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General Notes on Styles and Stylistics

General Notes on Styles and Stylistics

by: Gerard M. Gaza

The subject of stylistics has so far not been definitely outlined. This is due
to a number of reasons. First of all there is a confusion between the terms
style and stylistics. The first concept is so broad that it is hardly possible to
regard it as a term. We speak of style in architecture, literature, behaviour,
linguistics, dress and other fields of human activity. Even in linguistics the
word style is used so widely that it needs interpretation. The majority of
linguists who deal with the subject of style agree that the term applies to
the following fields of investigation.

1) the aesthetic function of language;

2) expressive means in language;
3) synonymous ways of rendering one and the same
idea;
4) emotional colouring of language;
5) a system of special devices called stylistic
devices;
6) the splitting of the literary language into separate
subsystems called stylistic devices;
7) the interrelation between language and thought;
8) the individual manner of an author in making use
of language.

The origin of the term Style and Stylistics.

Lat - stylus - a stick made of material for writing.
Stylistics - from French Stylistique " -instrument for
Writing.

I . There is a widely held view that style is the correspondence between

thought and expression. The notion is based on the assumption ; that of the
two functions of language, (language is said to have two functions: it
serves as a means of communication and also as a means of shaping one's
thoughts). The first function is called communicative, the second -
expressive, the latter finds its proper materialization in strings of sentences
especially arranged to 4:46PM E • O • 84% convey the ideas and also to
get the desired response.
Indeed, every sentence uttered may be characterized from two sides:
whether or not the string of language forms expressed is something well-
known and therefore easily understood and to some extent predictable;
whether or not the string of language forms is built anew; is, as it were, an
innovation made on the part of the listener to get at the meaning of the
utterance and is therefore unpredictable.

Many great minds have made valuable observations on the interrelation

between thought and expression. The main trend in most of these
observations may be summarized as follows the linguistic form of the idea
expressed always reflects the peculiarities of the thought. And vice versa,
the character of the thought will always in a greater or lesser degree
manifest itself in the language forms chosen for the expression of the idea.

2. Another commonly accepted connotation of the term style is

embellishment of language. This concept is popular and is upheld in some
of the scientific papers on literary criticism. Language and style are
regarded as separate bodies, language can easily dispense with style,
which is likened to the trimming on a dress. Moreover, style as an
embellishment of language is viewed as something that hinders
understanding. In its extreme, style may dress the thought in such fancy
attire that one can hardly get at the idea hidden behind the elaborate design
of tricky stylistic devices.

This notion presupposes the use of bare language forms deprived of any
stylistic devices of any expressive means deliberately employed. Perhaps it
is due to this notion that the word "style" itself still bears a somewhat
derogatory meaning. It is associated with the idea of something pompous,
showy artificial, something that is set against simplicity, truthfulness, the
natural. Shakespeare was a determined enemy of all kinds of
embellishments of language.

3. A very popular notion among practical linguists, teachers of language,

is that style is technique of expression. In this sense style is generally
defined as the ability to write clearly, correctly and in a manner calculated
to the interest of the reader. Style in this utilitarian sense should be taught,
but it belongs to the realm of 4:47PM E O 83% grammar, and not to
stylistics. It sets up a number of rules as to how to speak and write and
discards all kinds of deviations as being violations of the norm. The norm
itself becomes rigid, self-sustained and to a very great extent inflexible.

4. The term style also signifies a literary genre. Thus we speak of

classical style or the style of classicism; realistic style; the style of
romanticism and so on. On the other hand, the term is widely used in
literature, being applied to the various kinds of literary work, the fable,
novel, ballad, story etc. Thus we speak of a story being written in the style
of a fable or we speak of the characteristic features of the epistolary style
or the essay and so on.

Finally there is one more important application of the term style. We speak
of the different styles of language. A style of Language is a system of
interrelated language means which serves a definite aim in
communication. The peculiar choice of language means is primarily
dependent on the aim of communication.

