Hedges as Modality and Point of View in Narratives in Terms of Simpson s Model

Language is employed for not only conveying factual information but also expressing one s attitudes and opinions about the truth of the proposition contained in an utterance . The study offers a framework for analyzing the linguistic resources of intersubjectivity and dialogism which perhaps is considered one of the most fascinating subjects in a linguistic study.Attempts are being made to realize how epistemic modality , which has been treated under such headings as : evidentiality , hedging ; concession , is textualized in literary texts by adopting Simpson s (1993) model of modality and point of view .It may be important to say that we have taken this modal because modality and point of view have an in- separable relationship . Thus this modal has been used to analyze fictional stories because much of the feel of a text is allowed to be attributed to the type of point of view or authorial interests it exhibits . The paper chiefly comprises three parts : The first investigates the theoretical background of hedging , whereas the second presents a pragmatic analysis of some rhetorical strategies with their functions in three short stories : Wilde s The Happy Prince , Saki s The Open Window and Poe s The Black Cat and two novels : Dicken s Hard Times and Hemingway s The Old Man and the Sea . It argues , for example that these resources rhetorically influence beliefs , attitudes , expectation and modes of interrelating . The third part presents the quantitative and qualitative results with their discussion . The paper ends with a conclusion .