Stylistic Foregrounding and Aesthetic Expression in Literature

This study examined stylistic foregrounding as a key mechanism for aesthetic expression in selected literary texts, using the analytical framework of Leech and Short (2007). Adopting a qualitative stylistic approach, the study investigated how foregrounding was achieved through patterned linguistic choices at multiple levels, including lexis, grammatical structure, figurative language, and textual cohesion. The analysis demonstrated that writers manipulated language to create deviation and parallelism, thereby drawing attention to specific textual elements and enhancing interpretive depth. These foregrounded features functioned to intensify meaning, reinforce thematic concerns, and evoke emotional and aesthetic responses from readers. The findings revealed that aesthetic expression in literature was not incidental but emerged from deliberate stylistic orchestration, where linguistic form and literary function were closely intertwined. The study provided a nuanced account of how literary language operated to produce artistic effects by situating foregrounding within Leech and Short’s model of stylistic analysis. It concluded that stylistic foregrounding remained central to understanding the relationship between language, meaning, and aesthetic experience in literary discourse.