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Файл:Стилистика английского языка. English Stylistics. Учебное пособие
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11
Introduction
or “imaginary” reader), the conventions of the text type or genre, etc.
(See Plan for complex stylistic analysis in Appendix 1.)
Self-control questions
1. What are the major branches of stylistics?
2. What is the concern of expressive stylistics?
3. How can you define the term stylistic information?
4. What is the difference between the notions of functional style and
individual style?
5. How do you understand the main aim of discourse analysis?
REFERENCES
Арнольд, М.В. Стилистика английского языка : учеб. / М.В. Арнольд.
4-е изд., испр. и доп. М. : Флинта ; Наука, 2002. – 383 с.
Бурлак, Т.Ф. Практикум по стилистике английского языка = A Practice
Book in English Stylistics / Т.Ф. Бурлак, Л.С. Крохалева, С.Е. Кунцевич.
Минск : МГЛУ, 2005. – 106 с.
Бурлак, Т.Ф. Функциональные стили английского языка = Functional
Styles of the English Language : учеб.-метод. пособие / Т.Ф. Бурлак [и др.]
Минск : МГЛУ, 2010. – 108 с.
Гальперин, И.Р. Стилистика английского языка = English Stylistics /
И.Р. Гальперин. 5-е изд. М. : Книжный дом "Либрокон", 2013. – 336 с.
Мальцев, В.А. Учебное пособие по аналитическому чтению /
В.А. Мальцев. Минск : Выш. шк., 1980. – 240 с.
Разинкина, Н.М. Функциональная стилистика (на материале
английского и русского языков) : учеб. пособие / Н.М. Разинкина. 2-е изд.,
испр. и доп. М. : Высш. шк., 2004. – 271 с.
PART I
EXPRESSIVE STYLISTICS
CHAPTER 1. LEXICAL STYLISTICS
THEORY
As a branch of general linguistics stylistics deals with two main tasks:
identification of stylistic means securing desirable effects of the utterance
and functional styles distinguished according to a particular sphere of
communication.
Stylistic means may be analysed at different language levels such as
phonetic, lexical, morphological, syntactical and the text level.
We will discuss lexical stylistic devices, which are termed tropes.
The term trope – originates from Ancient Greek tropos – to turn. A trope
is based on establishing connection between two notions, two things
being different on the whole, but understood to have some connection,
some similarity in the given context. From the linguistic point of view
lexical stylistic devices are based on the interplay of lexical meanings
and, thus, create imagery. In a wide sense, “image” means reflection of
reality in our mind. An artistic image is a unit of art which serves to
reflect reality as the author perceives it. But literature reflects life in
verbal images.
The verbal image according to Arnold I.V. is a complex phenomenon,
a double picture generated by linguistic means. It is based on the copresence of two thoughts active together:
the direct thought – t h e t e n o r (T);••
the figurative thought – t h e v e h i c l e (V).••
is the subject of thought, and the vehicle is the concept of
a thing, person, or an abstract notion with which the tenor is compared or
identified.
12
13
Chapter 1. Lexical stylistics
The structure of a verbal image also includes:
the ground of comparison (G) – the similar feature of T and V;••
the relation (R) between T and V;••
the type of identification or comparison; or the type of trope.••
The structural elements of a verbal image may be explicit or implicit.
This baby (T) is playful (G) like (R) a kitten. (V)
This baby (T)
This baby (T)
The kitten (V) is never tired of playing. (Said about the baby –
–
–
Trope
simile
is like (R) a kitten. (V)
– is a kitten. (V)
implicit T)
simile
noun metaphor
noun metaphor
We must remember that imagery may be created only by lexical
stylistic devices. All other stylistic devices (phonetic, graphic,
morphological, and syntactical) serve as intensifiers; they may add some
logical, emotive or expressive information to the utterance.
Professor Galperin I.R. suggested his classification of lexical stylistic
devices based on the interaction of different types of lexical meaning,
intensification of a certain feature of a thing or phenomenon and peculiar
use of set expressions.
