ЗЧО Стилистика
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Break-in-the-narrative has a strong degree of predictability, which is ensured by the structure of the sentence. As a stylistic device it is used in complex sentences, in particular in conditional sentences, the clause being given in full and the second part only implied.
A sudden break in the narrative will inevitably focus the attention on what is left unsaid. Therefore, the interrelation between what is given and what is new becomes more significant, inasmuch as the given is what is said and the new—what is left unsaid. There is a phrase in colloquial English which has become very familiar: “Good intentions but—”
The implication here is that nothing has come of what it was planned to accomplish.
The pause after the break is generally charged with meaning and it is the intonation only that will decode the communicative significance of the utterance.
46. Rhetorical question. Its usage and stylistic functions
This peculiar interrogative construction which semantically remains a statement is called a rhetorical question. Unlike an ordinary question, the rhetorical question does not demand any information but serves to express the emotions of the speaker and also to call the attention of listeners. In other words, the question is no longer a question but a statement expressed in the form of an interrogative sentence.
Thus there is an interplay of two structural meanings: I) that of the question and 2) that of the statement (either affirmative or negative).
Ex: “...Shall the sons of Chimary Who never forgive the fault of a friend Bid an enemy live?...”
The meaning of the above utterance can hardly fail to be understood: i. e. The sons of Chimary will never bid an enemy live.
Without the attributive clause the rhetorical question would lose its specific quality and might be regarded as an ordinary question. The subordinate clause, as it were, signalizes the rhetorical question. The meaning of the above utterance can hardly fail to be understood: i. e. The sons of Chimary will never bid an enemy live.
There is another structural pattern of rhetorical questions, which is based on negation. In this case the question may be a simple sentence, as in:
Ex: "Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?"
The rhetorical question re-enforces this essential quality of interrogative sentences and uses it to convey a stronger shade of emotive meaning. Rhetorical questions, due to their power of expressing a variety of modal shades of meaning, are most often used in publicistic style and particularly in oratory, where the rousing of emotions is the effect generally aimed at.
47. Litotes
Litotes is a two-component structure in which two negations are joined to give a positive evaluation. Thus "not unkindly" actually means "kindly", though the positive effect is weakened and some lac of the speaker's confidence in his statement is implied.
The first component of a litotes is always the negative particle "not", while the second, always negative in semantics, varies in form from a negatively affixed word (as above) to a negative phrase.
Ex: He is no coward.—He is a brave man
It’s not a bad thing.—It’s a good thing
In both cases the negative construction is weaker than the affirmative one. Still we cannot say that the two negative constructions produce a lesser effect than the corresponding affirmative ones. Moreover, it should be noted that the negative constructions here have a stronger impact on the reader than the affirmative ones. The latter have no additional connotation; the former have. That is why such constructions are regarded as stylistic devices. It is not a pure negation, but a negation that includes affirmation.
The stylistic effect of litotes depends mainly on intonation.
The function of litotes has much in common with that of understatement - both weaken the effect of the utterance. The uniqueness of litotes lies in its specific "double negative" structure and in its weakening only the positive evaluation.
Litotes is used in different styles of speech, excluding those which may be called the matter-of- fact styles, like official style and scientific prose. In poetry it is sometimes used to suggest that language fails to adequately convey the poet’s feelings and therefore he uses negations to express the inexpressible
48. Alliteration and assonance
Alliteration is a phonetic stylistic device, which gives a melodic effect to the utterance. It is the stylistically motivated repetition of similar sounds, in particular consonant sounds. The repeated sound is often met at the beginning of words.
E.g.: She sells sea shells on the sea shore.
Alliteration is often used in children’s rhymes. It emphasizes rhythm and makes rhymes easy to memorize. certain sounds, if repeated, may produce an effect that can be specified.
It is used much more in poetry than in emotive prose, in newspaper headlines, in titles of books, in proverbs and sayings, set expressions, football chants, etc. For example:
Ex: Tit for tat. Blind as bat. It is neck or nothing. Betwixt and between. “The School of Scandal”. “Sense and Sensibility”, etc.
Assonance is a stylistically motivated repetition of stressed vowels. The repeated sounds stand close together to create a euphonious effect and rhyme
e.g.: The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.
