Marcello Giovanelli

This Element explores the relationship between creativity, poetry, and cognition through the lenses of cognitive linguistics and cognitive poetics. Section 1 situates poetic creativity within the frameworks of conceptual metaphor theory, cognitive grammar, and text world theory, reconsidering traditional views of creativity by showing how linguistic structures underpin both writing and reading poetry. Section 2 adopts an autoethnographic approach, documenting the writing of poems, demonstrating how cognitive-poetic principles shape decisions and highlight the embodied, subjective nature of creativity. Section 3 shifts focus to analysis, applying stylistic frameworks to original poems to illustrate how linguistic methods illuminate textual patterns, conceptual structures, and interpretative effects. Section 4 turns to reception, examining empirical reader-response data to show how readers engage with poems through cognitive-poetic processes, creating a cyclical interplay between production, analysis, and response. Together, these sections highlight the value of cognitive linguistics for understanding poetic creativity, interpretation, and experience.

This Element explores the relationship between creativity, poetry, and cognition through the lenses of cognitive linguistics and cognitive poetics. Section 1 situates poetic creativity within the frameworks of conceptual metaphor theory, cognitive grammar, and text world theory, reconsidering traditional views of creativity by showing how linguistic structures underpin both writing and reading poetry. Section 2 adopts an autoethnographic approach, documenting the writing of poems, demonstrating how cognitive-poetic principles shape decisions and highlight the embodied, subjective nature of creativity. Section 3 shifts focus to analysis, applying stylistic frameworks to original poems to illustrate how linguistic methods illuminate textual patterns, conceptual structures, and interpretative effects. Section 4 turns to reception, examining empirical reader-response data to show how readers engage with poems through cognitive-poetic processes, creating a cyclical interplay between production, analysis, and response. Together, these sections highlight the value of cognitive linguistics for understanding poetic creativity, interpretation, and experience.

Researching Stylistics: A Student Guide explores key topics in literary and non-literary stylistics, examining the multiple ways in which students can undertake research in this discipline. Inherently practical and reader-friendly in focus, the book is both a guide to key elements of the research process and a useful overview of core knowledge and successful research projects in stylistics. The book provides an overview of stylistics as a discipline, identifying its core principles and working parameters. It outlines, in a clear and systematic way, the design stages and practical considerations needed to plan for and undertake research. Reflecting the latest thinking in contemporary stylistics, the book demonstrates how various methods can be applied to study a range of different text types. The practical activity of ‘doing’ stylistics and key examples from existing research are emphasised so that readers will be confident in their ability to apply their knowledge to their own working contexts. This is an essential text for advanced students and researchers working in stylistics and discourse analysis, and those working in interdisciplinary spaces who would be interested in exploring how stylistics can support their work.

Researching Stylistics: A Student Guide explores key topics in literary and non-literary stylistics, examining the multiple ways in which students can undertake research in this discipline. Inherently practical and reader-friendly in focus, the book is both a guide to key elements of the research process and a useful overview of core knowledge and successful research projects in stylistics. The book provides an overview of stylistics as a discipline, identifying its core principles and working parameters. It outlines, in a clear and systematic way, the design stages and practical considerations needed to plan for and undertake research. Reflecting the latest thinking in contemporary stylistics, the book demonstrates how various methods can be applied to study a range of different text types. The practical activity of ‘doing’ stylistics and key examples from existing research are emphasised so that readers will be confident in their ability to apply their knowledge to their own working contexts. This is an essential text for advanced students and researchers working in stylistics and discourse analysis, and those working in interdisciplinary spaces who would be interested in exploring how stylistics can support their work.

Providing an engaging, accessible and practically-focused introduction to cognitive grammar, this book demonstrates how central cognitive grammar principles can be used in stylistic analyses. Assuming no prior knowledge, it leads students through the basics of cognitive grammar, outlining its place within the field of cognitive linguistics as a whole, providing clear explanations of key principles and concepts, and explaining how these can be used to support the study of a range of literary and non-literary texts. Thoroughly updated throughout to encompass emerging trends in the field, this second edition features:- Increased exploration of a range of topics, including specificity and definiteness, scanning, perfective and imperfective verbs, action chains, and subjective and objective construal- A brand new chapter on extended projects in cognitive grammar- Additional activities, including on a wider range of literary texts- Further solutions to modelled answers- Updated examples, references, and further reading recommendationsPresenting cognitive grammar as a powerful alternative to more traditional grammatical models to enable the analysis of texts, the book’s primary focus is on the practical application of cognitive grammar to examples of language in context and on its potential for specifically literary and non-literary material. It offers a clear and facilitating approach to allow students to describe language features carefully and to explore how these descriptions can be developed into full and rich analyses.

