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Syntactical stylistic devices
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Stylistic use of set expressions,
We find clichés, proverbs and sayings, well-known maxims (афоризмы), quotations, allusions, set expressions, which for stylistic purposes undergo various transformations (decomposed set expressions).
Allusion – is an indirect reference to a mislogical event, a political event, a literary work, a well-known song or nursery-rhyme, a certain realia of a country. An A can also be a brief quotation which can not be understood unless we know its complete form. Usually in the titles (Pygmalion (Shaw), War and Peace (Saroyan), “A friend in need” (Maugham), “And there no none” (Christy)).
Decomposed set expressions – разрушенные фразеологизмы – always become foregrounded.
- Insertion – to put all one’s eggs into one basket (не ставь все на карту) – Soames for ever put his emotional eggs into one basket: first Irene, then Fleur (Galsworthy) (привязывался)
- Addition (as old as hills) – The family of Deadlocks is as old as hills and infinitely more respectable.
- Substitution – One man’s meat is another man’s poison (Что русскому человеку хорошо, то немцу плохо) – One man’s fish is another man’s poisson (рыба по-французски). Man shall not live by caviar alone.
- “Telescoping” (blending) – Куй железо, не отходя от кассы.
The chief functions:
- humorous
- ironic
- a new awareness of a familiar phenomenon
- estrangement, a different culture-bound world picture
Lecture 5. 12. 10. 2010.
Syntactical stylistic devices
Among grammar devices, morphology plays less significant role than syntax. Morphology can participate in creating additional connotations. Violation of standard morphological forms can testify to the character’s lack of education. The effect is especially striking when illiterate grammar goes hand in hand with high-flown vocabulary. Morphology can participate in creating an elevated tone due to obsolete grammar forms. Syntax has a much larger share in stylistical devices.
The main groups:
- inversion;
- transposition;
- accumulation (reduplication);
- compression.
there are some sevices which do not fit into any of the 4 groups.
Inversion – changes in the words standart order, more typical in the English language in the sense of the stylistic effect. Is not perceived as a special effect. When translating into Russian we sometimes have to resort to lexical meanings to preserve the desirable effect. The effect can either be poetic due to emotive connotations, ironic sometimes, & sometimes the author can aim at a purely logical emphasis;
The chief patterns:
- adverb of frequency + Auxiliary + noun + notional verb: Never have I seen a lady so exquisite…
- Adjective + noun (both forming the predicative) + pronoun + link verb: Fine newspapers they were!
- Adjective + noun/pronoun + link verb (emotional emphasis): Shy she was, and I thought the cold;
- depending on the stress the same pattern may produce a totally different impression. The same pattern may serve for logical emphasis. Beautiful she was. Graceful she was. Intelligent she was not.
- A similar effect is gained by the noun in the opening position (logical emphasis): talent Mr. Micawbar has.
- Adjective + link verb + noun/pronoun: Great & powerful was Memphis …!
- Adjective following the noun. The effect is poetic, but depending on the context it might be truly poetic or ironic: Songs of birds innumerable. I could see his muscular carves encased in gaiters Episcopal.
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Transposition. There are only 4 types of one-sentence utterances:
- statements;
- imperative structures;
- interrogative structures;
- exclamations.
But each of these can be used in the affirmative & negative variants.
8 basic types of minimal utterances. Dealing with transposition, 1 formal type of utterance is used in the function of another
Types of transposition:
- Statement – question. It usually signals informal, casual nature of discourse. (And you wouldn’t leave them any?);
- Question – statement. Rhetorical question. They are equally frequent in high-flown discourse & colloquial one. (What business is that of yours?)
- negative – affirmative (If it isn’t Barney Woods!)
- negative structure used as a request (He supposed she didn’t have such a thing as a biscuit & a glass of clatter: he had no breakfast.)
- expressing of negation without grammatical negation (As if I eve stopped thinking about the girl.)
- imperative used as a negation (Catch him doing it! Держи карман шире!)
- statement used as negative imperative (I’ll go Uncle Harvey and… - Oh yes, I would. Of course I would. – Well, why wouldn’t you?)
Accumulation manifests itself in several ways. The most important is repetition. It can be immediate & distant. Immediate repetition may occur within one sentence or neighboring sentences, in any sense in close range. DR is a textual device & it can be perceived either in its true dimensions as we go on reading, or may at first pass unnoticed or not given in true significance to the reader. Shakespeare. Julius Ceasar. The monologue of Mark Antonius.
Levels of repetition:
- sound – the smallest;
- morpheme (the papyri … were sleeping, un known & un intelligible, in dark & silent tombs…);
- functional words (neither wind, nor sound, nor centuries could ever entirely silence the voice of the pyramids …)
- notional words (will you please please please please please stop talking?)
- parallel constructions (long & loud were the cheers, & mighty was the rustling of the flags …)
- sentences.
The patterns of repetition:
- ordinary repetition (Beat, beat, beat On thy cold gray stones, o sea!)
- framing – syntactical arrangement when the repeating element is places at the beginning of the sequence & at the end. (Арсений Тарковский. Как сорок лет тому назад.) Limerick – 5 lines poem.
There was once a young man of South Bay
Making fireworks one summer day
He dropped his cigar
In the gunpowder jar…
There was a young man of South Bay
- anadiplosis (coupling) – the repeated element occurs at the previous sequence & the beginning of the next one. (…For each man kills the thing he loves Yet each man does not die He does not die a death of shame On a day of dark disgrace…)
- repetition in the opening position. Anaphora.
- epiphora (E. Po. The Raven.)
- Chiasmus. A mirror arrangement. The wording & the structure are reversed. It emeges as a kind of pun (to kiss a miss to miss a kiss) the automat manifestation of C is found in the palindrome (буквенный перевертыш) – Madam, I’m Adam.
Reduplication manifests itself through a few other devices:
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- parenthesis – a phrase which at 1st sight provides information of secondary importance. Sometimes it works as the meaningful nucleus of the sentence (… a long matted well (but you might look in vain for truth at the bottom of it - allusion) between the registrar’s table & the silk gowns) (Dickens. Bleak House).
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