THE INDIVIDUAL STYLE OF E. A. POE: STYLOMETRIC APPROACH

This article investigates the problem of alterations in the individual style of the famous American romantic poet E. A. Poe within the framework of the stylometric approach. Major methodological aspects of research within this approach are discussed. The database consists of Poe’s iambic lyrics, comprising the nucleus of his verse, which appeared in the collections of poems that were published during during his lifetime. Poe’s texts were analyzed using 34 linguistic characteristics (morphological, syntactic, and rhythmic features, as well as parameters of verse syntax) which reflect many substantial properties of the verse text. The method of multivariate discriminant analysis was used, for this method makes it possible to reveal complexes of parameters that differentiate groups of texts written at different stages of the author’s creative career, and to estimate the precision of the obtained classification. The research has demonstrated that the individual style of Poe underwent substantial changes which make it possible to differentiate between his texts written at different periods of time. The discriminant model includes 22 characteristics, while the other 12 parameters of style form the integral model. In Poe’s style we observe a non-symmetrical functional load of the initial and the final parts of the verse line in terms of their role in the realization of stylistic changes over time vs. preservation of stylistic integrity. The majority of differential features are localized in the initial part of the line, while the final part possesses clear integral potential.