Discourse Analysis of i from How the Hills are Distant

Introduction

As a Malaysian English writer, Wong Phui Nam often ponders on the lack of cultural and

spiritual resources (Wong, 1993) in the wilderness (1993), which wilderness connotes the

eventual domicile (Wong, 1993) of the immigrants. In Out of the stony rubbish (1993),

Wong notes that prior to independence, the Chinese immigrants with low socioeconomic

status were brought to the new land as mere factors of production (1993) to the enclaves

established by the ruling colonial power (1993). In need for materiality in the wilderness,

the immigrants become culturally and spiritually rootless as they are gradually unburdened

of the ancient classics, of religious insights, and so on (1993). Other than the absence of

a mother culture, metropolitan values as an alternative inheritance were not offered to

the Chinese migrants by the enclaves nor the Mayflower founding fathers of Malaysia

(1993). The rootlessness of the Chinese migrants has engendered people who are unable

to create an integrating vision of inner life (1993) through poetry. As a result, Wong can

only use poetry to observe and report his profound disgust (Lim, 2007) with the

wilderness:

Such observation involves reporting a reporting not of externalities, but of the

pain, desolation and ... horror of an inner state that has little possibility of mediation

towards meaning, of the psyche being lost into itself to struggle in a morass created

of itself of undirected feelings, fantasies, dreams, and deeply buried unnameable

primordial urges. (1993)

Nature in i from How the Hills are Distant is, therefore, referencing to the wilderness that is

bred with spiritual and cultural decay. Nevertheless, the poem is laden with his search for a

vision of spiritual inner life, as portrayed by the personas intention. In this essay, a

discourse analysis of the poem (refer Appendix 1) implementing the methodology of

systemic functional grammar will be carried out in interest to demonstrate the two

mentioned entities of contrast. Furthermore, this essay will illustrate that the postulation of
death as a thematic structure has been a prominent tool used by the persona to defy the

wilderness. The essay will additionally touch upon the poems postcolonial characteristics

such as fragmentation and hybridity.

Analysis of Textual Metafunction and Mode

The poem consists of 5 sentences, or segments. There are 16 ranking clauses (refer

Appendix 2) in total: 1 simplex, 2 paratactically related clauses, and 13 hypotactically

related clauses (refer Appendix 3). The change of taxis does occur in segment 1, 2 and 5,

which leads to internal nesting (Halliday, 2004, p.382). As can be seen from the complex

clauses, the logical relations locates the poems medium closer to a written text.

According to Thompson (2014), an unmarked Theme in declarative mood occurs

when Theme is conflated with Subject. On both clausal level and sentence-level, most

Themes are unmarked (refer Appendix 4). But clause 5 and clause 11 contain marked

Theme. Theme in the former is conflated with Finite to present modality. Subject in the latter

is ellipted to imitate the indeterminate structures (McCarthy, Carter, 1998) of spoken form,

since the persona in the last stanza is addressing the wilderness using the second person

pronoun you. With both spoken and written forms featuring in the poem, the medium of

the poem is indeterminate. This issue will be address again in the another section.

The thematic progression of the first two stanzas is different from the two

subsequent stanzas. The Theme of the first two stanzas interchanges between two

participants: the persona and the wilderness. On the other hand, the last two stanzas

adopts a constant thematic progression: the Topical Theme in the third stanza revolves

around elements of nature; the pronoun I is selected as the main Topical Theme in the last

stanza. It should be noted, however, the macro-theme of the poem regards the personas

monologic postulation of death if the Textual Themes are taken into account. Aside from

stanza 3, the poem begins with conjunctions such as when and if to represent the future

and infer possibility respectively before progressing into the remaining Themes. In other
words, by using the postulation of death as the domain of experience, the persona can then

formulate the interpersonal relationship between the wilderness and himself.

Yet the relationship is a foreign one because Wong seeks to contrast himself from

the wilderness. Based on the use of reference, first person pronouns covers a majority of

the topical Theme while second person pronoun only occurs once as Rheme. The

remaining Topical themes are nominal groups such as the old man and the waterfowl. As

such, the persona sets a distance between himself and the wilderness, and consequently

categorises the wilderness as an out-group. Due to the contrast between the persona and

the wilderness, the poems rhetorical mode is polemical due to the personas intention to

move the reader towards the adoption of a particular position on a moral or political

issue (Webb, 1996). Furthermore, since the poem is situated in a post-colonial context

filled with socio-political turmoil, a polemical rhetoric mode is more likely to occur (Webb,

1996). Other postcolonial features of the poem will be touched upon in another section of

the essay.