Providing an engaging, accessible and practically-focused introduction to cognitive grammar, this book demonstrates how central cognitive grammar principles can be used in stylistic analyses. Assuming no prior knowledge, it leads students through the basics of cognitive grammar, outlining its place within the field of cognitive linguistics as a whole, providing clear explanations of key principles and concepts, and explaining how these can be used to support the study of a range of literary and non-literary texts. Thoroughly updated throughout to encompass emerging trends in the field, this second edition features:- Increased exploration of a range of topics, including specificity and definiteness, scanning, perfective and imperfective verbs, action chains, and subjective and objective construal- A brand new chapter on extended projects in cognitive grammar- Additional activities, including on a wider range of literary texts- Further solutions to modelled answers- Updated examples, references, and further reading recommendationsPresenting cognitive grammar as a powerful alternative to more traditional grammatical models to enable the analysis of texts, the book’s primary focus is on the practical application of cognitive grammar to examples of language in context and on its potential for specifically literary and non-literary material. It offers a clear and facilitating approach to allow students to describe language features carefully and to explore how these descriptions can be developed into full and rich analyses.

This book presents and analyses the results of the Lockdown Library Project survey, using a range of quantitative and qualitative approaches to provide a unique insight into the ways in which the first UK COVID-19 lockdown affected public reading habits. The authors begin by outlining the background to the study, the research methodology and design, and an overview of the headlines of the data, before going on to survey the literature on the relationship between pandemics, literature (especially the role played by genre and popular fiction) and reading habits. They then examine how participants reported that the lockdown period had affected the amount that they read; how they accessed books and discussed their reading with others; the use of reading as a coping strategy; and returning to re-read books that offered familiarity, reliability, and nostalgia. Finally, the concluding chapter brings together the overall findings of the project and briefly outlines future work in the field. This book will be of interest to academics in fields such as literary and genre studies, applied linguistics, corpus linguistics, stylistics, health humanities, and sociology, as well as practitioners working in education, in bibliotherapy, and in libraries.

This book presents a cognitive stylistic analysis of the writing of Siegfried Sassoon, a First World War poet who has typically been perceived as a poet of protest and irony, but whose work is in fact multi-faceted and complex in theme and shifted in style considerably throughout his lifetime. The author starts from the premise that a more systematic account of Sassoon’s style is possible using the methodology of contemporary stylistics, in particular Cognitive Grammar. Using this as a starting point, he revisits common ideas from Sassoon scholarship and reconfigures them through the lens of cognitive stylistics to provide a fresh perspective on Sassoon's style. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of stylistics, war poetry, twentieth-century literature, and cognitive linguistics.

What is grammar? Why is it so central to the teaching of English? How can we teach it with confidence in secondary schools? Essential Grammar will provide clarity, meaning and teacher expertise to this much debated area of the English curriculum. By exploring grammar as applied to literary analysis and using a range of examples from commonly-taught and popular texts, this highly accessible book provides an extensive overview of how to use grammar to enhance the teaching of academic and creative writing. Drawing on a range of resources, best-selling authors Webb and Giovanelli: discuss the context of grammar teaching in schools provide a clear overview of concepts and terminology for the teacher offer a wide range of examples of how grammar can be applied to the analysis of texts and the development of students’ writing debunk the unhelpful view of grammar as a list of prescriptive rules and limits outline grammatical concepts in a way which is clear and simple to understand provide a huge range of practical ways to ensure that teaching of grammatical concepts can be rigorous and successful for all. This resource, with its grounded and straightforward approach to grammar, will be immediately useable in the classroom with strategies that be used by teachers in their classroom today. For any training and practicing secondary English teachers, Essential Grammar will be a compulsory classroom companion.