Thus we may distinguish the following styles within the English literary
language: I) the belles- letters style; 2) the publicistic style; 3) the
newspaper style; 4} the scientific prose style; 5) the style of official
documents and presumably some others. The classification presented here
is not arbitrary, the work is still in the observational stage. The
classification is not proof against criticism, though no one will deny that
the five groups of styles exist in the English literary language.

Stylistics and its Subdivisions

I. Galperin: Stylisitics is a branch of general linguistics, which deals with the

following two interdependent tasks:
a) studies the totality of special linguistic means ( stylistic devices and
expressive means ) which secure the desirable effect of the utterance;

b) studies certain types of texts "discourse" which due to the choice and
arrangement of the language are distinguished by the pragmatic aspect of
communication (functional styles).

Depending on the school of thought there are:

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1. Linguo-stylistics;
2. Literary stylistics;
3. Stylistics of decoding;

1. Linguo - stylistics is the study of literary discourse from a linguistic

orientation. The linguistics is concerned with the language codes
themselves and particular messages of interest and so far as to exemplify
how the codes are constructed.

2. Literary stylistics: is to explicate the message to interprete and evaluate

literary writings as the works of art.

3. Stylistics of decoding can be presented in the following way: sender -

message - receiver speaker - book - reader.

Process of reading is decoding

The subject of stylistics can be outlined as the study of the nature,

functions and structure of stylistic devices, on the one hand, and, on the
other, the study of each style of language as classified above, i, e, its aim,
its structure, its characteristic features and the effect it produces, as well as
its interrelation with other styles of language. The task we set before
ourselves is to make an attempt to single out such, problems as are
typically stylistic and cannot be treated in any other branch of linguistic
science.
Expressive Means (EM) and Stylistic Devices (SD)

In linguistics there are different terms to denote those particular means by

which a writer obtains his effect. Expressive means, stylistic means,
stylistic devices and other terms are all used indiscriminately for our
purposes it is necessary to make a distinction between expressive means
and stylistic devices. All stylistic means of a language can be divided into
expressive means, which are used in some specific way, and special
devices called stylistic devices. The expressive means of a language are
those phonetic means, morphological forms, means of word-building, and
lexical, phraseological and syntactical forms, all of which function in the
language for emotional or logical intensification of the utterance. These
intensifying forms of the language have been fixed in grammars and
dictionaries. Some of them are normalized, and good dictionaries label
them as intensifiers. In most cases they have corresponding neutral
synonymous forms.
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The most powerful expressive means of any language are phonetic. Pitch,
melody, stress, pausaüon, drawling, drawling out certain syllables,
whispering, a sing-song manner of speech and other ways of using the
voice are more effective than any other means in intensifying the utterance
emotionally or logically. Among the morphological expressive means the
use of the Present indefinite instead of the Past Indefinite must be
mentioned first. This has already been acknowledged as a special means
and is named the Historical Present. In describing some past events the
author uses the present tense, thus achieving a more vivid picturisation of
what was going on.

The use of "shall" in the second and third person may also be regarded as
an expressive means. Compare the following synonymous forms and you
will not fail to observe the intensifying element in the sentence with
'Shall".
He shall do it = (l shall make him do it)
He has to do it = (It is necessary for him to do it)

Among word - building means we find a great many forms which serve to
make the utterance more expressive and fresh or to intensify it. The
diminutive suffixes as - y (ie), - let, e. g. dear, dearie, stream, streamlet,
add some emotional colouring to the words.

Certain affixes have gained such a power of expressiveness that they begin
functioning as separate words, absorbing all of generalizing meaning they
usually attach to different roots, as for example: -ism and ologies.

