Stylistic devices

CLASSES 7-8

A. THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES

Lexical Stylistic Devices

Lexical stylistic devices (SD) create verbal images. The verbal image is a pen-image of a thing, person or idea expressed in a figurative way by words used in their contextual meaning.

Metaphor is a form of comparison, an imaginative identification of one concept with another. Metaphors can be embodied in all the basic parts of speech – nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Metaphors may be simple or sustained, genuine or trite (e.g. His career was in ruins. He digested the information. In my foggy state… His face was deadly serious).

Many idioms in English are derived from metaphors (e.g. to call on the carpet; to be on the beam).

Personification is a special kind of metaphor in which a non-human subject is given human characteristics (e.g. The moon held a finger to her lips…).

Metonymy is a SD in which the name of a thing is replaced by the name of an associated thing (e.g. He bought a Ford. His pen is rather sharp.).

Irony is a SD based on the simultaneous realization of two meanings: the literal meaning is the opposite of the intended meaning, used in ridicule or humour (e.g. Nice weather, isn’t it (a rainy day)).

Zeugma is the blending together of two or more semantically incompatible word groups, having an identical lexical item, into a single construction in which this item is used only once (e.g. She took her breakfast and her bath. She dropped a tear and her pocket handkerchief (Dickens)).

Pun is the use of a word in such a manner as to bring out different meanings or applications, or the use of words alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning, often with humorous intent (e.g. We must all hang together, or we all hang separately).

Epithet is a SD based on the interplay of emotive and logical meaning of an attributive word or phrase used to characterize an object so as to give an individual perception and evaluation of some features or properties. It differs from the logical attribute, which is purely objective and non-evaluating (e.g. heart-burning smile; animal panic; I-am-not-that-kind-of-girl look).

Oxymoron is a combination of two words with opposite meanings (e.g. living death; a pleasantly ugly face; sweet sorrow).

Antonomasia is a SD in which the proper name of a person, who is famous for some of his features, is put for a person having the same feature. It may also be a use of a common name for a proper one. (e.g. Her husband is Othello. Mr. Know-All. Becky Sharp).

Simile. The intensification of some feature of a thing is realized in simile. To use simile is to characterize the object by bringing it into contrast with another object belonging to an entirely different class of things. Comparison in simile is established by:

- link words “as”, “like” (e.g. He has always been as live as a bird);

- link words “as though”, “as if” (e.g. He looked as if he had been tortured);

- lexical means to express resemblance: to remind, to seem, to resemble.

Simile mustn’t be confused with logical comparison, which brings together two things belonging to one class (e.g. The boy is as tall as his father).

Hyperbole is a deliberate overstatement or exaggeration of a feature essential to the object (e.g. He has written barrels of stories). A variant of hyperbole is understatement in which smallness is exaggerated (e.g. A woman of pocket size). Many hyperboles have become trite, they are used in daily speech without specific artistic effect (e.g. Haven’t seen you for ages. I’d give the world to see her).

Periphrasis is a roundabout way used to name object or phenomenon (e.g. the fair sex (women), my better half (wife)). There are three types of periphrases:

a) logical periphrasis, e.g. instruments of destruction (weapons);

b) figurative periphrasis, e.g. to tie the knot (to get married);

c) euphemisms, e.g. to pass away, to go west (to die).

The cliché is a word or expression which has lost its originality or effectiveness because it has been used too often (e.g. rosy dreams of youth, rising expectations).

Proverbs are short, well-known, supposedly wise sayings, usually in simple language (e.g. Where there is a will, there is a way. God helps those who help themselves). Proverbs are expressions of culture that are passed from generation to generation. They are words of wisdom of culture that reflects the people’s values and attitudes towards life.

Epigrams are short clever sayings or poems. In most cases epigrams are witty statements coined by some individuals whose names we know (e.g. O. Wilde: A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to a trip).

Quotations are phrases or sentences taken from a work of literature or other piece of writing and repeated in order to prove a point or support an argument. Quotations are usually marked graphically by inverted commas, dashes or italics; they are accompanied by a reference to the offer of the quotation.

Syntactical Stylistic Devices

Syntax deals with the patterns of word arrangement and formulates rules for correct sentence building. Sometimes a need arises to intensify the utterance and the normative structures are replaced by syntactical stylistic devices.

The English language is characterized by such specific syntactical features as fixed word order. Normative is the following word order in a sentence, presented symbolically: Subject, Predicate, Object, Modifier. Any shift from this word order results in some effect, and can carry stylistic function.

