A Corpus-Based Stylistic Analysis of Jorge Luis Borges's The Aleph

Abstract

This study investigates the Stylistic features of Jorge Luis Borges’s short story “The Aleph” through corpus-based analysis using Laurence Anthony's AntConc software to uncover meaningful linguistic patterns alongside Toolan's Narrative Stylistics as a theoretical framework. Toolan's model focus the investigation of narrative elements, such as focalization, narration time, and character depiction, through intensive reading of the text's linguistic structures. Borges’s concept of "Aleph" is a mythical point in space that allows one to perceive the entirety of the universe simultaneously that captures all moments, places, and perspectives. AntConc software is used to analyse the lexical features of Borges's The Aleph which depicts the effectiveness of digital tools in literary research. Futher, AntConc and UAM are used to analyse the stylistic features of Borges's The Aleph, demonstrating the effectiveness of digital tools in literary research. Employing a quantitative approach and a descriptive methodology the research interprets data extracted from the text to identify the most frequent words and key lexical structures. By using a keyword method this study offers insights into the language choices in “The Aleph”; which enhance the understanding of its underlying themes. This exploration reveals how Borges employs language to convey the pursuit of infinite knowledge, highlighting the human desire to understand all of existence and the inevitable limitations of perception. The high frequency lexical patterns found within The Aleph reveal how Borges use language to mirror themes of intellectual curiosity and existential struggle; particularly the tension between boundless curiosity and human finitude. This study depicts that even a focused lexical approach can yield substantial thematic insights and this research supports the use of digital tools to enhance the depth of literary interpretation and suggests that computational analysis serves as a valuable supplement to traditional methods especially in the intricate analysis of text.