The obvious question to ask at this point is: ‘Why posit the existence of a set of Thematic Relations (THEME, AGENT, INSTRUMENT, etc.) distinct from constituent structure relations?ʼ The answer given in the relevant literature is that a variety of linguistic phenomena can be accounted for in a more principled way in terms of Thematic Functions than in terms of constituent structure relations.

Folk art is often produced by anonymous and formally untrained consumers for their own or barter use. It might later, like brothel-born jazz, be accorded the status of a fine art by subsequent audiences who assign greater complexities to its structure.

But it was in the immediate numinous aftermath of that predawn visit that I first saw the next, final stage of our haplessly greenward collapse.

It tells the audience the punch was thrown, they hear a knap, and the victim is 'injured'.