TEACHING TEXTUAL C O H E S I O N T H R O U G H ANALYSES

O F D E F O E ' S MOLL FLANDERS

A N D SWIFT'S GULLIVER'S TRAVELS

ÁNGEL F. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR

Universidad de Sevilla

RESUMEN

La coherencia y la l e g i b i l i d a d d e u n texto la crea, p o r u n lado, el escri­

tor e n su e l e c c i ó n d e los elementos léxicos, semánticos y sintácticos q u e l o
c o m p o n e n y , p o r o t r o , el lector e n su relación c o n el t e x t o y e n su integra­
c i ó n d e estos elementos e n u n t o d o . Estas páginas representan u n i n t e n t o d e
definir, e n p r i m e r lugar, u n m a r c o teórico - y u n i n s t r u m e n t o d e a n á l i s i s - rela­
t i v o a la c o h e r e n c i a / c o h e s i ó n d e u n texto a n i v e l d e párrafo y , e n s e g u n d o
lugar, u n e j e m p l o d e la aplicación d e este i n s t r u m e n t o al análisis, c o m p a r a ­
c i ó n y contraste d e los estilos d e D e f o e e n Moll Flanders y d e Swift e n Gulli­
ver's Travels.
Este artículo intenta a la vez mostrar c ó m o textos literarios c o m o Moll
Flanders y Gulliver's Travels p u e d e n analizarse mediante el u s o d e patrones
de cohesión. Y c o m o se verá, el lector es capaz d e procesar la prosa d e Swift
c o n m u c h a más facilidad q u e la d e Defoe. Swift, e n contraste c o n D e f o e , pare­
ce planear c o n s u m o c u i d a d o su prosa y es capaz d e conseguir e n ésta u n a
gran c o h e r e n c i a / c o h e s i ó n mediante la perfecta c o m b i n a c i ó n d e sus c o m p o ­
nentes sintácticos, léxicos y semánticos.

PALABRAS CLAVE

Coherencia, c o h e s i ó n , c o h e s i ó n léxica, c o h e s i ó n semántica, c o h e s i ó n sin­

táctica, coherencia léxica, coherencia semántica, nexos, estilo, l e g i b i l i d a d , ora­
c i ó n temática, retórica, m o d e l o s retóricos.

ABSTRACT

T h e coherence a n d readability o f a text is created b y t h e writer, t h r o u g h

semantic, lexical a n d syntactic choices, a n d b y t h e reader t h r o u g h his inter­
action w i t h t h e text a n d t h e further integration o f details i n t o a w h o l e . T h e
f o l l o w i n g pages w i l l offer, first, a theoretical f r a m e w o r k - a n d a n i n s t r u m e n t o f

557
CAUCE, Revista de Filología y su Didáctica, n" 22-23, 1999-2000 /págs. 557-570

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 Á N G E L F. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR

analysis— for the definition of coherence/cohesion at the level of the para­

graph and, second, an example of the application of this instrument to the
analysis, through comparison and contrast of the styles of Defoe's Moll Flan­
ders and Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
This paper also attempts to show the way literary texts such as Swift's
Gulliver's Travels and Defoe's Moll Flanders can be analyzed using cohesive
patterns. Such an analysis of these patterns reveals that the reader can process
Swift's prose much more easily than Defoe's. Swift, unlike Defoe, planned his
prose more carefully and thus achieves a greater coherence/cohesion by the
perfect meshing of the semantic, lexical and syntactic structures within the texts.

KEY WORDS

Coherence, cohesion, lexical cohesion, semantic cohesion, syntactic cohe­

sion, lexical coherence, semantic coherence, markers, style, readability, topic
sentence, rhetoric, rhetorical patterns.

0. INTRODUCTION

Cohesion provides the basic rule by which writers and speakers

play the language game, from a simple exchange of utterances to the
rich expression of a Petrarchan sonnet. Authors like Swift use it s k i l l ­
fully to generate readable prose; others like Defoe seem to be unaware
of it. Several literary critics concur with these conclusions by pin-point­
ing the apparent internal inconsistencies and lack of coherence of Defoe's
Moll Flanders (Watt 1 9 7 1 , p. 9 9 ) which contrasts with the plain, simple
style of Swift's Gulliver's Travels (Foot 1985, p. 7 ) .
The coherence and readability of a text i s created by the writer,
through semantic, lexical and syntactic choices, and by the reader through
his/her interaction with the text and the further integration of details
into a whole. Analysis of two eighteenth century w o r k s reveals that
Swift's prose i s much more easily processed by the reader than i s Defoe's.
One might say, as does Williams (1979, pp. 595-609), that from the
reader's point of view, Swift's style i s simple while Defoe's i s complex;
however, from the writer's point of view, the opposite occurs. Achiev­
ing clarity and simplicity of style i s much more difficult for the writer
than i s producing complexity.
The following pages w i l l offer, first, a theoretical framework for the
definition of cohesion at the level of the paragraph and, second, an
example of the application of this instrument to the analysis, through
comparison and contrast, of the styles of Defoe's Moll Flanders and

558

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 T E A C H I N G T E X T U A L C O H E S I O N T H R O U G H ANALYSES O F DEFOE'S MOLL FLANDERS.

