An Analysis of Lines Written in Early Spring from the Perspective
of Genre-Centered Systemic Functional Grammar
Abstract
Lines written in early spring is a ballad written by William Wordsworth. This poem represents
the ecological philosophy of “the Lake Poets”, that is, to appreciate the beauty of nature and form
a harmonious relation with nature. The study aims to explore how to interpret the meaning of the
poem through functional linguistic analysis in terms of generic structure and three metafunctions
and also how the ecological motif is constructed in this poem. For the first step, the poem is
analyzed at the genre plane, unveiling its generic structure. Next, working within the framework
of Halliday’s three metafunctions, the paper conducts the linguistic and ecological analysis of the
poem. The ideational metafunction is analyzed through transitivity system, the interpersonal
metafunction through mood system, and the textual metafunction through Theme-Rheme structure.
The analysis shows that the poem is in keeping with Labov’s narrative generic structure and the
choices on the lexico-grammatical level are in accordance with the generic structure from the
perspective of three metafunctions. In addition, the ecological motif is mainly constructed through
transitivity system.
Key words:
Three metafunctions, functional linguistic analysis, generic structure, ecological
motif.
i
中文摘要
《早春遣句》是威廉•华兹华斯所作的一首民谣诗，代表了“湖畔诗人”的生态哲学观，
即欣赏大自然的美并与自然和谐相处。本研究旨在探究如何借助功能语法分析解读诗歌内
涵以及探究本诗如何构建其生态主旨。分析的第一步在语类层面上揭示本诗的语类结构。
其次，借助韩礼德提出的三大元功能理论对本诗进行语言学分析和生态分析。其中，概念
功能主要通过及物性系统体现，人际功能通过语气系统实现，语篇功能则通过主位-述位结
构实现。分析结果表明本诗符合拉波夫所提出的叙事语类结构，即点题、指向、进展、结
局、评论和回应；并且词汇语法层面上的选择与此叙事语类结构相一致；本诗的生态主旨
只要是通过及物系统建构的。
关键词：三大元功能，功能语法分析，语类结构，生态主旨
ii
Contents
Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i
中文摘要 .........................................................................................................................................ii
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. iv
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. v
Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................. vi
Part I Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Research background ........................................................................................................ 1
1.2 Research questions ............................................................................................................ 1
1.3 Organization of the thesis .................................................................................................. 1
Part II Literature review .................................................................................................................. 2
2.1 Studies of William Wordsworth and his poems ................................................................ 2
2.2 Linguistic approach to analyzing poems ........................................................................... 2
Part III Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................ 3
3.1 Genre and register ............................................................................................................. 3
3.1.1 Genre and generic structure.................................................................................... 3
3.1.2 Register................................................................................................................... 3
3.2 Metafunctions of SFL........................................................................................................ 4
3.2.1 Ideational metafunction .......................................................................................... 4
3.2.2 Interpersonal metafunction ..................................................................................... 4
3.2.3 Textual metafunction .............................................................................................. 5
Part IV Analysis and discussion ...................................................................................................... 5
4.1 General introduction of the poem...................................................................................... 5
4.2 Generic structure of the poem ........................................................................................... 6
4.3 Register analysis ................................................................................................................ 7
4.4 Three metafunctions .......................................................................................................... 7
4.4.1 Interpretation from the perspective of transitivity system ..................................... 7
4.4.2 Interpretation from the perspective of mood system ............................................ 10
4.4.3 Interpretation from the perspective of Theme-Rheme structure .......................... 11
Part V Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 13
5.1 Summary of major finds .................................................................................................. 13
5.2 Limitations and suggestions for further research ............................................................ 14
References ..................................................................................................................................... 15
iii
List of Tables
Table 1 Transitivity analysis of the poem ................................................................................ 8
Table 2 Theme-Rheme analysis of the poem ........................................................................ 11
iv
List of Figures
Figure 1 Power hierarchy in material process clauses .......................................................... 10
Figure 2 Theme progression of Complication part of the poem ........................................... 12
v
Abbreviations
SFL
SFG
GSP
Ori.