Analysis of Mood and Modality

Among 16 clauses, only one does not have Mood because Subject and Finite is

ellipted. The remaining 15 clauses, in terms of Mood, are declarative. As for the primary

tense, the clauses are primarily present. Other than stanza 3, modalization occur

frequently in the poem, and most of them fall within the spectrum of probability in the

system of modalization. The modalization of the clauses is expressed mainly through

modal operators such as shall and should, and modal adjuncts such as only and

always. Another statement of possibility occurs through the use of conditional if clause.

The primarily present tense of the clause when I am dead and stanza 3 illustrates

the personas eventual death and the state of the wilderness respectively. The absence of

hedging in these clauses exhibits the personas confirmation of his statements. In other

words, he understands death is inevitable and is knowledgeable about the state of the

wilderness. Yet, there are degrees of subjectivity and objectivity in the poem which only
happen when the persona declares his eventual death. While the personas account of the

old man is subjective (e.g.: should come, should the old man), the accounts of himself

contain a mix of both subjectivity and objectivity (e.g.: shall only, shall no more, should

never die) due to the use of both modals and mood adjuncts. The readers can conclude

that, after the personas death, he is more confident of the validity of his state than the

predicted actions taken by the wilderness. Therefore, death is a significant tool in this

poem, as it has more validity than the other clauses.

Transitivity Analysis

Based on Appendix 6, there are 18 processes, of which 3 processes are Qualifiers of

a nominal group (e.g.: that drag the muddy bed). The ellipted process will not be included in

the analysis. In order to show contrast between the persona and the wilderness, each

participants processes will be analysed separately.

The persona carries the most processes, with the majority being attributive

processes. By using attributive processes, the persona wishes to construe or assign

himself to a particular membership. The 3 material processes found is associated with the

personas cadaver.

The context: The poem is written before independence, so you should say that the realities

of his article is similar to what it is back then.

Appendix 1

When I am dead
and the old man, the river,
after a night of rain among the hills
should come upon me,
I shall only stir
like stones that drag the muddy bed.

When I am dead
should the old man rage
and relieve himself upon the fields,
my heart shall no more
be taut with kneading
that works from silt, green tumescent heads.

The old man grows,

lives from subconscious hills,
sentient in fishes and reeds that slant
towards eloquence of words.
The waterfowl cry
his flowering of vowels on the wind.

If like you, old man,

I should never die
but learn my way about the hills,
I should be glad,
Always of rain,
till the bunds of my body break and are washed in sand.
Appendix 2

||| When I am dead || and the old man, the river, after a night of rain among the hills should

come upon me, || I shall only stir like stones that drag the muddy bed. |||

||| When I am dead || should the old man rage and relieve himself upon the fields, || my

heart shall no more be taut with kneading that works from silt, green tumescent heads. |||

||| The old man grows, || lives from subconscious hills, sentient in fishes and reeds that

slant towards eloquence of words. |||

|| The waterfowl cry his flowering of vowels on the wind. ||

||| If like you, old man, || I should never die || but learn my way about the hills, || I should be

glad, always of rain, || till the bunds of my body break and are washed in sand. |||
Appendix 3

(1) 2

When I am dead
<conj> S F/P Cattri
Resi MOOD due
Textual Theme Topical Theme Rheme
Carrier P: Attributive Attribute

(1) 1

the old man, the after a night of rain com upon

and river, among the hills should e me,
<conj> S Acirc F P Acirc
Re MO si OD due
Textual Theme Topical Theme Rheme
Actor Circ: Loc P: Mat Circ: Loc

(1)

like stones that drag the muddy

I shall only stir bed.
S F Amood P Acirc
MOOD Residue
Topical Theme Rheme
Actor P: Mat Circ: manner

that drag the muddy bed.

