26. Syntactic expressive means and stylistic devices (repetition (all kinds), enumeration, climax, anticlimax).

Repetition (повтор) is an expressive means, which aims at logical emphasis, necessary to attract the attention of the reader to the key-word of the utterance. Sometimes repetition may also stress monotony of action or have rhythmical function. There are several types of syntactic patterns of repetition. The most frequent of them are: anaphora (the repeated unit comes at the beginning of two or more consecutive clauses), epiphora (the repeated unit is placed at the end of consecutive clauses), framing repetition (repeated units are arranged in the form of frame), anadiplosis (the last word of one part of an utterance is repeated at the beginning of the next part). In the paragraph illustrating parallelism there are also examples of repetition as these two devices often go together in a sentence.

Anaphora (анафора) strengthens the element that recurs, helps the reader to fix it in their memory. It also imparts a certain rhythmical regularity to the syntactical units in question. 

E.g. My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,     My heart's in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer... [R. Burns].

Epiphora (эпифора) regularizes the rhythm of the text and makes prose resemble poetry. A combination of anaphora and epiphora in two or more adjacent units is  known as symploca.

E.g. If he wishes to float into fairyland, he reads a book; if he wishes to dash into the thick of battle, he reads a book; if he wishes to soar into heaven, he reads a book  [G. Chesterton].

Framing repetition (кольцевой повтор) makes the whole utterance more compact and more complete. It is most effective in singling out paragraphs

E.g. «Well, we’ll have to see», said Mrs. Pelumpton dubiously. «That’s what we’ll have to do, we’ll have to seе [G.B. Priestly].

Anadiplosis (подхват) makes the utterance more emotional.

E.g. With Bewick on my knee, I was then happy; happy at least in my own way [Ch. Bronte].

Chain Repetition is a combination of several cases of anadiplosis.

E.g. Rapidly the feeling became a strong hunch, the hunch became a conviction, and the conviction became a compulsion.

In addition to the mentioned types there are some other types. Root repetition (корневой повтор) takes place when not the word but the root of the word is repeated.

 Е.g. He was a brute, a brutish brute [J. London].

 Synonymic repetition is the repetition of the idea expressed in using synonymous words and phrases, e.g. lord and master; high and mighty.

Enumeration (перечисление) is a stylistic device by which separate things, objects, phenomena, properties or actions are named one by one so that they produce a chain. Enumeration is often used as а device to depict scenery and to make the description more vivid.

E.g. The principal production of these towns appear to be soldiers, sailors, Jews, chalk, shrimps, officers and dock-yard men [Ch. Dickens].

E.g. The room would bear witness of our presence. The little heap of library books marked ready to return, and the discarded copy of The Times. Ash-trays, with the stub of a cigarette; cushions, with the imprint of our heads upon them, lolling in the chairs; the charred embers of our log-fire still smoldering against the morning [D. du Maurier]. 

Climax (gradation) (нарастание) is an arrangement of sentences, which secures a gradual increase in significance, importance, or emotional tension in the utterance. Climax is a means by which the author discloses his world outlook, his evaluation of facts and phenomena. Сlimax is used to impress upon the reader the significance of the things described by suggested comparison, or to depict phenomena dynamically

E.g. …He had a gratitude, a zest, an eagerness that could not be found in the others… [J.B. Priestley].

Climax can be logical, emotional and quantitative.

In the logical climax every next word is stronger in its logical meaning.

 E.g.  He looked about him, as if searching the little room in despair for something to touch, to hold, to cling to. [J.B. Priestley].

In the emotional climax the emotive intensity is implied.

 E.g. After a short silence, an unusual sound, a most strange sound, a fantastic and incredible sound, came from the side of the bed and travelled round the dark little room [J.B. Priestley].

Quantitative climax is based on the intensification of quantity.

 E.g. Mary counted the months, the weeks, the days, the hours to his return [I. Murdoch].

Climax is usually materialized in enumeration.

In literary studies the term climax means the crucial moment of narration. In this case its Russian equivalent is кульминация.

Anticlimax (back-gradation) (спад) consists in the weakening or lowering of the status of the elements. This ruins the elevated tenor and brings down the whole idea.

E.g. People …tell me that a clean conscience makes you very happy and content. But a full stomach does the thing just as well [J.K. Jerome]