Com.
Res.
Eva.
Systemic Functional Linguistics
Systemic Functional Grammar
Generic Structure Potential
Orientation
Complication
Resolution
Evaluation
vi
Part I Introduction
1.1 Research background
In 1974, American scholar Joseph W. Meeker established the term “literary ecology”, which
studied the relationship between human being and other specimen from the literary angle in order
to observe and disclose the effect of literacy on the human activities and the natural environment.
The poems of William Wordsworth and other “lake poets” are frequently examined and analyzed
to reveal the relationship between nature and human. However, the analysis then is more like
commentary and in lack of theoretical foundation. As Halliday (1994) believed that “a discourse
analysis that is not based on grammar is not an analysis at all, but simply a running commentary
on a text” (p. F42).
In 1990s, a linguistic approach to ecology and literacy came into being. At the 1990 AILA
conference in Saloniki, the term “ecolinguistics” was first introduced into the debate on language
and ecology (Fill, 2001). This approach takes linguistic theories as analytical basis so that texts
can be interpreted and evaluated in a scientific way. Although this approach has been applied to
many ecological discourses, most discourses analyzed are other forms than poems. In this study, I
will analyze the poem Lines written in early spring as an example to show a possible way of
analyzing poems through linguistic analysis.
1.2 Research questions
This paper focuses on the interpretation of the meaning of poems through linguistic analysis
and the construction of ecological motif of the poems. The current study is a case study taking
William Wordsworth’s poem Lines written in early spring as an example. To be specific, the paper
tries to answer the following two questions:
1. How can the meaning of the poem be interpreted through functional linguistic analysis in terms
of generic structure and three metafunctions?
2. How is the ecological motif of the poem constructed?
1.3 Organization of the thesis
This thesis consists of five parts. Part I introduces in general the research background and the
significance of the study. Part II is a brief review of literature related to the present study. In part
III, the author mainly demonstrates the theoretical framework of this study. Based on part III, part
IV is devoted to analyzing the poem from the perspective of three metafunctions. Part V concludes
the thesis with a summary of the major findings, raises the limitations of the study, and presents a
brief suggestion for further study.
1
Part II Literature review
2.1 Studies of William Wordsworth and his poems
In the 19th century, Romanticism dominated European literature circle. William Wordsworth
(1770-1850), as one of the greatest among the British Romantic poets, is generally considered to
be the main founder of Romanticism both as a literary movement and as an ideological trend.
Wordsworth grew up in Lake District in Northeast England, he had met nature in his childhood.
As a highly respected literary figure, in 1843, he won the distinction of being named Poet Laureate.
As a great Romantic poet, Wordsworth has gained much attention from critics at different periods.
The book Romantic Ecology “Wordsworth and the Environmental Tradition (1991) written by
Jonathan Bates suggested that it not only connected the Romantic age and environmentalist
thoughts but also implied a new study era about Wordsworth.
In most poems of William Wordsworth, nature is the most frequently depicted. Wordsworth
using beautiful language in poems to describe nature and the relationship between man guides
people into the ecological consciousness. In the past centuries, human being has destroyed the
balance of nature by war and industrialization. In the works written by Wordsworth, his respect of
the natural world, his compassionate treatment of animals and the natural objects in his poetry all
are important proof to express his ecological opinion.
2.2 Linguistic approach to analyzing poems
“A text is a semantic unit, not a grammatical one. But meanings are realized through wordings;
and without a theory of wordings — that is, a grammar — there is no way of making explicit one’s
interpretation of the meaning of a text” (Halliday, 1994, p. F43). From this point of view, most
analysis and criticism on poems are “simply a running commentary on a text” (p. F42). However,
with the development of discourse analysis, more and more linguistic theories are applied to
analyze discourse. As for the ecological discourse in particular, Alexander & Stibbe (2014) and
Stibbe (2014) explored the framework of doing ecological discourse analysis. Huang (2016) sorted
out the emergence and development of ecolinguistics and further explored the possibility of
applying Systemic Functional Grammar to ecological discourse analysis (Huang, 2017). Huang
and Chen (2017a) also conducted a case study on one of Emily Dickson’s poem to set an example
of doing ecological discourse analysis on poems.