At the lexical level there are a great many words which due to their inner
expressiveness, constitute a special layer There are words with emotive
meaning only, like interjections, words which have both referential and
emotive meaning, like some of the qualitative adjectives, words belonging
to special groups of Literary English or of non - standard English (poetic,
archaic, slang, vulgar, etc.) and some other groups.
-The same can be said of the set expressions of the language. Proverbs and
sayings as well as catch - words for a considerable number of language
units which serve to make speech more emphatic, mainly from the
emotional point of view. Their use in everyday speech can hardly be
overestimated. Some of these 4:47PM E O $ Q 83% proverbs and sayings
are so well - known that their use in the process of communication passes
almost unobserved.

The expressive means of the language are studied respectively in manuals

of phonetics, grammar, lexicology and stylistics. Stylistics, however,
observes not only the nature of an expressive means, but also its potential
capacity of becoming a stylistic device.

What then is a stylistic device? It is a conscious and intentional literary use

of some of the facts of the language including EM in which the most
essential features both structural and semantic of the language forms are
raised to a generalized level and thereby present a generative model. Most
stylistic devices may be regarded as aiming at the further intensification in
the corresponding EM. This conscious transformation of a language fact
into a stylistic devise has been observed by certain linguists whose
interests in scientific research have gone beyond the boundaries of
grammar.

The birth of a SD is not accidental. Language means which are used with
more or less definite aims of communication and in one and the same
function in various passage of writing, begin gradually to develop new
features, a wider range of functions and become a relative means of the
language. It would perhaps be more correct to say that/unlike expressive
means, stylistic devices are patterns of the language whereas the
expressive means do not form patterns. They are just like words
themselves, they are facts of the language, and as such are, or should be,
registered in dictionaries.

The interrelation between expressive means and stylistic devices can be

worded in terms of the theory of information. Expressive means have a
greater degree of predictability than stylistic devices. The latter may
appear in an environment which may seem alien and therefore be only
slightly or not at all predictable. Expressive means are commonly used in
language, and are therefore easily predictable. Stylistic devices carry a
greater amount of information because if they are at all predictable they
are less predictable than expressive means. It follows that stylistic devices
must be regarded as a special code which has still to be deciphered.

Not every stylistic use of a language fact will come under the term SD.
There are practically unlimited possibilities of presenting any
Stylistic Classification of the English Vocabulary

I. General considerations. In order to get a more or less idea of the word

stock of any language, it must be presented as a system, the elements of
which are interconnected, interrelated and yet independent. The word
stock of a language may be represented as a definite system in which
different aspects of words may be singled out as interdependent. A special
branch of linguistic sciencelexicology - has done much to classify
vocabulary. For our purpose,
i. e. for linguistic stylistics, a special type of classification, stylistic
classification is the most important.

An accordance with the division of language into literary and colloquial,

we may represent the whole of the word stock of the English language as
being divided into three main layers: the literary layer, the neutral layer
and the colloquial layer. The literary and the colloquial layers contain a
number of subgroups each of which has a property it shares with all the
subgroups within the layer. This common property, which unites the
different groups of words within the layer may be called its aspect. The
aspect of the literary layer is its markedly bookish character. It is this that
makes the layer more or less stable. The aspect of the colloquial layer of
words is its lively spoken character. It is this that makes it unstable,
fleeting.

The aspect of the neutral layer is its universal character. That means it is
unrestricted in its use. It can be employed in all styles of language and in
all spheres of human activity. The literary layer of words consists of
groups accepted as legitimate members of the English vocabulary. They
have no local or dialectal character. The colloquial layer of words as
qualified in most English or American dictionaries is not infrequently
limited to a definite language community or confine to a special locality
where it circulates. The literary vocabulary consists of the following
groups of words: I) common literary; 2) terms and learned words; 3) poetic
words; 4) archaic words; 5) barbarisms & foreign words; 6) literary
coinages including nonce words.

The colloquial vocabulary falls into the following groups: 1) common

colloquial words; 2) slang; 3) jargonisms; 4) professional words; 5)
dialectal words; 6) vulgar words; 7) colloquial coinages.

