Lexical expressive means and stylistic devices
metaphor
Simple (one word or phrase) Man cannot live by bread alone = by things satisfying only his physical needs. He smelled the ever-beautiful smell of coffee imprisoned in the can. (J. St.)
Compound (or metaphorical paraphrases)
Oh let me, true in love, but truly write,
And then believe me, my love is as fair
As any mother child, though not so bright
As those gold candles fixed in heaven's air.
According to their degree of unexpectedness:
Genuine (or individual, authentic, speech, fresh, origin) metaphors: Through the open window the dust danced and was golden. The house was a white elephant but he couldn’t conceive of his father in a smaller place. - describes the size and enigma of the house. His words were coming so fast, they were leapfrogging themselves. (R Chandler) And the skirts! What a sight were those skirts! They were nothing but vast decorated pyramids; on the summit of each was stuck the upper half of a princess. (A.B.) He felt the first watery eggs of sweat moistening the palms of his hands. (W. S.)
Trite (or dead, usual, language, hackneyed, stale) metaphors: a flight of fancy, floods of tears, legs of the table, winter comes, sunrise, a ray of hope, a storm of indignation, a gleam of mirth, a shadow of a smile, to fall in love, to jump into conclusion
Sustained (or prolonged)
"Mr. Dombey's cup of satisfaction was so full at this moment, however, that he felt he could afford a drop or two of its contents, even to sprinkle on the dust in the by-path of his little daughter." (Dickens, "Dombey and Son")
It can be embodied in different parts of speech:
a noun "She is a machine in her husband's house. "
a verb "In the slanting beams that streamed through the open window the dust danced and was golden" (O, Wilde “The Picture of Dorian Gray”) This though is melted away. Time flies.
an adjective “The human tide is rolling westward”
an adverb "The leaves fell sorrowfully."
…
Structural varieties of metaphors:
personification
allusion
allegory
metaphorical epithet
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player. (Shakespeare) –the name of one object to another
I hope this will have cushioned your loss. Leaving Daniel to his fate, she was conscious of joy springing in her heart. (Bennett) –the mode action
The fog comes on little cat feet. (Sandburg) – the typical characteristics
Personification (олицитворение)
Twinkle, little star!
How I wonder what you are!...
The Cat who walked by himself.
In Aesop's fable about The Crow and the Fox, the pronoun She is used for the Crow, whose behaviour is coquettish and light-minded, whereas He is used for the Fox.
'No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing Hours with flyingfeef. (Byron)
Silent, like sorrowing children, the birds have ceased their song ...the dying day breathes out her last... and Night, upon her sombre throne, folds her black wings above the darkening world, and, from her phantom palace, lit by the pale stars, reigns in stillness. (Jerome).
I’m the Daughter of Earth and Water.
Slowly, silently, now the moon walks the night in her silvery shoes (de la Mare)
Autumn comes And trees are shedding their leaves, And Mother Nature blushes Before disrobing. (N. W.)
antonomasia (антономасия, переименование) [’antənə’meɪzɪə]
He is the Napoleon of crime (= a genius in crime as great as Napoleon was in wars)
You are a real Cicero (= a great orator, reminding of Cicero)
They have a Rembrandt at home ( = a picture by Rembrandt)
He looked at himself in the glass. Here, then, was a modern Hercules — very distinct from that unpleasant naked figure with plenty of muscles, brandishing a club. (A. Christie) (= a man who is like this hero of ancient Greek myths).
Her husband is an Othello (C. Doyle)
I agree with you, Mr. Logic.
The next speaker was a tall gloomy man. Sir Something Somebody. (P.)
We sat down at a table with two girls in yellow and three men, each one introduced to us as Mr. Mumble. (Sc.F.)
Mister Know-all (a character of S. Maugham)
Miss Toady, Miss Sharp (W.Thackeray)
Mr. Murdstone (Ch.Dickens)
Dr. Rest, Dr. Diet,. Dr. Fresh Air (D. Gusack)
Mr.What’s-his-name
Sheridans plays, The Rivals: Miss Languish — Мисс Томнэй; Mr. Backbite -М-р Клеветаун; Mr. Credulous — М-р Доверч; Mr. Snake -М-р Гад, etc. Or from F. Cooper: Lord Chatterino — Лорд Балаболо; John Jaw — Джон Брех; Island Leap-High — Остров Высокопрыгия.
