Multilevel Accentuation and its Role in the Memorization of Narrative

Abstract

The paper is dedicated to the phenomenon of accentuation on multiple narrative levels. Accentuation is a textual device that indicates the elements of narrative that have to be memorized by readers. It is different from the well known notion of foregrounding, as accentuation does not violate the norm, but, on the contrary, is in itself conventional. While foregrounding draws readers' attention involuntarily, the accentuation is a way of facilitating the work of voluntary attention. In this latter case a text as if takes on itself a part of the unpleasant burden of purposeful concentrating of attention, so that the reading process becomes more comfortable. The paper describes the general principles of accentuation and also presents a typology of accentuation devices, based on a six-level model of narrative. It encompasses five main types (three syntactic ones and two semantic ones), including numerous subcategories.