Group Meaning Device
1. Dictionary and contextual
I. Interaction
of different types
of lexical meaning
II. Intensification of
a certain feature of a
thing or phenomenon
III. Peculiar use of
set expressions
2. Primary and derivative logical
3. Logical and emotive
4. Logical and nominal Antonomasia
–
–
Metaphor
Metonymy
Irony
Zeugma
Pun
Epithet
Oxymoron
Simile
Hyperbole
Periphrasis
Clichés
Proverbs and Sayings
Epigrams
Quotations
Allusions
Decomposition of set
phrases
14
Part I. EXPRESSIVE STYLISTICS
GROUP I. INTERACTION OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEXICAL
MEANING
Group I is subdivided into four subgroups depending on the types
of meanings involved (See the table above).
1. Interaction of primary dictionary and contextual
meanings (metaphor, metonymy, irony)
Metaphor (Gr. metaphora – transference) is based on transference of
meaning on the basis of similarity between tenor and vehicle (that is why
metaphor sometimes is called “compressed” simile). But the basis of
metaphor is the mental process of identification; unlike simile in metaphor
the ground of comparison is never stated openly. In case of metaphor, when
two objects are identified, like in T he to wn be lo w was a ma ze , their common
feature is pointed to and made prominent due to the author’s imagination.
So, formally we deal with the name transference based on similarity of one
feature common to two different objects, while in fact we identify one with
the other on the ground of the complexity of their characteristics. And the
wider the difference between the identified objects, the more evident the
expressive and evaluative function of the the metaphor is.
Metaphors can be expressed by all notional parts of speech – nouns,
verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
According to Maltzev V.A. structural types of noun metaphors
depending on the type of identification of T and V are as follows:
T is V (• Life is a hard book.);
T turns into V (• The waiting time turned into eternity.);
something makes T into V • (She made our life a misery.);
V replaces T (• Our ties are broken. ties – relationship).
In non-noun metaphors the vehicle is not expressed, it is implied:
His talent blossomed (V – flower). – It is a verb metaphor.
I ate an impatient sandwich while he finished speaking (V –
feelings). – It is an adjective metaphor.
Structurally, metaphors may be simple or sustained. There is only one
vehicle in a simple metaphor, while in a sustained, or prolonged,
metaphor there is the central vehicle supported by one or more contributory
15
Chapter 1. Lexical stylistics
vehicles: The patch of sun on the wall slowly knifes down, cuts across his
chest, becomes a coin on the floor.
A special kind of metaphor in which abstract ideas or inanimate
objects are identified with persons, that is, they are ascribed human
characteristics, is called personification. Personification is used to add
dramatic power to the utterance, to express the author’s vision of the
(possible) world, or to reflect his attitude to the characters or things
described. The formal indications of personification may be:
capitalizing: • If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster... ;
the use of the pronouns • he and she instead of it: The moon held
a finger to her lips;
the use of verbs • hold, look, want, think, smile and the like: Saturday
sang in his heart.
Accordingly, if abstract ideas or inanimate objects are identified with
beasts (animals), that is, are ascribed animal characteristics, such
metaphors are called zoonimic, or animalification: The fog comes on
little cat feet; It sits looking over harbor and city… .
According to the degree of unexpectedness, or originality, metaphors
may be subdivided into genuine tritehackneyed ordead. When
metaphors are often used they become trite, lose their originality, and
simply add expressiveness to the utterance: the leg of the table, the foot of
the mountain, etc.
Having become standardized through overuse, metaphors may also
exist as idioms: to be called to the carpet – to be criticised for one’s
behaviour.
Metonymy (Gr. metonymia – changing of names) is a trope in which
the name of a thing is replaced by the name of an associated thing. While
in metaphor the relation between tenor and vehicle is based on resemblance,
the function of metonymy is to reflect actually existing relations between
them, common grounds of existence in reality: The hall applauded (hall =
people).
The following t y p e s o f m e t o n y m y are differentiated:
the abstract stands for the concrete: • Her salon attracted the learning
of dozen provinces;
the container is mentioned instead of the contents: • The kettle is
boiling;
16
Part I. EXPRESSIVE STYLISTICS
the material is used instead of a thing made of it: • This silk fits you
perfectly;
the maker for the thing made: • He adores Mozart;
the instrument is put for the agent: • The guitar has the flu today;
a part is put for the whole (it is called • synecdoche): The farmer has
500 heads of cattle.