Few studies on William Wordsworth’s poetry have been carried out in Systemic Functional
Grammar (SFG), though SFG is effective in text analysis. Therefore, by adopting functional
grammar, we assume that a better explanation for the poems will be conducted, texts can be
interpreted and evaluated in a scientific way.
2
Part III Theoretical framework
3.1 Genre and register
3.1.1 Genre and generic structure
Currently, genre is a heated notion in the fields of linguistics, literature and sociology. The
notion of genre is conceptualized differently by different linguists. Martin (1984) held the view
that genre is a staged, goal-oriented, purposeful activity in which speakers engage as members of
our culture, and it is modeled at a deeper level of abstraction than Field, Tenor and Mode variables.
For Halliday, he relates genre closely with register. He considered “register” to be “the
configuration of semantic resources that member of a culture typically associates with a situation
type (p. 111)”. Hasan (1978, 1985) defined genre a type of discourse, and considered it as identical
with register, and the most important part of her genre study is the theory of Generic Structure
Potential (GSP). For Thompson (2008), “genre” can be seen simply as register plus purpose. “That
is, it includes the more general idea of what the interactants are doing through language, and how
they organize the language event, typically in recognizable stages, in order to achieve that purpose
(p. 43)”. Martin (1985) further proposed that schematic structure of a genre is the actual realization
of a genre. Schematic structure “refers to the staged, step-by-step organization of the genre”
(Eggins, 1994, p.24).
The best studies set of texts as far as genre theory is concerned is that generally referred to as
Narrative (Toolan, 1988). Most of the studies has focused on deconstructing narrative structure.
By collecting and analyzing data of spoken narratives of personal experience, Labov & Waletzky
(1967) and Labov (1972) proposed a classical narrative framework, in which they found out the
invariant generic structural units, i.e. generic structure of narratives. The invariant structural units
are supposed to be the deeper structural similarities, or Hasan’s (1978) Generic Structural Potential
(GSP), or Martin’s (1985) schematic structure. This canonical narrative structure is presented as
Abstract ^ Orientation ^ Complication ^ Evaluation ^ Resolution ^ Coda. However, it has been
observed that not all the components are strictly covered in real situation, and Labov has
categorized them into two major types based on their functions and presence in the data analyzed:
Orientation, Evaluation, Complicating action and Resolution as the obligatory parts, while
Abstract and Coda as the optional ones. Each stage in the genre contributes a part of the overall
meanings necessary for the genre to be accomplished successfully.
3.1.2 Register
Martin holds the same opinion as Halliday that genre refers to the context of culture that is
realized in the choices of register, which are in turn realized in the choice of language. Register, as
3
defined by Halliday (Halliday and Hasan, 1985, 1989), is “variation according to use”; that is, we
typically use certain recognizable configurations of linguistic resources in certain contexts. There
are three main dimensions of variation which characterize any register: Field (what is being talked
about); Tenor (people involved in the communication and the relationship between them); and
Mode (how the language is functioning in the interaction). Each of them corresponds to one of the
metafunctions. The Field mainly determines, and is reflected in, the experiential meanings; the
Tenor mainly determines, and is reflected in, the interpersonal meanings; the Mode mainly
determines, and is reflected in, the textual meanings.
3.2 Metafunctions of SFL
In Systemic Functional Linguistics, clause is the unit of analysis and the meaning of any clause
can be interpreted from three aspects: ideational metafunction, interpersonal metafunction and
textual metafunction. We use language to talk about our experience of the world (including the
world in our own mind), establish and maintain relationships, and organize discourses and texts.
