Stylistics
style of language
is a system of co-ordinated, interrelated and inter-conditioned language means intended to fulfil a specific function of
communication and aiming at a definite effect (I.R.G)
See: <practical stylistic>, <stylistic device>, <expressive means>, <functional style>, <stylistic norm>, <phonographical level>, <morphological level>, <lexical level>, <syntactical level>
stylistic device
SD
is a conscious and intentional intensification of some typical structural and/or semantic property of a language
unit (neutral or expressive) promoted to a generalised status and thus becoming a generative model (I.R.G.)
See: <lexical SDs>, <cluster SDs>, <syntactical SDs>; <lexico-syntactical SDs>, <expressive means>,
<foregrounding>; <Stylistics>
expressive means
EMs
are those phonetic, morphological, word-building, lexical, phraseological and syntactical forms which exist in
language-as-a-system for the purpose of logical and/or emotional intensification of the utterance (I.R.G.)
See: <stylistic device>; <Stylistics>
practical stylistic
the stylistics, proceeding form the norms of language usage at a given period and teaching these norms to
language speakers, especially the ones, dealing with the language professionally (editors, publishers, writers,
journalists, teachers, etc.). (V.A.K.)
See: <Stylistics>
stylistic norm
the invariant of the phonemic, morphological. lexical and syntactical patterns circulating in language-in-action
at a given period of time (I.R.G.)
See: <individual style>, <Stylistics>
individual style
a unique combination of language units, <expressive means> and <stylistic device>s peculiar to a given
writer, which makes that writer’s works or even utterances easily recognisable (I.R.G)
See: <stylistic norm>, <Stylistics>
sign
a material, sensuously perceived object (phenomenon, action) appearing in the process of cognition and
communication in the capacity of a representative (substitute) of another object (or objects) and used for receiving,
storing, recasting and transforming information about this object
See: <word>, <lexical SDs>, <Stylistics>
word
a unit of language functioning within the sentence or within a part of it which by its sound or graphical form
expresses a concrete or abstract notion or a grammatical notion through one of its meanings and which is capable of
enriching its semantic structure by acquiring new meanings and losing old ones (I.R.G.)
See: <sign>, <lexical SDs>, <Stylistics>
foregrounding
the ability of a verbal element to obtain extra significance, to say more in a definite context (Prague linguists)
See: <irony>, <epithet>, <stylistic device>
functional style
FS
a) a system of interrelated language means which serves a definite aim of communication
b) includes: <official style>, <scientific style>, <publicist style>, <newspaper style>, <belles-lettres style>
c) the co-ordination of the language means and <stylistic device>s which shapes the distinctive features of
each style, and not the language means or SD themselves
d) a patterned variety of literary text characterised by the greater or lesser typification of its constituents,
supra-phrasal units, in which the choice and arrangement of interdependent and interwoven language media
are calculated to secure the purport of the communication
See: <stylistic device>, <individual style>, <Stylistics>
Source: (I.R.G.)
official style (the) style of official documents
represented in all kinds of official documents and papers (V.A.K.)
The main aim is to state the conditions binding two parties in an undertaking (the state and the citizen, citizen
and citizen, the society and its members, two or more enterprises or bodies, a person and subordinates) (I.R.G.)
Substyles: the language of business documents, the language of legal documents, the language of diplomacy,
the language of military documents
See: <functional style>, <stylistic device>
scientific style
found in articles, brochures, monographs and other scientific and academic publications (V.A.K.)
The aim is to prove a hypothesis, to create new concepts, to disclose the internal laws of existence,
development, relations between different phenomena, etc. (I.R.G)
See: <functional style>, <stylistic device>
publicist style
covering such genres as essay, feature article, most writing of “new journalism”, public speeches, etc.
(V.A.K.)
The general aim is to exert a constant and deep influence on public opinion, to convince the reader or the
listener that the interpretation given by the writer of the speaker is the only correct one and to cause him to accept the
point of view … not merely by logical argumentation, but by emotional appeal as well (brain-washing function).
(I.R.G.)
Substyles: oratorical (direct contact with the listeners); radio commentary; essay (moral, philosophical,
literary; book review in journals and magazines, pamphlets); articles (political, social, economic).
See: <functional style>, <stylistic device>
newspaper style
1) observed in the majority of information materials printed in newspapers (V.A.K.)
2) a system of interrelated lexical, phraseological and grammatical means which is perceived by the
community speaking the language as a separate unity that basically serves the purpose of informing and instructing the
reader. (I.R.G.)
See: <functional style>, <stylistic device>
belles-lettres style
(the) style of imaginative literature
embracing numerous and versatile genres of imaginative writing (V.A.K.)
The purpose is not to prove but only to suggest a possible interpretation of the phenomena of life by forcing
the reader to see the viewpoint of the writer. (I.R.G.)
Substyles: the language of poetry (verse), emotive prose (fiction), the language of drama.
See: <functional style>, <stylistic device>
phono-graphical level
includes: <onomatopoeia>, <alliteration>, <assonance>, <graphon>
See: <morphological level>, <Stylistics>
morphological level
includes: <onomatopoeia>, <morphemic repetition>
See: <phono-graphical level>, <Stylistics>
(direct) onomatopoeia
1) the use of words whose sounds imitate those of the signified object of action (V.A.K.)
2) a combination of speech-sounds which aims at imitating sounds produced in nature (wind, sea, thunder,
etc.), by things (machines or tools, etc.) by people (sighing, laughter, patter of feet, etc.) and by animals (I.R.G.)
e.g.: ”hiss”, “powwow”, “murmur”, “bump”, “grumble”, “sizzle”, “ding-dong”, “buzz”, “bang”, “cuckoo”,
“tintinnabulation”, “mew”, “ping-pong”, “roar”
e.g.: Then with enormous, shattering rumble, sludge-puff, sludge-puff, the train came into the station.
