Stylistic devices Stylistic device Definition Example LEXICAL STYLISTIC DEVICES the usage of a proper Don Juan, name instead of a Molchalin, Mr Zero common one 1 Antonomasia 2 Metaphor comparing two different things in a figurative sense 3 Metonymy The usage of figurative expressions that are closely associated with the subject in terms of place, time or background Synecdoche using the name of a part to denote a whole or vice versa the clash of two diametrically opposite meanings within the same context, which is sustained in oral speech by intonation 4 Irony 5 Hyperbole deliberate exaggeration of some quantity, quality, size, etc. He is a mule. He is not a man, he is just a machine! The White House declared … (White House = US government / President) The land belongs to the crown. (crown = king / queen / royal family / monarchy) bread (for food) Stylistic Functions -to point out the leading, most characteristic features of a person or of event. - to categorize the person and simultaneously indicate both the general and the particular - to enrich the language; -to make the described object more vivid, complete; - to fix the attention on the characteristics described. - to create a more vivid image; - to contribute towards a more colourful and emotional presentation of the scene; - to enable to better understanding somebody’s inner state of mind. Well done! A fine friend you are! (when this phrase is used to blame the person) - is often used to blame - will draw attention to its actual meaning; - to create humorous effect; - to expose social phenomena or some traits of character I was so hungry, I could eat an elephant. I have told you a thousand times. - not to persuade or to deceive, but to emphasize a feeling or to produce a humorous effect. It is not to be taken literally; - to contribute to the emotional manner of representation 6 Epithet A word or expression used to characterize an object and to point out to the reader some properties or features of the object heart-burning - give subjective smile; sleepless bay; evaluation of an object; - to give an expressive characterization of the object described; - to disclose the emotionally coloured attitude of the writer towards the person or thing qualified. 7 Oxymoron joining two antonymous words into one syntagm adoring hatred; shouted silently - to express complex things or to unite contrasting things; - to indicate roused emotions; - to convey the author’s or the character’s personal attitude towards what is modified. 8 Pun play of words in which a humorous effect is produced by using a word that suggests two or more meanings or by exploiting similar sounding words having different meanings The name Justin Time sounds like "just in time" I have no idea how worms reproduce but you often find them in pairs (pears). - to make the reader laugh; - add profound meanings to texts and shape the way in which the text is interpreted by the readers; -create witty and vivid expressions. the use of a longer phrasing in place of a possible shorter and planer form of expression an indirect reference to a person, event or piece of literature, which is commonly known the play of swords (battle); the cap and gown (student) -to single out some features of an object; -to avoid unpleasant expressions to meet one’s Waterloo (allusion on Napoleons defeat in the Battle of Waterloo); to wash one’s - to make the speech more vivid 10 Periphrasis 11 Allusion hands of it. (allusion on Pontius Pilatus, who sentenced Jesus to death, but washed his hands afterwards to demonstrate that he was not to blame for it.); SYNTACTICAL STYLISTIC DEVICES 1 Inversion intentional changing word-order of the initial sentence model Came frightful days of snow and rain. (full inversion) Talent Mr. Micawber has; capital Mr. Micawber has not. (partial inversion) - to attract special reader’s attention to the part of the sentence thus shifted into the front opening position; - to emphasize the idea expressed in the sentence or passage; - to give the description an emotional colouring and to intensify the main character’s feelings. 2 Rhetoric questions affirmative or negative statements put into the interrogative shape A rhetoric question needs no answer, because the answer to it is quite obvious. Me a liar? 3 Ellipsis a syntactic structure in which there is no subject, or predicate, or both - Hullo! Who are you? - The staff. - to attract reader’s attention to a certain point of discourse; - to make the reader think over the question; - to intensify one’s feelings. - to reduces redundancy of speech; - to reveal such speakers' emotions as excitement, impatience, delight, etc. - is an effective means of protagonists' portrayal. 4 Parenthesis a qualifying, Carl, a great singer, explanatory or was not a good appositive word, phrase, dancer. sentence, etc. which interrupts a syntactic construction, giving an 5 Aposiopesis 6 Repetition 7 Parallel constructions utterance an additional meaning or emotional colouring incompleteness of sentence structure, though this incompleteness is of different structural and semantic nature: it appears when the speaker is unwilling to proceed and breaks off his narration abruptly The graphic indication of an aposiopesis is, as a rule, a dash or dots. If you go on like this... - to indicate strong emotions paralyzing the character’s speech; - to show the character’s deliberate stop in the utterance to conceal its meaning. repetition of language units in speech (separate words, wordcombinations or sentences) Never take the rifle again. Put it back! put it back! Put it back! Victory is what we need. Victory is what we expect.