LECTURE 4 SYNTACTICAL EXPRESSIVE MEANS AND STYLISTIC DEVICES

LECTURE 4 SYNTACTICAL EXPRESSIVE MEANS AND STYLISTIC DEVICES

Syntactical stylistic devices sometimes play a decisive role in lending a stylistic effect to the utterance. The recognized norm of written neutral syntax is logical coherence, fixed word order (subject-predicate-object). Deliberate violation of the syntactical norm, introduction of spoken syntactical norms will be perceived as a device.

SYNTACTICAL SD CAN BE SUBDIVIDED INTO THE FOLLOWING GROUPS: I. SDs based on peculiar syntactical arrangement of utterances II. SDs based on peculiar lexicosyntactical arrangement of utterances III. SDs based on peculiar syntactical connection of utterances IV. SDs based on peculiar use of syntactical meaning

I. PECULIAR SYNTACTICAL ARRANGEMENT OF UTTERANCES INCLUDES: STYLISTIC INVERSION DETACHED CONSTRUCTIONS PARALLEL CONSTRUCTIONS CHIASMUS

STYLISTIC INVERSION is based on deliberate violation of the fixed subject – predicate – object word order There are various patterns of stylistic inversion: q The predicate is placed before the subject (Women are not made for attack, wait they must; ) q The object is placed at the beginning of the sentence (Talent Mr. Micawber has; capital Mr. Micawber has not); q The attribute is placed after the word it modifies (Once upon a midnight dreary); q The adverbial modifier is placed at the beginning of the sentence (Under a tree she sat weeping (плакать); q Both modifier and predicate stand before the subject (In flew the arrow. )

As a device stylistic inversion is more common of English than Russian due to the regulations concerning word order in a sentence. To retrain the expressiveness created by this device lexical expressive means can be used in Russian.

DETACHED CONSTRUCTIONS This device is akin to inversion in some aspects. Sometimes one of the secondary parts of the sentence is placed so that it seems formally independent of the word it refers to. Such structures are called detached. It is given prominence by, intonation. Usually it is an attribute or an adverbial modifier Example: He stared at his rival, furious and ready to strike. It is placed in a position where it may seem independent, but it never is because of its syntactical and semantic incompleteness. Very often it needs logical interpretation by the reader. In some cases it may even have a humorous touch. (I often teased my sister while a boy – I mean while I was a boy, not she)

PARALLEL CONSTRUCTIONS They are cases of repetition of identical or similar syntactical structures. Such repetition is called syntactical parallelism “There were … real silver spoons to stir the tea with, and real china cups to drink it out of, and plates of the same to hold the cakes and toast in” (Ch. Dickens). Parallel constructions perform two main functions – semantic and structural. On the one hand they suggest equal semantic significance of the component parts; on the other hand, it gives a balanced rhythmical design to the whole unit.

CHIASMUS (REVERSED PARALLEL CONSTRUCTIONS) is a stylistic device based on the cross order of words and phrases. The structure of two successive sentences or their parts may be described as reversed (one is inverted as compared to the other, i. e. [S+P] – [P+S]). Example: Down dropped the breeze, The sails dropped down.

II. SDS BASED ON PECULIAR LEXICOSYNTACTICAL ARRANGEMENT OF UTTERANCES REPETITION ANTITHESIS CLIMAX ENUMERATION SUSPENSE

REPETITION is the recurrence of sounds, words, phrases, lines in a speech or piece of writing.

Repetition assumes different : compositional designs Anaphora (the repeated word or phrase comes at the beginning of two or more consecutive sentences – ‘She knew she was by him beloved, She knew that he was wretched and cold…’); Epiphora (the repeated unit is placed at the end – “I am exactly the man to be placed in a superior position in such a case as that. I am above the rest of mankind in such a case as that…”);

Framing (the initial part is repeated at the end) as in: “Poor little doll’s dressmaker! How often so dragged down by hands that should have raised her up; how often… Poor, little doll’s dressmaker!” Anadiplosis (when the last word or phrase of one part of an utterance is repeated at the beginning of the next part: At last he found the girl, the girl of his dream).

ENUMERATION becomes a stylistic device when words that fill in homogeneous parts of a sentence structure denote heterogeneous notions. Enumeration can occur without being a SD (Give me two pens, a pencil and a stamp). But in the following example enumeration performs quite a different function. Example: “The principle production of these towns… appear to be soldiers, sailors, Jews, chalk, shrimps, officers and dock-yard men”.

SUSPENSE This is a compositional device which consists in arranging the matter of communication in such a way that the less important, subordinate parts are concentrated at the beginning, the main, most important part being saved for the end. The device aims at preparing the reader or the listener for the main logical conclusion of the utterance. Suspense is favoured by orators because it helps to chain the attention of the listeners to the main issue of the matter in hand. Example: Mankind, says a Chinese manuscript, which my friend M. was obliging enough to read and explain to me, for the first seventy thousand ages ate their meat raw”.

