5.1. Stylistics of the author and of the reader. The notions of encoding and decoding - 17

Decoding stylistics is the most recent trend in stylistic research. Decoding goes beyond the traditional analysis of a work of fiction which usually gives either an evaluative explanatory commentary on the historical, cultural, biographical or geographical background of the work and its author or suggests a kind of stylistic analysis that comprises an inventory of stylistic devices and expressive means found in the text.

Neither of these approaches seems quite satisfactory. The first kind of analysis is typically done by a literary critic and may tend to become arbitrary. The other approach tends to pursue another extreme: a formal registration of the data of the text. It deprives a work of art of its poetry by a pragmatic and statistical treatment.

Decoding stylistics deals with regarding the esthetic value of a text based on the interaction of specific textual elements, stylistic devices and compositional structure in delivering the author's message. This method considers the stylistic function of any stylistically important feature as a part of the whole text. So expressive means and stylistic devices are treated in their interaction and distribution within the text as carriers of the author's purport.

Decoding stylistics helps the reader in his or her understanding of a literary work by explaining or decoding the information that may be hidden from immediate view in specific allusions, cultural or political parallels, peculiar use of irony or euphemy, etc.

In brief this theory presents a creative process in the following mode. The writer receives diverse information from the outside world. Some of it becomes a source for his creative work. He processes this information and recreates it in his own esthetic images that become a vehicle to pass his vision to the addressee, his readers. The process of internalizing of the outside information and translating it into his imagery is called 'encoding'.

To encode certain information an author turns to certain means— meaningful units that are organized according to certain rules. This information encoded by the author is called the message.

The reader is supposed to decode the information contained in the text of a literary work. In contrast to the writer who is always concrete, the reader is in fact an abstract notion, he is any of the thousands of people who may read this book. This abstract reader may not be prepared or willing to decode the message or even take it. The reasons are numerous and various.

The main reasons are connected with differences between the author and the reader: social, historical, temporal, cul­tural and so on. Many of these differences are inevitable. Readers and authors may be sep­arated by historical epochs, social conventions, religious and po­litical views, cultural and national traditions. Moreover, even if the author and the reader belong to the same society no reader can completely identify himself with the author either emotionally, intellectually or esthetically. Also we cannot disregard the complexity of certain works of art. Many of them are quite sophisticated in form and con­tent and require of the reader a wide education­al thesaurus and knowledge of history, philosophy, mythology or religion.

The readers will differ not only from the author but also from each other. They have a different life experience, educational background, cultural level and tastes. All these factors often prevent easy decoding. The message encoded and sent may differ from the message received after decoding. So the result may be a failure on either side.

That's why decoding stylistics deals with the notions of stylistics of the author and stylistics of the reader.