S w i f t ' s Gulliver's Travels. T h e detailed analysis of a few k e y paragraphs

highlights and epitomizes the relationship between sentences which
these writers develop to p r o d u c e c o h e s i o n or the lack thereof. Thus,
besides considering semantic a n d syntactic cohesion, the analysis will
1
e x p l o r e related c o n c e p t s s u c h as digressive s e q u e n c e s , levels of gen-
2 3 4
erality , topic s e n t e n c e s a n d p a r a g r a p h l e n g t h . F o r t h e p u r p o s e of clar-
ity a n d b r e v i t y , I w i l l c o n s i d e r a s e n t e n c e a s a g r o u p o f w o r d s enclosed
by t w o periods or by a period a n d a semicolon. Long sentences con-
sisting of s e q u e n c e s of subordinate clauses will be analyzed mainly
from t h e p o i n t of v i e w of their m a i n c l a u s e s (i.e. e l e m e n t s occupying
t h e p o s i t i o n of g r a m m a t i c a l subjects). C o o r d i n a t e s e q u e n c e s (i.e. r e p e a t -
ing an anaphoric "and") will b e a c c o u n t e d for w h e n they contain an
i n d e p e n d e n t subject a n d verb.

I. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Authors disagree o n the difference b e t w e e n c o h e r e n c e a n d c o h e -

s i o n . S o m e a s s u m e c o h e r e n c e t o b e a f u n c t i o n o f c o h e s i o n ; t h a t is,
c o h e s i o n refers to local c o n n e c t i o n s that p r o d u c e a c o h e r e n t w h o l e .
Others see c o h e s i o n as e m b r a c i n g b o t h c o h e r e n c e a n d local c o n n e c -
t i o n s . Actually b o t h g r o u p s differ o n l y in t h e i r s e m a n t i c o r s y n t a c t i c
p o i n t s of view. T h e f o r m e r (or traditional definition) v i e w s c o h e r e n c e
as a s e m a n t i c p h e n o m e n o n a n d c o h e s i o n as a set of lexical ties that
c a n o n l y create a local c o h e r e n c e . T h e latter s e e s c o h e s i o n m a i n l y from
a syntactical p e r s p e c t i v e in w h i c h t h e syntactic e l e m e n t s a r e n o t sim-
p l e c o h e s i v e ties, b u t p a r a d i g m s e m b r a c i n g w h o l e p a r a g r a p h s . This p a p e r
a p p r o a c h e s c o h e s i o n from semantic/lexical, syntactic a n d rhetorical points
of v i e w a n d as e m b r a c i n g , m a i n l y from a reader's p e r s p e c t i v e , a c o h e r -
ent whole.

1
A sentence or group of sentences which bear little or no relationship with pre-
ceding or following sentences.
2
A semantic term implying a movement from a leading or topic sentence.
3
A topic sentence generally indicates what the paragraph is about, what it will
describe or discuss. Betty Bomber believes that a clearly stated topic sentence as well
as appropriate organizational patterns create coherence. Betty Bamber, "What Makes a
Text Coherent", College Composition and Communication, 4, december 1983, p. 417.
4
For further explanation of these terms, see Ángel F. Sánchez Escobar, "La retóri-
ca contrastiva del párrafo inglés y sus repercusiones en la enseñanza del inglés escrito",
Gramática contrastiva inglés-español, Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de Huel-
va, 1996.

559

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 ÁNGEL F. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR

H a l l i d a y a n d H a s a n , in Cohesion in English, define cohesion from

a lexical p e r s p e c t i v e ( 1 9 7 6 ) . T h e y identify t w o m a i n c a t e g o r i e s in l e x ­
ical c o h e s i o n : r e i t e r a t i o n a n d c o l l o c a t i o n o r p l a c e m e n t . I n r e i t e r a t i o n ,
t h e lexical i t e m s refer b a c k t o a n o t h e r t e r m t o w h i c h t h e y a r e r e l a t e d
t h r o u g h a c o m m o n r e f e r e n t ( r e p e t i t i o n of s a m e w o r d , a s y n o n y m , a
s u p e r o r d i n a t e w o r d , a g e n e r a l w o r d . ) I n c o l l o c a t i o n , c o h e s i o n is a c h i e v e d
t h r o u g h t h e c l o s e c o - o c c u r r e n c e of relatively l o w f r e q u e n c y w o r d s t h a t
a p p e a r in similar c o n t e x t s :

T y p e s a n d c a t e g o r i e s of lexical c o h e s i o n ( H a l l i d a y a n d H a s a n ) .
/. Reiteration //. Collocation
A type o f cohesion i n w h i c h o n e A type o f cohesion i n w h i c h o n e
lexical element is related t h r o u g h lexical element is related t o a
a c o m m o n referent to a previous previous o n e t h r o u g h frequent
element as a: co-occurrence i n similar contexts b y :
1. Repetition (e.g., p o w e r / p o w e r ) 1. Association w i t h a particular t o p i c
(e.g., Marx, class conflict, social
change)
2. S y n o n y m o r near-synonym 2. O p p o s i t i o n o r contrast (e.g.,
(e.g., lack o f order/chaos) influence/counterinfluence)
3. Superordinate w o r d (e.g., 3- M e m b e r s h i p i n ordered sets
furniture/chair) (June/July)
4. General w o r d (e.g., p o w e r / 4. Membership i n u n o r d e r e d sets
this entity) (blue/yellow)

F o r p e d a g o g i c a l p u r p o s e s , Stotsky r e o r d e r s H a l l i d a y ' s a n d H a s s a n ' s

f r a m e w o r k b y c o n s i d e r i n g r e i t e r a t i o n m a i n l y a s a s e t of s e m a n t i c a l l y
r e l a t e d w o r d s a n d b y a d d i n g t o it a fifth factor t h a t c r e a t e s cohesion-,
d e r i v a t i o n o r r e p e t i t i o n of a d e r i v a t i o n a l e l e m e n t ( 1 9 8 3 , p . 4 4 1 ) .
Fahnestock agrees with Halliday a n d Hasan o n their ideas a b o u t
lexical c o h e s i o n ; h o w e v e r , s h e p e r c e i v e s o n e m o r e level, t h e s e m a n t i c
r e l a t i o n s h i p . S h e further d i s t i n g u i s h e s t w o t y p e s of s e m a n t i c r e l a t i o n s
b e t w e e n clauses: continuative a n d discontinuative, w h i c h she describes
a l o n g w i t h r e l a t e d t r a n s i t i o n w o r d s ( 1 9 8 3 , p p . 4 0 0 - 4 0 6 ) [see d i a g r a m o n
next page]:
M a r k e l s ( 1 9 8 3 , p p . 4 5 0 - 4 6 4 ) s e e s c o h e s i o n as b o t h a s e m a n t i c a n d
s y n t a c t i c p h e n o m e n o n . A c c o r d i n g t o her, s e m a n t i c ties, g e n e r a l l y b a s e d
o n i t e m r e p e t i t i o n , o b v i o u s l y c o n t r i b u t e t o c o h e s i o n . S h e lists t h e fol­
lowing cases:

