Lexical Expressive Means and Stylistic Devices

Lexical Expressive Means and Stylistic Devices

 
Words in a context may acquire additional lexical meanings not fixed in the dictionaries, what we have called contextual meanings. The latter may sometimes deviate from the dictionary meaning to such a degree that the new meaning even becomes the opposite of the primary meaning. What is known in linguistics as transferred meaning is practically the interrelation between two types of lexical meaning: dictionary and contextual. 
 
The transferred meaning of a word may be fixed in dictionaries as a result of long and frequent use of the word other than in its primary meaning. In this case we register a derivative meaning of the word. Hence the term transferred should be used signifying the development of the semantic structure of the word. In this case we do not perceive two meanings.When we perceive two meanings of the word simultaneously, we are confronted with a stylistic device in which the two meanings interact. 
 
 
^ Classification of Lexical Stylistic Devices (I.R.Galperin) 
 
There are 4 groups. 
 
1. The interaction of different types of lexical meaning. 
 
a) logical (dictionary and contextual ): metaphor, metonymy, irony; 
 
b) primary and derivative (zeugma, pun, semantically false chain); 
 
c) logical and emotive (epithet, oxymoron); 
 
d) logical and nominal (antonomasia); 
 
2. Intensification of a feature (simile, hyperbole, periphrasis). 

3.Peculiar use of set expressions (cliches, proverbs, epigrams, quotations).

4.Interaction of Logical and Nominal Meaning.

 
 
 
I. 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 device 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 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 vigor, 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 proximity(contiguity).  
 
The proximity (contiguity) may be revealed: 
 
1) Between the symbol and the thing it denotes; crown, scepter; 
 
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 meaning is the opposite of the intended meaning. Irony is based on the opposition of what is said to what is meant. 
 
 
E.g. “The garden bore witness to a love of growing plants which extended to many types commonly known as weeds. (J. Wain). 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 well-known 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 semantically different meanings of grammatically homogeneous members with the help of a verb which is made to refer to different subjects or objects (direct and indirect). “Killing time with a book was not much better than killing pheasants and time with a gun.” 
 
^ The pun (play on words) is based on simultaneous realization of two meanings of a polysemantic word or the usage of two homonyms in the same context: 
 
- Have you ever seen him at the bar? 
 
- Thousand times. He was a drunkard. 
 
The pun is more independent. Like any S.D. it must depend on a context. But the context may be of a more extended character, sometimes even as large as a whole work of emotive prose. 
 
- Did you miss my lecture? 
 
- Not at all. 
 
Pun seems to be more varied and resembles zeugma in its humorous effect only. 
 
Semantically false chain is a variety of zeugma consisting of a number of homogeneous members, semantically disconnected, but attached to the same verb. It is based on the effect of defeated expectancy and produces a humorous effect. 
 
Ex.: “Babbitt respected bigness in anything: in mountains, jewels, muscles, wealth of words”. (S.L.) 
 
^ 3. Interaction of Logical and Emotive Meaning 
 
Interjections and Exclamatory 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? 
 
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. 
 
Epithet: a word (a group of words) carrying an expressive (emotive) characterization of an object described: “^ Full many a glorious morning have I seen..."(Sh.) 
 
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: 
 
1) 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 of phrase: e.g. “a shadow of a smile”. 
 
Semantically epithets according to I.R.Galperin are: 
 
1) 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. 
 
According to another classification of epithets (V.A.Kucharenko): 
 
^ 1) Tautological epithets: “green grass” 
 
2) Evaluative epithets: “a pompously majestic female” 
 
3) Descriptive epithets: “an unnaturally mild day” 
 
4) Metaphorical epithets: “the smiling sun” 
 
5) Metonymical epithets: “the sleepless pillow” 
 
 
Oxymoron is a conjunction of seemingly contradictory notions. It is a combination of two words in which the meaning is opposite in sense: e.g. speaking silence, cold fire, living death. “And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true”(A.Tennison).  
 
Trite oxymoron. E.g. awfully beautiful. 
 
Close to oxymoron is paradox - a statement that is absurd on the surface. E.g. War is peace. The worse - the better. 
 