Hasan (1995) pointed out that three metafunctions on the semantic level form a hook-up
relationship with three register variables (field, tenor and mode). Apart from analyzing three
metafunctions from the semantic level, we also aim to explore how those functions are performed
by particular choices of wording on the level of lexico-grammar.
3.2.1 Ideational metafunction
Ideational metafunction concerns how people use language to describe the experience in the
world, both external and internal world. Ideational metafunction includes experiential and logical
metafunction. “At the simplest level, language reflects our view of the world as consisting of
‘goings-on’ (verbs) involving things (nouns) which may have attributes (adjectives) and which go
on against background details of place, time, manner, etc. (adverbials). (Thompson, 2008, p. 86)”
Experiential metafunction is realized mainly through transitivity on the level of lexicogrammar. In transitivity system, there are processes and participants. Halliday (1994) classified
human experience into six types of processes: material process, mental process, relational process,
verbal process, behavioral process and existential process. Each process is assigned with
correspondent participants.
3.2.2 Interpersonal metafunction
Thompson (2008) defied interpersonal function as “we also use language to interact with other
people, to establish and maintain relations with them, to influence their behavior, to express our
own viewpoint on things in the world, and to elicit or change theirs (p. 30).” According to
Thompson, in the process of exchanging and interacting, the most fundamental purposes of
4
speakers or writers are giving (and taking) or demanding (and being given) a commodity of some
kind. The commodity exchanged can be classified into goods & services and information. These
two variables can be combined into four basic speech roles: statement, question, offer and
command. Three of these basic speech roles are closely associated with particular grammatical
structures: statements are most naturally expressed by declarative clauses; questions by
interrogative clauses; and commands by imperative clauses. These are three main choices in the
mood system of the clause.
The interpersonal function is mainly realized by mood system. Mood is “a system involving
the choices of declarative, interrogative, and imperative and relating to the interaction of Subject
and Finite in the clause.
3.2.3 Textual metafunction
According to Thompson (2008), the textual metafunction is reflected while “we organize our
messages in ways that indicate how they fit in with the other messages around them and with the
wider context in which we are talking or writing” (p.30). The textual metafunction is realized
through thematic structure, information structure and cohesion. This thesis mainly discusses the
thematic structure.
Thematic structure consists of Theme and Rheme. Theme is “the point of departure of the
message” or “that which locates and orients the clause within its context” (Halliday and
Matthiessen, 2008, p. 64). Rheme is the rest of the message. Based on the usuality, Theme can be
classified into marked Theme and unmarked Theme. Generally speaking, in a declarative clause,
an unmarked Theme means that the Theme is consistent with the Subject. Unmarked Themes are
“mildly prominent” in the flow of discourse as the departure point of each clause, while marked
Themes are more prominent and “they function to scaffold discontinuity” or to introduce new
phase in a discourse (Martin, 2003, p. 3-39). Therefore, from the analysis of unmarked Theme and
marked Theme, it’s clear to know the speaker’s or writer’s purpose and arrangement of the message.
Part IV Analysis and discussion
4.1 General introduction of the poem
The English Romantic poets advocated a new style of writing on the basis of real language of
men. They elevated humble and rustic life and the plain into the main subject medium of poetry in
general. They tended to use the most suitable genres to compose their poems. The most commonly
used genres are blank verse, literary ballads, sonnet and Spenserian stanza. The poem Lines written
in early spring is in a form of a ballad and consists of six quatrains. In this poem, Wordsworth
expresses his appreciation of the beautiful nature and his concerns regarding the path the humanity
5
is leaning towards.
Literary or lyrical ballads grew out of an increasing interest in ballad form among social elites
and intellectuals, particularly in the Romantic Movement from the later 18th century. The
Romantics such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Keats were attracted to the simple and natural style
of these folk ballads, encouraging them to imitate the style. All a ballad is a story accompanied by
music, a literary ballad could also be defined as a narrative poem. A literary ballad is a poem that
tells a tale without music. Traditional folk ballads crystallized out of the mists of the ancient oral
tradition while modern literary ballads use the old narrative forms to retell traditional legends or
to tell stories of their own.