The common literary, neutral and common colloquial words are grouped
under the term standard English vocabulary.

Phonetic Expressive Means and Stylistic Devices

The stylistic approach to the utterance is not confined to its structure and
sense. There is another thing to be taken into account which in a certain
type of communication plays an important role. This is the way a word, a
phrase or a sentence sounds. The sound of most words taken separately
will have little or no aesthetic value. It is in combination with other words
that a word may acquire a desired phonetic effect. The way a separate
word sounds may produce a certain euphonic effect, but this is a matter of
individual perception and feeling and therefore subjective.

The theory of sense - independence of separate sounds is based on a

subjective interpretation of sound associations and has nothing to do with
objective scientific data. However, the sound of a word, or more exactly
the way words sound in combination, cannot fail to contribute something
to the general effect of the message, particularly when the sound effect has
been deliberately worked out. This can easily be recognized when
analyzing alliterative word combinations or the rhymes in certain stanzas
or from more elaborate analysis of sound arrangement.

Onomatopoeia is a combination of speech sounds which alms at imitating

sounds produced in nature (wind, sea, thunder, etc.) by things (machines or
tools, etc.) by people (singing, laughter) and animals. Therefore the
relation between onomatopoeia and the phenomenon it is supposed to
represent is one of metonymy There are two varieties of onomatopoeia:
direct and indirect.

Direct onomatopoeia is contained in words that imitate natural sounds, as

ding-dong, burr, bang, cuckoo. These words have different degrees of
imitative quality. Some of them immediately bring to mind whatever it is
that produces the sound. Others require
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Direct onomatopoeia is contained in words that imitate natural sounds, as
ding-dong, burr, bang, cuckoo. These words have different degrees of
imitative quality. Some of them immediately bring to mind whatever it is
that produces the sound. Others require the exercise of a certain amount of
imagination to decipher it. Onomatopoetic words can be used in a
transferred meaning, as for instance, ding - dong, which represents the
sound of bells rung continuously, may mean 1) noisy, 2) strenuously
contested.

Indirect onomatopoeia demands some mention of what makes the sound,

as rustling of curtains in the following line. And the silken, sad, uncertain
rustling of each purple curtain. Indirect onomatopoeia is a combination of
sounds the aim of which is to make the sound of the utterance an echo of
its sense. It is sometimes called "echo writing". An example is: And the
silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain" (E. A. Poe), where
the repetition of the sound [s] actually produces the sound of the rustling
of the curtain.

Alliteration is a phonetic stylistic device which aims at imparting a

melodic effect to the utterance. The essence of this device lies in the
repetition of similar sounds, in particular consonant sounds, in close
succession, particularly at the beginning of successive words: " The
possessive instinct never stands still (J. Galsworthy) or, 'Deep into the
darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting,
dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before" (E. A. Poe).

Alliteration, like most phonetic expressive means, does not bear any
lexical or other meaning unless we agree that a sound meaning exists as
such. But even so we may not be able to specify clearly the character of
this meaning, and the term will merely suggest that a certain amount of
information is contained in the repetition of sounds, as is the case with the
repetition of lexical units.

Rhyme is the repetition of identical or similar terminal sound combination

of words. Rhyming words are generally placed at a regular distance from
each other. In verse they are usually placed at the end of the corresponding
lines.

Identity and similarity of sound combinations may be relative. For

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instance, we distinguish between full rhymes and incomplete rhymes. The
full rhyme presupposes identity of the vowel sound and the following
consonant sounds in a stressed syllable, including the initial consonant of
the second syllable (in polysyllabic words), we have exact or identical
rhymes.

Incomplete rhymes present a greater variety They can be divided into two
main groups: vowel rhymes and consonant rhymes. In vowel-rhymes the
vowels of the syllables in corresponding words are identical, but the
consonants may be different as in flesh - fresh press. Consonant rhymes,
on the contrary, show concordance in consonants and disparity in vowels,
as in worth - forth, tale - tool treble - trouble; flung - long.