(A.Saxton)
See: <phono-graphical level>, <morphological level>
alliteration
the repetition of consonants, usually in the beginning of words (V.A.K.)
e.g.: ... silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain (E.A.Poe)
e.g.: The furrow followed free. (S.T.Coleridge)
e.g.: The Italian trio tut-tuted their tongues at me. (T.Capote)
See: <phono-graphical level>
assonance
the repetition of similar vowels, usually in stressed syllables (V.A.K.)
e.g.: Nor soul helps flesh now // more than flesh helps soul (R.Browning)
e.g.: Dreadful young creatures – squealing and squawking.(D.Carter)
See: <phono-graphical level>
euphony
a sense of ease and comfort in pronouncing or hearing (V.A.K.)
See: <onomatopoeia>, <alliteration>, <assonance>
cacophony
a sense of strain and discomfort in pronouncing or hearing (V.A.K.)
See: <onomatopoeia>, <alliteration>, <assonance>
graphon
1. Intentional violation of the graphical shape of a word (or word combination) used to reflect its authentic
pronunciation, to recreate the individual and social peculiarities of the speaker, the atmosphere of the communication
act. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: I had a coach with a little seat in fwont with an iwon wail for the dwiver. (Ch. Dickens ) – [lang id=2]с
гашеткой впегеди для кучега.[/lang]
e.g.: You don’t mean to thay that thith ith your firth time. (D.Cusack)
2. All changes of the type (italics, CapiTaliSation), s p a c i n g of graphemes, (hy-phe-na-ti-on, m-mmultiplication) and of lines. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: ”Alllll aboarrrrrrrd”.
e.g.: “Help. Help. HELP” (A.Huxley)
e.g.: ”grinning like a chim-pan-zee” (O’Connor)
e.g.: ”Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo // We haven’t enough to do-oo-oo. (R.Kipling)
See: <phono-graphical level>
morphemic repetition
repetition of a morpheme, both root and affixational, to emphasise and promote it (V.A.K.)
e.g.: They unchained, unbolted and unlocked the door. (A.Bennett)
e.g.: Laughing, crying, cheering, chaffing, singing, David Rossi’s people brought him home in triumph.
(H.Caine)
e.g.: Young Blight made another great show of changing the volume, taking up a pen, sucking it, sipping it,
and running over previous entries before he wrote. As, “Mr. Alley, Mr. Balley, Mr. Calley, Mr. Dalley, Mr. Falley,
Mr. Galley, Mr. Halley, Mr. Lalley, Mr. Malley. And Mr. Boffin. (Ch.Dickens)
See: <occasional words>, <morphological level>
occasional words
nonce-words
extension of the normative valency which results in the formation of new words. An effective way of using a
morpheme for the creation of additional information. They are not neologisms in the true sense for they are created for
special communicative situations only , and are not used beyond these occasions.(V.A.K.)
e.g.: I am an undersecretary of an underbureau. (I.Show)
e.g.: Parritt turns startledly. (E.O’Neill)
e.g.: That was masterly. Or should one say mistressly. (A.Huxley)
See: <morphemic repetition>
lexical level
word-stock
stratum of words
includes: <literary words>, <neutral words>, <colloquial words>
See: <phono-graphical level>, <syntactical level>; <Stylistics>
literary words
learned words
bookish words
high-flown words
a) serve to satisfy communicative demands of official, scientific, high poetry and poetic messages, authorial
speech of creative prose;
b) mainly observed in the written form;
c) contribute to the message the tone of solemnity, sophistication, seriousness, gravity, learnedness.
e.g.: I must decline to pursue this painful discussion, It is not pleasant to my feelings; it is repugnant
to my feelings. (Ch.Dickens)
See: <neutral words>, <colloquial words>; <special literary words>; <lexical level>
colloquial words
a) employed in non-official everyday communication
b) their use is associated with the oral form of communication
c) mark the message as informal, non-official, conversational
e.g.: ”dad”, “kid”, “crony”, “fan”, “to pop”, “folks”
d) include <special colloquial words>
e.g.: She’s engaged. Nice guy, too. Though there’s a slight difference in height. I’d say a foot, her favor.
(T.Capote)
See: <literary words>, <neutral words>,
special colloquial words
<slang>, <jargonisms>, <vulgarisms>, <dialectical words>
neutral words
the overwhelming majority of lexis (V.A.K)
See: <literary words>, <colloquial words>
special literary words
such <literary words> as <terms> and <archaisms> (V.A.K)
terms
<special literary words>, denoting objects, processes, phenomena of science, humanities, technique (V.A.K)
archaisms
such <special literary words> as
a) historical words – denoting historical phenomena which are no more in use
e.g.: ”yeoman”, “vassal”, “falconet”
b) poetic words and highly literary words – used in poetry in the 17 – 19 cc.