Most ballads are structured in short stanzas, often the quatrain form that has come to be known
as “ballad measure”—alternating lines of iambic tetrameter (four stressed beats) and iambic
trimeter (three stressed beats), rhyming the 2nd and 4th lines of each stanza. Lines Written in Early
Spring is written in quatrains rhyming “abab”; the meter is mostly iambic tetrameter with a few
iambic trimester.
4.2 Generic structure of the poem
In this poem, there are 19 processes in total, 8 non-ranking clauses (ran in line 6, think in line
7, has made in line 8, enjoys and breathes in line 12, made in line 15, lament in line 23, has made
in line 24) are excluded. The analysis of the poem shows that this narrative poem is corresponding
to the canonical GSP of narrative genre summarized by Labov (1972). Evaluation can penetrate
throughout the telling, and occur anywhere. In order to have a deep understanding of the meaning
of the poem, we will explore it stage by stage.
Orientation
(1) //I heard a thousand blended notes,/
(2) While in a grove I sate reclined,/
Complication
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts/
(3) Bring sad thoughts to the mind.//
(4) To her fair works did Nature link/
The human soul [that through me ran];/
(5) And much it griev’d my heart [to think/
What man has made of man].//
Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,/
(6) The periwinkle trail’d its wreaths;/
6
Evaluation
(7) And ’tis my faith [that every flower/
Enjoys the air it breathes].//
Complication
(8) The birds around me hopp’d and (9) play’d,/
(10) Their thoughts I cannot measure:—/
Evaluation
But the least motion [which they made]/
(11) It seem’d a thrill of pleasure.//
Complication
(12) The budding twigs spread out their fan,/
(13)To catch the breezy air;/
(14) And I must think, (15) do all [I can],/
Evaluation
(16) That there was pleasure there.//
Resolution
(17) If this belief from heaven be sent,/
(18) If such be Nature’s holy plan,/
(19) Have I not reason [to lament/
What man has made of man]?//
4.3 Register analysis
The field of this narrative poem is the beautiful and dynamic scene in the grove, which is the
main content of the poem. As for the tenor, the poem is a ballad which shares the feature of
narratives. Therefore the relationship between the poet and the readers is like story teller and the
audience. Through vivid description, the poet aims to guide the audience to appreciate the beauty
of nature and regain the joy of life in nature. That is to say, the poet tries to influence the readers’
behavior and elicit or change their worldview through language. As far as mode is concerned, a
ballad is not as formal as other forms of poetry. Ballads were originally created to be sung to
facilitate memorization so it tends to be colloquial and informal. Even though the poem is in print
as we see it, it actually is written to be read in oral form.
4.4 Three metafunctions
4.4.1 Interpretation from the perspective of transitivity system
7
Table 1 Transitivity analysis of the poem
No
Participant
Process
heard
Mental
Participant
a thousand blended notes, /
Phenomenon
sate
Material
reclined, /
Cir.: manner
bring
sad thoughts
to the mind. //
Material
Goal
Cir.: place
1
I
Sensor
2
While in a grove
Cir.: place
I
Actor
3
In that sweet
wood
Cir.: place
when
pleasant
thoughts /
Actor
4
To her fair works
Cir. : place
did nature
Actor
link /
Material
the human soul [that through me ran]; //
Goal
5
And much
Cir.: manner
it
Actor
griev’d
Material
my heart [to think / what man has made of man]//
Goal
6
Through primrose-tufts,
in that green bower, /
Cir.: place
trail’d
its wreathes; /
Material
Goal
7
8
The
periwinkle
Actor
And (i)t
is
Identified
Relational
hopp’d and
(9) play’d /
Material
The bird around me
Actor
10
11
12
Their thoughts
I
Goal
Actor
But the least motion [which they
made], / It
Token
The budding twigs
Actor
13
14
And I
Sensor
That
17
If this belief
Goal
18
If such
Identified
19
from heaven
Cir.: place
Ori.
