QUESTION: Select any literacy text and apply the tenets of performative text approach? AKANDINDA PENILOP, KAKUBA EMMANUEL, KWIZERA ISAAC, MUJUNI CYTHIA, NAMUKISA BETTY: NUWAHA DEBORAH, SUBILA SEERA NORAH, TWESIGOMWE DIANAH AND ATUKUNDA MUGERWA MORIS

Performative analysis to a literary text is a term that was coined by J.L Austin in the 1960’s to convey languages ability not only to just communicate information but also bring about effecting action. The term acquired a different connotation during Jacques Derrida’s time, that language performs but not as a form of action in any usual sense for the performance may always negate itself by failing to convey its intended meaning. This means that meaning as got by the reader may not or is not always the same as intended by the writer/speaker. Contrary to Austin’s definition of performative utterances as being governed speech acts, grounded on social circumstances and intentional processes of the agent/writer, Derrida says that it is rather non-rule governed. Heidegger another proponent of this argument also says that We do not speak language rather language speaks us by fashioning meaning hat we can sensitize and be aware of but never fully determine or control. (2003) Performative language is compared to symbolic/allegorical language as a means of bringing out the complexity of performative meaning. Language is considered as a reflection of reality replacing the nature of being of language. This implies relating language to the nature of being is of modern aesthetics, anti-mimetic, anti-didactic and language based account of art. Performative language is not an act of consciousness or idea but a social and public experiment. John Locke puts it that “language manifests the presenting of reality or essence of which it is part” (1979). Language is compared to allegory. This implies that language has got two levels – figurative and literal. Whereas traditional allegories advocates assumed that one and the same truth could be understood in two different ways i.e. philosophically and theologically like the new form of text analysis by Martin Luther and reformation claimed in Fredrick Beuser’s words “Not that they are different kinds of discourse about the same subject matter that they are different kinds of discourse about different subject matters (Bahti & Timothy 1962) Performative text approach of literary criticism therefore has three tenets on which it runs its argument. These are locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary acts. Locutionary utterances are the semantic and literal significance of a speech act, “the act of ‘saying something’ in this full normal sense I call i.e. club, the performance of a locutionary act. The principle interest is to make quite plainly what it is, in order to distinguish it from other acts” (1962). This means that when a speaker utters out a speech and it is being interpreted, no considerations of the social and contextual circumstances of an utterance should be taken into account. In the play Medea a tragedy by Euripides about a jealous woman for instance, when Medea calls the children to come and greet their father. My children, will you live for a long time to stretch out your dear arms in this way? Ah! I am near tears and full of fear. At long last I have put aside the stride with your father and tears fill my tender sight. The children take Medea’s utterances for what they are and therefore for a locutionary act what she says is self explanatory that she wants her children to meet their father. However like J.L Austin says in locution we have to take note of the phonology, grammar and vocabulary and does the utterance make sense and reference he calls these phatic acts. Phatic acts are to be performed with a phonetic act and so with both the phatic act and rhyme we get the utterance. “Ah! I am near tears and full of fear” The end notes of ‘near,’ ‘tears’ and ‘fear’ bring out the phonology. According to J.L Austin in performing a locutionary act we shall also be performing such an act as: Asking or answering a question giving some information or an assurance or a warning, announcing a verdict or an intention, pronouncing sentence making an appointment or an appeal or a criticism…” and so here Medea appeals to her children to greet their father which they do. The utterance we see above, that Medea makes is intended to convince Jason who is the husband that all is well and therefore they should get together and let Jason’s plan of marrying the Princess go on. This is because Jason believes that he will always give her money to look after their sons. As a reader knowing Medea’s feelings then we question her honesty and that’s how illocution comes into play. Medea’s utterance “my children will you live long to stretch out your dear arms in this way?” is ironical because it is intended to mean the opposite of what she says before and after. Verbal irony is portrayed when Medea is seen calling her children to greet their father yet her intension is for them to bid farewell to him since she has her deadly plans of killing them in revenge for what their father is doing to her. She adds on “children, children, come out and greet your father and speak to him with me and give up our earlier hostility.” Illocution is to be understood that it is a result of either the intended meaning or unintended meaning or both. Situational irony is seen when Medea manages to lie to king Creon that she is not forming an evil plan and so he should pardon her for one day to stay as she looks for somewhere else to go. This is minced up with dramatic irony because we know as readers that Medea has just been given time to execute her plans when she is permitted an extended stay. The perlocutionary acts according to Austin is that utterances always have some consequences for instance when Creon says “Your words are cajoling to my ears, but inside my heart. I am afraid you are forming some evil new plan” then we get a sense that well, Creon may not be buying into Medea’s snares but then when he goes on to say “so much the less I trust you than before” then for a reader this is sorrowful, for then the reader may become sad and hateful to Medea the more but also pity Creon who does not know how Medea is even more dangerous. So perluction are the effects and reactions towards an utterance this comes of course after the acts of illocution. On a whole therefore all utterances are speech acts which can be analysed at all the three levels of performances. Locution as being a performance of an act of saying something, illocution as a performance of an act in saying something and perlocution as a consequence of the two.   REFERENCES Euripedes.1987, Medea.London,Penguin