(anaphora) It is natural to be scared in a case like that. You are sure to be petrified in a case like that. (epiphora) Poor Mary. How much Jack loved her! What will he do now? I wish it hadn't happened. Poor Mary.(framing) - to create emphasis and -- to attract special attention of the reader to what is expressed in the repeated part producing two or more syntactic structures according to the same syntactic pattern Mary cooked dinner, John watched TV, Pete played tennis. - to create rhythm (typical of poetry); - to make speech persuasive (a feature of the publicistic and oratory styles); - to underline important information (widely used in everyday peech); - to bring forth either the similarity or the difference between the objects compared. LEXICO-SYNTACTICAL STYLISTIC DEVICES a structure consisting of Speech is silver, but - is to accentuate the two steps, the lexical silence is gold. difference in the meanings of which are Patience is bitter, nature of the things opposite to each other. but it has a sweet described fruit. 2 Antithesis 3 Litotes double negation not hopeless; not too awful 4 Simile a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things Our soldiers are as brave as lions. Her cheeks are red like a rose. He is as funny as a monkey. 5 Represented speech a phrase representing the character's thoughts which were not uttered aloud I shook her as hard as I could. I’d done it in play before, when she’d asked me to hurt her, please, hurt her, but this time I was in brutal earnest. - to convey the doubts of the speaker concerning the exact characteristics of the object in question - to compare things or phenomena mentioned. - to allow the writer in a condensed and seemingly objective manner to lead the reader into the inner workings of human mind; - to render the character’s words which were not uttered aloud; - to reveal the character’s psychology or temporary mental state. GRAPHICAL AND PHONETIC EXPRESSIVE MEANS 1 Emphatic punctuation Special use of punctuation marks, violating the norms of language And there, drinking at the bar was— Finney! 2 The changed type or spelling multiplication hyphenation 'laaarge', 'rrruin'; 'des-pise', 'g-irl' 3 graphon graphical fixation of - Hullo! - to convey in the written form those emotions hich in the oral type of speech are expressed by intonation and stress - to indicate the additional stress on the emphasized word or part of the word to indicate blurred, phonetic peculiarities of pronunciation with the ensuing violation of the accepted spelling incoherent or careless pronunciation, caused by temporary (tender age, intoxication, ignorance of the discussed theme, etc.) or by permanent factors (social, territorial, educational status, etc.). An abstract for analysis. She did not, however, let this melancholy reflection disturb her serenity for long. Her elation was indeed such that she felt capable of creating dramatists from the vast inane as Deucalion created men from the stones of the field. "What nonsense that was that Roger talked the other day, and poor Charles, who seemed to take it seriously. He's a silly little prig, that's all." She indicated a gesture towards the dance room. The lights had been lowered, and from where she sat it looked more than ever like a scene in a play." 'All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.' But there's the illusion, through that archway; it's we, the actors, who are the reality. That's the answer to Roger. They are our raw material. We are the meaning of their lives. We take their silly little emotions and turn them into art, out of them we create beauty, and their significance is that they form the audience we must have to fulfil ourselves. They are the instruments on which we play, and what is an instrument without somebody to play on it?" The notion exhilarated her, and for a moment or two she savo- ured it with satisfaction. Her brain seemed miraculously lucid. "Roger says we don't exist. Why, it's only we who do exist. They are the shadows and we give them substance. We are the symbols of all this confused, aimless struggling that they call life, and it's only the symbol which is real. They say acting is only make-believe. That make-believe is the only reality." Thus Julia out of her own head framed anew the platonic theory of ideas. It filled her with exultation. She felt a sudden wave of friendliness for that immense anonymous public, who had being only to give her opportunity to express herself. Aloof on her mountain top she considered the innumerable activities of men. She had a wonderful sense of freedom from all earthly ties, and it was such an ecstasy that nothing in comparison with it had any value. She felt like a spirit in heaven. The head waiter came up to her with an ingratiating smile. "Everything all right, Miss Lambert?" "Lovely. You know, it's strange how people differ. Mrs. Siddons was a rare one for chops; I'm not a bit like her in that; I'm a rare one for steaks."