Com.
Eva.
Com.
cannot
measure: /
Material
seem’d
a thrill of pleasure //
Relational
Value
spread out
Material
their fan /
Goal
To catch
Material
the breezy air /
Goal
must think,
Mental
15
16
my faith [that every flower / enjoys the air [it
breathes]]. //
Identifier
Stage
do
Material
all [I can], /
Goal
there was
Existential
pleasure there //
Existent Cir.: place
Eva.
Com.
Eva.
be sent, /
Material
be
Relational
heaven’s holy plan, /
Identifier
Have
I
Relational
Carrier
8
not reason [to lament / What man
has made of man.] //
Attribute
Res.
There are 19 processes in total, including 12 material processes (63%), 4 relational processes
(21%), 2 mental processes (11%), and 1 existential process (5%). The generic structure of the
narrative poem is in accordance with the process type to some extent.
The Orientation part includes 2 processes in which the Sensor and Circumstance help locate
the character (I) and place (in a grove) of the narrative poem. This is what Orientation part is
expected to achieve. Complication stage functions to tell what has happened, which involves lots
of actions.
The Complication part of this poem includes 11 processes with 10 material processes and 1
mental process. For narrative poems, this percentage of material process complies with social
purpose, as narrative text is to tell the receiver what has happened or tell the audience stories. The
Complication part is actually constructed in three layers: first, in line 3-4, the poet made the claim
that “pleasant thoughts bring sad thoughts to the mind”; then, in line 5-8, the poet elaborated this
claim by saying the pleasant thoughts is from the nature’s fair works while the sad thoughts is from
the reflection of “what man has made of man”; finally, in line 9-10, 13-14, 17-19, the poet further
depicted the fair works of nature including the growing of the periwinkle, the birds’ recreation and
the branches’ breathing. Therefore, the unfolding of the event is step by step, layer by layer, from
general to specific. This three layer layout can be reflected by the Theme-Rheme structure in part
4.4.2.
With the unfolding of the Complication, Evaluation is interwoven into it in Line 11-12, 15-16,
20. By Evaluation, the poet respectively observed and examined the growing of the periwinkle,
the birds’ recreation and the branches’ breathing and finally concluded that they are all in pleasure.
3 processes in Evaluation include 2 relational processes and 1 existential process. Evaluation is to
give qualities or attributes to the thing evaluated, which just corresponds to the use of relational
and existential processes in this poem.
The last stanza, that is, line 21-24 is the Resolution part using 2 relational processes and 1
material process. After the observation of the nature, the poet came to the conclusion that natural
creatures have achieved a state of paradise by simply existing as nature had intended while human
violated nature’s plan so that the poet has the reason to pity mankind for their empty pursuits and
meaningless lifestyles. The Resolution echoes the beginning of the Complication— “pleasant
thoughts bring sad thoughts to my mind”.
Apart from corresponding with the generic structure, the process types themselves reflect the
nature-theme of the poem and the poet’s natural philosophy. Among the 12 material processes, 7
actors are to do with nature such as periwinkle, birds, and budding twigs. Goatly (2002) put
forward a model of power hierarchy in material process clauses (Figure 1). Based on this power
hierarchy, in this poem, nature is bestowed the most power.
9
Figure 1 Power hierarchy in material process clauses
4.4.2 Interpretation from the perspective of mood system
Interpersonal function refers that people use language to interact with other people, to
establish and maintain relationship with others, to express their own view points and judgments,
and to affect other people’s attitudes and behavior, which is mainly realized through mood and
modality system. Through the mood and modality analysis, this thesis attempts to explore not only
the relationship between human and nature, but also the relationship between the poet and the
readers.
There are mainly four types of mood: declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamative.
Every type of mood has its specific functions. For example, the main function of declarative
clauses is to give information; function of interrogative clauses is to ask questions and demand
information; function of imperative clauses is mainly to offer or demand goods & services; the
main function of exclamative clauses is to express people’s feelings, such as surprise, happiness,
etc.
