Analysis of Politeness Strategies in the Play Heat Lightening: A Pragmatic Perspective

Abstract

This study attempts to analyze politeness strategies as employed in the play Heat Lightening by Robert F. Carroll following Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory. The primary aim of the research is to find out how the analysis of these strategies can help in the understanding of the characters’ personalities and their role in the play. For this purpose, mixed research method has been employed. The data for this study is collected using purposive sampling method and 74 utterances have been selected for the analysis. The results show the utilization of all the four politeness strategies in the play devised by Brown and Levinson (1987). Findings reveal that positive politeness (30%), negative politeness (30%), bald on record (21%) and off record (19%) strategies have been used respectively. The ratio of positive and negative politeness strategies is higher used by the characters to save their hearer’s face and also to show their feelings of friendliness and cooperation for one another. However, the use of bald on record seems to threaten the hearer’s face and off-record is employed to show the frustration and irony or to give hints in the play. All of these strategies together provide a great insight into the play and its characters. The study has pedagogical implications for EFL and L2 English speakers.