21-40

21.concept of imagery.Tropes.

Science cognizes the world analytically – by taking things of the same sphere and class apart and establishing logical connections between them and their constituents, i.e. by creating concepts (intellectual work).

Art cognizes the reality synthetically – through comparing things from different spheres and by way of associations ascribing similar features to them, i.e. by creating images (the work of imagination).

An artistic image may be viewed as some model or generalised form that reflects the author’s subjective vision of either existing or fictitious reality.Images presuppose an artistic presentation of the general through the individual, of the abstract through the concrete and the sensuous.

In verbal art imagery is embodied in words used in a figurative way to attain a higher artistic expressiveness.Unlike the words in literal expressions which denote, or say directly what they mean according to common verbal practice or dictionary usage, words in figurative expressions connote, or acquire additional layers of meaning in a particular context.

Thus, the literal (dictionary, logical) meaning is the one easily restored irrespective of the context, while the figurative (contextual) meaning is the one materialised in the given context.

So, the verbal image is a pen-picture of a thing, person or idea expressed in a figurative way, i.e. by words used in their contextual meaning.

Images – due to their frequent use – often become recognized symbols.

Linguistic figurativeness or linguistic imagery can be found in various lexical lingual means that are termed either tropes (Ancient Gk. tropos ‘to turn’), or – like in our course – lexical stylistic devices.

A trope can be defined as a sort of transfer based on the interplay of lexical meanings of a word that results in establishing connections between different or even opposite notions or things, which are understood to have some similarity in the given context.

NB! Imagery can be created by lexical SD’s only.

The rest of stylistic devices (morphological and syntactical, phonetic, graphic) do not create imagery, but serve as intensifiers: they can add some logical, emotive, expressive information to the utterance.

In rhetoric the verbal image is described as a complex phenomenon, a double picture generated by linguistic means, which is based on the co-presence of two thoughts of different things active together:

the direct thought – the tenor (T).

the figurative thought – the vehicle (V).

E.g. She (T) is a bird of passage (V).

The tenor is the subject of thought, while the vehicle is the concept of a thing, person or an abstract notion with which the tenor is compared or identified.

As I.V. Arnold points out, the structure of a verbal image also includes:the ground of comparison (G) — the similar feature of Т and V;the relation (R) between Т and V; the type of identification/comparison or, simply, the type of a trope.

Images may be:

general (macroimages), e.g. ‘The Moon and Sixpence’ by W.S. Maugham

individual (microimages), e.g. that great ocean of deep depression. (Priestley)

I.R. Galperin divides images into three categories:

visual, e.g. It was a feast of colour. (Maugham)

aural (acoustic), e.g. He sprang to the machine, which was now going pocketa-pocketa-queep-pocketa-queep. (Thurber)

relational, e.g. a man of figures, a man of great dignity. (Priestley)

22.Graphical stylistic means.

In modern advertising, mass media & creative prose sound is foregrounded through the change of its accepted graphical representation. The intentional violation of the graphical shape of word or word comb-n used to reflect its authentic pronunciation is called a graphon. Introduced into E. novels & journalisms in the 18 century graphon proved to be an extremely effective means of supplying info about speaker’s origin, social & educ. Background, physical & emot. condition, etc. (sellybrated, illygitmet). Graphons are also good at conveying atmosphere of authentic life communication. We have such clichés as in conversation as gotta, wonna, gimme, lemme, wille, nowaru.It becomes popular with advertisers. E.g.: Pik-wik(pick quick). There also exist dif. Forms of foregrounding: 1)capitalization, 2)italics, 3)spacing of graphemes: - hyphenation(ч/з дефис, с пробела); multiplication(1 &the same letter written several times). A special trend- graphical imagism: e.g. the whole poem is written in form of a bird.

23.1.Metaphor. Types of metaphors.

Metaphor (Gk. metaphora ‘transference’) is any kind of figurative use in art.It is often treated as parable or allegory that traditionally expresses abstract ideas through concrete pictures.As a SD metaphor is an imaginative identification of one concept (Т) with another (V), or a hidden comparison of two objects with no real connection. It is a transfer by similarity (likeness, affinity) resulting in the violation of normal correspondence between concepts and words. Function. Metaphors make descriptions concrete and vivid. Metaphors can be embodied in all the basic parts of speech – nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

Noun MetaphorsV.A. Maltzev isolated certain structural patterns of noun metaphors, depending on the type of identification of Т and V:Т is V: Love is a disease.Т turns into V: E.g. The fine autumn afternoon was losing its bright gold and turning into smoke and distant fading flame.Something makes Т into V: E.g. Lights were giving the unlit entrances a sombre air of mystery.

V replaces Т: E.g. The little devil raged in.

Adjective, Adverb and Verb Metaphors

In non-noun metaphors the vehicle is hidden and must be identified by properties or actions denoted by adjectives, adverbs and verbs. E.g. The passion that held Strickland was no less tyrannical than love. (Maugham)

Metaphor has no formal limitations: it can be a word, a phrase, any part of a sentence, or a sentence as a whole.

Simple, sustained metaphors

Simple metaphors contain only one vehicle.

E.g. His life was a tragedy.

Sustained (extended, prolonged) metaphors occur whenever one metaphorical statement, creating an image, is followed by another, containing a continuation, or logical development of the previous one.

Hence, in a sustained metaphor the central vehicle is supported by one or more vehicles contributing to the same image.

E.g. His life was a tragedy written in the terms of knock-about farce. (Maugham)

Genuine, trite metaphors

According to the degree of originality:

Genuine (authentic, 'living'). They are original, full of imagery, and therefore are treated as SD’s proper.Trite (etymological, dead, traditional, stereotyped, hackneyed, dictionary). They are fixed in dictionaries clichés with faded imagery. Thus, they are viewed as expressive means of the language. E.g. a foot of a mountain, a mouth of a river, a root of the quarrel. Having become standardised through overuse, metaphors may also exist as idioms.

Today they have a literal meaning that differs from their original literal meaning because they have passed through a metaphorical stage. (to add fuel to the fire/flames).

Metaphor is also a common lingual means of occasional denomination that provides us with a means of explaining the unknown in terms of the known.Similarity on which metaphorical renaming is based may concern any property of the thing meant. It may be colour, form, character of motion, speed, value or anything else that shows a resemblance.

23.2.Personification is a variety of metaphor in which human properties are attributed to lifeless (or inanimate) objects — mostly to abstract notions (thoughts, actions, emotions,

seasons of the year, etc.).

