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Stylistic functions of verbal categories
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Stylistic potentialities of verbs are not enough investigated. Transposition is one of the main sources of expressiveness. Transposition from the past to the present is stylistically relevant. It brings the events which happened in the past closer to the reader. Description becomes more vivid and lively. This kind of transposition is called Historical (dramatic) present.
Historical present instead of the past: “ And then on the night of the banquet she appears in her emeralds, and throughout the evening Max pays attention to no one else”. (M.Mitchel) (to make the narrative more vivid and dramatic ).
“Looking back, as I was saying into the back of my infancy, the first objects I can remember as standing out by themselves from a confusion of things, are my mother and Pegotty, what else do I remember? Let me see… There comes out of the cloud, our house – not new to me, but quite familiar, in its earliest remembrance. On the ground floor is Pegotty’s kitchen, opening into a back yard…” (Ch.Dickens)
Transposition of the future to the present to stress its potential possibility: “But mark my words! The first woman, who fishes for him, hooks him!”
Transposition of the Imperative mood to the Indicative mood:
“ I can’t stand it! Don’t tempt me! You are coming home with me now” (Dr.) - (in emotional speech of characters)
Transposition of tenses in speech characterization in colloquial speech: “ I says, he, she ain’t; You done me a hill turn ”.
Archaic verbal forms are stylistically marked: dost, knowest, doth, liveth – to create the atmosphere of antiquity in historical novels and in poetry.
Transposition from future into present tenses :’ It’s a mercy that he did not bring us over a black daughter-in-law, my dear. But mark my words, the first woman who fishes for him, hooks him. (Future action seems potentially performed).
Indefinite >Continuous: “ suddenly their heads cast shadows forward. A car behind them is coming up the hill. Its lights dilate and sway around them” (J.Updyke). Past event are described as if going on before the eyes of the reader who becomes a participant of the events.
Indicative<> Imperative: “ I can’t stand it! Don’t tempt me! You’re coming home with me now”! (Dreiser). - (in emotional speech of characters)
Transposition of auxiliaries may be not only expressive but also functional – stylistic. Thus, in speech characterization of heroes there appear the forms of colloquial speech: I, he, and we ain’t, I says, we has (was, is). You done me a hill turn. Time ‘as changed.
Archaic verbal forms: -st, dost, -th, doth (knowest, knoweth, liveth) create the atmosphere of the past centuries and a highly elevated coloring.
Modal verbs used in pseudo–clauses acquire expressiveness and indignation mixed with nervousness: ‘That he should be so careless!’ ‘Not that they should give a warning’.
Grammatical forms (modal verbs) may acquire expressiveness when repeated several times:
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And Death shall have no dominion
Dead men naked, they shall be one
With man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not,
And death shall have no dominion (D.Thomas).
The idea of the union of man and nature is intensified in the constant and insistent repetition of shall indicating in this context not only modality but promise and solemn prophecy. It makes the poem very expressive and emotional, pointing out persistent necessity and affirmation.
Adverbs are not enough investigated. Their stylistic relevance in the scientific texts is based on their usage as logical connectives. Logical sequence of utterances is achieved with the help of an adverb now in the scientific style.
“ Now there is no normal process except death which completely clears the brains from all past impressions; and after death it is impossible to set it going again”. (N.Viner)
Now- right away - (in colloquialspeech): She also senses this terrific empathy from him right away.
N +wise= ADV: budgetwise, trade unionwise: “I am better off living in Connecticut, but transportationwise and entertainmentwise I am a loser.”
In fiction verbs are used to create the temporal plane of narration. In E. Hemingway’s novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” the adverb ‘now’ serves a metronome of dramatic actions before and after the explosion of the bridge. Now, ever, never, forever are the key-words in E. Hemingway’s prose presenting the shift of the past, present and future. Temporal plane of narration is created with the help of intensifiers: now, never, forever, again: “ Just as the earth can never die, neither will those who have ever been free, return to slavery. There is forever for them to remember them in”. (E. Hemingway ) - Thestylistic function of intensification.
Seminar 8
Stylistic grammar
Questions and tasks
Task 1
Comment on different cases of stylistic transposi ti on and their stylistic relevance:
1. “Fleur sat down; she felt weak in her legs. The ice seemed suddenly of an appalling thinness, the water appallingly cold. (J.Galsworthy)
2. The peculiar look came into Bosinney’s face which marked all his enthusiasms. (J.Galsworthy)
3. Foggartism had a definite solution of England’s troubles to work toward – an independent, balanced Empire… (J.Galsworthy)
4. “If Liz was my girl and I was to sneak out to a dance coupled up with an Annie, I‘d want a suit of chain armour on under my Gladstone rags. (O.Henry)
5. Sun, moon, stars and all the works of God stood still while they were looking into the each other’s face. (J.Galsworthy)
6. The impossible was not on her side and she knew it, sensed rightly that it never would be. (A.Sillitoe)
7. Dombey married a woman with no heart to give him. (Ch.Dickens)
8. Rosemary had been married two years. She had a duck of a boy. (K.Mansfield)
9. I am not much of a lad at swapping jobs and would rather stay at one place a couple of years to get my hand in and make a few pals. (A.Sillitoe)
10. It was that sister Dorris – she got hold of him! (K.Mansfield)
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11. Quite needlessly, my child, for marry him you must. (G.Meredith)
12. This is going to be my masterpiece. (O.Wilde)
13. They came on again. She had been giving him a rub, he had not the least doubt of it … (J.Galsworthy)
14. He used to wolf down a lot in those days, did Dad. (B.Shaw)
15. She fell to sobbing. (Th.Dreiser)
16. Oh! Darling, don’t ache! I do so hate it for you. (J.Galsworthy)
17. You are not going to deceive me any longer! (Th.Dreiser)
18. To think that he should be tortured so, her Frank! ( Th.Dreiser)
19. And follow her he did, though bothered by unfamiliar words that fell glibly from her lips (J.London)
20. He smiled a brief smile that never reached his eyes. (M.Mitchel)
Task 2
TEXT
The Open Cage
Ronald Hall
The storm enveloped Cornwell, darkening the Ram peninsula and the sea around it. The wind grew in strength and coldness. All sea birds vanished from sight of the hut. A mile off shore a man was hurled about in a yellow life-jacket. Alec and Jacob sipped tea as he drowned.
Too far away to shed light on the hut a man became a screaming torch of flesh and napalm.
Scarcely beyond the sound of his agony children played carelessly, and sang songs and were beyond time. Beyond the storm, in fierce sun, men were destroying or maiming men and women and children and animals and birds and insects and fish and forests.
Beyond the storm men danced sensitively with women at weddings and feasts. Beyond and within the storm there was not one particle of person, creature or stone, river or continent that was not changing.
And they were thinking of the flux of time, the ceaseless change; sharing an identical mood without speaking of it and without knowing they shared infinitely more than a pot of tea and shelter.
Questions and tasks:
1. Comment on stylistic relevance of the usage of tenses in the first paragraph.
2. Trace the connection of the first and the second paragraphs.
3. Explain the usage of the Past Indefinite instead of Past Continuous and Past Perfect in the first paragraphs.
4. Why do you think the verbs destroy and maim are used in the Past Continuous tense?
5. Comment on the usage of the Continuous tense and Participle I in the last paragraph.
6. Analyze the usage of the definite article in collocations the hut and the storm and comment on their stylistic relevance in this kind of transposition.
7. Find cases of the Indefinite article and zero article in the text and think of their opposition to the definite article.
8. Comment upon all the grammatical and lexical EM and SD in the text used to portray the author’s message.
UNITS 9-10
Functional stylistics
An Outline
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