“Making strange” : defamiliarization and linguistic deviation in fiction : a critical and creative thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Creative Writing at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand. EMBARGOED until 16th March 2028

Abstract

This thesis is made up of two components, a critical research essay and a novella, The Bone Bird. Both sections are connected by experimentation with, and an investigation into, the literary techniques of defamiliarization and linguistic deviation. The critical component defines defamiliarization and linguistic deviation, before moving on to analyse Max Porter’s Shy and Louise Wallace’s Ash, two novels which experiment with form, language, graphology, and syntax. This analysis aims to explore how linguistic deviations work to not only defy convention or subvert a reader's expectations, but to reflect and enhance a narrative’s content and themes. Through close textual analysis, I propose that such deviations create a layered reading experience, enhancing a reader's relationship with the text. In the creative component, The Bone Bird, I employ various forms of linguistic deviation (syntactic, morphological, graphological, lexical) to mirror the psychology of characters and the shifting realities they inhabit; a gull speaks in patterns and rhyme without punctuation; a brother thinks in numbers and poems; a town bleeds onto the page in a cacophony of overlapping voices; a house disintegrates as its words erode from the page. Together, the two components explore how form and language can be established to reveal new modes of storytelling, and how ‘strangeness’ can be used to enhance a reading experience.