The formal indication of personification may be: capitalising,the use of pronouns he or she instead of it, the use of verbs and adjectives that originally stand for the actions and qualities of people (fat arm-chair)

Function. Personification adds dramatic power to the description, it expresses the author's vision of the (possible) world, or reflects the attitude of the characters to the things described.

Zoonimic (animalistic) metaphors are the opposite of personification. It is the ascription of the traits of beasts to people, usually with the intention of negative characterization or creating humour.

24. 1.SSD (peculiar arrangement)

Stylistic inversion differs from grammatical inversion. Stylistic inversion does not change the grammatical essence of the sentence. it consists in an unusual displacement of words in order to make one of them more conspicuous, more important, more emphatic, to make a logical stress on it or to add some expressive and emotive colour.Inversion may be complete – when the predicate is displaced, partial – with the displacement of secondary members of the sentence.There are 5 most frequent structural types of inversion:the object is placed in pre-position,the attribute is placed after the word it modifies,the adverbial modifier is placed at the beginning,both the modifier and predicate stand before the subject.

Detachment is an attribution of greater significance to а secondary member of the sentence, usu. an attribute or an adverbial modifier, due to which it is formally separated from the word it syntactically depends on.Due to the special stress laid on it, the detached word (phrase) often appears to be opposed to what precedes or follows it.

Hence, the stylistic effect of detachment is strengthening, emphasizing the word (phrase) in question.detachment produces a stronger effect and sounds more independent. In oral speech a detached unit is marked by prominent intonation which in writing is indicated by the use of such punctuation marks as commas, full stops or dashes.

A variant of detachment is parenthesis. It is an explanatory or qualifying remark put into a sentence.

Parallelism is a repetition of identical or similar syntactical patterns in two or more successive units.In case of absolute identity in the repeated patterns, we speak about complete parallelism or balance. If the identity is partial, parallelism becomes partial or incomplete. Parallel constructions are often backed up by repetition of words (lexical repetition) and conjunctions and prepositions (polysyndeton).

Parallelism performs different functions.

It contributes to rhythmic and melodic unification of adjacent sentences. It also either helps to emphasize the repeated element, or to create a contrast, or else underlines the semantic connection and equality between sentences.In the belles-lettres style parallel constructions carry an emotive function.

Chiasmus is sometimes characterized as 'parallelism reversed': it is also based on the repetition of syntactical patterns, but it has a reversed or inverted order in one of the two utterances. E.g. He came in and out went she.

The segments that change places enter opposite or contrastive logical relations, which fact produces various stylistic effects.

Like parallel constructions, chiasmus contributes to the rhythmical quality of the utterance, and the pause caused by the change in the syntactical pattern may be likened to a caesura in prosody.

24.2. SSD (peculiar arrangement)

Lexico-Syntactical Repetition is a regular recurrence of a lexical unit, sometimes in close succession. It can be viewed as an expressive means of the language used to make an emotional impact and intensify the feelings. Besides, it ascribes rhythm to the utterance; at times it shows the monotony or continuity of action.In lexico-syntactical repetitions, unlike in purely syntactical repetitions (parallelism or chiasmus), where the lexical identity of certain parts of neighbouring sentences is optional, the recurrence of the same lexical units is quite obligatory. Compositionally lexico-syntactical repetition falls into:

1.Simple Repetition 2.Anaphora (a…, a…)

Function. Anaphoric recurrence strengthens the element that recurs, helps the reader (hearer) fix it in his memory. It also imparts a certain rhythmical regularity to the syntactical units in question.

3.Epiphora (… a, … a)

Function. Epiphora, to a still greater extent than anaphora, regularizes the rhythm of the text and makes prose resemble poetry.

A combination of anaphora and epiphora in two or more adjacent units is sometimes termed symploca.

4.Framing (a …a)

Function. Framing makes the whole utterance more compact and more complete. It is most effective in singling out paragraphs.

5.Anadiplosis (linking, reduplication, catch repetition) (… a, a…)

6.Chain Repetition (…a, a… b, b …)

It is the sequence of several anadiploses.

There also exists synonymic repetition.

The two terms frequently used to group all kinds of synonymic repetitions are pleonasm and tautology.Pleonasm-the use of more words in a sentence than are necessary to express the meaning; redundancy of expression.There is a variety of tautology called root-repetition. In it not the same words but the same root that is repeated(a brutish brute)

Enumeration.In enumeration separate things, properties, actions and phenomena are brought together in the manner that they make a series of grammatically and semantically homogeneous parts of utterance.

The enumerated notions are usu. associated with each other due to some kind of relation between them: dependence, cause and result, likeness, dissimilarity, sequence, experience.

Enumeration attracts attention by the resultant rhythm and sometimes creates the atmosphere of tension.Though, enumeration becomes a stylistic device proper when the effect of semantic homogeneity of heterogeneous words, i.e. words belonging to different semantic fields and groups, is produced.This kind of chaotic distribution performs an evident stylistic function as it causes a striking effect.

Suspense is based on the delay of the most important information. As a result, the less important facts and subordinate details appear first, while the most significant idea is withheld till the end of the syntactical unit.

Suspense is often created by the insertion of a subordinate clause (or a parenthetic remark) between the members of the principal clause.

Sentences with suspense are called periodic sentences, or periods. Their function is to keep the reader in a state of uncertainty, expectation and interest.

24.3. SSD (peculiar arrangement)

Climax and gradation are two synonymous terms that denote such an arrangement of correlative ideas or notions in which what precedes is less than what follows. The correlative notions in climax belong to the same semantic plane and are often called ‘ideographic synonyms’.

In climax the participating words, phrases, sentences form the ‘ascent’, or an ‘ascending scale’.In logical climax every consecutive word is stronger from the logical point of view. In emotional climax the emotive intensity is implied. Quantitative climax is based on the intensification of quantitative parametres.Climax is usu. materialized in enumeration. The stylistic function of climax is to disclose the emotional tension of the character, to impress upon the reader the significance of the things described by suggested comparison, or to depict phenomena dynamically.Anti-climax (back-gradation) consists in the abrupt descent, which frequently contrasts with the previous rise. This ruins the elevated tenor and brings down the whole idea. That is why anti­climax is frequently used by humorists.

Antithesis denotes any active confrontation, emphasized co-occurrence of notions, really or presumably opposed by means of dictionary or contextual antonyms.

The purpose of using this device is to demonstrate the contradictory nature of the referent, to compare things through a contrast and to attribute rhythm to the utterance.

This device is often signalled by the introductory connectives but or and.

