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Possible Worlds Theory and Readers' Emotional Responses to Literature - by Megan Mansworth (Hardcover)

Possible Worlds Theory and Readers' Emotional Responses to Literature - by  Megan Mansworth (Hardcover) - 1 of 1
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About this item

Highlights

  • This book develops a cognitive stylistic exploration of readers' emotional experiences of literature.
  • About the Author: Megan Mansworth is a Lecturer in English Language and Literature at Aston University, UK.
  • 240 Pages
  • Language + Art + Disciplines, Language Arts

Description



About the Book



Enriches Possible Worlds Theory and stylistics by using reader response data and stylistic analysis in a framework of textual possible and actual worlds to explore how literary texts affect readers' emotions.



Book Synopsis



This book develops a cognitive stylistic exploration of readers' emotional experiences of literature.

Adopting Possible Worlds Theory as a framework, the volume constructs a stylistic analysis of some of the ways in which novels elicit readers' emotions. A typology of past, present, and future textual actual and possible worlds is formulated to frame analysis of three novels: A Fine Balanceby Rohinton Mistry, Revolutionary Roadby Richard Yates, and The Trick Is to Keep Breathingby Janice Galloway. The author integrates close stylistic analysis with the use of empirical data drawn from reader interviews and online reader reviews. The analysis of these diverse 20th-century novels works to show the utility of the typology for analysis formulated for this book, as well as to demonstrate the value of incorporating empirical reader data in analysis of the ways in which novels may affect readers' emotions.



Review Quotes




Advancing and bringing cognitive stylistics, possible worlds theory, and empirical literary studies into dialogue, Possible Worlds Theory and Readers' Emotional Responses to Literature offers innovative, compelling, and important contributions to our understanding of how fictional worlds are constructed as well as how readers cognitively process them.
Alice Bell, Professor of English Language and Literature, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

Mansworth richly and convincingly extends possible worlds theories into the exploration of emotion in literary reading. This book stands as compelling account of the emotional impact and long-lasting power of literary reading, and offers the crucial link that binds together the levels of world and style.
Peter Stockwell, Professor of Literary Linguistics, University of Nottingham, UK

Megan Mansworth provides a compelling exploration of how the emotions expressed by readers in response to novels may be partly explained by an application of Possible Worlds Theory that builds on earlier scholarly research. The book discusses a range of emotions elicited in three novels: A Fine Balance; Revolutionary Road;and The Trick is to Keep Breathing, and through a stylistic analysis, suggests that readers' emotional responses to narratives may be partly understood through the application of a framework of textual actual and possible worlds.
Marina Lambrou, Associate Professor in English Language and Linguistics, Kingston University, UK



About the Author



Megan Mansworth is a Lecturer in English Language and Literature at Aston University, UK.
Dimensions (Overall): 9.21 Inches (H) x 6.14 Inches (W) x .56 Inches (D)
Weight: 1.13 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 240
Genre: Language + Art + Disciplines
Sub-Genre: Language Arts
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Theme: General
Format: Hardcover
Author: Megan Mansworth
Language: English
Street Date: September 18, 2025
TCIN: 1005651981
UPC: 9781350428935
Item Number (DPCI): 247-45-8575
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported

Shipping details

Estimated ship dimensions: 0.56 inches length x 6.14 inches width x 9.21 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 1.13 pounds
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