse. The findings, examined through the lens of linguistic creativity, indicate that Coates employs affixal negation to perform various functions: from explicit foregrounding (e.g., as attention-seeking devices) to a subtle critique of societal norms and established institutional order (e.g., renaming concepts to offer an alternative perspective on reality).","PeriodicalId":45849,"journal":{"name":"Language and Literature","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147684591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-03DOI: 10.1177/09639470261419881
Lorenzo Mastropierro, Pablo Ruano San Segundo
This paper explores - ly adverbs in fictional reported speech. Specifically, it combines quantitative, corpus-based perspectives to qualitative analysis to investigate the co-occurrence of - ly adverbs and reporting verbs in 225 English novels (26M words). With an evidential basis significantly larger than what was taken into account by previous research, this paper offers both an overview of the frequency of usage of - ly adverbs in fictional reported speech and a detailed investigation of the most frequent patterns of co-occurrence between these adverbs and verbs. Moreover, building on the quantitative data, we propose a classification model of - ly adverbs that shows the main functions these items enact when used with reporting verbs. Overall, this paper contributes importantly to further our understanding of the stylistic role - ly adverbs play in fictional speech presentation, shedding light on both the patterns they create and the functions they enact.
{"title":"- ly adverbs in fictional speech presentation: Functions and patterns","authors":"Lorenzo Mastropierro, Pablo Ruano San Segundo","doi":"10.1177/09639470261419881","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09639470261419881","url":null,"abstract":"This paper explores - <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">ly</jats:italic> adverbs in fictional reported speech. Specifically, it combines quantitative, corpus-based perspectives to qualitative analysis to investigate the co-occurrence of - <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">ly</jats:italic> adverbs and reporting verbs in 225 English novels (26M words). With an evidential basis significantly larger than what was taken into account by previous research, this paper offers both an overview of the frequency of usage of - <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">ly</jats:italic> adverbs in fictional reported speech and a detailed investigation of the most frequent patterns of co-occurrence between these adverbs and verbs. Moreover, building on the quantitative data, we propose a classification model of - <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">ly</jats:italic> adverbs that shows the main functions these items enact when used with reporting verbs. Overall, this paper contributes importantly to further our understanding of the stylistic role - <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">ly</jats:italic> adverbs play in fictional speech presentation, shedding light on both the patterns they create and the functions they enact.","PeriodicalId":45849,"journal":{"name":"Language and Literature","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146115675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-23DOI: 10.1177/09639470261417749
Huiling Chen, Runze Zhang
{"title":"Book Review: Ritual and language KádárDániel, Ritual and Language, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2024; 262 pp.: ISBN: 9781108472968, $105.00(hbk).","authors":"Huiling Chen, Runze Zhang","doi":"10.1177/09639470261417749","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09639470261417749","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45849,"journal":{"name":"Language and Literature","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146032723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-16DOI: 10.1177/09639470261417748
Esterino Adami
{"title":"Negation, expectation and ideology in written texts. A textual and communicative perspective NahajecLisa, Negation, Expectation and Ideology in Written Texts. A Textual and Communicative Perspective. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2021, xiii+218pp.: ISBN 9789027208682, €99.00 (hbk).","authors":"Esterino Adami","doi":"10.1177/09639470261417748","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09639470261417748","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45849,"journal":{"name":"Language and Literature","volume":"81 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145986248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-13DOI: 10.1177/09639470261417388
Maria Fanlo-Pinies
{"title":"Book Review: Children’s Literature and Childhood Discourses: Exploring Identity through Fiction Cermakova A and Mahlberg M (2024) Children’s Literature and Childhood Discourses: Exploring Identity Through Fiction. London: Bloomsbury, p. 280. ISBN: 9781350177000, £90.00 (ebk).","authors":"Maria Fanlo-Pinies","doi":"10.1177/09639470261417388","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09639470261417388","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45849,"journal":{"name":"Language and Literature","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145955053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-29DOI: 10.1177/09639470251404158
Samuel Bourgeois
This article pursues two main research aims. First, it examines how two politicians running for president in 2016 strategically drew on stereotypical tropes of Metropolitan New Yorkers to characterize themselves as brash and argumentative ‘tough guys’ from New York City and North New Jersey respectively in an effort to project strength and effectiveness as leaders. Second, it tests the extent to which Donald Trump’s abrasive persona was truly unique and norm-breaking upon his entrance into politics. Through comparative case studies of Trump and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – both known for characterizing themselves as New York/New Jersey tough guys during the 2016 Republican primaries – this study examines their rhetorical styles prior to and during the 2016 primary debates. While both figures attracted attention for their impoliteness and blunt speech, only Trump successfully translated this into political success in the primaries and general election alike. While Christie’s brash rhetorical use of impoliteness maintained an image closely tied to that of a New Jersey tough guy, Trump’s tough-guy persona became increasingly idiomatic as his career developed from the 2000s. Moreover, Trump is found to use impoliteness strategies that are more gratuitously face-aggravating and ad hominem in nature. The data therefore confirms that Trump indeed entered politics as a more brash, offensive and norm-challenging politician even when compared to others, including those from his home region.
