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A litotes of what you fancy: some thoughts on Stanley Hollander's writing style

Stephen Brown (Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, UK)

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing

ISSN: 1755-750X

Article publication date: 20 March 2009

1777

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the writing style of Stanley C. Hollander, in order to better understand the power of his prose.

Design/methodology/approach

A line‐by‐line literary analysis of Hollander's publications, with a view to detecting his stylistic “signature” or “fingerprint”.

Findings

Four key elements are integral to Hollander's writing style – interrogatives, inventories, iconoclasm and irony. His single most characteristic literary device is litotes, a mode of ironic understatement.

Research limitations/implications

Literary analysis is inherently idiosyncratic and tends to reflect the perspective of the interpreter. Another analyst is sure to find different features in Hollander's corpus (though this is less a methodological shortcoming than a testament to the richness of Hollander's writings).

Originality/value

All academics are writers and, by better understanding the technique of a much admired stylist, everyone's publications can be improved.

Keywords

Citation

Brown, S. (2009), "A litotes of what you fancy: some thoughts on Stanley Hollander's writing style", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 74-92. https://doi.org/10.1108/17557500910941574

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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