Modifications in rhyming sometimes go so far as to make one word rhyme

with a combination of words; or two or even three words rhyme with a
corresponding two or three words, as in "upon her honour - won her",
"bottom —forgot them- shot him". Such rhymes are called compound or
broken. The peculiarity of rhymes of this type is that the combination of
words is made to sound like one word - a device which inevitably gives a
colloquial and sometimes a humorous touch to the utterance. Compound
rhyme may be set against what is called eye - rhyme, where the letters and
not the sounds are identical, as in love - prove, flood - brood, have - grave.
It follows that compound rhyme is perceived in reading aloud, eye rhyme
can only be perceived in the written verse.

Rhythm exists in all spheres of human activity and assumes multifarious

forms. It is a mighty weapon in stirring up emotions whatever its nature or
origin, whether it is musical, mechanical or symmetrical as in architecture.
The most general definition of rhythm may be expressed as follows:
"rhythm is a flow, movement, procedure, etc. characterized by basically
regular recurrence of elements or features, as beat, or accent, in alternation
with opposite or different elements of features" (Webster's New World
Dictionary).

Rhythm can be perceived only provided that there is some kind of

experience in catching the opposite elements or features in their
correlation, and, what is of paramount importance, experience in catching
regularity of alternating patterns. Rhythm is a periodicity,
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which requires specification as to the type of periodicity. Inverse rhythm is
regular succession of weak and strong stress. A rhythm in language
necessarily demands oppositions that alternate: long, short; stressed,
unstressed; high, low and other contrasting segments of speech.

Academician V.M. Zhirmunsky suggests that the concept of rhythm should

be distinguished from that of a metre. Metre is any form of periodicity in
verse, its kind being determined by the character and number of syllables
of which it consists. The metre is a strict regularity, consistency and
unchangeability. Rhythm is flexible and sometimes an effort is required to
perceive it. In classical verse it is perceived at the background of the metre.
In accented verse - by the number of stresses in a line. In prose - by the
alternation of similar syntactical patterns. Rhythm in verse as a S. D. is
defined as a combination of the ideal metrical scheme and the variations of
it, variations which are governed by the standard. There are the following
rhythmic patterns of verse: iambus dactul, umphibrach, anapaest.

Rhythm is not a mere addition to verse or emotive prose, which also has its
rhythm. Rhythm intensifies the emotions. It contributes to the general
sense. Much has been said and writhen about rhythm in prose. Some
investigators, in attempting to find rhythmical patterns of prose,
superimpose metrical measures on prose. But the parametres of the rhythm
in verse and in prose are entirely different.

Lexical Expressive Means and Stylistic Devices

Imagery

In philosophy "image" denotes the result of reflection of the object of

reality in man's consciousness. On the sensible level our senses, ideas
might be regarded as images. On a higher level of thinking images take the
form of concepts, judgements, conclusions. Depending on the level of
reflecting the objective reality ( sensual and conceptual) there are 2 types
of images:

I . Art - reflects the objective reality in human life. While informing us of a

phenomenon of life it simultaneously expresses our attitude towards it.

2. Literature - deals with a specific type of artistic images, verbal - is a pen

- picture of a thing, person or idea expressed in a figurative way in their
contextual meaning in music sounds. The overwhelming majority of
linguists agree that a word is the smallest unit being able to create images
because it conveys the artistic reality and image. On this level the creation
of images is the result of the interaction of two meanings: direct
(denotation) and indirect (figurative). Lexical expressive meanings in
which a word or word combination is used figuratively are called tropes.
The verbal meaning has the following structure:

1. Tenor (direct thought) subjective;

2. Vehicle (figurative thought) objective;
3. Ground is the common feature of T and V;
4. The relation between T and V;
5. The technique of identification (The type of trope);
 e Is sy I ea ox sine . mages may e In IVI ua , general.