CLIMAX (GRADATION) is such an arrangement of sentences or parts of one sentence which ensures a gradual rise in significance or emotional tension of the utterance (It was nasty, it was shameful, it was appalling). Each successive unit is semantically stronger than the preceding one.

CLIMAX CAN BE SUBDIVIDED INTO THREE TYPES: LOGICAL EMOTIONAL QUANTITATIVE • is based on the relative significance of the concepts (large, bulky (громадный), colossal, giant, huge, massive) • is based on synonymous strings of words with emotional meaning: “A smile would come into Mr. Pickwick’s face, the smile extended into a laugh, the laugh into a roar, and the roar became general”. • is based on the gradual increase of the volume of the corresponding concepts (“They looked at hundreds of houses; they climbed thousands of stairs; they inspected innumerable kitchens”).

ANTITHESIS is a syntactical parallel arrangement of words, phrases or sentences semantically opposed to one another Example: Language is finite and formal, reality is infinite and formless. Order is comic; chaos is tragic.

III. SDS BASED ON PECULIAR SYNTACTICAL CONNECTION OF UTTERANCES INCLUDES: ASYNDETON GAPSENTENCE LINK POLYSYNDETON

ASYNDETON is connection between parts of a sentence or between sentences without any formal sign (the omission of conjunctions). It becomes a SD if there is a deliberate omission of a connective in the place where it is generally expected to be according to the grammatical norms of the literary language. Example: “It is full of dirty blank spaces, high black walls, a gas holder, a tall chimney, a main road that shakes with dust, lorries

POLYSYNDETON is deliberate repetition of connectives before each component part where it is generally not expected. Example: And I want to eat at a table with my own silver and I want candles. And I want it to be spring and I want to brush my hair out in front of a mirror and I want a kitty and I want some new cloths. Polysyndeton makes all the parts of the utterance prominent, shows them as if in isolation.

GAP-SENTENCE LINK is such a connection between the sentences where some logical link is missing. This is done deliberately for the reader to grasp the missing link. The device is generally indicated by “and” or “but”. Example: She and that fellow ought to be sufferers, and they were in Italy. The lack of logical connection of the two clauses makes the sentence on the surface of it incoherent. But a deeper analysis will make it possible to grasp the idea that instead of suffering John and Irene were enjoying themselves in Italy (it means here that they both have had some troubles but as far as they come to Italy they are supposed to enjoy their time).

IV. SDS BASED ON PECULIAR USE OF SYNTACTICAL MEANING. THEY INCLUDE: ELLIPSIS QUESTION-INTHENARRATIVE LITOTES REPRESENTED SPEECH RHETORICAL QUESTION BREAK-INTHENARRATIVE

ELLIPSIS is the acceptable removal, because they are understood, of parallel items from a series (all sorts of omission in a sentence). The reader can easily fill in the gaps from his own recognition of the common denominator of the series. Example: For love is stronger than hate, and peace than war. (B. Smith)

BREAK-IN-THE-NARRATIVE (APOSIOPESIS) expresses unwillingness to proceed; the listener can guess by implication what was not verbally expressed. In written language it becomes a SD. The characteristic feature of this SD is that more is implied than said. Example: You just come home or I’ll…

QUESTION-IN-THENARRATIVE is asked answered by the same person, usually, the author. The author doesn’t expect to be answered, therefore it is closer to rhetorical questions. However rhetorical questions remains unanswered while question-in-thenarrative is answered by the person who asks it. Example: “What’s Romeo? It’s nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face…” (Shakespeare) This SD creates intimacy, involves the listener and promotes inner dialogue with him.

REPRESENTED SPEECH The speech of a character is represented by an author or by another character, but personal peculiarities of the first character’s speech are preserved. Represented speech can be uttered (How was her dear grandfather? ). On the one hand possessive pronoun “her” is used, on the other conversational peculiarities are preserved (“dear”). Unuttered represented speech is materializing thoughts and ideas that is why, especially in modern fiction, it is disconnected, incoherent and fragmentary. Such writing got the name of the “stream of conscience”.

RHETORICAL QUESTION is a syntactical SD which is based on deliberate use of a statement in the form of a question. No answer is required. This type of question tends to focus attention on the unresolved. It directs the reader towards the answer or the answers to be discovered. Example: How long can we suffer? Where is the end? Rhetorical questions make the reader active in drawing conclusions. Due to this property they are widely used in publicistic style.

LITOTES This device consists in a peculiar use of a negative structural meaning, understatement by denying of the opposite. It deals a lot with mentality of the English speaking people, shy or stating their opinion straightforwardly. Example: Not little = big