e.g.: ”steed” - horse”, “quoth” - said, “woe” - sorrow, “eftsoons” - again, soon after, “rondure” - roundness
c) archaic words proper – in the course of language history ousted by newer synonymous words or forms;
e.g.: “to deem” = to think, “repast” = meal, - for “horse”, “quoth” for “said”, “woe” for “sorrow”;
“maketh” = makes, “thou wilt” = you will, “brethren” = brothers, whereof, aforesaid, hereby, therewith,
hereinafternamed
e.g.: If manners maketh man, then manner and grooming maketh poodle.(J.Steinbeck)
(general) slang
such <special colloquial words> which
a) used by most speakers in very and highly informal, substandard communication
b) are highly emotive and expressive and as such
d) lose their originality rather fast and
c) are replaced by newer formations, unstable, fluctuating, tending to expanded synonymity within certain
lexico-semantic groups
e.g.: Now take fried, crocked, squiffed, loaded plastered, blotto, tiddled, soaked, boiled, stinko, viled,
polluted”(K.Kesey)
e.g.: ”Do you talk?” asked Bundle. “or are you just strong and silent?” “Talk?” said Anthony. “I burble. I
murmur. I gurgle – like a running brook, you know. Sometimes I even ask questions.” (A.Christie)
See: <jargonisms>, <vulgarisms>, <dialectical words>
jargonisms
special slang
such <special colloquial words> which
a) stand close to <slang>, also being substandard, expressive and emotive, but, unlike slang
b) are used by limited groups of people, united either professionally (<professional jargonisms> or
<professionalisms>) or socially (<jargonisms proper>)
c) cover a narrow semantic field, function and sphere of application
d) tending to expanded synonymity within certain lexico-semantic groups
See: <slang>, <vulgarisms>, <dialectical words>
professional jargonisms
professionalisms
such <jargonisms> which
a) connected with the technical side of some profession
e.g.: ”driller” = borer, digger, wrencher, hogger, brake weight
e.g.: ”pipeliner” = swabber, bender, cat, old cat, collar-pecker, hammerman
b) are formed according to the existing word-building patterns of present existing words in new meanings,
and,
c) covering the field of special professional knowledge, which is semantically limited, offer a vast variety of
synonymic choices for naming one and the same professional item
See: <slang>, <vulgarisms>, <dialectical words>
vulgarisms
coarse <special colloquial words> with a strong emotive meaning, mostly derogatory, normally avoided in
polite conversation (V.A.K.)
e.g.: There is so much bad shit between the two gangs that I bet there will be more killings this year.
See: <slang>, <jargonisms>, <dialectical words>
dialectical words
such <special colloquial words> which
a) are normative and devoid of any stylistic meaning in regional dialects, but used outside of them, carry a
strong flavour of the locality where they belong;
b) markedly differ on the phonemic level: one and the same phoneme is differently pronounced in each of
them;
c) differ also on the lexical level, having their own names for locally existing phenomena and also supplying
locally circulating synonyms for the words, accepted by the language in general.
e.g.: ”son of a bitch”, “whore”, “whorehound”
e.g.: A hut was all the (= the only) home he ever had.
e.g.: Mary sits aside (= beside) of her sister on the bus.
See: <slang>, <jargonisms>, <vulgarisms>
lexical stylistic devices
lexical SDs
include: <metaphor>, <personification>; <metonymy>, <synecdoche>; <cluster SDs>; play on words,
<irony>, <epithet>, <hyperbole>, <understatement>, <oxymoron>
See: <cluster SDs>, <syntactical SDs>, <lexico-syntactical SDs>, <stylistic device>
transference
act of name-exchange, of substitution of the existing names approved by long usage and fixed in dictionaries
by new, occasional, individual ones, prompted by the speaker’s subjective original view and evaluation of
things, for the name of one object is transferred onto another, proceeding from their similarity (of shape,
colour, function, etc.), or closeness (of material existence, cause/effect, instrument/result, part/whole, etc.)
(V.A.K.)
See: <metaphor>, <metonymy>
metaphor
<transference> of names based on the associated likeness between two objects, on the similarity of one feature
common to two different entities, on possessing one common characteristic, on linguistic semantic nearness,
on a common component in their semantic structures.
e.g.: ”pancake” for the “sun” (round, hot, yellow)
e.g.: ”silver dust” and “sequins” for “stars”
The expressiveness is promoted by the implicit simultaneous presence of images of both objects – the one
which is actually named and the one which supplies its own “legal” name, while each one enters a phrase in
the complexity of its other characteristics.
The wider is the gap between the associated objects the more striking and unexpected – the more expressive –
is the metaphor.
e.g.: His voice was a dagger of corroded brass. (S.Lewis)
e.g.: They walked alone, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate. (W.S.Gilbert)
See: <personification>, <simile>, <lexical SDs>
personification
a <metaphor> that involves likeness between inanimate and animate objects (V.A.K)
e.g.: ”the face of London”, “the pain of ocean”
e.g.: Geneva, mother of the Red Cross, hostess of humanitarian congresses for the civilizing of warfare.
(J.Reed)
e.g.: Notre Dame squats in the dusk.(E.Hemingway)
See: <synecdoche>, <lexical SDs>
sustained metaphor
prolonged metaphor
a group (cluster) of <metaphor>s, each supplying another feature of the described phenomenon to present an
elaborated image (V.A.K.)
metonymy
<transference> of names based on contiguity (nearness), on extralinguistic, actually existing relations between
the phenomena (objects), denoted by the words, on common grounds of existence in reality but different
semantic.
e.g.: ”cup” and “tea” in “Will you have another cup?”
e.g.: ”My brass will call your brass” (A.Heiley)
e.g.: Dinah, a slim, fresh, pale eighteen, was pliant and yet fragile.(C.Holmes)
See: <synecdoche>, <lexical SDs>
synecdoche
a <metonymy> based on the relations between the part and the whole (V.A.K.)
e.g.: He made his way through perfume and conversation. (I.Shaw)
e.g.: His mind was alert and people asked him to dinner not for old times’ sake, but because he was worth his
salt.(S.Maugham)
See: <personification>, <lexical SDs>
cluster SDs
a small group (cluster) of SDs, which
a) operate on the same linguistic mechanism: namely, one word-form is deliberately used in two meanings;
b) have humorous effect, and
c) include: <pun> or <paronomasia>, <zeugma>, <violation of phraseological units>, <semantically false
chains>, <nonsense of non-sequence>;
See: <lexical SDs>, <syntactical SDs>, <lexico-syntactical SDs>, <stylistic device>
pun
paronomasia
simultaneous realisation of two meanings through
a) 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.: ”Have you been seeing any spirits?” “Or taking any?” – added Bob Allen. (Ch.Dickens) [com](The first
“spirit” refers to supernatural forces the second one – to strong drinks)[/com]
b) speaker’s intended violation of the listener’s expectation
e.g.: There comes a period in every man’s life, but she is just a semicolon in his. (B.Evans) [com](a
punctuation mark instead of an interval of time)[/com]
e.g.: There are two things I look for in a man. A sympathetic character and full lips.(I.Shaw)
See: <cluster SDs>
zeugma
a cluster SD, when a polysemantic verb that can be combined with nouns of most varying semantic groups is
deliberately used with two of more homogeneous members, which are not connected semantically (V.A.K.)