Irony (Gr. eirōneia – feigned ignorance) is a stylistic device in which
the contextual meaning of a word is diametrically opposite to its
dictionary meaning. It is used in ridicule, contempt or humour. Its
function is to show critical evaluative characteristics of the object from
the point of view of the speaker. Irony does not exist outside the context.
And as in irony positive concepts are used to convey negative information,
intonation plays an important role in it: A fine friend you are! (after he
let you down).
, the simplest one, involves a discrepancy between what
is said and what is really meant. In case of dramatic irony, a sense of
detached superiority is achieved, when the audience knows more about
the character’s situation than the character does. In “Othello”, for instance,
the readers are aware of Desdemona’s innocence, but Othello is not.
We may also speak of irony of the situation, the incongruity between
the results of the sequence of the described events and the normal,
expected results: Oh, great! (after something bad happened).
Bitter, socially or politically aimed irony is called sarcasm: Last time
it was a nice, simple, European-style war.
Self-control questions
1. What is metaphor?
2. How are metaphors classified according to their structure and the
degree of originality?
3. What are the main types of relations on which metonomy is
based?
4. What types of irony do you know?
17
Chapter 1. Lexical stylistics
2 . I n t er a ct i o n of p r i m a r y d ic t ion a r y a nd d e r i v a t iv e
logical meanings (zeugma, pun)
Zeugma (Gr. zeuguam – joining, uniting) is the use of a word in the
same grammatical but different semantic relations to two adjacent words
in the context; the semantic relations being on the one hand literal, on the
other – transferred. The resulting effect is highly humorous or ironic: He
missed his girl-friend and the train.
to miss – 1) ‘to perceive the absence or loss of’ (often with regret);
2) ‘to fail to catch’.
Zeugma may be of different g r a m m a t i c a l t y p e s :
the grammatical connection is everywhere the same, but each unit ••
refers to a semantic sphere inconsistent with the other: She possessed two
false teeth and a sympathetic heart (This one is perhaps the most
frequently used type of zeugma.);
one part – a free combination, the other – an idiomatic set phrase: ••
She plays the violin and he plays the second fiddle;
one part is an adverbial prepositional phrase, the other – a prepositional ••
object or an attribute: It was done in his office and by the end of the day.
The main function of zeugma is to achieve a humorous effect by the
seemingly illogical character of the utterance leading to the effect of
defeated expectancy.
Pun, or “ ” is another stylistic device based on the
interplay of two different meanings. The two distinct meanings are
suggested either by the same word (a case of polysemy) or by two similar
sounding words (a case of homophony). Its function is to reveal semantic
connections between objects belonging to different stylistic layers. Pun is
often used in riddles and jokes:
“What did the ocean say to Garfield?” “Nothing, it only waved”
(a case of polysemy).
Reading while sunbathing makes you well-red (a case of homophony).
Self-control questions
1. What is zeugma?
2. What are the structural types of zeugma?
18
Part I. EXPRESSIVE STYLISTICS
3. What is the difference between zeugma and pun?
4. What is the basic effect achieved by the play on words?
3. In t er a c ti o n o f l o g i c al a n d e m o t i v e m e an i n g s
(epithet and oxymoron)
Epithet (Gr. epitheton – addition) is a stylistic device which in its
attributive use aims at disclosing the individual perception and evaluation
of some features or properties of the object. Epithet plays an important
role in creating imagery. It differs from a logical attribute which is purely
objective and non-evaluative, as in: cold snow – logical attribute; cold
heart – epithet.
Structurally epithets may be classified into:
simple: •• a tired room;
compound: •• water-wrinkled hands (compound adjectives or parti-
ciples);
two-step: •• an unnaturally mild day (an adverb serving as an
intensifier + an adjective);
phrase / hyphenated: •• He lived a hand-to-mouth life... ;
reversed / inverted: •• the shadow of a smile (composed of two nouns
linked in an of-phrase in which the second noun is characterised);
a string of adjectives: •• the wonderful, cruel, enchanting, fatal city
(arranged in ascending order).
