Style and Proportion: the Language of Prose and Poetry

Style and proportion is Miss Miles' thorough analysis of the past and present articulations which characterize standard English prose and poetry. Her theoretical exposition is built on the ways in which stylistic choice and purpose developed, and she carefully considers both British and American literature. Word and structure frequencies, uncovered in the works of sixty prose writers and sixty poets, composed over five centuries, are the evidence Miss Miles offers to show how a literature is created, overcoming the limits imposed by space and time. In analyzing this structure, she has utilized materials ranging from the sixteenth century to the present, and has incorporated both classical and modern linguistic theory in her work.