560

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 >
o
X

2
o
Semantic and lexical c o h e r e n c e (Jeanne F a h n e s t o c k ) .
Continuative Relations Discontinuative Relations a
O
X
Sequence Restatement Exemplification Premise Anomalous Replacement Exception Concession M
en
Then that is for example because Sequence
O
next in other words for instance since earlier rather even though z
in short thus formuch later instead although
though O
meanwhile G
Conclusion Similarity Addition granted O
X
therefore likewise and of course >
hence similarly so z
so moreover Denied Contrast Alternation
consequently furthermore Implication
thus in addition Nevertheless on the other or
then too still hand otherwise
D
finally on the contrary m
TI

nor conversely O
M
But/yet/however: These three words can si\>nal several relations.
I

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
ai
 Á N G E L F. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR

1. T h e straightforward r e c u r r e n c e of a term: "The b o y c l i m b e d the

trees. T h e trees were oaks."
2. Synonymy: " T h e boy c l i m b e d t h e f e n c e . T h e youth is a gang
member."
3. A m o r e c o m p l e x k i n d a s t h e c l a s s m e m b e r r e l a t i o n s h i p : "I w a n t ­
e d s o m e a p p l e s . B u t they w e r e all s o l d out."

Markels agrees that there are sentences that contain s o m e seman­

tic ties b u t yet l a c k c o h e s i o n :

J o h n likes oranges. Oranges g r o w i n California a n d Florida. M y

parents visited California last year.

T h u s , f o r M a r k e l s , a s e c o n d s t e p is t o d e s c r i b e h o w r e c u r r e n c e s
are incorporated into sentences. This can b e d o n e with the kernel
S.V.O. (subject, v e r b , o b j e c t ) , w h i c h c o n t r o l s t h e f u n c t i o n s of t h e s e
s e m a n t i c ties, g e n e r a t e s t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p a m o n g internally c o h e s i v e
parts, a n d offers t h e b a s i s for a n o p e r a t i o n a l definition of c o h e s i o n . S h e
a d d s t h a t c o h e s i o n is a c h i e v e d w h e n a d o m i n a n t t e r m , e x p l i c i t o r
implicit, consistently a p p e a r s in b o t h t h e m o s t p r o m i n e n t s e m a n t i c a n d
s y n t a c t i c p o s i t i o n . D o m i n a n c e is a c h i e v e d n o t s i m p l y b y t h e r e p e t i t i o n
of a t e r m b u t b y t h e r e c u r r e n t a p p e a r a n c e of t h o s e r e p e a t e d e l e m e n t s
i n t h e s u b j e c t p o s i t i o n . If t h e r e p e a t e d t e r m d o e s n o t a p p e a r i n t h e
p o s i t i o n o f g r a m m a t i c a l s u b j e c t , d o m i n a n c e is n o t a c h i e v e d , a n d t h e
p a r a g r a p h lacks c o h e s i o n . H e n c e , c o h e s i o n requires t h e m e s h i n g of
both semantic a n d syntactic information.
A n increasing a m o u n t of r e s e a r c h o n c o h e r e n c e a n d c o h e s i o n has
a p p e a r e d recently, (See Hoey, 1991; McCarthy, 1991; or N u n a n , 1993),
b u t further c o m m e n t s o n this topic w o u l d g o b e y o n d t h e s c o p e of this
study. T h e different a p p r o a c h e s to c o h e s i o n / c o h e r e n c e defined above
p l a y k e y roles in t h e analytical f r a m e w o r k developed for this paper.
The lexical, semantic, and syntactic components of c o h e s i o n offer a
very useful tool for t h e analysis, c o m p a r i s o n and contrast of textural
p a t t e r n s i n l i t e r a r y t e x t s s u c h a s D e f o e ' s Moll Flanders a n d Swift's Gul­
liver's Travels.

II. C O H E S I O N I N PRACTICE

T h e variation in p a r a g r a p h l e n g t h s t r i k e s t h e r e a d e r of Swift and

D e f o e i m m e d i a t e l y b e c a u s e p a r a g r a p h s i n Gulliver's Travels are gener-

562

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 T E A C H I N G TEXTUAL C O H E S I O N T H R O U G H ANALYSES O F D E F O E ' S MOD FLANDERS.

5
a l l y l o n g e r t h a n t h o s e i n Moll Flanders . For e x a m p l e , at t h e b e g i n n i n g
o f Gulliver's Travels a single paragraph contains 8 7 sentences. Further­
m o r e , Swift g e n e r a l l y p l a c e s a t o p i c s e n t e n c e at t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e
p a r a g r a p h c o n t a i n i n g all t h e i n c o m i n g i n f o r m a t i o n . D e f o e , o n t h e o t h ­
e r h a n d , offers less clear o p e n i n g s e n t e n c e s in his p a r a g r a p h s a n d t e n d s
t o p l a c e a d i g r e s s i v e s e q u e n c e at t h e e n d of m a n y of t h e m . T h u s , t h e
c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e topic s e n t e n c e p r o v i d e s a v e r y v a l u a b l e instrument
for t h e analysis of t e x t u a l c o h e s i o n .