Semantically epithets are divided into:
associated with the noun they modify: •• dark clouds;
unassociated with the noun they modify, that add a feature which is ••
unexpected: the frowning sky.
U n a s s o c i a t e d e p i t h e t s are taken from another, sometimes
unexpected sphere, on the basis of some likeness. Their meanings become
clear only in the context, sometimes longer than a sentence. Such epithets
may be:
metaphorical (including personification and animalification): •• an
indifferent shoulder;
co•• mparative (morphologically mostly in the form of an adjective
with the word like): a lamp-like face;
synesthetical (based on some sense, creating a feeling characteristic ••
of another sense): a frozen smile, a sweet-voice, a cold stare;
19
Chapter 1. Lexical stylistics
onomotopaeic (imitating real sounds in nature): •• a roaring wind;
alliterative (adding to the rhythmical and sound effects of the ••
utterance): fantastic figure, sweet sorrow.
Oxymoron (Gr. oxys – sharp + moros – foolish) is a stylistic device in
which the tenor and the vehicle are diametrically opposite. As a result
a peculiar change in the meaning of the qualifying word occurs. Oxymoron
is sometimes called compressed paradox, as in ‘bitter sweet’. (Paradox is
a statement or expression so surprisingly contradictory as to provoke the
reader into seeing another sense or context to be true). At first sight
oxymoronic combinations may seem irrational, but on closer examination
its function is understood as that of disclosing the complexity of things
and the inner contradictions between objects and phenomena.
Oxymoron may be expressed in various ways, for instance:
by an adjective and a noun: •• careful carelessness;
a noun and a noun:•• student teacher;
a verb and an adverb: •• to shout mutely;
a non-attributive word combination: •• the street damaged by
improvements;
an adverb and an adjective:•• awfully pretty (In the latter case the
adverb loses its logical meaning and becomes a mere intensifier).
Self-control questions
1. What are the structural types of epithet?
2. What are the semantic types of epithet?
3. What is the difference between an epithet and a logical attribute?
4. What is oxymoron? By what parts of speech can it be expressed?
4. Interaction of logical and nominal meanings
(antonomasia)
Antonomasia (Lat., from Gr. antonomazein – to name instead) is
a stylistic device in which the proper name is used instead of a common
name and vice versa. The proper name of a person who was distinguished
by a particular characteristic is put for a person having the same
characteristic. This type of antonomasia describes a person’s features
through those commonly associated with the name of some historic figure
or some mythological, religious or literary character:
20
Part I. EXPRESSIVE STYLISTICS
Henry is the local Sherlock Holmes.
There is another kind of antonomasia in which some leading
characteristic of a person is put for the name of that person. In fact, this
kind of antonomasia reveals the initial stage in naming individuals:
We called him Mr. Fix-it.
Mr. Smith, Mr. Johnson.
The kind of antonomasia that is called speaking names refers mostly
to the names of literary characters whose origin from common nouns is
clearly perceived. It is often used in humorous writing: Mr. Dolittle.
There is another approach to the classification of antonomasia. One
can single out:
metaphoric•• antonomasia – a well-known name is used to charac-
terize somebody: Her son is a real Cicero;
metonymical•• antonomasia – the name of the creator is transferred
to the object created: He has sold his Picassos;
tell-telling names•• (in literature): Mr. Snake, Mr. Careless.
Antonomasia is used to give some additional information about a person
or a thing thus showing the author’s evaluative attitude to them.
Self-control questions
1. What is antonomasia?
2. What are the types of antonomasia?
3. What is the difference between metaphorical and metonymical
antonomasia?
GROUP II. INTENSIFICATION OF A CERTAIN FEATURE OF
A THING OR PHENOMENON (simile, hyperbole, periphrasis)
Simile (Lat. similis – similar) is a trope which draws an imaginative
comparison between the tenor and the vehicle belonging to entirely different
classes of things. By doing it simile foregrounds one or more points of
resemblance between two objects. The formal means of establishing
resemblance between the tenor and the vehicle in the simile are:
link words •• as, like establishing analogy categorically: He switched
off his smile like a bulb;
the word •• like may be used as a kind of suffix: a flower-like
symmetry;
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