If the primary meaning of a qualifying word is changed 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 Nominal Meaning 
 
ANTONOMASIA is a SD based on the usage of a common noun instead of a proper name and vice versa to characterize the person simultaneously with naming him – the so called “speaking names»: Lady Teasle, Miss Sharp, Mister Logic. Every Caesar has his Brutus. 
 
Antonomasia 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. 
 
3) Speaking names: both naming and characterizing the personage under discussion – Lady Teasle, Mr. Surface, Mr. Snake. 
 
 
^ II. Intensification of a Feature  
 
(Lexico-Syntactical SD in V.A. Kukharenko’s classification) 
 
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, i. e. its state, its actions, and 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 periphrases are traditional. ^ E.g. The fair sex. My better half. 
 
Periphrases are divided into: 
 
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. 
 
Euphemistic periphrases are used to avoid some unpleasant things, or taboo things. E.g. To pass away - to die. 
 
Hyperbole is a 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. 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. 
 
Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally to express a highly emotional attitude towards the thing described: “He was all starch and vinegar.” (D.) “The girls were dressed to kill” (J.Br.) 
 
Litotes is a device in which an affirmation is expressed by denying its contrary. Usually litotes presupposes double negation. One through a negative particle (no, not), the other - through a word with negative meaning. Its function is to convey doubts of the speaker concerning the exact characteristics of the object or a feeling. 
 
Litotes is a trope in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative or vice versa: “It was not without a certain wild pleasure I ran before the wind (Jane Eyre). E.g. It's not a bad thing - It's a good thing. 
 
E.g. He is no coward. - He is a brave man. 
 
E.g. He was not without taste. 
 
Structural patterns of litotes: 

1.  
   The presence of the key-element “not”. “It is not unreasonable.”

2.  
   The key-element “too” + “not”. “I am not too sure.”

3.  
   The key-element “rather, pretty, scarcely, etc…”

Table9 
 
Classification of Lexical Stylistic Devices (LSD) 
 
(I.R.Galperin, V.A.Kucharenko)

 
 
 
^ Syntactical SD (SSD) – I.R.Galperin 
 
Stylistic study of the syntax begins with the study of the length and the structure of a sentence but is not reduced to it. Such things as word order, communicative function and punctuation are also to be considered. The effect of the majority of other syntactical stylistic devices depends on either the completeness or quantitative characteristics of the structure or on the arrangement of its members. (V.A.Kukharenko, Y.M.Skrebnev)  
 
According to the completeness and quantitative characteristics of the syntactic structure the following syntactic stylistic devices are identified: 

1.  
   The omission/absence of elements that are obligatory in a neutral construction:

•  
  Ellipsis - is the omission of a word necessary for the complete syntactical construction of a sentence, but not necessary for understanding. The stylistic function of ellipsis used in the author's narration is to change its tempo, to connect its structure. e.g. You feel all right? Anything wrong or what?

 
Ellipsis (absence of one or both principal parts – the subject, the predicate; typical, first and foremost, of colloquial speech; thus, it is usually used in dialogues, in represented speech, sometimes in monologues, narration, and exposition; ellipsis is the basis of the so-called telegraphic style, in which connectives and redundant words are left out); absence of auxiliary elements (such as auxiliary verbs, articles, prepositions); Ellipsis: an intentional omission of one or more words: “a poor boy … no father, no mother, no any one”. 

• ^ One-member sentences, nominative sentences among them, (the communicative function is a mere statement of the existence of an object, a phenomenon; thus, they are mostly occur in exposition; due to their laconic character one-member sentences appeal to the reader’s imagination; one-member sentences are also the basis of the telegraphic style);

• ^ Break (Break - in - the narrative) or aposiopesis (Greek “silence”; intentional abstention from continuing the utterance to the end, used mainly in the dialogue or in other forms of narrative imitating spontaneous oral speech; it reflects the emotional or/and the psychological state of the speaker; to mark the break mainly dashes and dots are used). Sudden break in the narration has the function to reveal agitated state of the speaker. e.g. On the hall table there were a couple of letters addressed to her. One was the bill. The other... Aposiopesis: a sudden intentional break in the narrative or a dialogue: “Well, I never …”

• Asyndeton is a deliberate avoidance of conjunctions (deliberate omission of conjunctions); in constructions in which they would normally used. E.g. He couldn't go abroad alone, the sea upset his liver, he hated hotels. “People sang, people fought, people loved.”

