PHRASE STRUCTURE –TRANSFORMATIONAL ANALYSIS AND THE CONCEPT OF STYLE AS CHOICE ROBERT BRIDGES’ POEM NOVEMBER AS A CASE STUDY

This paper is an attempt to explore the practical aspect of Phrase Structure-Transformational Grammar as a descriptive method that might be applied in analyzing literary styles. The definition of style as choice is intimately related to the view of Phrase Structure-Transformational Grammar as a set of choices represented by: Phrase Structure Rules and Optional Transformations. Robert Bridge s poem November shows a sort of tendency to certain Phrase Structure Rules and certain Transformations that go hand in hand with the overall meaning of the poem- Complex Noun Phrase structure rule, Simple Verb Phrase structure rule, Relative Clause Reduction, Prenominal Adjective Reduction, and Place-Expression Fronting. However, the operations of Deletion and Reordering, involved in the transformations above, are heavily relied upon in the poem. Thus, they play a more powerful role in conveying the main subject matter of the poem.