The following paragraph from Gulliver's Travels illustrates Swift's

typical u s e of a t o p i c s e n t e n c e at t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h e p a r a g r a p h . One
n o t i c e s h o w c l e a r l y t h e first s e n t e n c e o f t h e f o l l o w i n g p a r a g r a p h pre­
p a r e s t h e r e a d e r for w h a t follows:

(1) These people are most excellent mathematicians, and arrived to

a great perfection in mechanics by the countenance and encouragement
of the Emperor, who is a renowned patron of learning. (2) This p r i n c e
h a t h several machines f i x e d o n w h e e l s f o r the carriage o f trees a n d o t h ­
er great w e i g h t s . (3) H e often b u i l d e t h his largest m e n - o f - w a r , w h e r e o f
some are three o r f o u r f o o t l o n g , i n the w o o d s w h e r e the t i m b e r g r o w s ,
a n d has t h e m carried o n these engines three o r f o u r h u n d r e d yards t o
the sea. (4) Five h u n d r e d carpenters a n d engineers w e r e i m m e d i a t e l y
set at w o r k t o prepare the greatest engine they h a d . (5) It was a frame
o f w o o d raised three inches f r o m the g r o u n d , about seven f o o t l o n g
a n d f o u r w i d e , m o v i n g u p o n t w e n t y - t w o w h e e l s . (6) T h e shout I h e a r d
was u p o n the arrival o f this engine, w h i c h seems set o u t i n f o u r h o u r s
after m y l a n d i n g . (7) It w a s parallel to m e as I lay. (8) B u t the p r i n c i ­
pal d i f f i c u l t y w a s t o raise a n d place m e i n this vehicle. (9) Eighty poles,
each o f o n e f o o t h i g h , w e r e erected f o r that p u r p o s e , a n d v e r y strong
cords o f the bigness o f p a c k - t h r e a d w e r e fastened b y h o o k s t o m a n y
bandages, w h i c h t h e w o r k m e n h a d g i r d r o u n d m y n e c k , m y hands, m y
b o d y , a n d m y legs. (10) Nine h u n d r e d o f the strongest m e n w e r e e m p l o y e d
to d r a w u p these cords b y m a n y pulleys fastened o n t h e poles, a n d
thus i n less t h a n three hours, I was raised a n d s l u n g i n t o the engine,
a n d there t i e d fast. (11) A l l this I w a s t o l d , f o r w h i l e the w h o l e opera­
t i o n was p e r f o r m i n g , I lay i n a p r o f o u n d sleep, b y the force o f that
soporiferous m e d i c i n e i n f u s e d i n t o m y liquor. ( l 2 ) Fifteen h u n d r e d o f
the Emperor's largest horses, each about f o u r inches a n d a h a l f h i g h ,
w e r e e m p l o y e d t o d r a w m e t o w a r d s t h e m e t r o p o l i s w h i c h , as I said,
w a s h a l f a m i l e distant, ( p . 6 l )

5
All the passages q u o t e d h e r e are taken from J o n a t h a n Swift, Gulliver's Travels
(Penguin, 1985) a n d Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders (Penguin, 1983).

563

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 ÁNGEL F. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR

T h e p a r a g r a p h p r o c e e d s t o d e v e l o p t h e m a i n i d e a s e x p r e s s e d in
the topic sentence: "people" (associated with "mathematicians"), "mechan­
ics" a n d " E m p e r o r " . Lexical reiteration of r e l a t e d e l e m e n t s b a s e d o n
these three terms can be seen throughout the whole paragraphs "peo­
p l e " is e c h o e d i n " c a r p e n t e r s " , " e n g i n e e r s " , a n d " w o r k m e n " ; " m e c h a n ­
i c s " i s e c h o e d i n " m a c h i n e s " , " e n g i n e s " , " e n g i n e " , "it" a n d " v e h i c l e " ;
" E m p e r o r " is r e i t e r a t e d i n " p r i n c e " , " h e " a n d " E m p e r o r " . T h e following
d i a g r a m r e p r e s e n t s this pattern of reiteration:

1. people mechanics Emperor

2. machines prince
3. engines he
4. engineers/carpenters engine
5. it
6. engine
7. it
8. vehicle
9 workmen
10. men engine
11 All
12. Emperor

This d i a g r a m s h o w s t h e perfect structure of t h e p a r a g r a p h regard­

ing lexical ties. T h e r e p e a t e d u s e of t h e t e r m s d e v e l o p e d from " m e c h a n ­
ics" e m p h a s i z e s t h e clear c o i n c i d e n c e b e t w e e n t h e m e a n d focus; that
is b e t w e e n t h e i m a g e t h e a u t h o r is t r y i n g t o c o n v e y t o t h e r e a d e r ( G u l ­
l i v e r ' s b e i n g c a r r i e d t o L i l l i p u t ) a n d t h e m e a n s u s e d t o a c h i e v e it ( i . e .
t h r o u g h t h e repetition of lexical ties).
Analysis of t h e p a r a g r a p h from t h e syntactic p o i n t of v i e w reveals
that u p to sentence 6, o n e of t h e t h r e e abovementioned main terms
always occupies the position of grammatical subject. In sentence 6,
h o w e v e r , "the shout" o c c u p i e s this position, t h e r e b y creating a digres­
s i v e s e n t e n c e (it m o v e s t o a h i g h e r l e v e l o f g e n e r a l i t y t h a n t h e topic
s e n t e n c e ) a n d a n e w s e q u e n c e of t w o s e n t e n c e s ( t h o u g h I h a v e con­
s i d e r e d " W h i c h it s e e m s " a s a n a d j e c t i v e c l a u s e , a s a p a r t o f t h e pre­
vious sentence):

(6) T h e shout I h e a r d was u p o n the arrival o f this e n g i n e . W h i c h

it seems set o u t i n f o u r hours after m y l a n d i n g . (7) It was b r o u g h t par­
allel t o m e as a lay.