a) deal with concrete thing or idea e.g. Thirsty wind.

b) embrace the whole book e. g. War and Peace.
c) visual
e. g. the cloudy lifeage of the sky
d) oral - created by sound imitations

3 groups / Classification of Lexical Stylistic Devices

1. The interaction of different types of lexical meaning

a) dictionary and contextual (metaphor, metonymy, irony);
b) primary and derivative (zeugma and pun);
c) logical and emotive (epithet, oxymoron);
d) logical and nominative (autonomasia);
2. Intensification of a feature (simile, hyperbole, periphrasis).
3. Peculiar use of set expressions (cliches, proverbs, epigram,
quotations)

The Interaction of Different Types of Lexical Meaning

1. Interaction of Dictionary And Contextual Logical Meaning

The relation between dictionary and contextual meanings may be

maintained along different lines: on the principle of affinity, on that of
proximity, or symbol - referent relations, or on opposition. Thus the
stylistic device based on the first principle is metaphor, on the second,
metonymy and on the third, irony.

A metaphor is a relation between the dictionary and contextual logical

meanings based on the affinity or similarity of certain properties or
features of the two corresponding concepts. Metaphor can be embodied in
all the meaningful parts of speech, in nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs and
sometimes even in the auxiliary parts of speech , as in prepositions.
Metaphor as any stylistic devices can be classified according to their
degree of unexpectedness. Thus metaphors which are absolutely
unexpected, are quite unpredictable, are called genuine metaphors. e. g.
Through the open window the dust danced and was golden. Those which
are commonly used in speech and are sometimes fixed in the
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dictionaries as expressive means of language are trite metaphors or dead
metaphors e. g. a flight of fancy, floods of tears.

Trite metaphors are sometimes injected with new vigour, their primary
meaning is re- established alongside the new derivative meaning. This is
done by supplying the central image created by the metaphor with
additional words bearing some reference to the main word. e. g. Mr.
Pickwick bottled up his vengeance and corked it down.

The verb " to bottle up " is explained as " to keep in check", to conceal, to
restrain, repress. So the metaphor can be hardly felt. But it is revived by
the direct meaning of the verb "to cork down". Such metaphors are called
sustained or prolonged. Stylistic function of a metaphor is to make the
description concrete, to express the individual attitude.

Metonymy is based on a different type of relation between the dictionary

and contextual meanings, a relation based not on affinity, but on some kind
of association connecting the two concepts which these meanings represent
on a proximity.

The proximity may be revealed:

I) between the symbol and the thing it denotes;

2) in the relations between the instrument and the action performed with
this instrument; e.g. His pen is rather sharp.
3) in the relation between the container and the thing it contains; e.g. He
drank one more cup.
4) the concrete is put for the abstract; e. g. It was a representative
gathering (science, politics).
5) a part is put for the whole; e.g. the crown - king, a hand - worker.

Metonymy represents the events of reality in its subjective attitude. Metonymy

in many cases is trite.
e. g.:" to earn one's bread", "to keep one's mouth shut".

Irony is a stylistic device also based on the simultaneous realization of two

logical meanings - dictionary and contextual, but the two meanings are in
opposition to each other. The literal meanin is the o osite of the intended
meanin . One thin is said
and the other opposite is implied.
e.g. Nice weather, isn't it? (on a rainy day).

2. Interaction of Primary and Derivative Logical Meanings

There are special SDS which make a word materialize distinct dictionary
meanings. They are zeugma and the pun. Zeugma is the use of a word in
the same grammatical but different semantic relations to two adjacent
words in the context, the semantic relations being on the one hand literal,
and on the other, transferred.
e. g. Dora, plunging at once into privileged intimacy and into the middle of
the room.

Zeugma is a strong and effective device to maintain the purity of the

primary meaning when two meanings clash.