Inversion aims at giving additional logical or emotional stress to the meaning of the utterance. Inversion may be complete – when the predicate is displaced; and partial – with the displacement of secondary members of the sentence. The examples of inversion are:

1. Over everything she thought and thought.

2. Spring began with first flowers, rather cold and shy and wintry.

3. Shameless and fascinating the advertisements were.

4. Weakly she climbed the stairs and opened the door.

Detachment gives a greater significance to a secondary member of a sentence, usually an attribute or an adverbial modifier. Commas, dashes or full stops are used in detachment. (e.g. He looked around, expectant. She was gone. For good). A variant of detachment is called parenthesis (e.g. I know (if only I could forget it) that you killed her).

Parallel constructions. The necessary condition in parallel constructions is identical, or similar, syntactical structure in two or more sentences or parts of a sentence in close succession.

Chiasmus is based on the repetition of syntactical patterns, but it has reversed order in one of the two utterances (e.g. She rose up and down sat he.

In the days of old men made manners

Manners now make men (Byron)).

Repetition is a SD based on repeating words, word groups or sentences for some stylistic purposes: to draw the attention of the reader to the key word of the utterance, to emphasize the main idea of the sentence. The varieties of repetition are:

a) simple repetition – a repeated use of the same word or sentence one after another;

b) anaphora – the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive clauses or paragraphs;

c) epiphora – the repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences;

d) framing – the initial elements at the end of the utterance or a paragraph;

e) anadiplosis – rhetorical repetition of the words that end the clause at the beginning of the next one (e.g. She was so beautiful, more beautiful than “D”).

Enumeration is a SD by which separate things, properties or actions are brought together forming a chain or grammatically and semantically homogeneous parts of an utterance (e.g. She wasn’t sure of anything any more, of him, herself, their friends, her work, her future).

Suspence is a SD based on the author’s desire to delay giving the reader the most important information. In trying to do so, he puts the less important, subordinate facts and details first withholding the main idea until the end of the sentence. Its function is to keep the reader in a state of uncertainty and expectation (e.g. Two women who were hasting home to scramble husbands’ dinners together – it was five minutes to four – stopped to look at her).

Climax (gradation) is an ascending series of words or utterances in which intensity and significance increase step by step (e.g. Not a dollar – not a penny of my money will I devote to anyone who could be guilty of such a crime. What difference if it rained, hailed, blew, snowed, cyclone? (o’Henry)). There exist:

a) logical climax;

b) emotional climax;

c) quantitative climax.

Antithesis is a balanced, two-step structure in which the antagonistic objects or ideas are presented by dictionary or contextual antonyms (e.g. For many called but few are chosen. His fees were high, his lessons were light (O’Henry). Youth is lovely, age is lonely; Youth is fiery, age is frost (Longfellow)).

Asyndeton is a deliberate avoidance of conjunctions in constructions in which they would normally be used (e.g. the omission of therefore: You are my wife; you are dearer to me than anyone in the world).

Polysyndeton is an intentional repetition of conjunctions, connectives or prepositions in close succession for emphasizing simultaneousness of actions described (e.g. All the inhabitants dress themselves in boating costumes, and come and march, and flirt and smoke and watch the boats).

Gap-sentence-link is a peculiar way of connection, which is mainly found in dialogues and represented speech. Its essence lies in the formal separation of the two parts of the utterance by a full stop (e.g. Nothing says we have to do it now. Or later).

Ellipsis is the omission of a word or words necessary for the complete syntactical construction of a sentence, but not necessary for understanding (e.g. You feel all right? Anything wrong or what?)

Aposiopesis is a sudden and dramatic breaking off of a thought in the middle of a sentence as though the speaker were unwilling or unable to continue (e.g. Oh. I want to help you, Andrew, only – do you really believe – …).

Question-in-the-Narrative is a question asked solely to produce an emotional effect. The answer is either self evident or immediately provided by the questioner (e.g. But if you can’t help yourself, who can? I suppose nobody).

Represented speech. English writers use the following ways of reproducing actual speech:

a) direct speech representing it as it is;

b) indirect speech representing actual speech through the author’s speech;

c) represented speech reproduces the spoken words or thoughts of a character almost directly, but still within the author’s speech (e.g. It was funny to think that in a few hours she would be someone else, someone’s wife… what did that mean? Who would she be then?)

Rhetorical questions are questions that expect no answer. They are asked in order to make a statement rather than to elicit a reply (e.g. If both ways led to terror, and death what good lay in choice?) Simultaneous realization of two meanings – that of a question and that of an assertion – endows the utterance with an emotional charge.

Litotes is a device whereby an affirmation is expressed by denying its contrary. Usually litotes presupposes doublenegation – one through a negative particle (no, not) the other – through a word with negative meaning (e.g. Not hopeless. Not without love).

B. TASKS

1. Complete the following phrases and sentences with one word for each gap:

- He’s been avoiding me like … since our quarrel.