e.g.: He took his hat and his leave. (Ch.Dickens)
e.g.: She went home, in a flood of tears and a sedan chair. (Ch.Dickens)
See: <semantically false chains>, <cluster SDs>
semantically false chains
a variation of <zeugma> when the number of homogeneous members, semantically disconnected, but attached
to the same verb, increases (V.A.K.)
e.g.: A Governess wanted. Must possess knowledge of Roumanian, Russian, Italian, Spanish, German, Music
and Mining Engineering. (S.Leacock)
e.g.: Men, pals, red plush seats, white marble tables, waiters in white aprons. Miss Moss walked through them
all. (A.Milne)
See: <cluster SDs>
irony
a) is a <stylistic device> in which the contextual evaluative meaning of a word is directly opposite to its
dictionary meaning
b) is the <foregrounding> not of the logical but of the evaluative meaning
c) is the contradiction between the said and implied
c) is subdivided into <verbal irony> and <sustained irony>
The context is arranged so that the qualifying word in irony reverses the direction of the evaluation, and the
word positively charged is understood as a negative qualification and (much-much rarer) vice versa. The
context varies from the minimal – a word combination to the context of a whole book.
e.g.: The lift held two people and rose slowly, groaning with diffidence.(I.Murdoch)
e.g.: Apart from splits based on politics, racial, religious and ethic backgrounds and specific personality
differences, we’re just one cohesive team.(D.Uhnak)
See: <lexical SDs>
verbal irony
a type of <irony> when it is possible to indicate the exact word whose contextual meaning diametrically
opposes its dictionary meaning, in whose meaning we can trace the contradiction between the said and
implied (V.A.K.)
e.g.: She turned with the sweet smile of an alligator. (J.Steinbeck)
e.g.: With all the expressiveness of a stone Welsh stared at him another twenty seconds apparently hoping to
see him gag.(R.Chandler)
e.g.: She’s a charming middle-aged lady with a face like a bucket of mud and if she has washed her hair since
Coolridge’s second term, I’ll eat my spare tire, rim and all. (R.Chandler)
e.g.: Last time it was a nice, simple, European-style war.(I.Shaw)
Ant.: <sustained irony>
See: <lexical SDs>
sustained irony
a) a type of <irony>, intuitively feeling the reversal of the evaluation, formed by the contradiction of the
speaker’s (writer’s) considerations and the generally accepted moral and ethical codes;
b) a number of statements, the whole of the text, in whose meaning we can trace the contradiction between the
said and implied.
e.g.: Many examples are supplied by D.Defoe, J.Swift of by such twentieth c. writers as S.Lewis, K.Vonnegut,
E.Waugh and others.
e.g.: When the war broke out she took down the signed photograph of the Kaiser and, with some solemnity,
hung it in the men-servants’ lavatory; it was her one combative action. (E.Waugh)
Ant.: <verbal irony>
See: <lexical SDs>
antonomasia
[c]type 1[/c]: a lexical SD in which a proper name is used instead of a common noun or vice versa, i.e. a
lexical SD in which the nominal meaning of a proper name is suppressed by its logical meaning or the logical
meaning acquires the new – nominal – component. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: He took little satisfaction in telling each Mary \[=any female\], shortly after she arrived, something ...
(Th. Dreiser)
e.g.: ”Your fur and his Caddy are a perfect match”. I respect history: “Don’t you know that Detroit was
founded by Sir Antoine de la Mothe Caddilac, French fur trader”.(J.O’Hara)
[c]type 2[/c]: a lexical SD in which a common noun serves as an individualising name (V.A.K.)
e.g.: There are three doctors in an illness like yours. I don’t mean only my self, my partner and the radiologist
who does your X-rays, the three I’m referring to are Dr. Rest, Dr. Diet and Dr. Fresh Air. (D.Cusack)
[c]type 3[/c]: “speaking names” whose origin from common nouns is still clearly perceived (V.A.K.)
e.g.: Miss Languish – Мисс Томней, Mr. Backbite – М-р Клевентаун, Mr. Credulous – М-р Доверч, Mr.
Snake – М-р Гад (Sheridan)
e.g.: Lord Chatterino – Лорд Балаболо, John Jaw – Джон Брех, Island Leap-High - Остров Высокопрыгия
(F.Cooper)
e.g.: Mr. What’s-his-name, Mr. Owl Eyes, Colonel Slidebottom, Lady Teazle, Mr. Surface, Miss Tomboy,
Miss Sarcastic, Miss Sneerface, Lady Bracknell
e.g.: The next speaker was a tall gloomy man. Sir Something Somebody. (J.B.Priestley)
See: <lexical SDs>
epithet
a <stylistic device> based on the interplay of emotive and logical meaning in an attributive word,
phrase or even sentence, used to characterise and object and pointing out to the reader, and frequently
imposing on him, some of the properties or features of the object with the aim of giving an individual
perception and evaluation of these features or properties
e.g.: ”wild wind”, “loud ocean”, “remorseless dash of billows”, “formidable waves”, “heart-burning smile”;
“destructive charms”, “glorious sight”, “encouraging smile”
- is markedly subjective and evaluative;
Source: (I.R.G.)