The pun is another S.D. based on the interaction of two wellknown

meanings of a word or a phrase. It is difficult to draw a hard and fast
distinction between zeugma and pun. The only reliable distinguishing
feature is a structural one: zeugma is the realization of two meanings with
the help of a verb which is made to refer to different subjects or objects
( direct and indirect). The pun is more independent. Like any S.D. it must
depend on a context. But the context may be of a more expanded
character, sometimes even as large as a whole work of emotive prose.
e.g.- Did you miss my lecture ? - Not at all.

Pun seems to be more varied and resembles zeugma in its humourous

effect only.

3. Interaction of Logical and Emotive Meaning

Interjections and Eclamatory Words Interjections are words we use when

we express our feelings strongly and which may be said to exist in
language as conventional symbols of human emotions. In traditional
grammars the interjection is regarded as a part of speech. But there is
another view which regards the interjection as a sentence.

However a close investigation proves that interjection is a word with

strong emotive meaning.
e. g. Oh, where are you going to, all you Big Steamers?
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The interjection oh, by itself may express various feelings such as regret,
despair, disappointment, sorrow, surprise and many others. Interjections
can be divided into primary and derivative. Primary interjections are
generally devoid of any logical meaning. Interjections such as: Heavens!
Good gracious! God knows! Bless me! are exclamatory words generally
used as interjections. It must be noted that some adjectives and adverbs
can also take on the function of interjections - such as terrible! awfully!
great! wonderful! splendid! These adjectives acquire strong emotional
colouring and are equal in force to interjections.

The epithet is based on the interplay of emotive and logical meaning in an

attributive word, phrase or even sentence, used to characterize an object
and pointing out to the reader some of the properties or features of the
object with the aim of giving an individual perception and evaluation of
these features or properties.

Classification of Epithets

From the point of view of their compositional structure epithets may be

divided into:
I) simple (adjectives, nouns, participles): e.g. He looked at them
in animal panic.
2) compound: e.g. apple - faced man;
3) sentence and phrase epithets: e.g. It is his do - it yourself
attitude.
4) reversed epithets - composed of 2 nouns linked by an
ofphrase: e.g. "a shadow of a smile";

Semantically according to I. Galperin.

I) associated with the noun following it, pointing to a feature
which is essential to the objects they describe: dark forest; careful
attention.
2) unassociated with the noun, epithets that add a feature which is
unexpected and which strikes the reader: smiling sun, voiceless sounds.

Oxymoron is a combination of two words in which the meaning is

opposite in sense.
e. g. speaking silence, cold fire, living death.

Close to oxymoron is paradox - a statement that is absurd on the surface.

e.g. War is peace. The worse - the better.

Trite oxymoron. e.g. Awfully beautiful.

If the primary meaning of qualifying word changes the stylistic effect of
oxymoron is lost. In oxymoron the logical meaning holds fast because
there is no true word combination.

4. Interaction of Logical and Nominative Meaning

Antonomasia. It is the result of interaction between logical and nominal

meaning of a word.
1) When the proper name of a person, who is famous for some reasons,
is put for a person having the same feature. e.g. Her husband is an Othello.

2) A common noun is used instead of a proper name, e. g. I agree with

you Mr. Logic, e.g. My Dear Simplicity.

Intensification of a Feature
Simile. The intensification of some feature of the concept is realized in a
device called simile. Similes set one object against another regardless of
the fact that they may be completely alien to each other. The simile gives
rise to a new understanding of the object. The properties of an object
maybe viewed from different angles, f. e. its state, its actions, manners
Accordingly, similes may be based on adjective - attributes, adverb -
modifiers, verb predicates etc.

Similes have formal elements in their structure: connective words such as

like, as, such as, as if, seem.

Periphrasis - is a round - about way of speaking used to name some object

or phenomenon. Longer-phrase is used instead of a shorter one. Some
periphrasis are traditional. e. g. The fair sex. My better half.
Periphrasis are divided into:
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1 . Logical - based on inherent properties of a thing.
e. g. Instrument of destruction, the object of administration.

