POLITENESS THEORY PROJEKT: SOUMRAK DNE A VEČER TŘÍKRÁLOVÝ, ANEB, COKOLIV CHCETE

Filip JÍROVÝ

Bachelor's thesis

Politeness Theory Project: The Remains of the Day and Twelfth Night

Abstract:

This paper concerns itself with the analysis and comparison of two fictional characters. The first character is the butler Stevens from the novel The Remains of the Day written by Kazuo Ishiguro. The second one is the majordomo Stevens, a character from one of Shakespeare's comedies, Twelfth Night. Both characters are analyzed through the lens of Politeness Theory which was introduced by Penelope Brown and Stevens C. Levinson. The main concept the theory works with is the concept of face. The paper provides an overview of the theory. The rest of it is dedicated to the comparison of both characters, mostly situations which present a threat to their respective faces. An important matter of analysis are two letters which play a key role in both the novel and the play. The paper also concerns itself with explanation of cultural phenomena related to the two characters.

Abstract:

Práce se zabývá analýzou a porovnáním dvou fiktivních postav, konkrétně majordomů. Tou první je hlavní postava z románu Kazua Ishigura Soumrak dne, Stevens. Druhou postavou je Malvolio, jedna z postav Shakespearovy hry Večer tříkrálový, aneb cokoli chcete. Obě postavy jsou analyzovány pohledem tzv. Politeness Theory, kterou představili Penelope Brown a Stephen C. Levinson. Teorie pracuje s pojmem tzv. face, je v rámci práce popsána a její zbytek se věnuje srovnávání obou postav, konkrétně situací, v jejichž rámci je jejich tzv. face ohrožena. Porovnány jsou také dva dopisy, které v obou dílech hrají klíčovou roli. Část práce se také věnuje vysvětlení kulturních jevů, které s oběma postavami souvisí.

Keywords

Politeness Theory, Brown and Levinson, Kazuo Ishiguro, William Shakespeare, Soumrak Dne, Večet tříkrálový, Face-threatening acts, Face, Epistolární analýza, Politeness strategie, Malvolio

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 30. 6. 2022

Accessible from:: 31. 12. 2999

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: William Bradley Vice, Ph.D.

University of West Bohemia

Faculty of Education

Bachelor programme / field:
Specialization in Pedagogy / English Language in Education