• Apokoinu constructions (the omission of the pronominal / adverbial connective, that creates a blend of the main and subordinate clauses so that the predicate or the object of the first one is simultaneously used as the subject of the second one, as in “There was a door led into the kitchen”(Sh.A.), thus the impression of clumsiness of speech is produced); 

 
II.The redundancy/excess of non-essential elements; 

1. repetition (recurrence of the same word, word combination or phrase two or more times);

2. polysyndeton - is an identical repetition of conjunctions: used to emphasize simultaneousness of described actions, to disclose the author’s subjective attitude towards the characters, to create the rhythmical effect.Polysyndeton (as opposed to asyndeton means excessive use of conjunctions – “and” as a rule, in which case either the simultaneity of actions, or close connection of properties enumerated, or their equal importance is focused upon); Polysyndeton is an insistent repetition of a connective between words, phrases, clauses. 

 
e.g. “They were from Milan and one of them was to be a lawyer, and one was to be a painter, and one had intended to be a soldier.” (E.Hemingway) 
 
The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. 

3. prolepsis, or syntactic tautology (recurrence of the noun subject in the form of the corresponding personal pronoun; the aim being the communicative emphasis of the theme, making it more prominent, more ‘rheme-like’, as in “Miss Tillie Webster, she slept forty days and nights without waking up” (O. Henry);

4. tautology in appended statements (as in “I washed my hands and face afore I come, I did…”, from Bernard Shaw);

 
e) emphasising the rheme of the utterance (the usage of the emphatic introductory construction It + be; What S–V+ is). 
 
f) parallel construction is a device which may be encountered not so much in the sentence as in the macro - structures dealt with the syntactical whole and the paragraph. The necessary condition in parallel construction is identical or similar, syntactical structure in two or more sentences or parts of sentence. 
 
g) chiasums is based on repetition of syntactical patterns, but it has a reversed order in one of the utterances. ^Chiasmus is reversed parallelism: a b, b a. 
 
E.g. “I looked at the gun and the gun looked at me” (R.Ch.) She was a good sport about all this, but so was he. 
 
Two syntactical constructions are parallel, but their members change their syntactical positions, thus, what is the subject in the first, becomes an object or a predicative in the second; a head-word and its attribute change places and functions likewise. 
 
According to the distribution (arrangement) of the elements the following syntactic stylistic devices are identified (see V.A.Kukharenko, Y.M.Skrebnev): 
 
^ 1. 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. Inversion is based on the partial or complete replacement of the language elements and violation of the word order: “Women are not made for attack. Wait they must” (J.C.)  
 
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. 
 
Various types of stylistic inversion (change of word-order), aimed at attaching logical stress or additional emotional colouring to the surface meaning of the sentence: 
 
complete:  
 
(a) the predicate precedes the subject (the predicate is before the link verb and both are placed before the subject); 
 
(b) both adverbial modifier and predicate are before the subject 
 
partial:  
 
(a) the object precedes the subject-predicative unit;  
 
(b) the auxiliary element of the compound verbal predicate precedes the subject; 
 
(c) the predicative precedes the subject; 
 
(d) the adverbial modifier or the preposition of a phrasal verb is intentionally placed at the beginning of the sentence; 
 
(e) the attribute is placed after the word it modifies (postposition of the attribute).  
 
* Note: It is important to draw a line of demarcation between grammatical inversion and stylistic inversion. Stylistic inversion does not change the grammatical type of the syntactical structure. Compare the following: 
 
They slid down. 
 
Did they slide down? (grammatical inversion) 
 
Down they slid. (stylistic inversion) 
 
** Note: The sphere in which all sorts of inversion can be found is colloquial speech. Here it is not so much a stylistic device as the result of spontaneity of speech and the informal character of the latter.  
 