Just like alliteration, assonance makes texts easy to memorize. It is also popular in advertising for the same reason. Assonance is seldom met as an independent stylistic device. It is usually combined with alliteration, rhyming, and other devices.
E.g.: We love to spoon beneath the moon in June.
49. Onomatopoeia. It’s stylistic function.
Onomatopoeia is a combination of speech-sounds which aims at imitating sounds produced in nature (wind, sea, thunder, etc), by things (machines or tools, etc), by people (sighing, laughter, patter of feet, etc) and by animals.
There are two varieties of onomatopoeia: direct and indirect.
Direct onomatopoeia is contained in words that imitate natural sounds, as ding-dong, buzz, bang, cuckoo, Untinabulation, mew, ping-pong, roar and the like. These words have different degrees of imitative quality. Some of them immediately bring to mind whatever it is that produces the sound
Indirect onomatopoeia is a combination of sounds the aim of which is to make the sound of the utterance an echo of its sense. It is sometimes called “echo-writing”
Ex: tiger, tiger, burning bright In the forest of the night
50. Rhythm. It’s types and stylistic functions
Rhythm – is the sound pattern created by stressed and unstressed syllables.
Ex: I think that I shall never see the poem lovely as a tree
Underlined words are stressed and they have a regular pattern, so it has meter
Meter – is the regular patterns and stresses that found in many poems and the songs.
Rhythm is often combined with the Rhyme to add musical quality to the poem/
Types:
1. 1. Iamb (x /)
This is the most commonly used rhythm. It consists of two syllables, the first of which is not stressed, while the second syllable is stressed. Such as:
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
2. Trochee (/ x)
A trochee is a type of poetic foot commonly used in English poetry. It has two syllables, the first of which is strongly stressed, while the second syllable is unstressed, as given below:
“Tell me not, in mournful numbers”
3. Spondee (/ /)
Spondee is a poetic foot that has two syllables, which are consecutively stressed. For example:
“White founts falling in the Courts of the sun”
4. Dactyl (/ x x)
Dactyl is made up of three syllables. The first syllable is stressed, and the remaining two syllables are not stressed, such as in the word “marvelous.” For example:
“This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,”
5. Anapest (x x /)
Anapests are total opposites of dactyls. They have three syllables; where the first two syllables are not stressed, and the last syllable is stressed. For example:
” ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house,”
51. Rhyme. Types of rhyme
Rhyme is the second feature distinguishing verse from prose. It is the repetition of identical or similar final sounds of words. In poetry rhyme serves to bind lines together into large units.
With reference to the degree of similarity of sounds there are different rhymes:
1.Full rhyme - – the stressed vowels and consonants of the rhyming words are the same;
2.• vowel rhyme – when the stressed vowels coincide, and the consonants do not;
3.consonant rhyme – when the stressed vowels do not coincide, but the consonants are the same;
4.eye-rhyme – the similarity of spelling of the stressed syllables and difference in pronunciation.
2. TYPES OF RHYME
A perfect rhyme – also called a full rhyme, exact rhyme, or – rhyme – is when the final part of the word or phrase sounds identically to another word.
Perfect rhymes can be classified according to the number of syllables included in the rhyme. According to the structure of rhyme we can distinguish three different types:
1)Masculine rhyme
–the last stressed syllables are rhymed together;
2) Feminine rhyme
–the last two syllables are rhymed together, the 1st syllables are stressed;
3) Dactylic rhyme
–the last 3 syllables are rhymed together, the 1st syllables are stressed.
Masculine and feminine rhymes are typical of the English poetry.
As a rule it is single words that make a rhyme. These rhymes are simple.
Sometimes, however, a word rhymes with a word-group. These rhymes are compound.
52. Graphical expressive means
The intentional violation of the graphical shape of a word (or word combination) used to reflect its authentic pronunciation is called graphon.
According to the frequency of usage, variability of functions, the first place among graphical means of foregrounding is occupied by italics.
Besides italicizing words, to add to their logical or emotive significance, separate syllables and morphemes may also be emphasized by italics. Intensity of speech (often in commands) is transmitted through the multiplication of a grapheme or capitalization of the word, as in Babbitt's shriek "Alllll aboarrrrrd", or - "Help. Help. HELP."