What is grammar? Why is it so central to the teaching of English? How can we teach it with confidence in secondary schools? Essential Grammar will provide clarity, meaning and teacher expertise to this much debated area of the English curriculum. By exploring grammar as applied to literary analysis and using a range of examples from commonly-taught and popular texts, this highly accessible book provides an extensive overview of how to use grammar to enhance the teaching of academic and creative writing. Drawing on a range of resources, best-selling authors Webb and Giovanelli: discuss the context of grammar teaching in schools provide a clear overview of concepts and terminology for the teacher offer a wide range of examples of how grammar can be applied to the analysis of texts and the development of students’ writing debunk the unhelpful view of grammar as a list of prescriptive rules and limits outline grammatical concepts in a way which is clear and simple to understand provide a huge range of practical ways to ensure that teaching of grammatical concepts can be rigorous and successful for all. This resource, with its grounded and straightforward approach to grammar, will be immediately useable in the classroom with strategies that be used by teachers in their classroom today. For any training and practicing secondary English teachers, Essential Grammar will be a compulsory classroom companion.

This book presents a cognitive stylistic analysis of the writing of Siegfried Sassoon, a First World War poet who has typically been perceived as a poet of protest and irony, but whose work is in fact multi-faceted and complex in theme and shifted in style considerably throughout his lifetime. The author starts from the premise that a more systematic account of Sassoon’s style is possible using the methodology of contemporary stylistics, in particular Cognitive Grammar. Using this as a starting point, he revisits common ideas from Sassoon scholarship and reconfigures them through the lens of cognitive stylistics to provide a fresh perspective on Sassoon's style. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of stylistics, war poetry, twentieth-century literature, and cognitive linguistics.

Studying Fiction provides a clear rationale alongside ideas and methods for teaching literature in schools from a cognitive linguistic perspective. Written by experienced linguists, teachers and researchers, it offers an overview of recent studies on reading and the mind, providing a detailed guide to concepts such as attention, knowledge, empathy, immersion, authorial intention, characterisation and social justice. The book synthesises research from cognitive linguistics in an applied way so that teachers and those researching English in education can consider ways to approach literary reading in the classroom. Each chapter: draws on the latest research in cognitive stylistics and cognitive poetics; discusses a range of ideas related to the whole experience of conceptualising teaching fiction in the classroom and enacting it through practice; provides activities and reflection exercises for the practitioner; encourages engagement with important issues such as social justice, emotion and curriculum design. Together with detailed suggestions for further reading and a guide to available resources, this is an essential guide for all secondary English teachers as well as those teaching and researching in primary and undergraduate phases.

Studying Fiction provides a clear rationale alongside ideas and methods for teaching literature in schools from a cognitive linguistic perspective. Written by experienced linguists, teachers and researchers, it offers an overview of recent studies on reading and the mind, providing a detailed guide to concepts such as attention, knowledge, empathy, immersion, authorial intention, characterisation and social justice. The book synthesises research from cognitive linguistics in an applied way so that teachers and those researching English in education can consider ways to approach literary reading in the classroom. Each chapter: draws on the latest research in cognitive stylistics and cognitive poetics; discusses a range of ideas related to the whole experience of conceptualising teaching fiction in the classroom and enacting it through practice; provides activities and reflection exercises for the practitioner; encourages engagement with important issues such as social justice, emotion and curriculum design. Together with detailed suggestions for further reading and a guide to available resources, this is an essential guide for all secondary English teachers as well as those teaching and researching in primary and undergraduate phases.

Cognitive Grammar in Stylistics: A Practical Guide provides an engaging, accessible and practically-focused introduction to cognitive grammar outlining how central principles of the field can be used in stylistic analyses. Assuming no prior knowledge, the book leads students through the basics of cognitive grammar, outlining its place within the field of cognitive linguistics as a whole, providing clear explanations of key principles and concepts. It then explains how these can be used to study a range of literary and non-literary texts. The book argues that cognitive grammar offers a powerful alternative to more traditional grammatical models when analysing texts. Its primary focus is on the practical application of cognitive grammar to examples of language in context and on its potential for both literary and non-literary material. It offers a clear and facilitating approach to allow students to describe language features carefully and to explore how these descriptions can be developed into full and rich analyses. Suitable for undergraduate students taking modules in stylistics, English language, and cognitive linguistics, as well as postgraduates encountering the field for the first time, the book provides a much-needed and essential guide to this exciting subject.

