- •General Notes on Style and Stylistics
- •Stylistics and Other Linguistic Sciences
- •Meaning from a Stylistic Point of View
- •Stylistic Devices
- •Lexical Stylistic Devices
- •EMs and sDs based on the interaction of primary and contextual meanings
- •Em and sd based on the interplay of primary (dictionary) and derivative meanings (zeugma, pun, violation of phraseological units)
- •Sd based on the interaction between the logical and the nominal meanings of the word
- •Em and sd based on the interaction between the logical and emotive meanings
- •EMs and sDs which give additional characteristics to the objects described
- •Syntactical Stylistic Devices
- •SDs used within a sentence. SDs based on the juxtaposition (соположение) of different parts of the utterance
- •SDs based on the peculiarities of oral speech
- •SDs based on the stylistic use of interrogative and negative constructions (rhetorical questions, litotes)
- •SDs used within an utterance sDs based on parallelism
- •SDs Based on Repetition
- •Functional Style of the English Language
- •The Belles-Lettres Functional Style (the Style of Fiction)
- •The Scientific Prose Style
- •Popular Science prose
- •Newspaper Style
- •Paper 1
- •Paper 2
- •4. Answer the questions in writing
- •Translate the sentences and analyze the cases of metonymy
- •Paper 3
- •4. Give examples of irony and sarcasm.
- •5. Answer the questions in writing
- •Paper 4
- •5. Answer the questions in writing
- •6. Translate the sentences in writing. Indicate the types of cases of play on words, how it is created, what effect it adds to the utterance
- •Paper 5
- •Give your examples of antonomasia.
- •Analyze the following cases of antonomasia
- •Paper 6
- •Give your examples of different types of epithet
- •Define the type and function of epithet. Translate the sentences
- •Paper 7
- •Give your own examples of hyperbole, understatement and oxymoron.
- •7. In the following examples concentrate on cases of hyperbole and understatement. Translate the sentences.
- •Translate the following sentences, pay attention to oxymoron.
- •Paper 8
- •Learn the following phrases and use them in your own sentences:
- •4. Discuss the following cases of simile
- •Paper 9
- •3. Define the periphrases in the sentences and state their type:
- •Paper 10
- •7. Find examples of inversion and detachment in w. S. Maugham’s novel “Theatre”.
- •8. Analyze cases of inversion and detachment. Make the sentences sound neutral by restoring the word order
- •Paper 11
- •4. Find examples of represented speeh, rhetorical questions in w. S. Maugham’s novel “Theatre”.
- •5. Discuss different types of stylistic devices dealing with the completeness of the sentences
- •Analyze the structure and the functions of litotes
- •Paper 12
- •5. Find and analyze cases of suspense and climax. Indicate the type of climax
- •Paper 13
- •3. Discuss the semantic centre and structural peculiarities of antithesis
- •Paper 14
- •3. Find cases of different types of repetition, parallelism and chiasmus in w.S Maugham’s novel “Theatre”
- •4. Define repetition, parallelism and chiasmus
- •Paper 15
Em and sd based on the interplay of primary (dictionary) and derivative meanings (zeugma, pun, violation of phraseological units)
Zeugma is a simultaneous realization within the same context of two meanings of a polysemantic verb which is deliberately used with two or more homogeneous members that are not connected semantically.
E.g. He took his hat and his leave(to take leave and to take a hat).
She put on a little wide frock that suited the river side and her (to suit smb and to suit the occasion).
Pun is a SD based on the interaction of two well-known meanings of a word or a phrase. In is based on the simultaneous realization within the same short context of two meanings of a polysemantic word, but when the word is repeated. (It can be misinterpretation of one speaker’s utterance by the other, which results in his remark dealing with a different meaning of the misinterpreted word or its homonym.
E.g. –Did you hit the woman with a child?
- No, Sir, I hit her with a brick.
Violation of a Phraseological Unit. The inner mechanism of this SD lies in the literary interpretation of the elements of the phraseological unit.
E.g. Little John had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth which was rather curly and large (to be born with a sliver spoon in one’s mouth - to have luck; compare: родиться в рубашке).
Sd based on the interaction between the logical and the nominal meanings of the word
Antonomasia – антономосия
It is a SD in which a proper name is used instead of a common noun or vice versa. There are two groups of antonomasia:
To the first group we refer the case in which a proper name is used instead of a common noun. Proper names in this type of antonomasia express some quality which has the leading passion with the character whose name is used.
E.g. Othello – a jealous person; Don Juan – an amorous person; Cinderella – a beautiful, kind girl.
This type of antonomasia is trite because the author repeats the well-known often mentioned facts.