2. Figurative - based on imagery: metaphor, metonymy

e. g. To tie a knot - to get married; in disgrace of fortune - bad luck.

Euphemism is used to avoid some unpleasant things, or taboo things. e. g.

To pass away - to die.

Hyperbole is deliberate overstatement or exaggeration, the aim of which is

to intensify one of the features of the object in question to such a degree as
to show its utter absurdity. Like many SDS, hyperbole may lose its quality
as a SD through frequent repetition and become a unit of the language as a
system, reproduced in speech in its unaltered from. Here there are some
examples: e. g. A thousand pardons, scared to death, immensely obliged.

Hyperbole is a device which sharpens the reader's ability to make a logical

assessment of the utterance. This is achieved, as in case with other devices,
by awakening the dichotomy of thought and feeling where thought takes
the upper hand though not to the detriment of feeling.

Peculiar Use of Set Expressions

The Cliche is generally defined as an expression that has become
hackneyed and trite. It has lost its precise meaning by constant reiteration:
in other words it has become stereotyped. Cliche is a kind of stable word
combination which has become familiar and which has been accepted as a
unit of a language.
e. g. rosy dreams of youth, growing awareness.

Proverbs are short, well-known, supposedly wise sayings, usually in

simple language.
e.g. Never say never. You can't get blood of a stone.

Proverbs are expressions of culture that are passed from generation to

generation. They are words of wisdom of culture- lessons that people of
that culture want their children to learn and to live by They are served as
some symbols, abstract ideas. Proverbs are usually 4:49PM E • O
83% dedicated and involve imagery. e.g. Out of sight, out of mind.
Epigram is a short clever amusing saying or poem. e.g. A thing of beauty
is a joy forever.

Quotation is a phrase or sentence taken from a work of literature or other

piece of writing and repeated in order to prove a point or support an idea.
They are marked graphically: by inverted commas: dashes, italics.
Allusion is an indirect reference, by word or phrase, to a historical.
literary, mythological fact or to a fact of everyday life made in the course
of speaking or writing. The use of allusion presupposes knowledge of the
fact, thing 0K person alluded to on the part of the reader or listener.

Syntactical Stylistic Devices

Classification of Syntactical Stylistic
Devices Ellipsis.

Groups.
I. Patterns of syntactical arrangement

Il. Peculiar linkage

Ill. Colloquial constructions

Inversion,
Detachment.
Parallelism.
Chiasmus.
Repetition.
Enumeration.
Suspense.
Climax.
Antithesis.

Asyndeton.
Polysyndeton.
Gap - sentence - link.
IV. Stylistic use of structural Rhetorical questions,. meaning Litotes.

l. Syntactical Stylistic Devices Based on Peculiar

Syntactical Arrangement

They include: stylistic inversion, detached constructions, parallel

constructions , chiasmus, suspense, climax, antithesis.

Stylistic Inversion. The English word order is fixed. Any change which
doesn't influence the meaning but is only aimed at emphasis is called a
stylistic inversion. Stylistic inversion aims at attaching logical stress or
additional emotional colouring to the surface meaning of the utterance.
Therefore a specific intonation pattern is the inevitable satellite of
inversion.

The following patterns of stylistic inversion are most frequently met in

both English prose and English poetry.
1. The object is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
2. The attribute is placed after the word it modifies, e. g. With
fingers weary and worn.
3. The predicate is placed before the subject, e.g. A good generous
prayer it was.
4. The adverbial modifier is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
e.g. My dearest daughter, at your feet I fall.
5. Both modifier and predicate stand before the subject, e. g. In
went Mr. Pickwick.

Detached constructions. Sometimes one of the secondary members of the

sentence is placed so that it seems formally inderpendent of the word it
refers to. Being formally inderpendent this secondary member acquires a
greater degree of significance and is given prominence by intonation. e.g.
She was gone. For good.