Adjectives, stylistic function of degrees of comparison

Adjectives possess a single grammatical category of comparison, meant to portray the degrees of intensity with the help of comparative and superlative degrees contributing to the expressive stylistic function: ‘a most valuable idea, the newest fashion of all, a foolish, foolish wife, my wife is a foolishness herself, Is she as foolish as that?’.

The usage of the comparative degree with other than qualitative adjectives makes them foregrounded due to their expressiveness: ‘“You cannot be deader than the dead” (E.Hemingway).Polysyllabic adjectives form degrees of comparison with more and most, but in case of the synthetic forms –er and –est the utterance sounds expressive and stylistically relevant: ‘Curiouser and curiouser! Cried Alice (she was so much surprised that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English’ (L.Carrol). This device is used in the language of advertising thus breaking the valency of the incompatible elements joined together: “the orangemostest drink in the world”. There are several structural combinations with adjectives that are very expressive: A duck of a boy. A devil of a fellow. Good and strong. Nice and warm. Most happy. Much of a lad. More of a realist; very happy; most happy; the greatest pleasure.

Stylistic functions of verbal categories

Stylistic potentialities of verbs are not enough investigated. Transposition is one of the main sources of expressiveness. Transposition from the past to the present is stylistically relevant. It brings the events which happened in the past closer to the reader. Description becomes more vivid and lively. This kind of transposition is called Historical (dramatic) present.

Historical present instead of the past: “And then on the night of the banquet she appears in her emeralds, and throughout the evening Max pays attention to no one else”. (M.Mitchel) (to make the narrative more vivid and dramatic).

“Looking back, as I was saying into the back of my infancy, the first objects I can remember as standing out by themselves from a confusion of things, are my mother and Pegotty, what else do I remember? Let me see… There comes out of the cloud, our house – not new to me, but quite familiar, in its earliest remembrance. On the ground floor is Pegotty’s kitchen, opening into a back yard…” (Ch.Dickens)

Transposition of the future to the present to stress its potential possibility: “But mark my words! The first woman, who fishes for him, hooks him!”

Transposition of the Imperative mood to the Indicative mood:

“I can’t stand it! Don’t tempt me! You are coming home with me now” (Dr.) - (in emotional speech of characters)

Transposition of tenses in speech characterization in colloquial speech: “I says, he, she ain’t; You done me an ill turn”.

Archaic verbal forms are stylistically marked: dost, knowest, doth, liveth – to create the atmosphere of antiquity in historical novels and in poetry.

Transposition from future into present tenses:’ It’s a mercy that he did not bring us over a black daughter-in-law, my dear. But mark my words, the first woman who fishes for him, hooks him. (Future action seems potentially performed).

Indefinite >Continuous: “suddenly their heads cast shadows forward. A car behind them is coming up the hill. Its lights dilate and sway around them” (J.Updyke). Past event are described as if going on before the eyes of the reader who becomes a participant of the events.

Indicative<> Imperative: “I can’t stand it! Don’t tempt me! You’re coming home with me now”! (Dreiser). - (in emotional speech of characters)

Transposition of auxiliaries may be not only expressive but also functional – stylistic. Thus, in speech characterization of heroes there appear the forms of colloquial speech: I, he, and we ain’t, I says, we has (was, is). You done me an ill turn. Time ‘as changed.

Archaic verbal forms: -st, dost, -th, doth (knowest, knoweth, liveth) create the atmosphere of the past centuries and a highly elevated coloring.

Modal verbs used in pseudo–clauses acquire expressiveness and indignation mixed with nervousness: ‘That he should be so careless!’ ‘Not that they should give a warning’.

Grammatical forms (modal verbs) may acquire expressiveness when repeated several times:

And Death shall have no dominion

Dead men naked, they shall be one

With man in the wind and the west moon;

When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,

They shall have stars at elbow and foot;

Though they go mad they shall be sane,

Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;

Though lovers be lost love shall not,

And death shall have no dominion (D.Thomas).

The idea of the union of man and nature is intensified in the constant and insistent repetition of shall indicating in this context not only modality but promise and solemn prophecy. It makes the poem very expressive and emotional, pointing out persistent necessity and affirmation.

Adverbs are not enough investigated. Their stylistic relevance in the scientific texts is based on their usage as logical connectives. Logical sequence of utterances is achieved with the help of an adverb now in the scientific style.

“Now there is no normal process except death which completely clears the brains from all past impressions; and after death it is impossible to set it going again”. (N.Viner)

Now- right away - (in colloquial speech): She also senses this terrific empathy from him right away.

N+wise=ADV: budgetwise, trade unionwise: “I am better off living in Connecticut, but transportationwise and entertainmentwise I am a loser.”

In fiction verbs are used to create the temporal plane of narration. In E. Hemingway’s novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” the adverb ‘now’ serves a metronome of dramatic actions before and after the explosion of the bridge. Now, ever, never, forever are the key-words in E. Hemingway’s prose presenting the shift of the past, present and future. Temporal plane of narration is created with the help of intensifiers: now, never, forever, again: “Just as the earth can never die, neither will those who have ever been free, return to slavery. There is forever for them to remember them in”. (E. Hemingway) - The stylistic function of intensification.