In case of developed antithesis we deal with semantically opposed statements or pictures.

Antithesis differs from contrast as a literary technique. Contrast is a literary (not linguistic) device based on logical opposition between different phenomena.

25. SSD (peculiar linkage)

Asyndeton (Gr. asundetos ‘disconnected’) is a deliberate avoidance of connectives in the constructions where they would normally be used.

E.g. The noise was terrible, shattering: hundreds of tin buckets were being kicked down flights of stone steps; walls of houses were falling in; ships were going down; ten thousand people were screaming with toothache; steam hammers were breaking loose; whole warehouses of oilcloth were being stormed … (Priestley)

The absence of the connective may connote various implications: it indicates tense, energetic activities or shows a succession of minute actions. Besides, it imparts dynamic force to the syntactical unit.

Polysyndeton

It is – as opposed to asyndeton – an excessive use (repetition) of connectives.

E.g. … it was also rather exciting, which was more than could be said of the 13 bus and the lounge at the Burpenfield and her room there and the aspirin and the hot water. (Priestley)

Intentionally used, the device creates the atmosphere of bustling activity, underlines the simultaneity of actions, discloses the connection of properties enumerated (their equal significance), imparts rhythm, and promotes a high-flown tonality of narrative.

E.g. Angel Pavement and its kind, … assisted by long hours of artificial light, by hasty breakfasts and illusory lunches, by walks in boots made of sodden cardboard and rides in germ-haunted buses, by fuss all day and worry all night, had blanched the whole man, had thinned his hair and turned it grey … (Priestley)

The excessive use of conjunctions may betray the poverty of the speaker's grammar, showing the primitiveness of the character.

E.g. I always been a good girl; and I never offered to say a word to him; and I don't owe him nothing; and I don't care; and I won't be put upon; and I have my feelings the same as anyone else. (Shaw) (Cf. with the Russian a.)

The Gap-Sentence Link (cumulation)

It is a formal separation of the utterance into two parts that leads to the obvious break in the semantic texture of the utterance and forms an ‘unexpected semantic leap.’

It is usu. conveyed by a full stop. Besides, the two parts may often be connected by and or but.

E.g. He will answer. And go.

As a result, the separated part sounds stronger and attracts attention.

E.g. ‘…You didn’t reelly know what you were doing at the time, did you?’

‘That’s it. I didn’t. Nerves, y’know. Highly strung …’ (Priestley)

The gap-sentence link has various functions.

It may be used to indicate a subjective evaluation of the facts; it may introduce an effect resulting from a cause which has already had verbal expression or a sudden transition from one thought to another; it may serve to signal the introduction of inner represented speech.

26. SSD (peculiar stylistic use of structural

meaning)

Here belong devices based on transposition which is placing a language sign in the surrounding which is unusual for its functioning.

Rhetorical question is based on the special interplay of two structural meanings – that of the question and that of the assertion – due to which the question is no longer a question but a statement expressed in the interrogative form.Hence, the SD consists in reshaping the grammatical meaning of the interrogative sentence.

E.g. ‘ Why should you think that beauty, which is the most precious thing in the world, lies like a stone on the beach for the careless passer-by to pick up idly?’ (Maugham)

Rhetorical question usu. pronounces a judgment with a definite emotional charge: indignation, irritation, anger, doubt, challenge, scorn, irony, suggestion, or, vice versa, joy, admiration, etc.

According to Y.M. Skrebnev the following two semantic varieties of interrogative sentences make up rhetorical questions:

quasi-affirmative sentences (those with a negative predicate but an affirmative implication):

E.g. Isn't that too bad? = That is too bad, and

quasi-negative sentences (those with an affirmative predicate but a negative implication):

E.g. My God, – what was the good of it all? (Priestley) = There was no good …

Rhetorical questions are most frequently used in dramatic narration and in the publicist style.

Litotes expresses an idea by means of negating the opposite idea.

Hence, it is a device with the help of which two meanings are materialized simultaneously: the direct (negative) and transferred (affirmative).

Usu. litotes presupposes double negation which can be conveyed in different ways:

through a negative particle not or a negative pronoun no + a word with a negative affix,

E.g. It was not an unfriendly laugh, but it was not a sympathetic one either. (Priestley)

‘Why doesn’t Amy marry again? She is comparatively young, and she is not unattractive …’ (Maugham), and

through the negation of the antonym of the idea to be expressed,

E.g. Not a coward (a fool), not too bad, not overdone, not without his agreement.

Litotes is the opposite of hyperbole and may be said to be a specific form of meiosis or to produce a meiotic effect.

Though two minuses make a plus, the deliberate understatement that takes place in the use of litotes results in the weakening of the meaning obtained.

E.g. not bad is weaker than just good; not without his assistance – than with his assistance.

Function. Litotes conveys doubts of the speaker about the exact characteristics of the object, renders his irony, and serves as a euphemistic technique.

Litotes is frequent in English and seems to be used more often than in Russian.

27.1. SSD (peculiar use of colloquial constructions)

Ellipsis is a deliberate abbreviation of a syntactical unit, usu. a sentence.

The missing parts are either present in the syntactic environment of the sentence or are implied by the situation (context).

In colloquial speech such constructions are frequent and arise from the speed of delivery and economy of effort.Sometimes the omission of necessary words becomes an indicator of poor grammar.In works of fiction elliptical sentences are made use of to reproduce the direct speech of characters and create the atmosphere of naturalness; to show their social status; to impart brevity, immediacy and a quick tempo to the author's narrative; to render the emotional tension.They call attention to the phenomenon described and create tense atmosphere.Besides oral speech and fiction, ellipsis is common to some special types of texts.It is very frequent in newspaper headlines, in papers or handbooks on technology and natural sciences.

Aposiopesis (break-in-the-narrative) denotes intentional abstention from continuing the utterance to the end. Without finishing the utterance the speaker (or writer) either begins a new one or stops altogether unwilling or unable (being overwhelmed with emotions) to continue. Aposiopesis presupposes stopping for rhetorical effect with the continuation highly predictable: the missing part can be reconstructed from the context. Elliptical points and a dash may mark aposiopesis in print.What is implied is always stronger than what is said. Thus, the silence produced is called speaking. Aposiopesis creates an emotional tension and invites the reader to give vent to his own imagination, to guess what stands behind the break and unwillingness to proceed (irony, irritation, uncertainty, indecision, anger, a threat, a warning, etc.).Sometimes a break-in-the-narrative is caused by euphemistic considerations – not to name a thing being offensive to the ear.

