STYLISTIC SYNTAX
Stylistic functions of syntactic
phenomena
Expressive means of syntax
1. EMs based on absence of logically
necessary elements.
2. EMs based on the excessive use of
speech elements.
3. EMs consisting in an unusual
arrangement of linguistic elements.
4. EMs based on interaction of syntactic
forms.
Absence of Syntactic
Elements
1. Elliptical sentences.
2. Unfinished sentences (aposiopesis).
3. Nominative sentences.
4. Constructions with lacking auxiliary
elements.
ELLIPSIS
Ellipsis is an intentional omission from
an utterance of one or more words. E.g.:
Then the electric lights came on and it
was pleasant along the streets looking in
the windows (E.Hemingway).
Stylistic function: to create dynamism of
the situation. It imparts a kind of
emotional tension to the author’s
narration.
APOSIOPESIS
(silence)
A sudden stop in the speaker’s
utterance. It is a deliberate abstention
from bringing the utterance up to the
end. E.g.:
“Well, they’ll get a chance
now to show-” (Hastily):” I don’t mean But let’s forget that”. (E.O’Neill)
Stylistic function: to render a nervous state of
the speaker, a hint at s/th remaining unsaid.
Nominative sentences
Their meaning is stating the existence of
the thing (things) named. E.g.:
“London. Fog everywhere. Implacable
November weather.” (Ch.Dickens)
Stylistic function: to reflect the speaker’s
(the hero’s) state of mind, to invigorate
the dynamic force of narration.
ASYNDETON
Asyndeton means “absence of conjunctions”.
E.g.: “There was no breeze came through
the door.” (E.Hemingway)
“I love Nevada. Why, they don’t even
have mealtimes here. I never met so
many people didn’t own a watch.”
(A.Miller)
Stylistic function: brevity, acceleration of
the tempo, colloquial speech.
ZEUGMA
Zeugma is a combination of one
polysemantic word with two or more
words in succession, each collocation
pertains to different semantic or even
syntactic plane. E.g.: “After a while and
a cake he crept nervously to the door of
the parlor.” (A.Tolkien)
Stylistic function: to create a humorous effect
thanks to discrepancy between identity of
structures and semantic incompatibility.
Excess of Syntactical
Elements
Repetition of a speech element in any part
of the sentence emphasizes the
significance of the element, increases the
emotional force of speech. 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)
REPETITION
1. Framing: “Obviously - this is a
streptococcal infection. Obviously.”
2. Chain: “ Failure meant poverty, poverty
meant squalor, squalor led, in the final
stages, to the smell and stagnation of B.
Inn Alley” (D. Du Maurier)
3. Catch (anadiplosis): “And a great desire
for peace, peace of no matter what kind,
swept through her”. (A.Bennet)
REPETITION
4. Prolepsis is repetition of the noun
subject in the form of a personal
pronoun. E.g.: “Bolivar, he’s plenty tired,
and he can’t carry double”. (O.Henry)
Stylistic function: to emphasize the
subject, to make it more conspicuous.
POLYSYNDETON
Polysyndeton is repetition of a
conjunction between successive
statements. It creates a strong rhythmic
effect. E.g.: “He is a very deliberate,
careful guy and we trust each other
completely. And this is real luck, believe
me”. (D.Uhnak)
Stylistic function: polysyndeton underlines
close connections of successive statements,
sometimes it may create solemnity (Bible).
Order of Speech Elements
Stylistic inversion is deviation from the
usual order of words in a sentence
(complete or partial). E.g.:
“Women are not made for attack. Wait
they must.” (J.Conrad)
Stylistic function:to make the idea
prominent and emphatic, to draw the
attention of the reader or interlocutor to
the inverted word.
Interaction of Syntactical
Structures
1. Parallel constructions are a syntactical
type of repetition as it deals with
reiteration of the structure of several
successive sentences (clauses) and not
their lexical “flesh”. E.g.: The coach was
waiting, the horses were fresh, the roads
were wet, and the driver was willing.
Stylistic function: to create specific
rhythmical sounding of the text.
Interaction of Syntactical
Structures
2. Chiasmus is a variety of parallelism. It
is a pattern of two steps where the
second repeats the structure of the first
in a reversed manner. E.g.: “I looked at
the gun, and the gun looked at me”.
(R.Chandler)
Stylistic function: to create the tensity of the
situation or to produce a humorous effect.
Interaction of Syntactical
Structures
3. Anaphora is the use of identical words at
the beginning of two or more contiguous
sentences. E.g.: Farewell to the
mountains high covered with snow!
Farewell to the straits and green valleys
below!
Expressive purpose: to imprint the
elements, emphasized by repetition, in the
reader’s memory, to impart a peculiar kind
of rhythm and increase the sound
harmony.
Interaction of Syntactical
Structures
4. Epiphora is recurrence of identical
elements in the end of two or more
contiguous utterances. E.g.:
“Then there was something between them.
There was. There was”. (Th.Dreiser)
Stylistic purpose: epiphora contributes to
rhythmical regularity of speech, making
prose resemble poetry. It may be combined
with anaphora and parallelism.
HOME ASSIGNMENT
1. Ивашкин И.П. и др. Практикум по
стилистике английского языка. - М.,
2005. - С.38-46.
2. Беспальчикова Е.В. Обучение анализу
текста // ИЯШ, 2002. - № 2. - С.52-55.
3. Кухаренко В.А. Seminars in Style. - М.,
1986. - С. 71-73 (rhetorical question,
repetition); 76-77 (inversion, detachment);
78-80 (ellipsis, aposiopesis); 82-83
(polysyndeton, asyndeton, attachment).