Собакевич, Лошадников, Жеребчиков, Овсов, Молчанов, Мошенников, смотритель уездных училищ-Хамов, помещики - Гадюкины и Шилохвостовы, полицейские - это Людоедовы-Хватовы и Дробискуловы , а городовые – Жратва и Очумеловы.
m
etonymy
Two kinds of metonomy:
Lexical/etymological: china=porcelain, Maderia=wine, astrakhan=fur (каракуль)
Stylistic/expressive: Mess-jacket looked at me with his silent sleek smile. (R. Chandler)
1. synecdoche
синекдоха:
Washington and London (= USA and UK) agree on most issues; He was followed into the room by a pair of heavy boots (= by a man in heavy boots); cf. the Russian: "Да, да ", ответили рыжие панталоны (Чехов). In a similar way, the word crown (to fight for the crown) may denote "the royal power/the king"; the word colours in the phrase to defend the colours of a school denotes the organization itself.
2. The name of a container instead of the contents:
He drank a whole glass of whiskey (= drank the liquid contained in a glass
The whole town was out in the streets (= the people of the town).
3. The name of a characteristic feature of an object instead of the object:
The massacre of the innocents (= children; this biblical phrase is related to the killing of Jewish male children by King Herod in Bethlehem).
4. The name of an instrument instead of an action or the doer of an action:
All they that take the sword, shall perish with the sword (= war, fighting).
Let us turn swords into ploughs (= Let us replace fighting by peaceful work; Перекуем мечи на орала).
SYNECDOCHE
the peasant (all the peasants)
the blue-coat (a policeman)
England beat Australia at cricket. (Teams)
To be a comrade with the wolf and out (W. Shakespeare)
He made his way through the perfume and conversation (the perfumed and conversing crowd of people)
He had five months to feed (children)
She has no roof over her head (house)
You've got a nice fox on you (fur)
Two heads are better than one (clever persons)
The hat went away (person in a hat)
irony
verbal
sustained
How delightful — to find yourself in a foreign country without a penny in your pocket!
Aren 't you a hero — running away from a mouse!
I like a parliamentary debate,
Particularly when it is not too late. (Byron)
The Holy Alliance (Russia, Prussia, Austria) was minded to stretch the arm of its Christian charity across the Atlantic and put republicanism down in the western hemisphere as well as in its own. (Goldwin Smith).
I do not consult physicians, for I hope to die without their help. (W. Temple).
What a happy woman was Rose to be Tady Crawly. Her husband used to drink every night and beat his Rose sometimes.(Thackerey)
How clever it is not to take an umbrella when it is raining hard.
How early you’ve come!
She smiled the sweet smile of an alligator.
She jumps gracefully as an elephant.
You’re in complimentary mood today, aren’t you? First you called my explanation rubbish and now you call me a liar.
zeugma (a variant of SYLLEPSIS ) Зевгма, каламбур, игра слов [‘zju’ɡmə]
to kill the boys and /destroy/ the luggage;
with weeping eyes and /grieving/ hearts.
She lost her purse, head and reputation.
A leopard changes his spots, as often as he goes from one spot to another (spot = 1. пятно; 2. место).
Dora plunged at once into privileged intimacy and into the middle of the room. (Shaw)
She possessed two false teeth and a sympathetic heart. (O. Henry)
She dropped a tear and her pocket handkerchief. (Dickens)
At noon Mrs. Turpin would get out of bed and humor, put on kimono, airs, and water to boil for coffee. (O. Henry)
Two types:
z, based on interaction of independent and connected meanings of the word:
He paid him a visit and fee.
He took his hat and his leave.
He fell into a chair and fainting fit simultaneously.
She lost her bag and mind.
Clara was not a narrow woman either in mind or body.
He lost his hat and his temper, with weeping eyes and hearts.
z, based on interaction of primary and secondary meanings of the word:
O men with sister dear!
O men with mothers and wishes!
It is not linen you are wearing out, but human creatures lives!
pun (or PLAY UPON WORDS)
There are several kinds of pun:
pun based on polysemy:
-What is the meaning of the word “matrimony”?
- Fathers says it isn’t a word, it’s a sentence.
Sentence 1) предложение 2) приговор
The quickest way to break a bad habit is to drop it.
Break 1) разбивать 2) бросать (привычку)
Drop ронять, бросать
They had the appearance of men to whom life had appeared as a reversible coat – seamy on both sides (O. Henry)
Seamy 1)изнанка 2) темная, неприглядная сторона
pun based on complete or partial homonymy:
Professor: What kept you out of class yesterday – acute indigestion (острое расстройство)?
Student: No, a cute engineer. (симпатичный инженер)
pun based on phonetic similarity:
A cynic was standing in front of an exhibition of modern picture labeled “Art Objects”.
“Well”, he announced to the attendant in charge, “I should think Art would object, and I can’t say that I blame it.
-I’ ve spent last summer in a very pretty city of Switzerland.
-Bernel.
-No, I almost froze.