Cognitive Grammar in Stylistics: A Practical Guide provides an engaging, accessible and practically-focused introduction to cognitive grammar outlining how central principles of the field can be used in stylistic analyses. Assuming no prior knowledge, the book leads students through the basics of cognitive grammar, outlining its place within the field of cognitive linguistics as a whole, providing clear explanations of key principles and concepts. It then explains how these can be used to study a range of literary and non-literary texts. The book argues that cognitive grammar offers a powerful alternative to more traditional grammatical models when analysing texts. Its primary focus is on the practical application of cognitive grammar to examples of language in context and on its potential for both literary and non-literary material. It offers a clear and facilitating approach to allow students to describe language features carefully and to explore how these descriptions can be developed into full and rich analyses. Suitable for undergraduate students taking modules in stylistics, English language, and cognitive linguistics, as well as postgraduates encountering the field for the first time, the book provides a much-needed and essential guide to this exciting subject.

Essential study guides for the future linguist. Narrative is an introduction to the ways we use language to tell stories. It is suitable for advanced level students and beyond. Written with input from the Cambridge English Corpus, it explores texts from a range of genres, mediums and periods, written for different audiences and purposes. This includes examples such as hard news stories, narratives from children and examples from Twitter. Using short activities to help explain analysis methods, this book guides students through major modern issues and concepts. It summarises key concerns and modern findings, while providing inspiration for language investigations and non-examined assessments (NEAs) with research suggestions.

Essential study guides for the future linguist. The Language of Literature is a general introduction to the methods and principles behind stylistics. It is suitable for advanced level students and beyond. Written with input from the Cambridge English Corpus, it provides students with an introduction to stylistics with texts from different genres. It takes the approach that the best way to study literary texts is to focus closely on language. Using short activities to help explain analysis methods, this book guides students through major modern issues and concepts. It summarises key concerns and findings, while providing inspiration for language investigations and non-examined assessments (NEAs) with research suggestions.

Text World Theory and Keats' Poetry applies advances in cognitive poetics and text world theory to four poems by the nineteenth century poet John Keats. It takes the existing text world theory as a starting point and draws on stylistics, literary theory, cognitive linguistics, cognitive psychology and dream theories to explore reading poems in the light of their emphasis on states of desire, dreaming and nightmares. It accounts for the representation of these states and the ways in which they are likely to be processed, monitored and understood. Text World Theory and Keats' Poetry advances both the current field of cognitive stylistics but also analyses Keats in a way that offers new insights into his poetry. It is of interest to stylisticians and those in literary studies.

Teaching Grammar, Structure and Meaning introduces teachers to some basic ideas from the increasingly popular field of cognitive linguistics as a way of explaining and teaching key grammatical concepts. Particularly suitable for those teaching post-16 English Language, this book offers a methodology for teaching key aspects of linguistic form and an extensive set of learning activities. Written by an experienced linguist and teacher, this book contains:an evaluation of current approaches to the teaching of grammar and linguistic forma revised pedagogy based on principles from cognitive science and cognitive linguisticsa comprehensive set of activities and resources to support the teaching of key linguistic topics and text typesa detailed set of suggestions for further reading and a guide to available resourcesArguing for the use of drama, role play, gesture, energy dynamics, and visual and spatial representations as ways of enabling students to understand grammatical features, this book explores and analyses language use in a range of text types, genres and contexts. This innovative approach to teaching aspects of grammar is aimed at English teachers, student teachers and teacher trainers.

Teaching Grammar, Structure and Meaning introduces teachers to some basic ideas from the increasingly popular field of cognitive linguistics as a way of explaining and teaching key grammatical concepts. Particularly suitable for those teaching post-16 English Language, this book offers a methodology for teaching key aspects of linguistic form and an extensive set of learning activities. Written by an experienced linguist and teacher, this book contains:an evaluation of current approaches to the teaching of grammar and linguistic forma revised pedagogy based on principles from cognitive science and cognitive linguisticsa comprehensive set of activities and resources to support the teaching of key linguistic topics and text typesa detailed set of suggestions for further reading and a guide to available resourcesArguing for the use of drama, role play, gesture, energy dynamics, and visual and spatial representations as ways of enabling students to understand grammatical features, this book explores and analyses language use in a range of text types, genres and contexts. This innovative approach to teaching aspects of grammar is aimed at English teachers, student teachers and teacher trainers.