564

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 TEACHING TEXTUAL COHESION THROUGH ANALYSES OF DEFOE'S MOLL FLANDERS...

T h i s d i g r e s s i v e s e n t e n c e c o n n e c t s w i t h t h e p r e c e d i n g p a r a g r a p h : "I
h e a r d a c o n f u s e d n o i s e a b o u t m e [...]" ( p . 5 5 ) . M o r e o v e r , s e n t e n c e s 8
a n d 11 start n e w s e q u e n c e s w h o s e s u b j e c t s a r e " t h e p r i n c i p a l d i f f i c u l ­
t y " a n d " I " . I n s p i t e o f t h e s e d i g r e s s i v e s e q u e n c e s , t h e l e x i c a l ties c o n ­
tinue appearing: " w o r k m e n " , "men", "engine", and "Emperor". I n addi­
t i o n , " A l l " i n s e n t e n c e 11 s u m m a r i z e s t h e p r e c e d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e s e
l e x i c a l ties c o n t r i b u t e t o m a k e S w i f t ' s p a r a g r a p h a c o h e r e n t a n d l o g i ­
cal w h o l e .
T o p i c s e n t e n c e s a r e a l s o f o u n d i n Moll Flanders, but unlike those
i n Gulliver's Travels, t h e y lack the c o h e s i v e p o w e r t o create coherent
paragraphs. A n analysis o f the f o l l o w i n g p a r a g r a p h offers a p r i m e e x a m ­
ple o f Defoe's typically diffuse t o p i c sentences:

(1) But I c o m e n o w to m y o w n case, i n w h i c h there w a s at this

time n o little nicety. (2) The circumstances I w a s i n m a d e the offer o f
a g o o d h u s b a n d the most necessary t h i n g i n the w o r l d f o r me, b u t I
f o u n d s o o n that t o be m a d e cheap a n d easy was n o t the w a y . (3) It
s o o n began t o be f o u n d that the w i d o w h a d n o f o r t u n e , a n d to say this
was to say all that was i l l f o r me, f o r I b e g a n t o be d r o p p e d i n all dis­
courses o f m a t r i m o n y . (4) B e i n g w e l l - b r e d , h a n d s o m e , w i t t y , modest,
a n d agreeable; (5) all w h i c h I h a d a l l o w e d t o m y character - w h e t h e r
justly or n o is n o t to the p u r p o s e - I say, all these w o u l d n o t d o w i t h ­
o u t the dross, w h i c h was n o w b e c o m e m o r e valuable than v i r t u e itself.
(6) I n short, the w i d o w , they said, h a d n o m o n e y , ( p . 91)

T h e l e a d s e n t e n c e , " B u t I c o m e t o m y o w n case, i n w h i c h t h e r e
w a s at t h i s t i m e n o l i t t l e n i c e t y , " g e n e r a t e s a v e r y b r o a d s e m a n t i c f i e l d
t h a t is u n a b l e t o o f f e r t h e a p p r o p r i a t e c o h e s i v e t i e s . " M y o w n case" is
thematically reiterated i n "circumstances" a n d "husband" (sentence 2).
" H u s b a n d " r e c u r s i n t h e t e x t w i t h " m a t r i m o n y " a n d is s o m e h o w e c h o e d
i n " w i d o w " . T h e f o l l o w i n g sentences have n o reiteration o f the p r e v i ­
ous p r o m i n e n t lexical items w i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f the almost literal rep­
e t i t i o n i n sentence 5 o f a part o f sentence 3 : "the w i d o w , t h e y said,
h a d n o m o n e y . " T h e f o l l o w i n g d i a g r a m illustrates the p r o b l e m s w i t h
D e f o e ' s l e x i c a l ties, d e s c r i b e d a b o v e :

1 my own case
2 circumstances husband cheap/easy
3 matrimony [widow] [no fortune]
4 —none—
5 —none—
6 [widow] [no money]

565

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 ÁNGEL F. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR

T h i s p a r a g r a p h is e v e n l e s s c o h e s i v e d u e t o t h e e l e m e n t s occupy­
ing t h e p o s i t i o n of g r a m m a t i c a l subjects. Interestingly, in contrast with
Swift's p a r a g r a p h s , n o n e of t h e e l e m e n t s reiterated, w i t h t h e exception
of "widow", occupies the most prominent syntactical position in the
paragraph. "I" is t h e s u b j e c t i n s e n t e n c e s 1, 2 a n d 5; "it" i n sentence
3. N o s u b j e c t a p p e a r s i n s e n t e n c e 4. T h i s v e r b l e s s s e n t e n c e b e g i n s after
a p e r i o d a n d e n d s in a s e m i c o l o n b e a r i n g scarce r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h the
following sentence. Furthermore, analyzing the level of generality
allows u s to describe different digressive s e q u e n c e s . T h e following dia­
6
g r a m sets u p a relationship b e t w e e n s e n t e n c e s in Defoe's paragraph :