- expresses characteristics of an object, both existing and imaginary;
- <foregrounding> the emotive meaning of the word to suppress its denotational meaning
- semantically there should be differentiated two main groups: <affective epithet>s and <figurative epithet>s
or <transferred epithet>s;
- structurally there should be differentiated: single epithets, pair epithets, chains or strings, two-step structures,
inverted constructions, phrase-attributes
- is the most widely used lexical SD;
Chains or strings of epithets present a group of homogeneous attributes varying in number from three up to
sometimes twenty and even more.
e.g.: You’re a scolding, unjust, abusive, aggravating, bad old creature.(Ch.Dickens)
e.g.: He’s a proud, haughty, consequential, turned-nosed peacock. (Ch.Dickens)
Phrase-epithets always produce an original impression.
e.g.: ”the sunshine-in-the-breakfast-room smell” (J.Baldwin)
e.g.: ”a move-if-you-dare expression”(J.Greenwood)
e.g.: There was none of the Old-fashioned Five-Four-Three-Two-One-Zero business, so tough on the human
nervous system. (A.Clarke)
Inverted epithets based on the contradiction between the logical and the syntactical: logically defining
becomes syntactically defined and vice versa. The article with the second noun will help in doubtful cases.
e.g.: ”this devil of a woman” instead of “this devilish woman”, “the giant man” (a gigantic man); “the
prude of a woman” (a prudish woman), “the toy of a girl” (a small, toylike girl), “the kitten of a woman” (a
kittenlike woman)
e.g.: She was a faded white rabbit of a woman. (A.Cronin)
See: <lexical SDs>
affective epithet
serves to convey the emotional evaluation of the object by the speaker (V.A.K.)
e.g.: “gorgeous”, “nasty”, “magnificent”, “atrocious”
See: <figurative epithet> or <transferred epithet>, <epithet>, <lexical SDs>
figurative epithet
transferred epithet
an <epithet> that is formed of <metaphor>, <metonymy>, <simile>, expressed by adjectives (V.A.K.)
e.g.: ”the smiling sun”, “the frowning cloud”, “the sleepless pillow”, “the tobacco-stained smile”, a “ghostlike face”, “a dreamlike experience”, “triumphant look”
See: <affective epithet>, <epithet>, <lexical SDs>
hyperbole
a <stylistic device> in which emphasis is achieved through deliberate exaggeration (V.A.K.)
It does not signify the actual state of affairs in reality, but presents the latter through the emotionally coloured
perception and rendering of the speaker.
e.g.: My vegetable love should grow faster than empires. (A.Marvell)
e.g.: The man was like the Rock of Gibraltar.
e.g.: Calpurnia was all angles and bones.
e.g.: I was scared to death when he entered the room.(J.D.Salinger)
Ant.: <understatement>
See: <lexical SDs>
understatement
a <stylistic device> in which emphasis is achieved through intentional underestimation It does not signify
the actual state of affairs in reality, but presents the latter through the emotionally coloured perception and
rendering of the speaker.
e.g.: ”The wind is rather strong” instead of “There’s a gale blowing outside”
e.g.: She wore a pink hat, the size of a button. (J.Reed)
e.g.: About a very small man in the Navy: this new sailor stood five feet nothing in sea boots. (Th. Pynchon)
Ant.: <hyperbole>
See: <lexical SDs>
oxymoron
1) a combination of two words (mostly an adjective and a noun or an adverb with an adjective) in
which the meanings of the two clash, being opposite in sense (I.R.G.)
2) a combination of two semantically contradictory notions, that help to emphasise contradictory qualities
simultaneously existing in the described phenomenon as a dialectical unity (V.A.K.)
e.g.: ”low skyscraper”, “sweet sorrow”, “nice rascal”, “pleasantly ugly face”, “horribly beautiful”, “a
deafening silence from Whitehall” (The Morning Star)
e.g.: ”The Beauty of the Dead”, “to shout mutely”, “to cry silently”, “the street damaged by improvements”
(O.Henry), “silence was louder than thunder” (J.Updike)
e.g.: O brawling love! O loving hate! O heavy lightness! Serious vanity! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold f
fire, sick heath! (W.Shakespeare)
e.g.: You have two beautiful bad examples for parents. (Sc.Fitzgerald)
See: <lexical SDs>
syntactical level
include <syntactical stylistic devices>, <types of repetition>, <sentence structure>, <types of connection>,
arrangement of sentence members, <completeness of sentence structure>,
See: <phono-graphical level>, <morphological level>, <lexical level>, <Stylistics>
syntactical stylistic devices
syntactical SDs
include: sentence length, <one-word sentences>, <punctuation>, <rhetorical question>, <parallel
construction>, <chiasmus>, <inversion>, <suspense>, <detachment>, <ellipsis>, one-member sentences,
<apokoinu constructions>, <break-in-the-narrative>, <polysyndeton>, <asyndeton>, <attachment>
See: <types of repetition>; <lexical SDs>, <cluster SDs>, <lexico-syntactical SDs>, <stylistic device>
one-word sentences
possess a very strong emphatic impact, for their only word obtains both the word- and the sentencestress. The word constituting a sentence also obtains its own sentence-intonation which, too, helps to
foreground the content. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: I like people. Not just empty streets and dead buildings. People. People. (P.Abrahams)
See: <punctuation>, <syntactical SDs>
sentence structure
Not only the clarity and understandability of the sentence but also its expressiveness depend on the
position of clauses, constituting it.
@ loose structure
- opens with the main clause, which is followed by dependent units
- less emphatic and is highly characteristic of informal writing and conversation
@ periodic sentences
- open with subordinate clauses, absolute and participial constructions, the main clause being withheld until
the end
- are known for their emphasis and are used mainly in creative prose
e.g.: Such being at bottom the fact, I think it is well to leave it at that. (S.Maugham)
@ balanced sentences
- subordinate-main-subordinate similar structuring of the beginning of the sentence and its end;
- known for stressing the logic and reasoning of the content and thus preferred in publicist writing;
@
See: <punctuation>, <syntactical SDs>
order of words
and <punctuation> are used to convey the corresponding pausation and intonation in the written form of
speech (V.A.K.)
