| Acknowledgements | 第5-8页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第8-12页 |
| 摘要 | 第13-23页 |
| PART ONE PRELIMINARIES | 第23-48页 |
| Chapter I Introduction | 第24-48页 |
| 1.1 Research Motivations and Questions | 第24-29页 |
| 1.2 The Problems of the Previous Researches on the Silence in Pinter’s Drama | 第29-44页 |
| 1.2.1 The common misunderstanding of silence | 第29-32页 |
| 1.2.2 The incomplete taxonomy of the silences in Pinter’s drama. | 第32-34页 |
| 1.2.3 The shortage of theories and methods in accounting comprehensively for the multiple functions of silences | 第34-37页 |
| 1.2.4 The incomplete and insufficient analyses of the functions of various silences in Pinter | 第37-44页 |
| 1.3 The Relevant Solutions Proposed by the Current Research. | 第44-48页 |
| 1.3.1 Solution to the common misunderstanding of silence | 第44-45页 |
| 1.3.2 Solution to the incomplete taxonomy of the silences in Pinter | 第45页 |
| 1.3.3 Solutions to the problems on the analytical theories and on the functional studies of the silences in Pinter | 第45-48页 |
| PART TWO FEATURES AND NORMS OF SILENCE | 第48-123页 |
| Chapter II Silence in the Realm of Language | 第49-81页 |
| 2.1 Introduction | 第49-52页 |
| 2.2 General Definitions of Silence | 第52-54页 |
| 2.3 The Nonabsolute Nature of Silence | 第54-56页 |
| 2.4 Silence as an Organic Linguistic Component | 第56-65页 |
| 2.4.1 Traditional misunderstandings | 第57-58页 |
| 2.4.2 Social reasons for intensifying the verbalization of silence | 第58-59页 |
| 2.4.3 The relations between language and silence | 第59-65页 |
| 2.5 Why is “a Torrent of Language”Silence? | 第65-79页 |
| 2.5.1 The cases in which speech and silence are functional equivalents | 第65-70页 |
| 2.5.2 The significance of context | 第70-72页 |
| 2.5.3 The defining attributes of contextual silence | 第72-76页 |
| 2.5.4 The continuum of silences | 第76-79页 |
| 2.6 Conclusion | 第79-81页 |
| Chapter III Taxonomies of Silences | 第81-123页 |
| 3.1 Introduction | 第81页 |
| 3.2 Taxonomies of Silences in General | 第81-88页 |
| 3.2.1 In terms of placement | 第81-82页 |
| 3.2.2 In terms of time | 第82-83页 |
| 3.2.3 In terms of function and meaning. | 第83-84页 |
| 3.2.4 In terms of intention | 第84-85页 |
| 3.2.5 In terms of source | 第85页 |
| 3.2.6 In terms of context. | 第85页 |
| 3.2.7 In terms of form | 第85-87页 |
| 3.2.8 In terms of determinant | 第87-88页 |
| 3.3 A Typology of Silences in Pinter’s Drama | 第88-120页 |
| 3.3.1 Acoustic silences | 第90-99页 |
| 3.3.2 Contextual silences | 第99-120页 |
| 3.4 Conclusion | 第120-123页 |
| PART THREE PRAGMATIC FUNCTIONS OF SILENCES IN PINTER’S DRAMATIC DISCOURSE | 第123-275页 |
| Chapter IV Theoretical Framework and Methodology | 第124-150页 |
| 4.1 Introduction | 第124-129页 |
| 4.2 Pragmatic Act Theory as the Theoretical Framework | 第129-137页 |
| 4.2.1 The background of Mey’s formulating PAT | 第129-131页 |
| 4.2.2 An exposition of Mey’s PAT. | 第131-134页 |
| 4.2.3 Adjustment and expansion of Mey’s practs and his nomenclature | 第134-137页 |
| 4.3 Interpretation Methods of Silence | 第137-148页 |
| 4.3.1 Verschueren’s semantic study of silence verbials. | 第137-138页 |
| 4.3.2 Kurzon’s interpretation model of silent answers | 第138-140页 |
| 4.3.3 Jaworski’s two interpretation approaches | 第140-141页 |
| 4.3.4 The method of interpreting silence in light of PAT | 第141-143页 |
| 4.3.5 The interpretation method adopted by the current research | 第143-148页 |
| 4.4 Conclusion | 第148-150页 |
| Chapter V Silences as Pragmatic Acts in the Interactions among Characters | 第150-200页 |
| 5.1 Introduction | 第150-159页 |
| 5.2 Silences as Cognitive Acts | 第159-166页 |
| 5.2.1 In-turn silences | 第160-164页 |
| 5.2.2 Inter-turn silences | 第164-166页 |
| 5.3 Silences as Emotional Acts | 第166-174页 |
| 5.3.1 “Silence”s | 第167-172页 |
| 5.3.2 Contextual silences | 第172-174页 |
| 5.4 Silences as Intentional Acts | 第174-198页 |
| 5.4.1 Pauses | 第175-177页 |
| 5.4.2 Elliptical marks | 第177-181页 |
| 5.4.3 Turn silences. | 第181-188页 |
| 5.4.4 Contextual silences | 第188-198页 |
| 5.5 Conclusion | 第198-200页 |
| Chapter VI Silences as Pragmatic Acts in the Communication from the Playwright to the Reader/Audience | 第200-275页 |
| 6.1 Introduction | 第200-202页 |
| 6.2 The Model of Literary Communication in Pinter’s Dramatic Discourse | 第202-207页 |
| 6.3 Silences as Thematic Acts | 第207-231页 |
| 6.3.1 Conveying ambiguity and mystery. | 第208-216页 |
| 6.3.2 Expressing menace or atrocity | 第216-224页 |
| 6.3.3 Suggesting isolation and separation | 第224-231页 |
| 6.4 Silences as Dramatic Acts | 第231-256页 |
| 6.4.1 Revealing confrontations among characters. | 第234-238页 |
| 6.4.2 Manifesting an individual’s psychological struggle | 第238-242页 |
| 6.4.3 Producing tension and suspense through tableaux | 第242-247页 |
| 6.4.4 Indicating the intensities of dramatic conflicts. | 第247-256页 |
| 6.5 Silences as Poetic Acts | 第256-274页 |
| 6.5.1 Creating poetic ambiguity | 第267-268页 |
| 6.5.2 Promoting poetic musicality | 第268-274页 |
| 6.6 Conclusion | 第274-275页 |
| PART FOUR Finale | 第275-285页 |
| Chapter VII Conclusion | 第276-285页 |
| 7.1 Summary | 第276-277页 |
| 7.2 Contributions and Implications | 第277-282页 |
| 7.2.1 In the studies on silence | 第278-279页 |
| 7.2.2 In the studies on Pinter | 第279-280页 |
| 7.2.3 In the studies on dramatic discourse and real-life communication | 第280-281页 |
| 7.2.4 In the literary criticism from linguistic perspectives | 第281-282页 |
| 7.3 Limitations and Suggestions | 第282-285页 |
| Bibliography | 第285-308页 |
| Appendices | 第308-312页 |
| 1. Definitions of Silence Offered by Various Authoritative Dictionaries: | 第308-312页 |
| 2. Personal Publication List | 第312页 |