1 A (lead sentence)
2 Al
3 B (digressive)
4 C (digressive)
5 CI
6 B

T h i s d i a g r a m s h o w s t h a t t h e s t a r t i n g s e n t e n c e "A" g e n e r a t e s a s e n ­
t e n c e " A l " . S e n t e n c e 3, h o w e v e r is d i g r e s s i v e s i n c e it m o v e s t o a h i g h ­
e r level of g e n e r a l i t y t h a n t h e l e a d s e n t e n c e . S e n t e n c e 4 a l s o m o v e s t o
a h i g h e r level of generality "C" a n d g e n e r a t e s a s e n t e n c e "CI". Sen­
t e n c e 6 p a r a d o x i c a l l y s e e m s t o m o v e t o a h i g h e r level of g e n e r a l i t y
w i t h t h e u s e o f t h e a d v e r b i a l "in s h o r t " b u t is a r e p e t i t i o n o f a frag­
m e n t of s e n t e n c e 3 (B).
T h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n Swift's p a r a g r a p h a n d D e f o e ' s p a r a g r a p h
s e e m p e r f e c t l y o b v i o u s b y n o w . Clearly, Swift's p a r a g r a p h p r e s e n t s a
perfect structure a n d a logical w h o l e . While Defoe's lacks c o h e r e n c e .
Defoe's shares n o coincidence b e t w e e n the semantic a n d the syntactic
s t r u c t u r e s a n d l a c k s a l o g i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t o p i c a n d f o c u s . It
s e e m s that t h e s e q u e n c e of t h o u g h t in this p a r a g r a p h p r o c e e d s b y a s s o ­
ciation of individual w o r d s w i t h a b r o a d e r t h e m e r a t h e r t h a n b y a n y
logical relationship b e t w e e n adjacent sentences.
The repetition of c o h e s i v e ties at b o t h the semantic, lexical and
syntactic levels along with a well defined topic sentence seems to be
t h e b a s i s for w h a t a r e a d e r p e r c e i v e s a s Swift's p l a i n o r s i m p l e style.
T h i s is t r u e i n t h e f o u r p a r t s o f Gulliver's Travels. The following para­
g r a p h b y Swift offers a f u r t h e r e x a m p l e o f h i s s i m p l e , c o h e s i v e style:

6
The left margin is not alined to s h o w the disparity of the levels of generality.

566

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 TEACHING TEXTUAL COHESION THROUGH ANALYSES OF DEFOE'S MOLL FLANDERS.

(1) U p o n w h a t I said i n relation t o o u r Courts o f Justice, his Majesty

desired to b e satisfied i n several points: a n d , this I was the better able
to d o , h a v i n g b e e n f o r m e r l y almost r u i n e d b y a l o n g suit i n Chancery,
w h i c h was decreed f o r m e w i t h costs. ( 2 ) H e asked, w h a t t i m e was u s u ­
ally spent i n d e t e r m i n i n g b e t w e e n right a n d w r o n g , a n d w h a t degree
o f expense. (3) W h e t h e r advocates a n d orators h a d liberty to p l e a d i n
causes manifestly k n o w n to be unjust, vexatious o r oppressive. (4) Whether
party i n r e l i g i o n o r politics w e r e o b s e r v e d to be o f any w e i g h t i n the
scale o f justices. (5) W h e t h e r those p l e a d i n g orators w e r e persons e d u ­
cated i n the general k n o w l e d g e o f equity, o r o n l y i n p r o v i n c i a l , n a t i o n ­
al, a n d other local customs. (6) W h e t h e r they o r their Judges h a d any
part i n p e n n i n g those laws w h i c h they assumed the liberty o f inter­
p r e t i n g a n d glossing u p o n at their pleasure. (7) W h e t h e r they h a d ever
at different times I p l e a d e d f o r a n d against the same cause a n d cited
precedents to p r o v e contrary o p i n i o n s . (8) W h e t h e r they w e r e a r i c h o r
a p o o r c o r p o r a t i o n . (9) W h e t h e r they received a n y p e c u n i a r y r e w a r d f o r
p l e a d i n g o r d e l i v e r i n g their o p i n i o n s . (10) A n d particularly w h e t h e r they
w e r e ever a d m i t t e d as members i n the l o w e r senate, ( p . 170)

In this p a r a g r a p h , a well structured lead o r topic s e n t e n c e a g a i n

g e n e r a t e s the unified w h o l e : " U p o n w h a t I said in relation to o u r Courts
o f J u s t i c e , h i s M a j e s t y d e s i r e d t o b e s a t i s f i e d i n s e v e r a l p o i n t s [...]". T h i s
u n i f i e d w h o l e is a l s o a c h i e v e d b y t h e a n a p h o r i c r e p e t i t i o n o f t h e c o n ­
junction "whether". In addition, "Courts of Justice" g e n e r a t e s a series of
c o h e s i v e items, n a m e l y , "advocates", "orators", "politics", "Judges", etc.
F u r t h e r m o r e , " s e v e r a l p o i n t s " d e l i n e a t e s c l e a r l y f o r t h e r e a d e r t h e dif­
ferent items discussed in the p a r a g r a p h .
Swift a l s o a t t a i n s p e r f e c t s y m m e t r y at t h e s y n t a c t i c level: "his
M a j e s t y " ( s e n t e n c e 1 ) is e c h o e d i n t h e p r o n o u n " h e " ( s e n t e n c e 3 ) . T h e
r e s t o f t h e p a r a g r a p h is a d m i r a b l y d e v e l o p e d b y a s e r i e s o f w h - c l a u s -
es d e p e n d e n t u p o n a n indirect question, " H e asked". T h e syntactic ties
are t i g h t e n e d t h r o u g h t h e reiteration of t h e subject p r o n o u n "they", w h i c h
refers t o " o r a t o r s " in t h e last six s e n t e n c e .
Moll Flanders also offers c a s e s of a n a p h o r i c repetition:
A n d n o w I was i n d e e d i n the height o f w h a t I m i g h t call m y p r o s ­
perity, a n d I w a n t e d n o t h i n g b u t to b e a w i f e , w h i c h , h o w e v e r , c o u l d
n o t be i n this case, there was n o r o o m f o r it; a n d therefore i n all occa­
sions I s t u d i e d to save w h a t I c o u l d , as I have said above, against a
t i m e o f scarcity, k n o w i n g w e l l e n o u g h that such things as these d o n o t
always c o n t i n u e ; that m e n that k e e p mistresses o f t e n change t h e m , g r o w
w e a r y o f t h e m , jealous o f t h e m , or s o m e t h i n g o r other happens to m a k e
t h e m w i t h d r a w their b o u n t y ; a n d sometimes the ladies that are thus w e l l
used are n o t careful b y a p r u d e n t c o n d u c t to preserve the steem o f their