A question-in-the-narrative is asked and answered (if the answer is not self-evident) by one and the same person, usually the author. It is mainly done for the sake of emotional impact. This variety of question may also remain unanswered to stimulate the addressee’s thinking process over the problem in question, thus performing a dialogue-or contact-establishing function. In the case it often contains generalizing one, we and you. The device is also a means of verbal trickery, by which orators take over the initiative and make people believe that the thoughts imposed are their own.

27.2. SSD (peculiar use of colloquial constructions)

Represented Speech. Actual speech can be reproduced in the following ways: direct speech, indirect speech, and represented speech.Direct speech represents actual speech as it is, in the form of direct quotation.

Indirect speech is an indirect quotation which represents actual speech through the author's words. Grammatically (i.e. morphologically and syntactically) it is wholly dependent on the author’s speech. Represented speech (RS) is a combination of the two as it combines the plane of the author and that of the character. Thus, it almost directly conveys the actual words of the character through the mouth of the author.

Roughly speaking, RS is the inclusion of the direct speech of the character into the author’s speech.

RS is marked by certain grammatical features: its morphology comes from the indirect speech, and syntax – from the direct one:

the tense-forms of the verbs are switched from the present to the past;

personal pronouns are changed from the the 1^st and 2^nd person to the 3^rd person,

the syntactical structure follows the direct speech model: its word order; the use of elliptical, exclamatory, imperative and interrogative sentences, etc.

Besides, like direct speech, the RS is indicated by the presence of the typical words (often from different stylistic layers) and combinations used by the character;

the application of colloquial elements (contracted forms, interjections, etc.);

the inclusion of direct addresses and conversational formulae that accompany the dialogue in progress, etc.

Function. RS sounds more vivid and emotional than indirect speech; it discloses the character’s vision of the events and serves the strongest means of indirect characterization of his inner psychological state.

There can be distinguished two major types of RS:1)uttered represented speech (the representation of the actual utterance through the author’s language), and

2)unuttered represented speech or inner monologue (the representation of the thoughts and feelings of the character which were not materialized in spoken or written language by the character).

In literary studies, when the phenomenon is studied in longer forms, it is termed a stream of consciousness.

28. Phonetic stylistic devices.

The notion of harmony, euphony, rhythm and some other sound phenomena contribute to some general acoustic sound.

Onomatopoeia (звукоподражание)- is a combination of speech sounds which aims at imitating sounds produced in nature. E.g.: hiss, grumble, sizzle, murmur, bump.wind, sea, thunder,by things like machines tools,by people (laughter, cough),by animal.

There exist: 1) Direct onomatopoeia: in words that imitate natural sound (ding-dong, buzz, hiss, roar, ping-pong, mew, cock-a-doodle-doo)2) Indirect: a combination of sounds, the aim of which is to make the sound of the utterance an echo of its sense (And the silken sat uncertain, rusting of each purple curtain). Poetry abounds in some specif. devices of sound instrument. The most frequent of them are: Alliteration – the repetition of the same construction at the beginning of words.It’s often used in newspaper headlines, proverbs, set expressions. (As blind as bat; Pride and prejudice. Sense and sensibility. The school of scandal. Silken set uncertain, rustling of each purple curtain.)The Assonance – the repetition of similar vowels usually in stressed syllables. (Nor soul flesh now more than flesh helps soul).They both produce the effect of euphony (афония) – a sense of ease and comfort, a pleasing effect of pronouncing and hearing.

The opposite process is cacophony – a sense of strain and discomfort in pronouncing and hearing.Rhyme – one of the properties of poetry, which is the repetition of the same sound, identical/similar, usually at the end

of 2 or more lines. We normally distinguish b/n:full rhyme (I-sky, night-right),incomplete rhyme (fresh-press),compound rhymes, eye-rhymes (visible, but not pronounced): (love-prove),masculine rhymes (monosyllabic words): e.g. down-town, feminine rhyme (words are accented on the last but one syllable: error-terror)

1.The rhyming patterns are shown with the help of letters, e.g. couplets. When the last word of the 2 successive lines are rhymea: a a b b

2.Triple (dactylic) rhymes: a a a, based on 3-syllable words. 1 syllable stressed, 2 unstressed

3.There exist cross (quatrain) rhymes: a b a b

4.framing (rheme) rhymes: abba – frame

5.internal rhyme: the rhyming word is placed not at the end of the line, but within rhymes.

Functions of rhyme:1) to signalize the end of line and mark the arrangement of lines into stanzas (4ростишие) 2) rhythm becomes evident because of rhyme3) the ends receive greater prominent

Poetic rhythm – r. is created by the regular recurrence of (un)stressed syllables of equal poetic lines. The regular alterations of (un)stressed syllables from a unit which is a foot.

There are 5 basic metrical feet:1)iambus (ямб): the 2^nd syllable is stressed (The flower / that smiles / today / tomorrow / dies.),2)Trochee (хорей): every first syllable of the two is stressed. (Who shall that fortune 3)dactyl (дактиль): the 1^st of the 3 is stressed.4) amphibrach (амфибрахий): the middle of the 3 is stressed.5)anapaest (анапест): the last of the 3 is stressed (There is guilt in the sound, there’s guilt in …).

29. Classification of lexical stylistic devices.

The problem of classification of tropes has existed for centuries going back to antique schools of rhetoric.

But the majority of scholars have not been interested in presenting tropes as a generalized system.

Most authors propose purely subjective classifications.

Some of them describe tropes and other stylistic devices in an alphabetical order.

Some split them into 2 groups: metaphor and metonymy.

I.R. Galperin's classification of lexical stylistic devices (adopted in our course) is based on the 3 following criteria:

Group 1. Interaction of different types of lexical meaning:

Dictionary (logical, literal) and contextual (figurative) meanings:

Metaphor, Metonymy, Irony.

Primary and derivative logical meanings (of a polysemantic word):

Zeugma, Pun.

Logical and emotive meanings:

Oxymoron, Epithet.

Logical and nominative meanings:

Antonomasia.

Group 2. Intensification of a feature:

Hyperbole (intensification of quantity, size, emotions, etc.),

Simile (intensification of affinity),

Periphrasis (intensification of an inherent property).

Group 3. Peculiar use of set expressions (interplay of their primary and contextual meanings, mainly when decomposed):

Clichés, Proverbs, Epigrams, Quotations, Allusions, Decomposition of set phrases.

Lexical stylistic devices are also classified according to the degree of originality into trite and genuine.

