The Greatness of Great Expectations Begins in Its Title

Great Expectations,as one of the most important works in the late phase of Dickens’s creation,has been carefully studied by numerous scholars from various perspectives.However,the titular artistry in this work has barely been touched upon,partly due to the simplicity of titles of his other works.Eight of thirteen Dickens’novels are simply named after their protagonist:Oliver Twist,Nicholas Nickleby,Martin Chuzzlewit,David Copperfield,Little Dorrit,Pickwick Papers,Dombey and Son and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.The Old Curiosity Shop,A Tale of Two Cities and Bleak House just adopt place names as titles.This title"Great Expectations"is obviously not simply named.In this paper,after close-reading and thorough study of this novel and former critics’researches,the author tries to illustrate that the greatness of Great Expectations begins in its well-chosen title,by firstly analyzing the effect of the adjective"Great"used in the title,then exploring the profound significance of the plural form of"Expectations"and finally detecting how the inherit ironies in the title accumulate,intensify and accelerate as the title recurs as a key thematic expression though out the text.Thus,the readers can get a better understanding and appreciation of the title,and the novel from a fresher angle as well.