567

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 ÁNGEL F. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR

persons, or the nice article o f their f i d e l i t y , a n d t h e n they are justly cast

o f f w i t h c o n t e m p t , ( p . 127)

In this p a r a g r a p h D e f o e u s e s "and" as s e n t e n c e c o n n e c t o r s 5 times.

H o w e v e r , t h e r e i t e r a t i o n o f t h i s c o n j u n c t i o n is n o t s u f f i c i e n t t o produce
a l o g i c w h o l e a s i n t h e c a s e o f t h e p r e c e d i n g p a r a g r a p h b y Swift. In
t h e b e g i n n i n g s e n t e n c e , the conjunction "And", w h i c h w e a k l y connects
this p a r a g r a p h w i t h t h e p r e c e d i n g o n e , starts w h a t can be seen as a
lead s e n t e n c e : "And n o w I w a s i n d e e d in t h e h e i g h t of w h a t I might
call m y prosperity;" but the main term in this l e a d s e n t e n c e in only
partially e c h o e d in "to s a v e " a n d "time of scarcity" ( a n a n t o n y m ) . Also,
" w i f e " , t h e m a t i c a l l y r e l a t e d t o " p r o s p e r i t y " "is o n l y w e a k l y r e f e r r e d to
in "mistress" a n d "ladies". O t h e r lexical e l e m e n t s s e e m to b e developed
b y a s s o c i a t i o n , n a m e l y "jealous", " s t e e m " , "fidelity" a n d "contempt".
I n c o n t r a s t w i t h Swift's p a r a g r a p h , D e f o e ' s l a c k of c o h e s i v e ties p a r ­
allels his i n c o h e r e n c e syntactically. After t h e c o n j u n c t i o n "and", t h e s u b ­
j e c t p r o n o u n " I " i s r e p e a t e d i n t h e first t h r e e s e n t e n c e s . T h e s u b j e c t of
t h e last t w o sentences is, h o w e v e r , "ladies" a n d "they". T h e last two
sentences proceed to a h i g h e r level of generality t h a n t h e preceding
o n e s , e p i t o m i z i n g D e f o e ' s t e n d e n c y t o d i g r e s s i o n at t h e e n d of t h e p a r a ­
graph.
T h i s p a r a g r a p h ' s t r a n s i t i o n w o r d s ( " h o w e v e r " , " t h e r e f o r e " , "or", " t h u s "
a n d "then"), h a v e only w e a k cohesive power. T h e s e d o not create the
appropriate continuative or discontinuative relationship. T h e following
p a r a g r a p h gives a n o t h e r e x a m p l e of Defoe's u s e of transition words:

I dismissed m y o l d m a n here, a n d stayed i n c o g n i t o f o r three o r f o u r

days i n Colchester, a n d t h e n t o o k a passage i n a w a g o n , because I c o u l d
not venture b e i n g seen i n the H a r w i c h coaches. B u t I n e e d n o t have
used so m u c h caution, f o r there was n o b o d y i n H a r w i c h b u t the w o m a n
o f the house c o u l d have k n o w n me; n o r w a s it rational t o t h i n k that
she, considering the h u r r y she w a s i n , a n d that she never saw m e b u t
once, a n d that b y candle-light, s h o u l d have ever discovered m e . ( p . 253)

Here, t h e m a r k e r s d o n o t p r o v i d e a logical w h o l e , b e c a u s e Defoe

seems to use continuative a n d discontinuative markers indicriminately.
Swift's u s e of t r a n s i t i o n w o r d s differs m a r k e d l y f r o m t h a t of D e f o e ' s .
Analyzing their u s e in a p a r a g r a p h of similar l e n g t h r e v e a l s just how
different t h e s e writers structure their paragraphs:

I k n o w n o t w h e t h e r it m a y be w o r t h o b s e r v i n g , that t h e H o u y -
h n h n m s have n o w o r d i n their language t o express a n y t h i n g that is
"evil", except w h a t they b o r r o w f r o m the deformities o r i l l qualities o f

568

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 T E A C H I N G T E X T U A L C O H E S I O N T H R O U G H ANALYSES O F DEFOE'S MOLL FLANDERS.

the Yahoos. T h u s they denote the f o l l y o f a servant, a n o m i s s i o n o f a

c h i l d , a stone that cuts their feet, a c o n t i n u a n c e o f f o u l o r unseason­
able whether, a n d the l i k e , b y a d d i n g t o each t h e epithet o f y a h o o . For
instance, h h n m y a h o o , w i h n a h o l m y a h o o , y n l h m n a w i h l y a h o o , a n d a n
i l l - c o n t r i v e d house, y n h o l m h n n r o h l n w y a h o o , ( p . 323)

T h e exact u s e of t w o continuative m a r k e r s s u c h as "thus" a n d "for

instance" establishes a perfect semantic relationship among the three
s e n t e n c e s . T h e s e m a r k e r s , a l o n g w i t h t h e u s e of a p p r o p r i a t e lexical a n d
syntactic ties, c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e c o h e s i o n of t h e p a r a g r a p h . O n c e again,
a s i n t h e p a r a g r a p h s b y Swift p r e v i o u s l y a n a l y z e d , t h e w r i t e r achieves
a perfect correlation b e t w e e n topic a n d focus, b e t w e e n the intended
d e e p structure a n d the surface structure.