Genuine devices are original, full of imagery.

Trite devices are ready-made, fixed in dictionaries clichés. Imagery seems faded there.

Such cases are mainly dealt with in lexicology.

E.g. a root of the quarrel (trite metaphor).

30. Zeugma and pun.

Zeugma (Gk. zeuguana 'joining, uniting') or syllepsis is the blending together of two or more semantically incompatible word groups, having an identical lexical item (usu. a polysemantic word), into a single construction where this item is used only once.

E.g. … it was a perfect purgatory of dust and confusion and gritting of teeth and soft, sweet and low profanity. (Twain)

In the resultant cluster the identical lexical item is in the same grammatical (syntactical) but different semantic relations with the adjacent units, which pertain to semantic spheres inconsistent with each other.

Thus, without being repeated the lexical unit is used in a literal and in a transferred meaning.

E.g. With tears in her eyes and a Gucci bag she appeared at the door of his apartment.

Function. The effect produced by zeugmatic combinations is humorous or ironical.

Zeugma is an accepted stylistic device in English literature, in Russian it is beyond the literary norm.

Pun – the use of a word in such a manner as to bring out different meanings or applications of one polysemantic word,

– or the use of words alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning (homophones, paronyms), often with humorous intent.

It is also called wordplay, play on words, quibble, paronomasia, (Latin, from Gr. paronomazein ‘to call by a different name, to name besides’: para ‘besides’ + onomazein – ‘to name’).

Alongside the English term 'pun', the international (originally French) term calembour is current.

E.g. It is not my principle ('general rule of conduct') to pay the interest ('money paid for use of money lent'), and it is not my interest ('advantage, profit, or generally, thing in which one is concerned') to pay the principal ('the original sum lent') (a polysemantic word and homophones).

E.g. She was too beautiful for wards (a ward sounds nearly the same as words, i.e. paronyms).

Function. The creation of a jocular atmosphere caused by the intentional mistreatment of the meaning of the lexical unit either by the speaker.

E.g. – I beg your pardon.

– I am not offended.

The majority of jokes are based on pun.

The distinction between zeugma and pun

Both zeugma and pun are based on polysemy and create a humorous effect.

The distinguishing feature is mainly a structural one as

-zeugma is always a structure with two adjacent elements linked with the central element which is used only once; while

-pun 1) is more independent as it needs a broader (than a structure) context for its decoding and there need not necessarily be a word in the sentence to which the pun-word refers; 2) pun-words often recur.

Moreover, pun is more varied as besides polysemy it rests on the use of homophones and paronyms.

31. Oxymoron.

Oxymoron (Gk. oxus ‘sharp’ + moros ‘foolish’) is a combination of words that express two diametrically opposite notions.

E.g. Her cheerfulness was the cheerfulness of despair. (Maugham)

Oxymoron ascribes some feature to an object or phenomenon incompatible with it, that is why one of its two components can be said to be used figuratively.

E.g. О loving hate! ( Shakespeare)

Moreover, in oxymoron the logical meaning prevails over the emotive but the emotive is the result of the clash between the logical and illogical.

E.g. the famous drama by L. Tolstoy ‘The Living Corpse’.

Semantically an oxymoron can be of two types:

- evident (composed of dictionary antonyms), e.g. beautifully ugly; and

-non-evident (composed of words that render mutually exclusive notions and become contextual antonyms), e.g. jolly starvation.

Structurally oxymora can be formed by an attributive combination (e.g. beautiful horror) or an adverbial word combination (e.g. to swear pleasingly, to be proudly weak).

To less frequent types belong combinations like ugly in a pleasant way, a sweet kind of torture, etc.

Close to oxymoron stands paradox, a statement that is self-contradictory or absurd on the surface.

E.g. The best way to get rid of a temptation is yield to it. (O. Wilde)

‘Why do nice women marry dull men?’ ‘Because intelligent men won’t marry nice women’. (Maugham)

There are a lot of cases of trite oxymora.

E.g. active leisure; terribly nice (the oxymoronic character has been lost for terribly serves as a mere intensifier, a synonym of the neutral very).

Function. In spite of the outward illogicality oxymoronic collocations are full of sober sense: they disclose seeming or genuine discrepancies of objects and phenomena as well as the contradictions of life.

Sometimes they create an ironic or comical effect.

E.g. the noble family of swine. (Golding)

32. Antonomasia.

Antonomasia (Gk. antonomasia 'naming instead’; antonomazein 'to name differently’) is usu. the substitution of the of the proper name of a person for another name in order to characterize him/her.

E.g. ‘You will laugh at me. I am a materialist, and I am a gross, fat man – Falstaff, eh? – the lyrical mode does not become me …’ (Maugham)

Casanova (for a ladies' man ), a Cicero (for an orator).

Function: characterization through name, creation of humorous atmosphere.

There exist 2 major types of antonomasia:

1) A proper name is used as a common noun. Here belong:

a) metaphorical antonomasia (when the proper name of a famous personage is applied to a person whose characteristic features resemble those of the well-known original or prototype).

E.g. ‘ I don’t pretend to be a great painter,’ he said. ‘I’m not a Michael Angelo, no, but I have something ...’ (Maugham); and

b)metonymic antonomasia (observed in cases when a personal name stands for something connected with the bearer of that name).

E.g. This is my real Goya. (Galsworthy)

I am fond of Dickens (= of Dickens' books).

The use of such antonomastic words demonstrates how proper nouns acquire new, logical meanings:

Some of them are still spelt with capital letters, others are already spelt with small letters.

E.g. The word hooligan going back to a proper name of a person known for his lawless behavior.

They can be used with an ‘a’- article.

E.g. She was beginning to like … middle-aged men … but … really nice attractive ones … had hardly more than an occasional faint gleam of interest to spare for a Miss Matfield. (Priestley)

They can be used in the plural.

E.g. It was a pity that silly young men did not amuse her, for there were plenty of Ivors about, whereas there were very few real grown-up men about …. (Priestley)

2)A common noun acquires a nominal meaning and is used as a proper noun.

In such usages, which are also termed speaking or telling names, token or tell-tale names, the common noun origin is still clearly perceived.

E.g. Shark Dodson, Mr. Cheeky.

Like the rest of tropes antonomasia can also be trite (traditional), e.g. a traitor is referred to as Brutus, and genuine (contextual), e.g. Mrs. Cross.

33. Simile.

Simile (Latin similis ‘similar’) is an explicit statement of partial identity (affinity, likeness, similarity) of two objects belonging to entirely different classes of things.