In the poem Lines written in early spring, among 19 clauses, there are 17 declarative clauses.
The other two clauses don’t follow the Subject ^ Finite pattern. These two examples will be
analyzed one by one. The first example is clause 4: To her fair works did nature link the human
soul [that through me ran]. Judging from the Finite ^ Subject pattern, it belongs to the interrogative
mood type. However, this clause cannot be simply categorized as interrogative mood. It has its
Finite before Subject because in English grammar, when the space adverb is moved to the
beginning, the clause should be inverted. Another evidence is the punctuation: the clause ends with
a semicolon instead of question mark. The other example is clause 19: Have I not reason [to lament
what man has made of man]? This clause is interrogative because it is in accordance with the
Finite ^ Subject and it ends with a question mark. However, this interrogative clause doesn’t aim
to demanding information as a normal interrogative clause do. Instead, it strengthens its message
that he had reason to pity mankind for their empty pursuits and meaningless lifestyles by using
this rhetorical question.
After analyzing the two special examples, we may conclude that the largest proportion of
mood type in this poem is declarative mood. Declarative clauses are to describe what things look
10
like and what happens in the world. There are few interactions between the poet and readers
compared with other mood types. The poet provides enough information to readers as much as
possible through a large number of declarative clauses. Besides, the use of declarative mood
corresponds with the genre of a narrative poem.
4.4.3 Interpretation from the perspective of Theme-Rheme structure
Table 2 Theme-Rheme analysis of the poem
No
Theme
Rheme
Stage
1
I
heard a thousand blended notes, /
2
While in a grove *
I sate reclined, /
3
In that sweet wood *
when pleasant thoughts / bring sad thoughts to the mind. //
4
To her fair works *
did nature link / the human soul [that through me ran]; /
5
And much *
it griev’d my heart [to think / what man has made of man] //
6
Through primrose-tufts, *
in that green bower, / The periwinkle trail’d its wreathes; /
7
And (i)t is my faith
[that every flower / enjoys the air [it breathes]]. //
Eva.
8
The bird around me
hopp’d and (9) play’d /
Com.
10
Their thoughts *
I cannot measure: /
11
12
But the least motion [which they
made], / It
The budding twigs
13
14
seem’d a thrill of pleasure //
spread out their fan /
Ori.
Com.
Eva.
Com.
To catch the breezy air /
And I
15
must think,
do all [I can], /
16
That there was
pleasure there //
Eva.
17
If this belief
from heaven be sent, /
Res.
18
If such
be heaven’s holy plan, /
19
Have I
not reason [to lament / What man has made of man]? //
According to Thompson (2008), Theme is the first constituent of the clause. All the rest of the
clause is simply labelled the Rheme. In declarative clauses, Subject is the unmarked Theme choice,
that is, Subject is chosen as Theme unless there are good reasons for choosing something else. In
this poem, there are 13 unmarked Themes and 6 marked ones. Among these 6 marked Themes, 5
of them are circumstances being Theme and the other one is the object being Theme. As the
departure of a clause, the marked Themes aim to emphasize something. It is in accordance with
the fourth function of Theme put forward by Thompson (2008), “signaling what the speaker thinks
is a viable/useful/important starting point (p.165). In these 6 marked Themes, what are thematized
are “while in a grove”, “In that sweet wood”, “To her (nature) fair works”, “And much”, “Through
primrose-tufts”, “Their (birds) thoughts”. It is easy to see by thematizing, the nature was put in a
prominent position.
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Figure 2 Theme progression of Complication part of the poem
Figure 2 shows the thematic progression of the Complication stage of this poem. The Rheme
of clause 3 (R3) is “pleasant thoughts bring sad thoughts to the mind”. It forms a contrast between
the pleasant thoughts and the sad ones. Therefore, R3 is divided into two parts which are
respectively taken by clause 4 and 5. “Her fair works” in clause 4 echoes the “pleasant thought”
while “what man has made of man” echoes the “sad thoughts”. In addition, even though clause 4
and 5 both take the content of R3, they treat it differently: clause 4 put it in the Theme while clause
5 put it in the Rheme. In so doing, these two clause form a contrast instead of a continuous thematic
progression, which is consistent with the motif of the poem.