III. SOME CONCLUSIONS

This analysis has not a t t e m p t e d to b e exhaustive b u t has tried to

s h o w t h e w a y l i t e r a r y t e x t s s u c h a s S w i f t ' s Gulliver's Travels and Defoe's
Moll Flanders can be analyzed, compared, and contrasted using cohe­
s i v e p a t t e r n s . T h i s a n a l y s i s h a s s h o w n t h a t Swift, in c o n t r a s t w i t h D e f o e ,
structured his p r o s e v e r y carefully a n d a c h i e v e s c o h e s i o n b y t h e p e r ­
7
f e c t m e s h i n g o f t h e s e m a n t i c - l e x i c a l a n d s y n t a c t i c s t r u c t u r e s . It h a s a l s o
d e m o n s t r a t e d that w h a t a r e a d e r perceives as a plain or simple style
s u c h a s Swift's, r e q u i r e s g r e a t effort in s t r u c t u r i n g a n d w o r d c h o i c e o n
t h e part of t h e writer. Conversely, a c o m p l e x style s u c h as Defoe's, c o n ­
taining m a n y different i d e a s e x p r e s s e d in l o n g s u b o r d i n a t e a n d c o o r ­
d i n a t e s e q u e n c e s , i s h a r d l y r e a d a b l e p r e c i s e l y b e c a u s e it s e e m s t o l a c k
revisions or careful organization.
T w o further points merit attention. In considering Defoe's compli­
c a t e d s t y l e , w e m a y a s k w h e t h e r D e f o e is s i m p l y i m i t a t i n g t h e v o i c e
of a n u n e d u c a t e d w o m a n o r just b e i n g c a r e l e s s a b o u t his writing. I a m
inclined to a c c u s e h i m of t h e latter since his b o o k d o e s c o n t a i n p a s ­
s a g e s of very well written p r o s e . Secondly, this m e t h o d of analysis,
t h o u g h limited t o t h e p a r a g r a p h in this study, offers p o s s i b l e a p p l i c a ­
t i o n s t o a b r o a d e r c o n t e x t , at t h e level of t h e w h o l e b o o k . T h e t e n ­
d e n c y t o d i g r e s s i o n a n d l a c k o f c o h e s i o n i n s i n g l e p a r a g r a p h s o f Moll
Flanders w h i c h w e h a v e a n a l y z e d f i n d s its e c h o i n a m u l t i p l i c i t y o f
b l u r r e d actions a n d characters t h r o u g h o u t t h e text. C o n v e r s e l y , t h e care-

7
Swift's use of punctuation and transition words is more exact and coherent
than Defoe's.

569
CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...
 ÁNGEL F. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR

ful, c o h e s i v e s t r u c t u r e e v i d e n t i n s i n g l e p a r a g r a p h s o f Gulliver's Trav-

els is r e p e a t e d in t h e structure of Swift's entire w o r k through linear
s e q u e n c e s built a r o u n d well defined actions and characters and rein-
f o r c e d b y t h e u s e of p r e c i s e headings.
T h e t e c h n i q u e s u s e d in a n a l y z i n g single p a r a g r a p h s f r o m t h e s e two
eighteenth century works can be applied to any prose passage from
any historical period. More research remains to b e done on textual
cohesion at t h e level of t h e s e n t e n c e , p a r a g r a p h , a n d even entire lit-
erary w o r k s . C o h e s i o n c a n o p e n frontiers in t h e analysis, comparison
a n d contrast of literary styles.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BAMBER, B. (1983), "What Makes a Text Coherent", College Composition and

Communication, 4, december, Urbana, Illinois, N.C.T.E., p p . 417-429.
DEFOE, D . (1983), Moll Flanders, e d . b y Juliet M i t c h e l l , Middlesex, E n g l a n d ,
Penguin.
FAHNESTOCK, J. (1983), "Semantic and Lexical Coherence", College Composition
and Communication, 4, december, Urbana, Illinois, N.C.T.E., p p . 400-415.
HOLIDAY, M. A. K. a n d HASAN RUQAIYA (1976), Cohesion in English, L o n d o n , L o n g -
man.
HOEY, M. (1991), Patterns of Lexis in Text, O x f o r d University Press.
MARKELS, R. B. (1983), "Cohesion Paradigms in English", College English, 5, S e p -
tember, Urbana, Illinois, N.C.T.E., p p . 450-464.
MCCARTHY, M. (1991), Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers, Cambridge
University Press.
NUNAN, D . (1993), Introducing Discourse Analysis, Middlesex, E n g l a n d , Pen-
guin.
SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, A. F. (1996), "La retórica contrastiva del párrafo Inglés y sus
repercusiones en la enseñanza del inglés escrito", Gramática contrastiva
inglés-español, Servicio Publicaciones, U n i v e r s i d a d de H u e l v a .
STOTSKY, S. (1983), "Types of Lexical Coherence in Expository Writing", College
Composition and Communication, 4, december, Urbana, Illinois, N.C.T.E.,
p p . 430-446.
SWIFT, J. (1985), Gulliver's Travels, i n t r o d . b y M i c h a e l Foot, Middlesex, E n g l a n d ,
Penguin.
WATT, I. (1971), The Rise of the Novel, Berkeley, California, University o f Cali-
f o r n i a Press.
WILLIAMS, J . M. (1979), "Defining complexity", College English, 40, f e b r u a r y ,
Urbana, Illinois, N.C.T.E., p p . 595-609.

570

CAUCE. Núm. 22-23. SÁNCHEZ ESCOBAR, Ángel F.. Teaching textual cohesión through ...