Style in English or for that matter in any Literature is the distinctive way in which writers express their thoughts; so much so that the style of a writer marks his or her presence and intellect at work. To make an example, the style of John Milton is so lofty and grand that it needs no introduction and can be easily identified in lines such as “ Of Man’s first disobedience.” Similarly the style of Wordsworth and Coleridge is said to be simple and rustic and they famously declare in their Preface to the Lyrical Ballads that it is to discover the uncommon in the common and the common in the uncommon. Lines like “I wandered lonely as a cloud” have a stamp of genius and the style which is evident in the selection of small and simple words and metaphors gives away the author.
In the Rime of the ancient Mariner, the style, in an attempt to portray the mysterious and supernatural, is Gothic and remote and captures the essence of the context in lines like “Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” The building blocks of style are words, syntax, choice of images, metaphors, mood, tone and milieu. Yet it transcends all these things and belongs entirely to the writer's intellectual and imaginary private space. The style of Jane Austen is witty and humorous in Pride and Prejudice, whereas the style of Emily Bronte in Wuthering Heights is far away from the spectrum in terms of humor and is more serious and frightening. Style is central to expression, and whether prolixity or lucidity, both germinate only in the author’s mind.