See: <punctuation>, <syntactical SDs>
punctuation
Points of exclamation, points of interrogation, dots, dashes; commas, semicolons and full stops serve as an
additional source of information and help to specify the meaning of the written sentence which in oral speech
would be conveyed by the intonation. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: ”What’s your name?” “John Lewis.” “Mine’s Liza. Watkin.” (K.Kesey)
e.g.: ”You know so much. Where is she?” “Dead. Or in a crazy house.” Or married. I think she’s married and
quieted down.” (T.Capote)
e.g.: The neon lights in the heart of the city flashed on and off. On and off. On. Off. On. Off. Continuiously.
(P.Abrahams)
See: <order of words>, <one-word sentences>, <syntactical SDs>
rhetorical question
1) peculiar interrogative construction which semantically remains a statement;
- does not demand any information but
- serves to express the emotions of the speaker and also
- serves to call the attention of listeners;
- makes an indispensable part of oratoric speech for they very successfully emphasise the orator’s ideas.
2) a special syntactical stylistic device the essence of which consists in reshaping the grammatical meaning of
the interrogative sentence (I.R.G.)
e.g.: Are these the remedies for a starving and desperate populace?
See: <order of words>, <punctuation>, <syntactical SDs>
types of repetition
include: <anaphora>, <epiphora>, <framing>, <catch repetition> or <anadiplosis>, <chain repetition>,
<ordinary repetition>, <successive repetition>; <synonymical repetition>
Repetition:
- is a powerful meand of emphasis
- adds rhythm and balance to the utterance
See: <syntactical SDs>, <stylistic device>
anaphora
a..., a..., a...,
the beginning of two or more sentences (clauses) is repeated
The main stylistic function is not so much to emphasise the repeated unit as to create the background for the
non-repeated unit, which, through its novelty, becomes foregrounded. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: I might as well face facts: good-bye, Susan, good-bye a big car, good-bye a big house, good-bye power,
good-bye the silly handsome dreams. (J.Braine)
e.g.: And everywhere were people. People going into gates and coming out of gates. People staggering and
falling. People fighting and cursing.(P.Abrahams)
Ant.: <epiphora>
See: <types of repetition>
epiphora
. . . a, . . . a, . . . a,
the end of successive sentences (clauses) is repeated
The main stylistic function is to add stress to the final words of the sentence.(V.A.K.)
e.g.: I wake up and I’m alone and I walk round Warley and I’m alone; and I talk with people and I’m alone
and I look at his face when I’m home and it’s dead. (J.Braine)
Ant.: <anaphora>
See: <types of repetition>
framing
a...a
the beginning of the sentence is repeated in the end, thus forming the “frame” for the non-repeated part of the
sentence (utterance)
The stylistic function is to elucidate the notion mentioned in the beginning of the sentence, to concretise and
to specify its semantics. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: Obviously – this is a streptococcal infection. Obviously. (W.Deeping)
e.g.: Then there was something between them. There was. There was. (T.Dreiser)
See: <catch repetition> or <anadiplosis>, <types of repetition>, <syntactical SDs>
catch repetition
anadiplosis
reduplication
. . . a, a . . .
the end of one clause (sentence) is repeated in the beginning of the following one
The stylistic function is to elucidate the notion, to concretise and to specify its semantics on a more modest
level. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: Now he understood. he understood many things. One can be a person first. A man first and then a black
man or a white man. (P.Abrahams)
e.g.: And a great desire for peace, peace of no matter what kind, swept through her.(A.Bennet)
See: <framing>, <types of repetition>, <syntactical SDs>
chain repetition
chain-repetition
. . . a, a . . . b, b. . .
several successive repetitions
The effect is that of the smoothly developing logical reasoning. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: ”To think better of it,” returned the gallant Blandois, “would be to slight a lady, to slight a lady would be
to be deficient in chivalry towards the sex, and chivalry towards the sex is a part of my character.”
(Ch.Dickens)
e.g.: Failure meant poverty, poverty meant squalor, squalor led, in the final stages, to the smells and stagnation
of B. Inn Alley. (D. du Maurier)
See: <types of repetition>
ordinary repetition
. . . a, . . . a . . ., a . . .
. . a . ., . . a . ., . . a . .
no definite place in the sentence, the repeated unit occurs in various positions
The stylistic function is to emphasise both the logical and the emotional meaning of the reiterated word
(phrase). (V.A.K.)
e.g.: Halfway along the right-hand side of the dark brown hall was a dark brown door with a dark brown settie
beside it. (W.S.Gilbert)
e.g.: I really don’t see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing
romantic about a definite proposal. (O.Wilde)
See: <types of repetition>
successive repetition
. . . a, a, a . . .
a string of closely following each other reiterated units
The most emphatic type of repetition which signifies the peak of emotions of the speaker. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: Of her father’s being groundlessly suspected, she felt sure. Sure. Sure. (Ch.Dickens)
See: <types of repetition>
synonymical repetition
the repetition of the same idea by using synonymous words and phrases which by adding a slightly different
nuance of meaning intensify the impact of the utterance (I.R.G.)
e.g.: ... are there not capital punishment sufficient in your statutes? Is there not blood enough upon your penal
code? (Byron)
See: <types of repetition>
parallel construction
reiteration of the structure of several sentences (clauses), and not of their lexical “flesh”
almost always includes some type of lexical repetition, and such a convergence produces a very strong effect,
<foregrounding> at one go logical, rhythmic, emotive and expressive aspects of the utterance. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: I notice that father’s is a large hand, but never a heavy one when it touches me, and that father’s is a
rough voice but never an angry one when it speaks to me. (T.Dreiser)
See: <chiasmus>, <types of repetition>, <syntactical SDs>
chiasmus
reversed parallel construction
a) reversed parallelism of the structure of several sentences (clauses)
b) <inversion> of the first construction in the second part (V.A.K.)
e.g.: If the first sentence (clause) has a direct word order – SPO, the second one will have it inverted – OPS.
