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Part of
The Discourse of Indirectness: Cues, voices and functions
Edited by Zohar Livnat, Pnina Shukrun-Nagar and Galia Hirsch
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 316] 2020
► pp. 97–118

Whose line is it anyway?

Three pragmatic cues for distinguishing between the implied-author and narrative voices: The case of Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

 | The Hebrew University
The goal of this contribution is to distinguish between the implied-author and other narrative voices in order to answer the question of how the implied-author conveys criticism. For this purpose, I introduce three pragmatic cues. I argue that these serve as a mechanism connecting text and context, allowing the implied-author to convey ironic/humoristic criticism. I found the combination of footing and narrative entities a useful methodology. I offer an analysis of Jerome K. Jerome’s novel Three Men in a Boat using these cues. This theoretical-methodological combination enabled me to distinguish between the speaker-meanings of the implied-author and the narrator in this novel; describe the three-way relations between the implied-author/implied-reader/narrator; and expose the implied-author’s critical stance towards its narrator.
Keywords: criticism, cues, footing, humor, implied-author, irony, narrative voices, pragmatics
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
    • 2.1Participation framework in the literary text
    • 2.2Footing
  • 3.Cues and the distinction between IA and narrative voices
  • 4.Methodology and text
  • 5.Three proposed cues and Three Men in a Boat
    • 5.1Stylistic duet
    • 5.2Absurd
    • 5.3Lip-service
  • 6.Findings and summary
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 29 October 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.316.05ced
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