E.g. She felt like a shivering and bruised ant. (Priestley)

The word explicit distinguishes simile from metaphor where comparison is not stated clearly:

a) Metaphor is a renaming where a word, a phrase, a sentence, etc. is used instead of another; simile always employs two names of two separate objects.

b) Simile always contains at least one more component part – a word or a word-group signalizing the idea of juxtaposition and comparison.

The formal signals of simile are mostly:

1) link words as, like – establishing the analogy categorically.

E.g. Her arms were like legs of mutton, her breasts like giant cabbages; her face, broad and fleshy, gave you an impression of almost indecent nakedness, and vast chin succeeded to vast chin. (Maugham)

2) link words as though, as if, than – establishing but a slight similarity.

E.g. It was as though he had become aware of the soul of the universe and were compelled to express it. (Maugham)

3) lexical and morphological means that establish resemblance, such as to resemble, to remind of, in a way or verbal phrases to bear a resemblance to, to have a look of; suffixes - ish, - like, - some, -y, etc.

E.g. He reminded you of those jolly, fat merchants that Rubens painted. (Maugham)

‘I believe you’re right, Sandycroft …’ said Mr. Smeeth, with the air of a dutiful cross-talk comedian. (Priestley)

… the place where Strickland lived had the beauty of the Garden of Eden. (Maugham)

He had …a small, still babyish mouth (Priestley).

The function of simile is specifying and illustrating.

There exist a lot of trite (hackneyed, familiar) similes in the English language.

E.g. as clear as a day, as black as a crow, to behave like a lamb.

Like metaphors similes can be sustained or extended.

E.g. Her tranquillity was like the sullen calm that broods over an island which has been swept by a hurricane. (Maugham)

Simile must be distinguished from logical comparison or comparison proper, which brings together two things belonging to one class, i.e. deals with what is logically comparable, while in simile there is usu. a bit of fantasy.

E.g. He is as clever as his father (the same class of objects – human beings).

34. Epithet.

The epithet (Gk. epitheton ‘addition’) is an attributive (or adverbial) word or phrase used to characterise an object, i.e. to express an individual perception and evaluation of its features and properties. E.g. a giant moustache, a pessimistic rumble. (Priestley)

I.V. Arnold believes that it is a lexico-syntactical trope for it is usu. materialized in a sentence as an attribute, an adverbial modifier or a predicative.

The epithet can be expressed by an adjective, an adverb, a noun, a participle, etc. E.g. ‘What have I done now?’ she began indignantly (an adv., an adv. mod.). (Priestley)

The epithet differs from the logical (= descriptive) attribute, which shows the inherent property of a thing, thus being objective and non-evaluating. E.g. a middle-aged man, bluey-green walls. (Priestley)

Compositionally epithets fall into:

1) simple or word-epithets, e.g. Happiness for him had a feminine shape. (Priestley)

2) compound epithets (formed by compound adjectives), e.g. a crescent-shaped object; wild-looking young fellows (Priestley).

3) two-step epithets (supplied with intensifiers), e.g. … fatally second class … public school … (Priestley)

4) phrase epithets (also called hyphenated epithets when written through a hyphen), e.g. Now he was practically a four-hundred-a-year man instead of a three-hundred-a-year man. (Priestley) …

5) reversed epithets (composed of two nouns linked by an of-phrase where the attributive relation between the members of the combination shows that the SD is an epithet), e.g. a thick figure of a man (Priestley)

According to I.R. Galperin, semantically epithets may be divided into 2 groups:

a) associated underlining the essential feature of the object, e.g. tremendous moustache. (Priestley)

b) unassociated with the noun, unexpected and striking, e.g. the inhuman drawing-room. (Priestley)

V.A. Kukharenko splits epithets into:

1. fixed (trite, traditional, conventional, standing), e.g. a devoted friend, magic weather.

2. figurative (transferred) that can be metaphorical, metonymic, ironical, etc., e.g. bushy eyebrows. (Priestley)

From the point of view of the distribution of epithets in the sentence, there can be distinguished a string of epithets whose function is to give a multisided characterization. E.g. That she was not really a creature of that world only made her more fascinating, mysterious, romantic … (Priestley)

35. Periphrasis.

Periphrasis (Gr. periphrazein ‘to express in a roundabout way’: peri – round + phrazein – ‘to show, to say’) is a roundabout way used to name some object or phenomenon. The other term for it is circumlocution.

E.g. the attacking force (for a gang, a band). (O’Henry)

Periphrasis is a description of what could be named directly by a possible shorter and plainer wording; it is naming the characteristic features of the object instead of naming the object itself.

Thus, it is akin to metonymy.

The difference between periphrasis and metonymy is that the former is always a phrase, i.e. consists of more than one word.

E.g. a thriller (for an exciting book) – metonymy, two hundred pages of blood-curdling narrative (for an exciting book) – periphrasis.

Periphrases can also be genuine (real, artistic, etc.), and trite (traditional, stereotyped, dictionary, etc.).

E.g. instruments of pleasure (for women). (Maugham)

The stylistic effect (function) of periphrasis varies from elevation to humour and irony.

Periphrasis can be divided into 3 types:

1. Logical periphrasis – based on inherent properties of a thing.

E.g. He looked again at the poor dead thing that had been man, and then he started back in dismay. (Maugham)

2. Figurative (imaginative) periphrasis – based on imagery (usu. a metaphor or a metonymy).

E.g. a chevalier of fortune or chevalier of industry (for all sorts of adventurers and swindlers; for bandits). (O’Henry),

3. Euphemistic periphrasis.

The origin of the term 'euphemism' discloses the aim of the device very clearly, i.e. ‘speaking well’ (Gr. eu – ‘well’ + pheme ‘speaking’).

It implies the social practice of replacing the tabooed words or coarse expressions by conventionally more acceptable words and phrases that seem less categoric, milder, more harmless (or at least less offensive).

E.g. the word to die has the following euphemisms: to pass away, to expire, to be no more, to depart, to join the majority, to be gone, to kick the bucket, to give up the ghost, to go west.

Euphemism is a term of speech ethics that is sometimes figuratively called ‘a whitewashing device’.

Euphemisms may be divided into several groups according to their spheres of application.

The most recognized types are the following: 1) religious, 2) moral, 3) medical, and 4) parliamentary and political.

E.g. a garbage man – is today substituted for a sanitation worker;

having sexual intercourse with – making love to, sleeping with;

crippled and handicapped – disabled;

undeveloped countries – developing.