e.g.: Down dropped the breeze, // The sails dropped down. (Coleridge)
See: <parallel construction>, <inversion>, <types of repetition>, <syntactical SDs>
inversion
a syntactical <stylistic device> in which the direct word order is changed either completely so that the
predicate precedes the subject (complete inversion), or partially so that the object precedes the subjectppredicate pair (partial inversion) (V.A.K.)
e.g.: To a medical student the final examinations are something like death ... (R.Gordon) – [lang id=2]Дляe.g.:
Of all my old association. of all my old pursuits and hopes, of all the living and the dead world, this one poor
soul alone comes natural to me. (Ch.Dickens)
e.g.: Women are not made for attack. Wait they must. (J.Conrad)
See: <chiasmus>, <syntactical SDs>
suspense
1) a deliberate postponement of the completion of the sentence with the help of embedded clauses
(homogeneous members) separating the predicate from the subject and introducing less important facts and
details first, while the expected information of major importance is reserved till the end of the sentence
(utterance) (V.A.K.)
2) a compositional device which consists in arranging the matter of a communication in such a way that the
less important, descriptive, subordinate parts are amassed at the beginning, the main idea being withheld till
the end of the sentence (I.R.G)
e.g.: Mankind, says a Chinese manuscript, which my friend M. was obliging enough to read and explain to
me, for the first seventy thousand ages ate their meat raw. (Ch.Lamb)
See: <periodic sentences>, <syntactical SDs>
detachment
detached construction
a <stylistic device> based on singling out a secondary member of the sentence with the help of punctuation
(intonation) (V.A.K.)
e.g.: I have to beg you nearly killed, ingloriously, in a jeep accident. (I.Shaw)
e.g.: I have to beg you for money. Daily. (S.Lewis)
e.g.: She was crazy about you. In the beginning. (R.P.Warren)
See: <attachment>, <syntactical SDs>
completeness of sentence structure
includes: <ellipsis>, <apokoinu constructions>, <break-in-the-narrative> or <aposiopesis>
See: <types of connection>, <syntactical SDs>
ellipsis
a deliberate omission of at least one member of the sentence
e.g.: What! all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop? (W.Shakespeare)
e.g.: In manner, close and dry. In voice, husky and low. In face, watchful behind a blind. (Ch.Dickens)
e.g.: His forehead was narrow, his face wide, his head large, and his nose all one side. (Ch.Dickens)
See: <completeness of sentence structure>
apokoinu constructions
the omission of the pronominal (adverbial) connective
- create a blend of the main and the subordinate clauses so that
- the predicative or the object of the first one is simultaneously used as the subject of the second one (V.A.K.)
e.g.: There was a door led into the kitchen. (Sh.Anderson)
e.g.: He was the man killed that deer. (R.P.Warren)
e.g.: There was no breeze came through the door. (E.Hemingway)
See: <completeness of sentence structure>
break-in-the-narrative
aposiopesis
“a stopping short for rhetorical effect” (I.R.G.)
- used mainly in the dialogue or in the other forms of narrative imitating spontaneous oral speech because the
speaker’s emotions prevent him from finishing the sentence (V.A.K.)
e.g.: You just come home or I’ll ...
e.g.: Good intentions, but ...
e.g.: If you continue your intemperate way of living, in six months’ time ...
e.g.: What I had seen of Patti didn’t really contradict Kitty’s view of her: a girl who means well, but.
(D.Uhnak)
See: <completeness of sentence structure>
types of connection
include: <polysyndeton>, <asyndeton>, <attachment>
See: <completeness of sentence structure>
polysyndeton
repeated use of conjunctions
- is to strengthen the idea of equal logical/emotive importance of connected sentences. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: By the time he had got all the bottles and dishes and knives and forks and glasses and plates and spoons
and things piled up on big trays, he was getting very hot, and red in the face, and annoyed.(A.Tolkien)
e.g.: Bella soaped his face and rubbed his face, and soaped his hands and rubbed his hands, and splashed him,
and rinsed him, and towelled him, until he was as red as beetroot. (Ch.Dickens)
Ant.: <asyndeton>
See: <attachment>, <types of connection>
asyndeton
deliberate omission of conjunctions, cutting off connecting words
- helps to create the effect of terse, energetic, active prose. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: With these hurried words Mr. Bob Sawyer pushed the postboy on one side, jerked his friend into the
vehicle, slammed the door, put up the steps, wafered the bill on the street-door, locked it, put the key into his
pocket, jumped into the dickey, gave the word for starting. (Ch.Dickens)
Ant.: <polysyndeton>
See: <attachment>, <types of connection>
attachment
separating the second part of the utterance from the first one by full stop though their semantic and
grammatical ties remain very strong (V.A.K.)
e.g.: It wasn’t his fault. It was yours. And mine. I now humbly beg you to give me the money with which to
buy meals for you to eat. And hereafter do remember it: the next time I shan’t beg. I shall simply starve.
(S.Lewis)
e.g.: Prison is where she belongs. And my husband agrees one thousand per cent. (T.Capote)
e.g.: He is a very deliberate, careful guy and we trust each other completely. With a few reservations.
(D.Uhnak)
See: <detachment>, <types of connection>, <punctuation>, <syntactical SDs>
lexico-syntactical stylistic devices
lexico-syntactical SDs
certain structures, whose emphasis depends not only on the arrangement of sentence members but also on the
lexico-semantic aspect of the utterance (V.A.K.)
