THE SEMANTICS OF THE WORD "FAIRY" IN ENGLISH BETWEEN 1520 AND 1829 by Noel Williams B.A., M.A. Submitted for the degree of Ph.D The Department of English Language, University of Sheffield. September 1983 A cknowledgemen ts Thanks are due to the staff of The Bodleian Library, Oxford, The British Library and Sheffield University Library for locating some quite inaccessible sources; to Carrol for extensive administration and support; to Professor Norman Blake for an acutely critical eye; and particular thanks are due to my supervisor, Professor John Widdowson, for exactly the right balance of commentary, criticism and encouragement. iii ABSTRACT The study examines the problems of the meaning of words used with fictional reference. It takes one particular class of such words, those used to denote or refer to the supernatural, as a peculiarly problematic set, and one example of these, fairy, as a key example. The study explores all the features of that word's meaning, including denotational, referential, stylistic, emotive and idiosyncratic aspects as well as sense relations and other linguistic relations.* It argues that understanding such words occurs through understanding cotextual collocations, and that the meaning of a word such as fairy can only be known, described and explained by examination of such cotext. By computational analysis of a large corpus of texts using fairy a semantic model is built up which on the one hand describes the semantic frame by which fairy is made meaningful and on the other hand the underlying processes and decisions employed by writers (and speakers) in using the word meaningfully. At the same time the study seeks to evaluate the usefulness of rigorous formal approaches to a body of material as complex as that represented by the corpus. iv CONTENTS Chapter/Section Title Page A cknowledgements ii Abstract iii Contents iv List of Diagrams and Tables Vi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 The Background to the Study 1 1.2 The Nature of the Problem 6 1.3.1 The Parameters of Study 12 1.3.2 Summary of the Parameters of Study 16 2 Semantics and' Supernatural Names 19 2 .1.1 Introductory 19 2 .1.2 Theoretical Frame 21 2.1.3 Terminology 27 2.2.1 Associative Meaning 31 2.2 .2 Enotive Meaning 33 2.2.3 Stylistic Meaning 40 2.3.1 Applicability 45 2.3.2 Reference 51 2.3.3 Denotation 59 2.4 Sense 71 2.5 Conclusion 75 3 ' Methodology 78 3.1 Introduction 78 3.2 Collection 80 3.3 Preliminary Analysis 87 3.4 The Central Analysis 115 3.5 Partial Analysis 137 3.6 Introduction to Analyses 138 4 The Etymology And Form of Fairy 153 4.1 The Need for Description 153 4.2 The Form of the Object-Word 158 4.3 The Etymology of Fairy 164 4.4 Conclusion 184 5 Linguistic Relations in the Meaning of 187 Fairy 5.1 Introduction 187 5.2 Sentential Roles 192 5.3.1 Sense 212 5.3.2 An Example of Sense Relations: Fairy as 216 GROUP '5*3.3 Sense Relations of Important Groups 233 5.3.3.1 Example 1: 3111/3112 POSITION/PLACE 240 5.3.3.2 Example 2: 3411/3412 SMALL/GREAT 243 5»3*3.3 Example 3s 53 SENSATION 247 5.4 Conclusion 256 6 Associative Meaning of Fairy 260 6.1 Introduction 260 6 .2.1 Stylistic Meaning of Fairy 264 6.2 .2 Diachronic Differences in the Meaning 267 of Fairy V Chapter/Section Title 6 .2.2.1 Earliest recorded occurrence of Semantic 268 Groups 6 .2.2 .2 differential Distribution of Semantic 275 Groups 6. 2. 2.3 Restriction of Groups to Periods 279 6.2.2.4 Diachronic Differences; Conclusion 282 6 .2.3.1 Field 284 6 .2.3.2 Literary Use and Folk Use 285 6.2.3.3- 296 6.2.4.1 Mode 502 6. 2.4.2 Narration and Description 507 6. 2.5 Field and Mode: Conclusion 313 6.3 Emotive Meaning 314 6.4 Associative Meaning; Conclusion 327 7 Applicability 331 7.1 Introduction 331 7.2 D1; Fairy as a putative Object 341 7. 2.2 Objects and Animism 356 7.3 D2: Fairy as a real Object with 364 supernatural connotation 7.4 D3s Denotational Relations 378 7.5 Reference 386 7.6 Conclusion 397 8 Conclusion 401 8.1 Preamble 401 8. 1.1 Aims A and B 402 8 . 1.2 The Problem of Fictional Reference 406 8.1.3 The Problem of Supernatural Names 408 8.1.4 The Problem of the Meaning of Fairy 412 8.1.5 The Problem of Blake's Use of Fairy 414 8. 