{"title":"‘Just saying it like it is’: A comparative study on the characterizations of Chris Christie and Donald Trump as tough-guy politicians","authors":"Samuel Bourgeois","doi":"10.1177/09639470251404158","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09639470251404158","url":null,"abstract":"This article pursues two main research aims. First, it examines how two politicians running for president in 2016 strategically drew on stereotypical tropes of Metropolitan New Yorkers to characterize themselves as brash and argumentative ‘tough guys’ from New York City and North New Jersey respectively in an effort to project strength and effectiveness as leaders. Second, it tests the extent to which Donald Trump’s abrasive persona was truly unique and norm-breaking upon his entrance into politics. Through comparative case studies of Trump and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – both known for characterizing themselves as New York/New Jersey tough guys during the 2016 Republican primaries – this study examines their rhetorical styles prior to and during the 2016 primary debates. While both figures attracted attention for their impoliteness and blunt speech, only Trump successfully translated this into political success in the primaries and general election alike. While Christie’s brash rhetorical use of impoliteness maintained an image closely tied to that of a New Jersey tough guy, Trump’s tough-guy persona became increasingly idiomatic as his career developed from the 2000s. Moreover, Trump is found to use impoliteness strategies that are more gratuitously face-aggravating and <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">ad hominem</jats:italic> in nature. The data therefore confirms that Trump indeed entered politics as a more brash, offensive and norm-challenging politician even when compared to others, including those from his home region.","PeriodicalId":45849,"journal":{"name":"Language and Literature","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145619523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-19DOI: 10.1177/09639470251400404
Carmen Bonasera, Piergiorgio Trevisan
This paper empirically investigates how stylistic foregrounding affects narrative empathy toward unconventional characters, focusing on Daniel Keyes’s Flowers for Algernon (1959), a short story about a cognitively delayed janitor who, after a futuristic treatment, turns into a genius and then regresses to neurodivergence. Our questionnaire-based study compared readers’ empathic responses to original excerpts—rich in linguistic deviations mirroring the protagonist’s cognitive shifts—with responses to manipulated, stylistically neutral versions. Although we hypothesized that foregrounding would enhance empathy, quantitative data reported higher empathy scores for readers of the manipulated versions, though with no statistically significant differences between conditions. Regression analysis showed that aesthetic appreciation was the strongest predictor of state empathy. Foregrounding, conversely, emerged as a negative predictor, suggesting that salient stylistic features may distract from emotional immersion for some readers. However, collected post-reading reflections suggest that foregrounding fosters stronger emotional connections by creating more challenging emotional reactions, as readers become progressively involved in the narrator’s developments and regressions that materialize in his writing style. We provide multiple interpretations of the observed effects of foregrounding in relation to personal factors and the specific literary specimen, highlighting that foregrounding can both enhance and inhibit empathy depending on reader characteristics such as language proficiency and aesthetic sensitivity. While accessibility may facilitate immediate emotional connection, stylistic complexity appears to support reflective, often more intense responses. This study highlights the multifaceted role of literary style in shaping narrative empathy and suggests the need to account for individual reader differences in future empirical research.
{"title":"Neurodivergence, foregrounding, and narrative empathy: A study on readers’ responses to textual manipulation","authors":"Carmen Bonasera, Piergiorgio Trevisan","doi":"10.1177/09639470251400404","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09639470251400404","url":null,"abstract":"This paper empirically investigates how stylistic foregrounding affects narrative empathy toward unconventional characters, focusing on Daniel Keyes’s <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Flowers for Algernon</jats:italic> (1959), a short story about a cognitively delayed janitor who, after a futuristic treatment, turns into a genius and then regresses to neurodivergence. Our questionnaire-based study compared readers’ empathic responses to original excerpts—rich in linguistic deviations mirroring the protagonist’s cognitive shifts—with responses to manipulated, stylistically neutral versions. Although we hypothesized that foregrounding would enhance empathy, quantitative data reported higher empathy scores for readers of the manipulated versions, though with no statistically significant differences between conditions. Regression analysis showed that aesthetic appreciation was the strongest predictor of state empathy. Foregrounding, conversely, emerged as a negative predictor, suggesting that salient stylistic features may distract from emotional immersion for some readers. However, collected post-reading reflections suggest that foregrounding fosters stronger emotional connections by creating more challenging emotional reactions, as readers become progressively involved in the narrator’s developments and regressions that materialize in his writing style. We provide multiple interpretations of the observed effects of foregrounding in relation to personal factors and the specific literary specimen, highlighting that foregrounding can both enhance and inhibit empathy depending on reader characteristics such as language proficiency and aesthetic sensitivity. While accessibility may facilitate immediate emotional connection, stylistic complexity appears to support reflective, often more intense responses. This study highlights the multifaceted role of literary style in shaping narrative empathy and suggests the need to account for individual reader differences in future empirical research.","PeriodicalId":45849,"journal":{"name":"Language and Literature","volume":"134 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2025-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145545672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-01DOI: 10.1177/09639470251381545
Charles Forceville
Language is not necessary to narrate even quite complex tales; indeed, stories can be narrated completely visually. This paper analyses Marc-Antoine Mathieu’s entirely wordless → – also known as Sens – published in 2014, to demonstrate that viewers understand this graphic novel by drawing on (1) their knowledge of story conventions; (2) their comprehension of the ways in which the medium of the graphic novel is able to narrate; (3) their embodied awareness of image schemas, specifically the SOURCE-PATH-GOAL , FORCES , and BALANCE schemas that are at the root of the LIFE IS A JOURNEY metaphor; (4) familiarity with any other pertinent artistic texts and cultural knowledge they happen to be able to recruit. In this way, the paper aims to show the interrelation between visual communication and cognition; to contribute to the study of comics and graphic novels; and to pay tribute to Mathieu’s amazing work of art.