- include: <antithesis>, <climax>, <anticlimax>, <simile>, <litotes>, <periphrasis>
See: <lexical SDs>, <cluster SDs>, <syntactical SDs>, <stylistic device>
antithesis
a semantically complicated <parallel construction>, the two parts of which are semantically opposite to each
other
- is to stress the heterogenity of the described phenomenon, to show that the latter is a dialectical unity of two
(or more) opposing features. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: Some people have much to live on, and little to live for. (O.Wilde)
e.g.: If we don’t know who gains by his death we do know who loses by it. (A.Christie)
e.g.: Mrs. Nork had a large home and a small husband. (S.Lewis)
e.g.: In marriage the upkeep of woman is often the downfall of man. (S.Evans)
e.g.: Don’t use big words. They mean so little. (O.Wilde)
See: <lexico-syntactical SDs>
climax
gradation
a semantically complicated <parallel construction>, in which each next word combination (clause, sentence)
is logically more important or emotionally stronger and more explicit (V.A.K.)
Three types:
@ logical climax
a three-step <climax> (the most widely spread model), in which intensification of logical importance, of
emotion or quantity (size, dimensions) is gradually rising step by step (V.A.K.)
- is based on the relative importance of the component parts looked at from the point of view of the concepts
embodied in them (I.R.G.)
e.g.: Better to borrow, better to beg, better to die! (Ch.Dickens)
e.g.: Like a well, like a vault, like a tomb, the prison had no knowledge of the brightness outside.
(Ch.Dickens)
e.g.: For that one instant there was no one else in the room, in the house, in the world, besides
themselves.(M.Wilson)
@ emotive climax
a two-step <climax>, in which the second part repeats the first one and is further strengthened by an
intensifier (V.A.K.)
- is based on the relative emotional tension produced by words with emotive meaning (I.R.G.)
e.g.: He was so helpless, so very helpless. (W.Deeping)
e.g.: She felt better, immensely better. (W.Deeping)
e.g.: I have been so unhappy here, so very very unhappy. (Ch.Dickens)
@ quantitative climax
an evident increase in the volume of the corresponding concepts (I.R.G.)
e.g.: They looked at hundreds of houses; they climbed thousands of stairs; they inspected innumerable
kitchens.(S.Maugham)
e.g.: Little by little, bit by bit, and day by day, and year by year the baron got the worst of some disputed
question. (Ch.Dickens)
e.g.: We were all in all to one another, it was the morning of life, it was bliss, it was frenzy, it was everything
else of that sort in the highest degree. (Ch.Dickens)
e.g.: I am firm, thou art obstinate, he is pig-headed. (B.Charlestone)
e.g.: No tree, no shrub, no blade of grass that was not owned. (J. Galsworthy)
Ant.: <anticlimax>
Syn.: <climax>, <gradation>
See: <lexico-syntactical SDs>
anticlimax
a <climax> suddenly interrupted by an unexpected turn of the thought which defeats expectations of the
reader (listener) and ends in complete semantic reversal of the emphasised idea (V.A.K.)
e.g.: It was appalling – and soon forgotten. (J.Galsworthy)
e.g.: He was unconsolable – for an afternoon. (J.Galsworthy)
e.g.: Women have a wonderful instinct about things. They can discover everything except the obvious.
(O.Wilde)
Ant.: <climax>
See: <lexico-syntactical SDs>
simile
an imaginative comparison of two unlike objects belonging to two different classes on the grounds of
similarity of some quality
The one which is compared is called the tenor, the one with which it is compared, is called the vehicle. The
tenor and the vehicle form the two semantic poles of the simile, which are connected by one of the following
link words: “like”, “as”, “as though”, “as like”, “such as”, as ... as”, etc. (V.A.K.)
e.g.: She is like a rose.
e.g.: He stood immovable like a rock in a torrent. (J.Reed)
e.g.: His muscles are hard as rock. (T.Capote)
e.g.: The conversation she began behaved like green logs: they fumed but would not fire. (T.Capote)
Compare: <comparison>
See: <metaphor>, <epic simile> or <Homeric simile>, <lexico-syntactical SDs>
(logical) comparison
an ordinary comparison of two objects belonging to the same classes (V.A.K.)
e.g.: She is like her mother.
Compare: <simile>
See: <lexico-syntactical SDs>
the tenor
the vehicle
See: <simile>
epic simile
Homeric simile
extended <simile>, sustained expression of likeness
See: <simile>
litotes
a two-component structure in which two negations are joined to give a possessive evaluation
- the first component is always the negative particle “not”, while the second, always negative in semantics,
varies in form from a negatively affixed word (as above) to a negative phrase (V.A.K.)
e.g.: Her face was not unpretty. (K.Kesey)
e.g.: It was not unnatural if Gilbert felt a certain embarrassment. (E.Waugh)
e.g.: The idea was not totally erroneous. The thought did not displease me. (I.Murdoch)
See: <understatement>, <lexico-syntactical SDs>
periphrasis
a) using a roundabout form of expression instead of a simpler one
b) using a more or less complicated syntactical structure instead of a word
They are classified into:
- <figurative periphrasis> or <metaphoric periphrasis> or <metonymic periphrasis>
- <logical periphrasis> or <euphemistic periphrasis>
See: <lexico-syntactical SDs>
figurative periphrasis
a <periphrasis> that is made of phrase-metonymies or phrase-metaphors (V.A.K.)
- is to convey a purely individual perception of the described object
e.g.: The hospital was crowded with the surgically interesting products of the fighting in Africa. \[=wounded\]
(I.Shaw)
e.g.: His huge leather chairs were kind to the femurs. (R.P.Warren)
e.g.: I took my obedient feet away from him. (W.S.Gilbert)
See: <metaphor>, <metonymy>, <periphrasis>
metaphoric periphrasis
metonymic periphrasis
See: <figurative periphrasis>
logical periphrasis
euphemistic periphrasis
a phrase synonymic with the words which were substituted by <periphrasis> (V.A.K.)
- offers more polite qualification instead of a coarser one (euphemistic)
e.g.: Mr. Du Pont was dressed in the conventional disguise \[the suit \] with which Brooks Brothers cover the
shame of American millionaires \[the paunch (belly)\]. (The Morning Star)
e.g.: I am thinking an unmentionable thing about your mother. (I.Shaw)