The abundant use of periphrastic and euphemistic expressions is a sign of periphrastic or euphemistic style of expression which at times becomes a norm and a requirement.

E.g. a colourful personality (for an excessively eccentric person).

36. Hyperbole and Irony

Hyperbole (Gk. hyperbolē ‘excess’) is a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement of a feature (quantity, size, etc.) essential to the object.

E.g. I am dying of hunger (exaggerated feelings).

Hyperbole differs from a mere exaggeration intended to be understood as an exaggeration.

Y.M. Skrebnev points out there must be something illogical in hyperbole, something unreal, impossible, contrary to common sense.

The logical and psychological opposite of hyperbole is meiosis. It is lessening, weakening, reducing the real characteristics of the object of speech to mean the opposite of what is said.

E.g. It will cost you a pretty penny (a large sum of money is implimed).

Meiosis should not be confused with a variant of hyperbole, i.e. understatement: when the object spoken about is really small or insignificant, and the expression used to denote it strengthens, exaggerates and emphasizes its smallness and insignificance.

E.g. a cat-size pony (= a very small pony), a drop of water (= not much water).

Meiosis is typical of the British manner of speech, in opposition to American English in which hyperbole seems to prevail.

E.g. An English girl and an American girl climb a steep mountain in the Alps. The English girl says: It's a bit exhausting, isn't it? The American echoes: Why, sure, it's terrific!!!

Function. Hyperbole adds dramatic force or attributes a humorous or even ironical sounding.

Many hyperboles have become trite.

E.g. A thousand pardons.

Haven't seen you for ages!

Irony is based on the contrast between the literal (dictionary) meaning and the intended meaning: one thing is said and the opposite is implied. Irony is generally used to convey a negative meaning (ridicule, contempt) though only positive concepts may be used in it.

E.g. ‘God damn my wife. She is an excellent woman. I wish she was in hell.’ (Maugham)

Very seldom the opposite type of irony where ‘blame stands for praise’ is observed: coarse and accusing words are used approvingly.

E.g. Clever bastard! Lucky devil!

Besides, Y.M. Skrebnev distinguishes 2 kinds of ironic utterances:

explicit ironical, which no one would take at their face value due to the situation, tune and structure; implicit ironical, when the ironical message is communicated against a wider context. In oral speech, irony is often made prominent by emphatic intonation.

In writing, the most typical signs are graphical, like inverted commas or italics.

Irony can be understood from the context without any special graphical indication.

Irony must not be confused with humour, although they have much in common.

One of the functions of irony is producing a humorous effect.

But unlike humour that always causes laughter, that is friendly and positive by its character, irony presupposes critical evaluation of the thing spoken about and expresses ridicule, mockery or contempt.

An ironic effect is frequently achieved by the mixture of styles: the use of the high-flown style on socially low and insignificant topics or in a friendly talk, etc.

37. Metonymy.

Metonymy (Gk. metonymia 'changing of name') is a trope based upon contiguity – upon a real connection (inward or outward) – between the object of nomination and the object whose name by way of associations is used to replace it. (Cf. with metaphor where this connection is non-existent.)

Metonymy can also be defined as a nomination of the object through one of its inherent properties.

E.g. ‘Hulloa, fatty. What do you want?’ (Maugham)

Function. Metonymy usually creates an ironic or even sarcastic effect, sometimes it serves intensification.

According to the relation between the tenor and the vehicle the following types of metonymy are differentiated:

1.the abstract stands for the concrete:

E.g. But then he did not really want any of these people, did not want company for company’s sake. What he really wanted was Love, Romance, a Wonderful Girl of His Own. And these had lately all been assuming the same shape in his mind, that of Lena Golspie. (Priestley)

2.the container is mentioned instead of the contents:

E.g. He sipped one more bottle (of whisky).

3.the material instead of the thing made of it:

E.g. She was glancing through his water colours.

4.the maker stands for the thing made:

E.g. The Rembrandt turned out to be fake.

He adores Mozart.

5.the instrument is put for the agent:

E.g. His brush can be easily recognized.

6.a part is put for the whole (synecdoche):

E.g. There were long legs all around.

Metonymy in many cases is trite.

E.g. to cite Byron, hands wanted.

Synecdoche can as well be expressed grammatically.

An example of traditional (stereotyped) synecdoche is the use of the singular (the so-called generis singularis) when the plural (the whole class) is meant.

E.g. ‘A woman can forgive a man for the harm he does her’ he said, ‘but she can never forgive him for the sacrifices he makes on her account.’ (or: The woman ...). (Maugham)

The opposite type of synecdoche (‘the whole for a part’) occurs

-when the name of the genus is used in place of the name of the species:

E.g. Stop torturing the poor animal (instead of the poor dog); or

-when the 'plural of disapprobation' is resorted to:

E.g. Reading books when I am talking to you! (while one book is meant).

38. Climax (gradation)

Climax (Gr. klimax ‘ladder’) and gradation (Latin gradatio ‘ascent’, ‘climbing up’) are two synonymous terms that denote such an arrangement of correlative ideas or notions (expressed by words, word combinations or sentences) in which what precedes is less than what follows.

Thus, in climax the second element surpasses the first and is, in its turn, surpassed by the third, and so on.

E.g. … he had a gratitude, a zest, an eagerness, that could not be found in the others… (Priestley)

The correlative notions in climax belong to the same semantic plane and are often called ‘ideographic synonyms’.

In climax the participating words, phrases, sentences form the ‘ascent’, or an ‘ascending scale’, in different ways:

a) In logical climax every consecutive word is stronger from the logical point of view. E.g. He looked about him, as if searching the little room in despair for something to touch, to hold, to cling to … (Priestley)

b) In emotional climax the emotive intensity is implied. E.g. After a short silence, an unusual sound, a most strange sound, a fantastic and incredible sound, came from the side of the bed and travelled round the dark little room. (Priestley)

c) Quantitative climax is based on the intensification of quantitative parametres. E.g. Mary counted the months, the weeks, the days, the hours to his return.

As is seen from examples, climax is usu. materialized in enumeration.

Climax and suspense sometimes go together. In this case all the information contained in the series of statements preceding the solution are arranged in the order of gradation.

E.g. ‘If’ by R. Kipling.

The stylistic function of climax is to disclose the emotional tension of the character, to impress upon the reader the significance of the things described by suggested comparison, or to depict phenomena dynamically.

In literary studies climax as a term has got a different meaning: that of a crucial moment of narration. In this case its Russian equivalent is кульминация.