1.6 Questions (i), (ii) and (a) to (e) 421 8.2 The Total Model 424 Appendix 1 A List of All Texts Used in the Analyses 436 Appendix 2 Semantic Groups derived from the Main 496 Analysis Appendix 3 Glossary 499 Appendix 4 An Index to the Discussion of Semantic 501 Groups Bibliography 502 vi LIST OF DIAGRAMS AND TABLES Reference Title Page 2 .1. a Ontological Terms 29 2.4 .a Statements of Identity of Supernatural Names 73 3.3. a 93 3.3.1) ¡Distribution of 25 Most Frequent D-Lexemes in 97 the Preliminary Analysis 3.3. c Semantic Categories 98 3.3. d Number of N and P Occurrences per Category 106 3.3. e Graph of Number of Occurrences per Decade 107 of Category CREATURE 3.3. f Number of Occurrences per Decade of Category 108 DANCE 3*3.g Number of Occurrences per Decade of Category 109 FEMALE 3.3. h Absolute totals of Semantic Groups as a 110 percentage of all Groups 3.3-j Relative totals of Semantic Groups as a 111 percentage of all Groups 3.3. k Texts Used in Preliminary Analysis 112 3.3.1 Occurrences found in Preliminary Analysis 113 3.3.0 Average number of occurrences of each Semantic 114 Category per Decade 3.3. n 114a 3.4. a 124 3.4. b 130 3*4. c 131 3.4. d An Example of the Semantic Organisation of 132 the Corpus 3 .6 . a 149 3.6. b Hierarchical Table Derived from the'LMain 152a Analysis 4 .2. a 159 4.2. b Rules for Generating all Graphemic Variants 160 of the Object-Word in the Corpus 5. 2.1 Apportioning of Roles 202 5.2.2 Percentage Difference of Roles Encoded by 205 Fairy 5.2.3 210 5.2.4 210 5.3«2.a 222 5.3.2. b 226 5.3.2. C 227 5.4.1 257 6 .2.2.1 .a Initial Occurrence of Semantic Groups 269 6 .2.2.1. bNumber of Groups Introduced per fifty years 270 6 .2.2 .1 «c Total Number of Occurrence Against date of 273 First Occurrence 6 .2.2.2 . aDiachronic Distribution of the Lexeme queen 276 6.2.2.4«a 283 6 .2.4.1 313a 6.5.1 326 6.4.1 330 7.1.a Applicability 339 7.3.a Names for common Objects employing Fairy 365 7 .6 . a 399 vii Reference Title Page 8.1.5«a- Semantic Groups Used by Blake 415 8.1.5»b Scattergram of Blake's Most Frequent Groups 416 Against Bate of Occurrence 8 .2 .a 425 1 CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Background to the Study The province of this study can be stated simply. It is the ' meaning of the single word fairy in English in the period between 1520 (the approximate date of its first recorded occurrence) and 1829 (two years after the death of William Blake, a poet whose complexity initially prompted this study). That statement, however, though simple, is vague. In part the vagueness is inherent in the word meaning. One of the purposes of this study has thus been to specify as closely as possible all the multiple aspects of meaning that a single word can enter into, for there seems to have been no such extensive study of the particularities of the semantics of an individual lexical item. But vagueness also follows from use of the word province - what areas of meaning are to be examined here, in what ways, to what extent and for what purpose? This introductory chapter provides outlines of the answers to these questions and the background to how that province was determined and how subsequent chapters explore it. Broadly speaking there is only one question native speakers normally ask about the meaning of a word, namely "What is it?". This question, "What does the word fairy mean?" first became an important one for me in examining the work of William Blake. Initially there were other similar words in Blake's writings whose meaning perplexed me, largely words for supernatural entities, particularly fairy, elf, nymph, gnome and genii. ^ They were frequently used by him in a manner which 1. For some particularly opaque contexts see Milton: Book the Second: lines 17-26, Keynes (1966) pp.519-520; Jerusalem: Chapter 3: Plate 6^: lines 13—15. Keynes (1966) p.697, Jerusalem: Plate 3, Keynes (I966) P.620; Jerasalem; Plate 13: lines 26-29, Keynes (1966) p.633. 2 (1} though related to other systems in. his work' ' seemed particularly ( 2 ) difficult to explain in any language other than Blake's own.' ' In linguistic terms whilst a sense could be assigned to those words (i.e. a meaning within the text) no clear denotation or reference could (3) be suggested'". Initially I believed this was an idiosyncrasy of Blake's work.