The other clauses (6, 8. 9. 10, 12, 13) can be easily classified into three categories according
to their Themes. These three categories are respectively flowers, birds and twigs. Each of them
form a constituent thematic progression. They are described to elaborate the nature’s “fair works”
in T4. Based on our analysis, we can see that thematic analysis can give important clues on the
structure or outline of the meaning construction.
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Part V Conclusion
5.1 Summary of major finds
This thesis has conducted a genre-centered functional analysis on William Wordsworth’s
poem Lines written in early spring. The meaning of the poem is explored from the perspective of
three metafunctions. The purpose of doing so is to find out how the meanings of poems are realized
on the level of lexico-grammar. Some findings can be drawn from the previous analysis to answer
the research questions in part I.
Firstly, genre is a staged, goal-oriented social process and it is realized by linguistic
mechanism. Therefore, it is important for us to know what kind of genre a text belongs to and its
corresponding generic structure. According to the analysis in this thesis, the generic structure of
this poem is (Abstraction) ^ Orientation ^ Complication ^ Resolution ^ Evaluation ^ (Coda). Based
on the generic structure, to explore the lexico-grammar of this narrative poem, I find that the
choices on the lexico-grammatical level are in accordance with the social purpose of the genre. In
other words, the social purpose of genre can be realized by the choices on the lexico-grammatical
level. For example, in this poem in particular, in Complication stage, from the perspective of
transitivity system, most clauses are material processes, so as to narrate the happenings, which
involve lots of actions while in the Evaluation stage, the dominant process type is relational process
in order to attribute qualities and judgments to some entities. From the perspective of interpersonal
metafunction, all of the clauses are in declarative mood to cater to the narrative genre of the poem
with only one exception which is a rhetorical question to emphasize and stress. Finally, to examine
the poem from the textual metafunction aspect, the marked Themes are mostly thematized
circumstances so as to emphasize and highlight the natural environment. In addition, the thematic
progression of the poem can give some hints on the outline of the Complication stage as was shown
in Figure 2.
Secondly, the ecological motif or nature theme of the poem is mainly realized through the
experiential metafunction. In this poem, 7 out of twelve actors in material processes are elements
in nature such as flowers, birds and twig. Given that the actor of transitive material clause is the
most powerful participants, it is reasonable to say that nature is bestowed more power in this poem.
Besides, some choices of words also reflect the poet’s natural philosophy. For example, the poet
use “her” to refer to the “nature” instead of “its”. The flower’s breathing and enjoying the air as
well as the twig’s spreading out and catching the air give human attributes to the elements of nature,
which is also supportive for its ecological motif.
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5.2 Limitations and suggestions for further research
The limitations of this study can be detected in the following areas. First of all, genre is
regarded as the bases in this paper. The generic structure I employed to interpret the poem is drawn
from Labov’s narrative structure, which is summarized from the spoken narratives of personal
experience. Therefore, it may have some trouble analyzing such genre as poems. Hence, study of
the generic structure for poetry analysis can be a promising field. Secondly, due to the time limit,
the current research is carried out merely based on one poem. The scope of data needs expanding
in order to find the pattern between generic structure and three metafunctions. Thirdly, what makes
poetry distinct from other literary genres is its phonological feature such as rhyme and meter. The
phonological features also play an important role in meaning construction of poems but this part
is not touched upon in this paper.
According to what the present study implicates, the following areas of study can be promising
and fruitful for future research: first, explore the generic structure for poems based on mass data;
second, establish a complete system to analyze poems covering all the strata in Systemic
Functional Linguistics, such as context (genre & register), semantics (metafunctions), lexicogrammar (transitivity system, etc.), and phonology.
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