EPISTOLARY DIALOGUES OF WINSTON CHURCHILL WITH HIS WIFE CLEMENTINE: CONVERGENCE OF GENRE-STYLE MODIFICATIONS

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of convergence of epistolary genre and style in relation to epistolary dialogues of Winston and Clementine Churchill. The term convergence implies a combination or accumulation of various stylistic devices promoting the same idea, emotion or motive. In this article the author uses
the concept of convergence as a confluence of different epistolary sub-genres or genre and style modifications of the personal correspondences of Winston and Clementine Churchill. The object of the research was “Speaking for Themselves”, a selection of private letters of Winston and Clementine Churchill (1700 letters),
edited by Mary Soames. The results of the conducted research prove that these charming letters are of various epistolary formats and sub-genres which are converged though they are also modified.The author analyses the features of epistolary genre and style modifications and concludes that these modifications contribute to the convergence of intimate, friendship and family, social and business correspondences. According to the diversity of genre and style forms this article presents the typology (classification) of the personal letters of Winston and Clementine Churchill. It is recommended to divide the analyzed correspondences included into the book (the personal letters of Winston and Clementine Churchill) into two main categories: 1) private: (intimate, romantic-personified letters; friendship exchanges, Chartwell Bulletins; critical passages; diary entries); 2) business (formal) and partnership letters (memoranda, notes, telegrams,  сocuments…) Moreover, the paper bridges the gaps in the epistolary terminology such as epistolary dialogue which is the epistolary form conducive to dialogic engagement, epistolary (a literary genre pertaining to letters), genre and style modifications. The content and the issues of the paper may provide the field for further investigating for researchers of the epistolary genre, literary critics and journalists.