We observe the interaction between the logical and the contextual nominal meanings of the word. This means that any common noun can be used as a name. it is always original. In such cases the person’s name becomes his first characteristics. They are called telling names or speaking names. Here are some Sheridan’s characters’ names: Mr. Snake (Мистер Гад), Mr. Backbite (Мистер Клеветаун), and Mr. Credulous (Мистер Доверг).
This SD is used to create a humorous effect. Antonomasia is created mainly by nouns, more seldom by attributive combinations (e.g. Doctor Fresh Air) or phrases (e.g. Mr. What’s-his-name). Common nouns used in the second type of antonomasia are in most cases abstract though there are instances of concrete ones being used to.
Em and sd based on the interaction between the logical and emotive meanings
They are epithet, hyperbole and oxymoron.
Epithet is a SD which expresses a characteristic of an object both existing and imaginary. Its basic features are emotiveness and subjectivity, the characteristic, attached to the object to qualify it, is always chosen by the speaker himself.
The logical attribute is purely objective, non-evaluating. It is descriptive and indicates an inherent or prominent feature of the thing or phenomenon in question.
E.g. white snow, round table, blue skies.
Epithet can be trite and original. Through low and repeated use epithet becomes trite or fixed. Many fixed epithets are closely connected with folklore and can be traced back to the folk ballads.
e.g. true love – верная любовь; Merry Christmas; красна девица; чисто поле.
Those which were first fond in Homer’s poetry and have been repeated since are known as Homeric Epithets.
e.g. swift-footed Achilles; rosy-fingered dawn.
Epithet may be classified from different standpoints: semantic and structural. The structure and semantic of epithet is extremely variable. Semantically, epithets may be divided into two groups: 1) affective (emotive) or associated with the noun following and 2) figurative or unassociated with the noun.
Affective (emotive)/associated epithets are those which point to a feature which is essential to the object they describe.
e.g. dark forest, nasty weather, fantastic terrors.
Figurative or unassociated epithets are attributes used to characterize the object by adding a feature not inherent in it. This group falls into a) metaphoric e.g. the frowning sun; b) transferred epithets e.g. Most of the day she spent before the solitary fire = it was the girl who was solitary before the fire.
The structure of epithets can be of 6 types. Epithets can be:
single;
pair;
chain;
two-step;
inverted;
phrase.
Pairs are represented by two epithets joined by a conjunction or asyndetically
E.g. wonderful and incomparable beauty; a tired old town.
Chains, also called strings of epithets, present a group of homogeneous epithets
E.g. she was hopefully, sadly, vaguely, madly longing for something better.
Two-step epithets are so called because the process of qualifying seemingly passes two stages: the qualification of an object and the qualification of the qualification:
E.g. an unnaturally mild day.
Inverted epithets are based on the contradiction between the logical and syntactical: logically defining becomes syntactically defined and vice versa.
E.g. this devil of a woman:
1. syntactically “of a woman” is defining, “devil” is defined;
2. logically “of a woman” is defined and “devil” is defining.
An inverted epithet should not be mixed up with an ordinary of-phrase
E.g. The toy of the girl = the toy belonging to the girl;
The toy of a girl = a small toy like girl;
The kitten of the woman = the cat belonging to the woman;
The kitten of a woman = a kitten like woman.
Phrase epithets always produce an original impression. The words in this kind of epithets are hyphenated e.g. a-move-if-you-dare expression.
Hyperbole is a SD which has the function of intensifying one certain property of the object described. It is a deliberate overstatement or exaggeration of a feature essential to the object or phenomenon. The use of hyperbole shows the overflow of emotions in the speaker and the listener is carried away by the flood. Hyperbole is one of the most common EM of our everyday speech. When we describe our anger or admiration we use trite hyperboles which have lost their originality and remained signals of the speaker’s roused emotions.
E.g. I have told you a thousand times.
Hyperbole can be expressed by all notional parts of speech. There are words which are used in this SD more often. They are such pronouns as all, every, everybody and the like; numeral nouns a million, a thousand; adverbs of time ever, never.
There is one more SD with the same mechanism. It is understatement. While hyperbole enlarges, understatement diminishes the size, shape, dimensions, characteristic feature of the object
E.g. The little woman, for she was of a pocket size, crossed her hands solemnly on her middle.
Oxymoron presents a combination of two contrasting ideas. It is a combination of two words in which the meanings of the two clash, being opposite in sense. One of the components discloses some objectively existing feature of quality while the other serves to convey the author’s (the character’s) personal attitude. The usual patterns of oxymoron are an adjective and a noun or an adverb and a verb.
E.g. It was you who made me a liar, she cried silently. (cried – subjective; silently – objective).