‘Hypotactic’ Clause As Theme

Martin, Matthiessen & Painter (2010: 37):

A different kind of long Theme can be found if we extend the thematic principle beyond the clause to the ‘clause complex’ (the ‘sentence’ of the written language). This can be illustrated by comparing the following:

Were you lonely in Paris, || when I was in the concentration camp?

When I was in the concentration camp, || were you lonely in Paris?

The first example can be regarded as an unmarked ordering of clauses, where a ‘main’ clause is followed by a modifying clause. It will simply be analysed as shown above. In the second example, the when clause in its entirety can be regarded as functioning as an orienting context for the question Were you lonely in Paris? The when clause thus provides a marked Theme to which the second clause is Rheme (IFG2: 56-7; IFG3: 392-33) …

Note that it is only ‘hypotactic’ (i.e. dependent, modifying) clauses which have the possibility of occurring in this initial position as a marked Theme of the clause complex. Non-finite clauses are one such type of hypotactic clause. Here are some examples of non-finite clauses functioning as marked Theme of a clause complex:

To strengthen his knee, he did the exercise routine twice daily.

Blinking nervously, he tried to think of something to say.

Blogger Comments:

This is misleading. To be clear, such dependent clauses function simply as Theme, not marked Theme. For there to be a marked option, there has to be an agnate unmarked option (unmarked ordering is not unmarked Theme). Cf. IFG2 (Halliday 1994: 57):

and IFG3 (Halliday & Matthiessen 2004: 393):