{"title":"The JOURNEY metaphor in Marc-Antoine Mathieu’s graphic novel → ( Sens )","authors":"Charles Forceville","doi":"10.1177/09639470251381545","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09639470251381545","url":null,"abstract":"Language is not necessary to narrate even quite complex tales; indeed, stories can be narrated completely visually. This paper analyses Marc-Antoine Mathieu’s entirely wordless → – also known as <jats:italic>Sens</jats:italic> – published in 2014, to demonstrate that viewers understand this graphic novel by drawing on (1) their knowledge of story conventions; (2) their comprehension of the ways in which the medium of the graphic novel is able to narrate; (3) their embodied awareness of image schemas, specifically the <jats:sc>SOURCE-PATH-GOAL</jats:sc> , <jats:sc>FORCES</jats:sc> , and <jats:sc>BALANCE</jats:sc> schemas that are at the root of the <jats:sc>LIFE IS A JOURNEY</jats:sc> metaphor; (4) familiarity with any other pertinent artistic texts and cultural knowledge they happen to be able to recruit. In this way, the paper aims to show the interrelation between visual communication and cognition; to contribute to the study of comics and graphic novels; and to pay tribute to Mathieu’s amazing work of art.","PeriodicalId":45849,"journal":{"name":"Language and Literature","volume":"85 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145247683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-29DOI: 10.1177/09639470251337794
Giulia Grisot, Berenike Herrmann
Heidi, a quintessential Swiss fictional character, has left an enduring imprint on global culture, surpassing the confines of mere literature to become a cultural phenomenon. Our study delves into the timeless allure of Spyri’s novel by examining its portrayal of spatial and emotional dimensions. Using a mixed-method approach that combines computational methods and human annotations, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between emotional content and landscape representation in Heidi , emphasizing the narrative’s reverential treatment of nature’s influence and reaffirming the novel’s dichotomous depiction of nature versus urbanity. Our investigation also exposes, however, disparities between computational sentiment analysis and human interpretations, underscoring some of the limitations of lexicon-based sentiment analysis methods. By advocating for a holistic approach that amalgamates computational techniques with human insights, we advocate for a nuanced understanding of sentiment analysis in literary works, one that acknowledges the subtleties and complexities woven into the narrative. We call for continued exploration to refine sentiment lexicons, explore sentiment variation across diverse literary genres and cultural contexts, and delve deeper into the interplay between sentiment and fictional space.
{"title":"Is Heidi really happier in the mountains? A mixed-methods investigation of spatial affect in fiction","authors":"Giulia Grisot, Berenike Herrmann","doi":"10.1177/09639470251337794","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09639470251337794","url":null,"abstract":"Heidi, a quintessential Swiss fictional character, has left an enduring imprint on global culture, surpassing the confines of mere literature to become a cultural phenomenon. Our study delves into the timeless allure of Spyri’s novel by examining its portrayal of spatial and emotional dimensions. Using a mixed-method approach that combines computational methods and human annotations, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between emotional content and landscape representation in <jats:italic>Heidi</jats:italic> , emphasizing the narrative’s reverential treatment of nature’s influence and reaffirming the novel’s dichotomous depiction of nature versus urbanity. Our investigation also exposes, however, disparities between computational sentiment analysis and human interpretations, underscoring some of the limitations of lexicon-based sentiment analysis methods. By advocating for a holistic approach that amalgamates computational techniques with human insights, we advocate for a nuanced understanding of sentiment analysis in literary works, one that acknowledges the subtleties and complexities woven into the narrative. We call for continued exploration to refine sentiment lexicons, explore sentiment variation across diverse literary genres and cultural contexts, and delve deeper into the interplay between sentiment and fictional space.","PeriodicalId":45849,"journal":{"name":"Language and Literature","volume":"78 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145188448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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