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The Dynamics of Text and Framing Phenomena: Historical approaches to paratext and metadiscourse in English
Edited by Matti Peikola and Birte Bös
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 317] 2020
► pp. 137–162

Chapter 6
Paratext and ideology in 17th-century news genres

A comparative discourse analysis of paratextual elements in news broadside ballads and occasional news pamphlets

ORCID logo | University of Florence

This contribution examines the way in which ideology and the (changing) socio-cultural news values of the time can be mapped onto the news presentation strategies adopted in the paratext of 17th-century news broadside ballads and occasional news pamphlets. Based on Genette’s (1997) notion of paratext and on Hyland’s (2005) model of metadiscourse, the comparative discourse analysis focuses on the paratextual components found in the initial and terminal paratext of each news genre. The results show that the ideological imperatives of the Church along with people’s increasing interest in objective and fact-centered news had a determining role in the choice of the author’s and publisher’s metadiscourse resources across the century.

Keywords: 17th-century English news, paratext, metadiscourse, interactive markers, interactional markers, ideology, Church, realistic reportage, broadside ballad, occasional news pamphlet
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework
  • 3.Data and methodology
  • 4. Broadsides and pamphlets
  • 5.Analysis of paratext in 17th-century broadside ballads and pamphlets
    • 5.1 Headlines
    • 5.2Proto-lead
    • 5.3Woodcuts
    • 5.4Tunes and imprints
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Primary sources
  • Secondary sources
Published online: 18 November 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.317.06cec
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Early English Broadside Ballad Archive
University of California at Santa Barbara. [URL]
Early English Books Online
[URL]
Oxford English Dictionary
[URL]
Old Bailey Online
[URL]

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