One of the major problems in feminist literary criticism is the tendency to generalise when exploring language and gender. This volume clarifies the issues involved and tests generalisations by specific analysis, and in the process defines a `feminist stylistics' - a fresh, practical approach which will serve as a model for future work in this area.
The seven essays in the collection analyse widely varying literary texts, using the framework of linguistic theory to address feminist issues. The texts range from Shakespeare's As You Like Itto present-day pop songs, and also cover poetry and contemporary fiction. The feminist critics whose approach is under examination include Cixous, Irigaray, Kristeva, Showalter, Woolf anda number of British feminists; and the linguistic models employed cover discourse analysis, politeness theory, lexicalisation and transitivity.