- •1. Stylistics as a branch of general linguistics. The subject, object and tasks of stylistics
- •The individual manner of an author in making use of a language.
- •2. Branches of stylistics
- •3. Basic notions of stylistics (the notion of context, the concept of the norm)
- •4. The notion and types of foregrounding
- •5. Meaning from a stylistic point of view (lexical meaning, grammatical meaning)
- •6. Denotative and connotative meanings from a stylistic point of view
- •7. The notion of the stylistic opposition in the English vocabulary
- •9. Words of non-literary stylistic layer
- •10. The notion of stylistic devices and expressive means Grammatical Expressive Means and Stylistic Devices
- •11. Different classifications of stylistic devices and expressive means
- •12. Phonetic stylistic devices and expressive means
- •13. Stylistic use of graphical means. Graphon
- •14. Lexical stylistic devices and expressive means. Metaphor, metonymy, irony
- •15. Simile. Epithet
- •16. Hyperbole. Oxymoron. Allusion
- •17. Zeugma and the pun. Periphrasis
- •18. Syntactical stylistic devices and expressive means. Inversion. Detached constructions Syntactical Stylistic Devices
- •19. Climax. Anticlimax. Suspense
- •20. Antithesis. Rhetorical question. Litotes
- •21. Parallel constructions. Chiasmus. Types of repetition
- •22. Asyndeton. Polysyndeton. Ellipsis. Break-in-the-narration
- •23. Represented speech
- •24. Parts of speech and their stylistic potential Parts of Speech and Their Stylistic Potential
- •25. Functional styles systems
- •26. Characteristic linguistic features of major functional styles
- •27. Stylistics of the author and the reader. Types of narration
- •28. Stylistics and discourse
- •29. Set expressions. Proverbs and sayings Peculiar Use of Set Expressions
- •30. Stylistics and dictemic analysis
21. Parallel constructions. Chiasmus. Types of repetition
Parallel constructions is a stylistic device which is based on recurrence of syntactically identical sequences, which are lexically different, completely or partially. It is also called syntactical repetition. Its function is to strengthen the emotional impact or expressiveness of the description. It also strongly affects the rhythmical organization of the utterance. It is often used in poetry, but when used in prose it serves to give it the quality of poetry: She was a good servant, she walked softly; she was a determined woman, she walked precisely (Graham Greene).
Chiasmus (reversed parallelism) is the repetition of the same structure, but in the opposite order of elements: Down dropped the breeze. The sails dropped down (Samuel Taylor Coleridge).
Repetition is the recurrence of identical lexemes to increase the degree of emotion.
Depending on the position of the repeated elements, we can distinguish four types of repetition:
Anaphora is the repetition of the first word or word-group in several successive phrases, clauses or sentences: I love your hills and I love your dales. And I love your flocks a-bleating (“The Devon Maid” by John Keats; 31 October 1795, Moorgate, London, England – 23 February 1821, Rome, Italy).
Epiphora is the repetition of the final word or word-group in several successive phrases, clauses or sentences: I wake up and I’m alone, and I walk round Warlley and I’m alone, and I talk with people and I’m alone (John Gerard Braine; 13 April 1922, Bingley, near Bradford, Yorkshire – 28 October 1986).
Anadiplosis is the repetition at the beginning of the ensuing phrase, clause or sentence of a word-group that has occurred in initial, the middle or the final position of the preceding word-sequence: With Benwick on my knee, I was then happy: happy at least in my own way.
Framing (ring repetition) is the repetition of the same unit at the beginning and at the end of the same sentence or paragraph: How beautiful is the rain!// After the dust and the heat,// In the broad and fiery street// In the narrow lane// How beautiful is the rain! (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807, Portland, Maine – March 24, 1882, Cambridge, Massachusetts).
22. Asyndeton. Polysyndeton. Ellipsis. Break-in-the-narration
Asyndeton is a stylistic device which consists in the deliberate omission of connectives. The effect achieved is the rhythmical organization of the utterance and emphasis. It also helps to create the effect of energetic active prose: That’s all I’m to do, all I want to do (Samuel Dashiell Hammett; May 27, 1894, Saint Mary’s County, Maryland – January 10, 1961, New York City).
Polysyndeton is an instant repetition of connectives in an utterance. It also has a strong rhythmic effect. Besides, it strengthens the idea of equal logical importance of connected sentences or their parts: They were all three from Milan, and one of them was to be a lawyer, and one was to be a painter, and one had intended to be a soldier, and after we were finished with the machines, sometimes we walked back together to the Cafe Cova… (“In Another Country” by Ernst Hemingway; July 21, 1899, Oak Park, Illinois – July 2, 1961, Ketchum, Idaho).
Ellipsis is a stylistic device which consists in omission of some parts of the sentence that are easily understood from the context or situation. In colloquial speech it is not a stylistic device, it just serves to make the speech more compact. As a stylistic device ellipsis may give the construction additional emotional or expressive coloring: no avarice, no anxiety, no wild desire; all gentle, tranquil, and at peace (“The Old Curiosity Shop” by Charles Dickens).
Break-in-the-narration (aposiopesis) is a sudden drop in the completion of the sentence when the continuation is quite clear. It reflects the psychological or emotional state of the speaker. Emotions prevent the speaker from finishing the sentence. In many cases the break is the result of the speaker’s uncertainty as to what exactly he is to promise. To mark the break dashes and dots are used: don’t you do it or… Periods are used in the well-known phrases: it depends.