- She went as white as … when she heard the news.

- She arrives every day at five, regular as ….

- The new portable computers are going like ….

- He is dead, as sure as ….

- He was like … before his driving test.

- And there she was, as large as ….

- The children were as good as … when you were out.

- Her skin is still as smooth as ….

- The children are as busy as …, helping their mother in the garden.

2. Complete the similes below:

- as … as thieves

- as … as a mule

- as … as a hatter/a March hare

- as … as a lamb

- as … as dust

- as … as a lord

- as … as dirt

- as … as an owl

- as … as a horse/ox

- as … as chalk and cheese

- as … as a picture

- as … as ABC

- as … as sin

- as … as a bug in a rug

3. Find and explain examples of metaphorical use:

- Do tear yourself from the television and come out for a walk.

- International law is a minefield for anyone not familiar with its complexity.

- Pity melted her heart.

- Overnight trading caused share prices to zoom up.

- I tried to sell him my old car, but he wouldn’t bite.

- Their house was a great barracks of a place.

- The film has been minutely dissected by the critics.

- The prospects couldn’t be rosier.

- He gave me a frosty look.

- His sinister threat chilled all who heard it.

- He had to smother a giggle.

- His hopes evaporated.

- Violence is a cancer in our society.

- When I gave a chance, he grabbed it at once.

4. Sort the sentences below into two groups to indicate a positive or a negative meaning:

- The car is incredibly, heartstoppingly beautiful.

- My own life had been so respectable and sheltered in comparison.

- Louise was small but shapely in build.

- Don’t be so childish!

- It turned out to be the most ghastly place you can imagine.

- Tenerife was certainly a disastrous choice.

- There’s one really classy hotel, with a pool in a beautiful shady garden, and a decent restaurant.

- You never saw such a barren, boring landscape in your life, like the surface of the moon in a heatwave.

- Our wedding was a particularly gruesome, with the two sets of totally incompatible relatives grinding and grating against each other.

- Those terrible overalls would make anyone look slovenly.

- Take no notice of him – you know what a show-off he is.

- I swelled with the pride of possession.

5. Study the following examples and explain how the descriptions in them are made so vivid and exciting:

- The solution to the mystery burst inside my head like a flare.

- I felt like a sponge that had been saturated and squeezed so often it had lost its spring.

- He took it as a slap in the face.

- They received him with open arms as if he was a long-lost son.

- They hadn’t given me a chance to say a word all this time – I was just looking from one to the other like a spectator at Wimbledon.

- Maureen was always brimming over with news, gossip, anecdotes, whenever we met.

- That was a possibility as remote as flying to the moon.

- I feel self-esteem leaking out of me like water from an old bucket.

- I sense a storm of depression flickering on the horizon, and a tidal wave of despair gathering itself to swamp me.

- The pen is like a tool, a cutting or digging tool, slicing down to the roots, probing the rockbed of memory.

- When I finished the course, my obsession returned like a rabid Rottweiler freed from the leash.

6. Read the advertisements and explain the use of pun:

- When you decide to give her a ring, give us a ring. (Advertisement for a jeweller’s shop)

- For a few pounds you may lose a few. (Advertisement for a slimming course)

- Go up in the world.(Advertisement to recruit air stewards and stewardesses)

- We’ll give you sound advice. (Hi-fi shop advertisement)

- Your views are reflected in the Mirror. (Advertisement for The Mirror newspaper)

- Money matters. (Title of the financial section of a newspaper)

- It’s good for you, naturally. (Advertisement for fruit juice)

- Sea for yourself. (Advertisement to attract recruits to the Royal Navy)

- Christmas is a time to think of family ties. Buy ours. (Advertisement for men’s ties)

- The weather-men can’t guarantee you an Indian summer, but we can. (Travel agency advertisement)

7. Complete the jokes with puns:

Present, fork, fine, pretty ugly, change, poor

a. – Have you noticed any … in me?

– No! Why?

– I’ve just swallowed a coin accidentally.

b. – Some girls think I’m handsome and some girls think that I’m horrible. What do you think, Mary?

– A bit of both, ….

c. – You have to be rich to play golf.

– Then why are there so many … players?

d. – I think we’ve just had a puncture.

– How did it happen?

– There was a … in the road.

e. – Well, son, how was your first day at the new school?

– Great! The teacher is going to give me a gift.

– How do you know that?

– Well, when I arrived, she pointed to a chair in the corner and said, Sit over there for the ….

f. – Why did you park your car here when it’s forbidden?

– But the sign says, … FOR PARKING!

C. PRACTICAL ANALYSIS

STORY 1

Read the story “Еру Story-Teller” by Saki and be ready to interpret it.

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