Function of Periphrasis

From the above examples of periphrasis, one could surmise that this literary device is used to embellish sentences by creating splendid effects to draw the readers’ attention. These periphrasis examples have also shown that the use of this literary device lends poetic flavor to prose. Periphrasis is a feature of analytical language that tends to shun inflection

Represented (= reported) speechis a type of narration - is a form of utterance which conveys the actual words of the speaker through the mouth of the writer but retains the peculiarities of the speaker's mode of expression. Represented speech exists in two varieties: 1) uttered represented speech.E.g.: "Could he bring a reference from where he now was? He could.” (Dreiser); 2) unuttered or inner represented speech.E.g.: "An idea had occurred to Soames. His cousin Jolyon was Irene's trustee, the first step would be to go down and see him at Robin Hill. Robin Hill! The odd—the very odd feeling those words brought back. Robin Hill—the house Bosinney had built for him and Irene— the house they had never lived in—the fatal house! And Jolyon lived there now!" (Galsworthy)

Represented speech (uttered and unuttered or inner represented speech)

There are three ways of reproducing actual speech: a) repetition of the exact utterance as it was spoken(direct speech), b) con­version of the exact utterance into the relater’s mode of expression(in­direct speech), and c) representation of the actual utterance by a second person, usually the author, as if it had been spoken, whereas it has not really been spoken but is only represented in the author’s words(represented speech).

There is also a device which conveys to the reader the unaltered or inner speech of the character, thus presenting his thoughts and feelings - represented speech.

The representation of the actual utterance through the author’s language - uttered repre­sented speech

The representation of the thoughts and feelings of the character - unuttered or inner represented speech.

The term direct speech came to be used in the belles-lettres style in orderto distinguish the words of the character from the author’s words.Actually,direct speech is a quotation. Therefore it is always in­troduced by a verb likesay, utter, declare, reply, exclaim, shout, cry, yell, gasp, babble, chuckle, murmur, sigh, call, beg, implore, comfort. Direct speech is always marked by inverted commas, as any quotation is.

“You want my money back, I suppose,” said George with a sneer.

“Of course I do – I always did, didn’t I?” says Dobbin. (Thackery)

We have indirect speech when the actual words of a character, as it were, pass through the author’s mouth in the course of his narrative and in this process undergo certain changes.

Represented speech is that form of utterance which conveys the actual words of the speaker through the mouth of the writer but retains the peculiarities of the speaker’s mode of expression.

15. Phonetic and graphical expressive means.

Phonetic expressive means and devices are used for several purposes:

• to produce a certain acoustic effect;

• to give emphasis to the utterance;

• to arouse emotions in the reader or the listener.

Intonation and stress are very important means in oral speech where they are expressed directly by the speaker. In written speech they are conveyed indirectly by graphical expressive means and by a special syntactical arrangement of utterance (such as inversion, isolated members, parallel constructions and other syntactical stylistic devices).

Graphical means include punctuation, different types of print (italics, bold type) and a specific arrangement of printed material. Such marks of punctuation as a series of dots (…), a dash (-), exclamation and question marks and some others may be used not only to show the logical arrangement of speech but also to convey the information of the uttered speech and to express emphasis.

There is another thing to be taken into account – this is the way a word, a phrase or a sentence sounds. The sound of most words taken separately will have little or no aesthetic value. It is in combination with other words that a word may acquire a desined phonetic effect. The way a separate word sounds may produce a certain euphonic impression, but this is a matter of individual perception and feeling and therefore subjective.

Thus Verier, a specialist on English versification says that each of the sounds expresses a definite feeling or state of mind. He maintains that the sound [u:] generally expresses sorrow or seriousness; [l] produces the feeling of joy, etc.

The theory of sound symbolism is based on the assumption that separate sounds due to their articulatory and acoustic properties may awake certain ideas, perceptions, feelings, images, vague though they might be.

In poetry we feel that the arrangement of sounds carries a definite aesthetic function. Such sounds phenomena as harmony, euphony, rhythm contribute greatly to the expressiveness of poetic lines.

Euphony is such a combination of words and such an arrangement of utterance which produces a pleasing acoustic effect, i.e. a pleasing effect on the ear. Euphony is generally achieved by such phonetic stylistic devices as alliteration, onomatopoeia rhythm, rhyme.

Alliteration– is the repetition of similar consonant in close succession, particularly at the beginning of successive words.

Phonetic expressive means deal with the sound with the sound instrumenting of the utterance and are mainly found in poetry.

e.g. Deep into the darkness peering, long and stood there wondering fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before. (E.A. Poe)

Alliteration aims at imparting a melodic effect to the utterance; alliteration is generally regarded as a musical accompaniment of the author’s idea, it creates some vague emotional atmosphere, which each reader interprets for himself. 

Assonance – a phonetic stylistic device; it is the agreement of vowel sounds (sometimes combined with likeness in consonants).

e.g. One’s upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary …

Onomatopoeia is a combination of speech-sounds which aims at imitating sounds produced in nature; e.g. ding-dong, buzz, bang, cuckoo, mew, ping-pong, etc.

• Rhyme is the repetition of identical or similar terminal sound combination of words. Rhyming words are generally placed at a regular distance from each other.

We distinguish between full rhymes and incomplete rhymes.

The full rhyme presupposes identity of the vowel sound and the following consonant sounds.

e.g. might – right

 Rhythm – is a term applied to both verse and prose.

Rhythm is primarily a periodicity. According to some investigations, rhythmical periodicity in verse “requires intervals of about three quarters of a second between successive peaks of periods”.

It is a deliberate arrangement of speech into regularly recurring units, which are intended to be grasped as a definite periodicity. This periodicity makes rhythm a stylistic device.

Rhythm intensifies the emotions; it reveals itself most conspicuously in music, dance and verse.

Rhythm can also be found in prose; it is based on the repetition of similar structural units, following one another. The peculiar property of prose-rhythm particularly in 20th century prose is that it occurs only in relatively short spans of text.

The most observable rhythmical patterns in prose are based on the use of certain stylistic syntactical devices, namely, enumeration, repetition, parallel construction and chiasmus.

e.g. The high-sloping roof, of a fine sooty pink was almost Danish, and two ‘ducky’ little windows looked out of, giving an impression that very tall servants lived up there.