Anti-climax (back-gradation) consists in the abrupt descent, which frequently contrasts with the previous rise.

This ruins the elevated tenor and brings down the whole idea. That is why anti­climax is frequently used by humorists. The Russian for it is спад.

E.g. She was distressed, sore, inconsolable – for the afternoon.

39. Antithesis.

Antithesis (Gr. anti ‘against’ + thesis ‘statement’) as a term has a broad range of meanings. It denotes any active confrontation, emphasized co-occurrence of notions, really or presumably opposed by means of dictionary or contextual antonyms.

E.g. In his universe, the gods had been banished but not the devils. (Priestley) (dictionary antonyms)

They merely came to earn their money, more or less. Mr. Smeeth came to work. (Priestley) (contextual antonyms)

The purpose of using this device is to demonstrate the contradictory nature of the referent, to compare things through a contrast and to attribute rhythm to the utterance.

This device is often signalled by the introductory connectives but or and.

E.g. As lovers, the difference between men and women is that women can love all day long, but men only at times. (Maugham)

I.R. Galperin believes that antithesis is generally moulded in parallel constructions. This gives him a ground for classifying it as a syntactical means.

Y.M. Skrebnev lays stress on the lexical explication of contrast and thus believes it is a lexical means.

E.g. Strickland was an odious man, but I still think he was a great one. (Maugham)

In case of developed antithesis we deal with semantically opposed statements or pictures.

Antithesis differs from contrast as a literary technique. Contrast is a literary (not linguistic) device based on logical opposition between different phenomena.

40. 1. Stylistic function of set expressions.

Set expressions (clichés, proverbs, epigrams, quotations, allusions, etc.) are treated in different ways in lexicology and stylistics.

Lexicology studies the character of a set expression and its components, its etymology and meaning.

Stylistics is interested in the communicative effect and expressive power of a set phrase.

Besides, when a set expression is used in its unaltered form it can be qualified as an expressive means of the language; when used in a modified variant it assumes one of the features of a SD, it acquires a stylistic meaning, though not becoming a SD.

A cliché is a word or expression which has lost its originality or effectiveness because it has been used too often.

Practically all tropes tend to lose their imaginative power, or part of their imaginative power thus becoming trite, but often they retain their emotional colouring.

In other words, a cliché is a kind of stable word combination which has become familiar, has won general recognition and which by its iteration has been accepted as a unit of the language. E.g. rosy dreams of youth, deceptively simple, the march of science, rising expectations, growing awareness, to see things through rose-coloured glasses.

The effects achieved by using clichés include besides expressing emotions or attitudes, also evaluation and brevity. To say Jack of all trades is shorter than a person who can turn his hands to any kind of work.

Proverbs are short, well-known, supposedly wise sayings usu. in simple language.

Proverbs are brief statements showing in a condensed form the accumulated people’s wisdom and life experience of the community and serving as conventional practical symbols for abstract ideas.

Their typical features are: rhythm, rhyme and/or alliteration, brevity (which manifests itself also in the omission of articles and connectives), the use of contrasts, synonyms, antonyms, etc.

Proverbs are usually didactic and involve imagery. E.g. Out of sight, out of mind.

Proverbs should not be confused with maxims, i.e. with non-metaphorical precepts. E.g. Better late than never; You never know what you can do till you try. They are not allegorical; there is nothing figurative in them, they are understood literally, word for word.

In other words, a modified proverb presupposes a simultaneous application of two meanings: the face-value or primary meaning, and an extended meaning drawn from the context. E.g. Come, he said, milk is spilt (it’s no use crying over spilt milk).

An epigram (Gr. epigraphein ‘to write on’) is a short clever amusing saying or a poem. In most cases epigrams are witty statements coined by some individuals whose names we know (unlike in proverbs).

They have a generalizing function and are self-sufficient. There are special dictionaries which are called "Dictionaries of Quotations." These, in fact, are mostly dictionaries of epigrams. E.g. A thing of beauty is a joy forever. (Keats)

Epigrams are close to aphorisms. Though the latter are shorter and do not look like quotations.

40.2. Stylistic function of set expressions.

A quotation is a repetition of a phrase or statement from a book, speech and the like used by way of authority, illustration, proof or as a basis for further speculation on the matter in hand. (I.R. Galperin)

Quotations are usually marked graphically by inverted commas, dashes or italics, they are mostly accompanied by a reference to the author of the quotation. Quotations need not necessarily be short.

E.g. Friends, Romans, countrymen

– Lend me your ears. (Shakespeare)

Quotations often turn into epigrams. E.g. To be or not to be? (Shakespeare)

Quotations used as an argumentative technique allow no modifications of meaning. Such quotations are especially frequent in scientific texts, in religious writing and in the journalistic style.

An allusion (Latin allusio ‘a playing with’) is an indirect quotation, reference or a hint by word or phrase to a historical, literary, mythological or biblical fact which is presumably known to the listener/reader.

As a rule no indication of the source of the allusion is given, which makes it different from quotations proper (direct quotations) and epigrams.

Another difference is of a structural nature: a quotation proper must repeat the exact wording of the original; an allusion is only a mention of a word or phrase which may be regarded as the key-word of the utterance.

Allusions are a frequent device in advertisements and headlines. Besides, they may function within the literary text as similes, metaphors, metaphorical epithets, periphrases, etc. E.g. She has got a Mona Lisa smile.

Decomposition of set phrases

Set phrases are used as expressive means of language which already makes them the object of interest for stylistics.

E.g. to be a square peg in the round hole.

The meaning of a set expression can be understood only from the combination as a whole.

A very effective stylistic device consists in the intentional violation of the traditional norms of the use of set phrases that is called decomposition, deformation, demotivation or breaking up of set expressions.

Function. Set expressions are usu. decomposed for creating a humorous, ironic, sarcastic effect or even the atmosphere of absurdity.

There are several types of decomposition of set expressions:

1.inclusion or prolongation, e.g. She took a desperate hold of his arm;

2.interaction, e.g. to be fed up with smth + to be fed to the teeth = There are the words of a man who for some reason not disclosed is fed up with the front teeth with the adored object;

3.substitution (partial or complete),

e.g. Divorces (instead of marriages) are made in heavens. (O. Wilde)

To dish or not to dish? (about a satellite antenna; instead of Shakespearean To be or not to be?).

4. changes in spelling (attaining a new meaning and at the same time preserving or imitating the phonetical form of the original set expression), e.g. Sofa, So Good! (instead of So far, so good, when a furniture shop praises its sofas).