Beyond relational work: a psycho-pragmatic analysis of impoliteness in Shakespeare's King Lear

Culpeper (1998) suggests that impoliteness in drama stems from social disharmony and tensions between characters, a view supported by subsequent scholars who emphasize power structures, distance, and intentionality. Locher and Jucker (2021) expand this by identifying personal, relational, frame, and participation factors influencing relational work negotiations. This paper extends these arguments by emphasizing the role of psychological factors, particularly interlocutors' reality paradigms (Archer, 2002) – their systems of beliefs shaping their worldviews – and their impact on the production, reception, and judgment of impoliteness. The study posits that impoliteness is not solely a pragmatically controlled process but also a psychologically motivated one. Using Shakespeare's *King Lear*, the paper investigates the interplay of psychological dimensions of personality, reality paradigms, and fictional participation structures in shaping impoliteness at the intradiegetic level (character-to-character communication). The research questions focus on the contribution of psychological traits and reality paradigms to impoliteness, the impact of relational work factors in the presence of psychological disorders, the influence of off-dialogue participants on the interaction, and the correlation between impoliteness, reality paradigms, and fictional participation. The selection of *King Lear* is justified by its rich depiction of interpersonal communication and its suitability for testing pragmatic frameworks.

The literature review examines existing research on linguistic (im)politeness, tracing its development from classical theories (Goffman, Lakoff, Grice, Brown & Levinson, Leech) to more recent frameworks incorporating relational work (Spencer-Oatey) and impoliteness (Bousfield, Culpeper, Dynel). It discusses different perspectives on impoliteness, including Bousfield's definition as intentionally gratuitous face-threatening acts, Grice's cooperative principle and its maxims, and Culpeper's view of impoliteness as a negative attitude towards specific behaviors. The review also explores the application of (im)politeness frameworks to fictional texts, highlighting two groups of stylisticians: those using traditional politeness theories (Brown & Levinson) and those developing new frameworks for analyzing impoliteness in fictional dialogue. The review sets the stage for integrating psychological factors, particularly narcissism and Archer's reality paradigms, into the analysis of impoliteness in *King Lear*.

The study uses Shakespeare's *King Lear* (1606) as its data source, focusing specifically on the opening scene. The rationale for selecting this scene is its rich illustration of the interplay between psychological traits, reality paradigms, and fictional participation structures in shaping relational work and impoliteness. The methodology involves three stages: (1) analyzing relational work using Locher and Jucker's (2021) framework, highlighting the inadequacy of this framework in fully capturing the role of psychological factors; (2) examining the role of psychological impoliteness motivated by reality paradigms (Archer, 2002, 2011), illustrating how different paradigms (e.g., grandiosity, inability, truth) influence characters' actions and interactions; and (3) investigating the impact of fictional participation (Messerli, 2017; Locher & Jucker, 2021), considering the influence of on-dialogue and off-dialogue participants on the interaction dynamics. The analysis focuses on the conversational turns of Lear, his three daughters, and Kent, exploring how psychological factors, reality paradigms, and participation structures contribute to the production, reception, and judgment of impoliteness. The extracts are taken from the Arden edition of Shakespeare's works.

The analysis reveals that the psychological dimensions of the characters and their reality paradigms significantly influence the production, reception, and assessment of impoliteness in *King Lear*. Lear's narcissistic grandiosity, for example, shapes his interpretations of his daughters' expressions of love and his reactions to Kent's interruption. Cordelia's honest but seemingly unflattering response is perceived as impolite through Lear's lens of narcissistic grandiosity. The study shows that psychological disorders (narcissism in Lear's case) are antecedents of verbal aggression, going beyond the simplistic explanation of hostility as the sole cause. The analysis demonstrates that impoliteness operates within a specific community of practice defined by shared context-specific expectation frames that incorporate psychological dimensions. The expectation frames are shaped not only by traditional relational work factors but also by the characters' mental states and worldviews. The shift in reality paradigms throughout the play highlights the dynamic nature of impoliteness and its relationship to character development and plot. The study emphasizes the role of fictional participation structures, specifically the presence of auditors and potential overhearers, in influencing characters' behavior and the perception of impoliteness. Lear's reactions are influenced by his awareness of the audience, exacerbating his psychological face loss when faced with Cordelia's defiance and Kent's interruption. The concept of instrumental impoliteness, where impolite behavior serves a beneficial purpose, is also explored. Kent’s attempt to dissuade Lear from disinheriting Cordelia, though impolite, shows an altruistic intention; however, its effect is limited by Lear's psychological state.

The findings challenge the traditional view of impoliteness as solely a product of social disharmony and relational work factors. The study demonstrates that psychological dimensions of personality and reality paradigms are crucial for understanding impoliteness in interaction. The integration of psychological factors into the analysis of relational work offers a more nuanced and comprehensive interpretation of impoliteness, explaining how characters' mental states and worldviews shape their interactions. The study highlights the limitations of relying solely on pragmatic inferences and relational history in assessing impoliteness. The findings contribute to the field by expanding existing frameworks for analyzing impoliteness, integrating psychological insights, and emphasizing the dynamic interplay between psychological factors, participation structures, and the perception of impoliteness. The analysis of *King Lear* serves as a rich case study illustrating the theoretical concepts explored in the paper, demonstrating the broader applicability of the psycho-pragmatic approach to the study of impoliteness.

This study provides a psycho-pragmatic analysis of impoliteness in *King Lear*, demonstrating that impoliteness is not only a pragmatically controlled process but also a psychologically motivated one. The findings highlight the crucial role of psychological traits, reality paradigms, and fictional participation structures in shaping the production, reception, and assessment of impoliteness. Future research directions include extending this psycho-pragmatic approach to non-fictional discourse settings, investigating the role of gender in shaping participation structures and impoliteness, and further exploring the concept of beneficiary impoliteness.

The study focuses on a single literary text, *King Lear*, limiting the generalizability of the findings to other literary works or non-fictional contexts. The interpretation of characters' psychological states relies on textual analysis, which may be subject to different interpretations. The study primarily focuses on the intradiegetic level, and a broader analysis considering the extradiegetic and supra-diegetic levels could provide further insights.