Language Features of Pride and Prejudice

劉芳芳

Abstract：Pride and Prejudice is one of the most popular novels in English literature and receives considerable attention from literary scholars.It also retains a fascination for modern readers，continuing to be in the top of lists of “the most loved books”，which is not only because it explores the theme of marriage，but also because of the special language features.Therefore，this passage analyses the language features in Pride and Prejudice more specifically.

Key words：language features；Pride and Prejudice；

1.Introduction

Pride and Prejudice was written by the English novelist Jane Austen（16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817）.She lived in a small country，rounded by landed gentry，so there is no great social conflict in her works.However，there are a lot of comic，ironic，and indirect plots in her works of romantic fiction，which earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature.Therefore，this passage analyses the language features in Pride and Prejudice more specifically.

2.The Language Features of Pride and Prejudice

The writer uses the narrative technique of free and indirect speech in Pride and Prejudice，which is the same with most of her other works.In the following part，the author will explore the language features more specifically.

2.1 Ironic and Humorous Language

In Pride and Prejudice，the author uses comic，ironic，and indirect language.According to Wang Qian（2013），it is not just to make readers laugh，but more importantly，to show the plots and characters with humor and irony，which are the most distinctive features of this novel.

In the novel，Mr Bennet and his wife have great differences on both their thinking patterns and characteristics.Jane Austen does not describe the characters of Mr Bennet directly，but displays his characters with lots of psychological description and ironic conversations.For example：“I see no occasion for that.You and the girls may go，or you may send them by themselves，which perhaps will be still better；for，as you are as handsome as any of them，Mr Bingley might like you the best of the party”（Austen，1978，p.5）.There are some other dialogues like this，from which we can realize the irony of the language.

There are also some humorous phenomena presenting the characters.For example，“If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield，and all the others equally well married，I shall have nothing to wish for”（Austen，1978，p.15）.The humorous use of language effectively shows Mrs Bennets attitude toward her daughters marriage，and also her mundane and realistic characters.This kind of writing styles makes the novel shift to a higher level.

2.2 Personalized Dialogues

In literal works，it is a common way to use dialogues to show the characters personality，as well as promote the continued development of the story.There are lots of dialogues in her novels，which not only make the characters more personalized，unique，but also better disclose peoples emotion.The main theme and irony style of the novel，to a lager extent，also can be displayed with Jane Austens personalized dialogues.In Pride and Prejudice，there are a lot of dialogues promote the continued development of the story，but also shows the language features of this novel.

2.3 Using Line-drawing and Discussion

In the novel，Jane Austen is good at using the way of line drawing，and discussion.Although the language seems to be plain，it can accurately and vividly display the human nature，which has made the novel a great success in literature.For example，“It is a truth universally acknowledged，that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”（Austen，1978，p.1）.Although the language is plain，and there is no academic vocabulary here，it evidently shows the flaw in human beings.Besides the plain and simple language，Austin uses discussion appropriately，which certainly can arouse readers curiosity to think.For example，

Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other or ever so similar beforehand，it does not advance their felicity in the least.They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation；and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.（Austen，1978，p.189）

Such kind of discussion contributes to the great social value of this novel.From this novel，we know that the best marriage is the result of both love and bread，and also pride and prejudice belong to human weakness.Fighting with the shadow of our heart，we should overcome our weakness.Do not judge a person by his appearance and social status.In the authors perspective，If one work arouses peoples curiosity to think，this work is certainly successful.

3.Conclusion

After centuries，the novel Pride and Prejudice is still popular with readers around the world，which has proved its great social values and important status in literature history.In details，Jane Austen uses a variety of techniques，such as dialogue，discussion，draw-lining to make the language of the novel more humorous，ironic，and distinctive，so that these characters become more vivid，personalized，and authentic.All these merits have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the readers so that more works like this novel can appear in the future.

References：

[1]Jane，A.（1978）.Pride and prejudice.London：The Zodiac Press.

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