Anayse how language is used in a couple of texts( opening pages of Essay

Anayse how language is used in a couple of texts( opening pages of Gone with the wind and Romeo and Juliet - Essay Example These elements include phonology, lexis, punctuation, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. By comparing the usage of these elements between two classic texts, such as William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, evidence can be found in each element of language that demonstrate how the usage of language changes over time and place as well as through dominant format of the communication goals. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in 1597 reflecting the Elizabethan values and traditions of England while focusing on the story of a young couple in Verona. In this way, he also incorporates some of the values that were understood in his time to have been important to people of an even earlier time. Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind in 1936 America reflecting the struggles of the Great Depression and capturing some of the major issues that faced people living in the Civil War south. Like Shakespeare, although she didn’t live during that time period, she incorporates many of the values that were understood in her generation to have been important issues a generation or so earlier. In each case, there is a strong sense of identity reflected in every aspect of the language used. While each novel is written in the same general English language, each illustrates the ideas of love coming to bitter conclusions and each struggles to portray a period of time prior to that in which the author lived, each does so in such a unique way as to make it seem as if they were each written in separate languages all together, which can be teased out by examining the various aspects of language used to tell the story. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare establishes early on a formal and literary tone within the lexis of his text. For example, in the Prologue, he indicates the scene of his play is in â€Å"fair Verona†, a use of the word ‘fair’ that falls within the formal lexicon, especially