2. Suspense is a deliberate postponement of the completion of the sentence. The theme and the rheme of the sentence are distanced from each other and the new information is withheld, creating the tension of expectation. Technically, suspense is organised with the help of embedded clauses separating the predicate from the subject and introducing less important facts and details first, while the expected information of major importance is reserved till the end of the sentence. Suspense - is a compositional device which is realized through the separation of the Predicate from the Subject by deliberate introduction between them of a clause or a sentence. Thus the reader's interest is held up. This device is typical of oratoric style with the help of embedded clauses separating the predicate from the subject and introducing less important facts and details first, while the expected information of major importance is reserved till the end of the sentence. Suspense is a deliberate postponement of the completion of the sentence: “Of all my association, of all my old pursuits and hopes, of all the living and the dead world, this one poor soul alone comes natural to me” (D.) 
 
^ Note: the term suspense is also used in literary criticism to denote an expectant uncertainty about the outcome of the plot. To hold the reader in suspense means to keep the final solution just out of sight. Detective and adventure stories are examples of suspense fiction.  
 
^ 3. Detached constructions. A specific arrangement of sentence members is observed in detachment, a stylistic device based on singling out a secondary member of the sentence with the help of punctuation (intonation). Sometimes one of the secondary members of the sentence is placed so that it seems formally independent of the word it refers to. Being formally independent this secondary member acquires a greater degree of significance and is given prominence by intonation. E.g. She was gone. For good. 
 
The punctuation marks used are mainly commas. The word-order is not violated, but secondary members obtain their own stress and intonation. Practically any secondary part may be detached, be it an attribute, apposition, adverbial modifier,or direct/ prepositional object. “She was crazy about you. In the beginning. 
 
4. Attachment: The second part of the utterance is separated by a full stop from the first as if in afterthought: “a lot of mills. And a chemical factory. And a Grammar school. And a war memorial…” 
 
5 .Parenthetic words, phrases and sentences mostly evaluate what is said or supply some kind of additional information. Parenthetic elements comprising additional information are a kind of protest against the linear character of the text. Parenthetic segments perform a number of stylistic functions, such as: 

1. the creation of a second plane, or background to the narrative;

2. the creation of a mingling of ‘voices’ of different speech parties (‘polyphony’);

3. focusing on the information in parentheses.

 
Special punctuation marks the usage of parenthesis. It usually includes using dashes or brackets; commas are possible but infrequent. Besides, parentheses are independent enough to function as exclamatory or interrogative segments of declarative sentences. 
 
6. Enumeration is a SD which separates things, properties or actions brought together and forms a chain of grammatically and semantically homogeneous parts of the utterance. e.g. She wasn't sure of anything and more, of him, herself, their friends, her work, her future. 
 
^ 7. Rhetorical questions. Rhetorical question is one that expects no answer. It is asked in order to make a statement rather than to get a reply. It is frequently used in dramatic situation and in publicist style. e.g. What was the good of discontented people who fitted in nowhere?  
 
A Rhetorical question is a statement semantically, as it is not meant to be answered directly and is used to attract attention of the readers or speakers to the problem raised.^ Rhetorical questions<i< span="">> </i<>are statements expressed in the form of interrogative constructions. Unlike ordinary questions they do not demand any information but serve to express the emotions of the speaker and also to call the attention of listeners. 
 
In fact, the speaker knows the answer and often gives it immediately after the question. When it is not given directly, it is inferred, as the positive form of a rhetorical question calls for the negative answer, and the negative form – for the positive. Rhetorical questions make an indispensable part of oratorical speech for – due to intonation or/and punctuation – they draw the attention of the audience to the core information of the utterance. “But what words shall describe the Mississippi, great father of rivers, who (praise to Heaven) has no young children like him?” (D.) 
 
^ 8. Question in the narrative. Changes the real nature of a question turns it into a stylistic device. A question in the narrative is asked and answered by one and the same person, usually the author. It becomes akin to a parenthetical statement with strong emotional implications. e.g. For what is left the poet here? For Greeks a blush - for Greece a tear. 
 
As is seen from these examples the questions asked, unlike rhetorical questions do not contain statements. 
 
Question in the narrative is very often used in oratory. This is explained by one of the leading features of oratorical style - to induce the desired reaction to the content of the speech. 
 
 
^ Table 10 
 
Syntactical SD (SSD) – I.R.Galperin