<conj> P Cdo
Residue
Textual Theme Rheme
P: Mat Goal
(2) 2

When I am dead
<conj> S F/P Cattri
Resi MOOD due
Textual Theme Topical Theme Rheme
Carrier P: Attributive Attribute

(2) 11

should the old man rage

F S P
MOOD Residue
Interp Theme Topical Theme Rheme
Senser/Behaver P: Mental

(2) 12

and relieve himself upon the fields,

<conj> F/P Cdo Acirc
Resi MOOD due
Textual Theme Rheme
P: Behavioural Circ: Loc

(2)

with kneading that works

no from silt, green tumescent
my heart shall more be taut heads
S F Amood P Cattri Acirc
MOOD Residue
Topical Rhem
Theme e
Carrier P: Attributive Attribute Circ: Manner
 that works from silt, green tumescent heads.
<conj> P Acirc
Residue
Textual Theme Rheme
P: Mat Circ: Loc

(3) 1 (3) 2

from in fishes and reeds

subconscious that slant towards
The old man grows, lives hills, sentient eloquence of words
S F/P F/P Acirc Cattri Acirc
MOOD Residue
Topical Theme Rheme
Behaver/
Existent P: Behav P:Exis Circ: Loc Circ: Matter

that slant towards eloquence of words.

<conj> P Acirc
Residue
Topical Theme Rheme
P: Mat Range

(4) simplex

The waterfowl cry his flowering of vowels on the wind.

S F Cdo Acirc
MOOD Residue
Topical Theme Rheme
Behaver P: Behav Behaviour Circ: Loc
(5)

If like you, old man,

<conj> Acirc Voc (Finite is ellipted)
Residue
Textual Theme Rheme
(ellipted process)

(5) 1

I should never die

S F Amood P
MOOD Residue
Topical Theme Rheme
Existent/Senser P: Existential

(5) 2

but learn my way about the hills,

<conj> F/P Cdo Acirc
Resi MOOD due
Textual Theme Rheme
P: Mental Phenomenon Circ: Matter

(5)

I should be glad always of rain

S F P Cattri Amood Acirc
MO Resi OD due
Topical Theme Rheme
Carrier P: Attributive Attribute Circ: Matter
(5) 1

til the bunds of my body breaks

<conj> S F/P
Resi MOOD
Textual Theme Topical Theme Rheme
Actor/Goal P: Mat

(5) 2

and are washed in sand.

<conj> F P Acirc
Resi MOOD due
Textual Theme Rheme
P: Mat Circ: Loc
Appendix 4

Theme Analysis

Clause # Theme Marked/

Textual Interpersonal Topical unmarked
1 When I Unmarked
2 and the old man, the river, Unmarked
3 I Unmarked
4 When I Unmarked
5 should the old man Marked
6 and Unmarked
7 my heart Unmarked
8 The old man Unmarked
9 The old man Unmarked
10 The waterfowl Unmarked
11 If Marked
12 I Unmarked
13 but Unmarked
14 I Unmarked
15 til the bunds of my body Unmarked
16 and Unmarked
Appendix 5

Mood and Modality

Clause # Subject Finite Primary tense/ Mood

Modality
1 I am Present Declarative
2 the old man, the river, should Modalization: Median Declarative
3 I shall Modalization: High Declarative
4 I am Present Declarative
5 the old man should Modalization: Median Declarative
6 relieve Modalization: Median Declarative
7 my heart shall Modalization: High Declarative
8 The old man grows Present Declarative
9 The old man lives Present Declarative
10 The waterfowl cry Present Declarative
11 No MOOD
12 I should Modalization: Median Declarative
13 learn Present Declarative
14 I should Modalization: Median Declarative
15 the bunds of my body breaks Present Declarative
16 are Present Declarative
Appendix 6
Transitivity

Clause # Process type Process Medium

1 Attributive am I
2 Material come the old man, the river,
3 Material stir I
Material drag stones
4 Attributive am I
5 Mental (emotive) rage the old man
6 Behavioural relieve
7 Attributive be my heart
Material works kneading
8 Behavioural grows the old man
9 Existential lives the old man
Material slant fishes and reeds
10 Behavioural cry the waterfowl
11 Elliptical process
12 Existential die I
13 Mental (cognitive) learn
14 Attributive be I
15 Material break the bunds of my body
16 Material washed