The Role of Epithet in Contemporary Narratology "Al-Hamoudi" Novel as an Example Analytic Stylistic Study

Abstract

The study aims to grasp the importance of Epithet in contemporary narratives, as Epithet is a superior partner in producing grammatical structures that reveal the meanings in the text and innovate its aesthetics. Hence, the study examined the presence of Epithet in Al-Hamoudi novel, written by Omar Abdul Aziz, tracked its manifestations and investigated its functions. The research concluded that the Epithet in this novel has a prominent standing featured in four main roles, which contributed to empowering the aesthetic ability on one hand, and forming the core vision in the novel on the other hand. The first Role is: Prima facie and figurative, which helps the grammar with explaining the concept of Epithet, its manifestations and use techniques; the second one is: Conceptual, which shows what functions the Epithet does in the narrative; the third one is: Semantic, which demonstrates the ability of the Epithet to show the hidden and tricky meanings of words; and the fourth is: Aesthetic, which exhibits the ability of the Epithet to construct rhetorical expressions and the structure of figurative language that the narrative requires. Epithet is present in all pages of the novel and in all of its grammatical shapes, and it was present in expressive and implied functions together. Therefore, the Epithet was spotted 1600 times in this novel. The study also concluded that the Epithet in literature, especially in the novel, performs a necessary role in creativity. In addition to that, we can see the possibility of investing this attractive linguistic activity in the novel to teach the Epithet and other grammatical concepts to university students. Keywords: Epithet, Novel, Concept, Semantic, Rhetoric.