13. Lexico – syntactical stylistic devices (climax, antithesis, litotes)

Climax - is an arrangement of sentences (or of the homogeneous parts of one sentence) which secures a gradual increase in significance, importance, or emotional tension in the utterance.:

They looked at hundred of houses, they climbed thousands of stairs, they inspected innumerable kitchens. (Maugham).

 logical climax

a three-step <climax> (the most widely spread model), in which intensification of logical importance, of emotion or quantity (size, dimensions) is gradually rising step by step (V.A.K.)

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is based on the relative importance of the component parts looked at from the point of view of the concepts embodied in them (I.R.G.)

e.g. Better to borrow, better to beg, better to die! (Dickens)

e.g. Like a well, like a vault, like a tomb, the prison had no knowledge of the brightness outside. (Dickens)

emotive climax

a two-step <climax>, in which the second part repeats the first one and is further strengthened by an intensifier (V.A.K.)

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is based on the relative emotional tension produced by words with <emotive meaning> (I.R.G.)

e.g. He was so helpless, so very helpless. (W.Deeping)

e.g. She felt better, immensely better. (W.Deeping)

quantitative climax

an evident increase in the volume of the corresponding concepts (I.R.G.)

e.g. They looked at hundreds of houses; they climbed thousands of stairs; they inspected innumerable kitchens. (S.Maugham)

e.g. Little by little, bit by bit, and day by day, and year by year the baron got the worst of some disputed question. (Dickens)

Antithesis

a semantically complicated <parallel construction>, the two parts of which are semantically opposite to each other

- is to stress the heterogenity of the described phenomenon, to show that the latter is a dialectical unity of two (or more) opposing features. (V.A.K.)

e.g. Some people have much to live on, and little to live for. (Wilde)

- stylistic opposition, based on relative opposition which arises out of the context through the expansion of objectively contrasting pairs

e.g. saint – devil, reign – serve, hell – heaven, youth – age, fiery – frosty

The words involved in the opposition do not display any additional nuance of <meaning> caused by being opposed one to another.

- is generally moulded in <parallel construction>;

- is often signalled by the introductory connective but, when so, the other structural signal, the parallel arrangement, may not be evident, it may be unnecessary;

- a device, bordering between stylistics and logic;

It is essential to distinguish between antithesis and what is termed contrast. Contrast is a literary (not a linguistic) device based on logical opposition between the phenomena set one against another.

- has the following basic functions: rhythm-forming (because of the parallel arrangement on which it is founded); copulative; dissevering; comparative

Function of Antithesis

A literary device like antithesis uses words to convey ideas in different ways from the common words and expressions of daily life. Thus, it conveys meaning more vividly than ordinary speech. When contrasting ideas are brought together, the idea is expressed more emphatically.

As a literary device, antithesis makes contrasts in order to examine pros and cons of a subject under discussion and helps to bring forth judgment on that particular subject

Litotes is a figure of speech in which a negative statement is used to affirm a positive sentiment. For example, when asked how someone is doing, that person might respond, “I’m not bad.” In fact, this means that the person is doing fine or even quite well. The extent to which the litotes means the opposite is dependent on context. For example, the person saying “I’m not bad” may have recently gone through a divorce and is trying to reassure a friend that things are okay. On the other hand, this person may have just won the lottery and says, “I’m not bad” with a grin on his face, implying that things are, in fact, incredible.

It is not bad.-(Is a good thing)

He is no coward.-(He is a brave man)

Such negative constructions have a stronger effect on the reader than affirmative ones.

She was not without taste.

The constructions with two negations: not unlike, not unpromising, not displeased make positive phrases.