EMs and SDs which give additional characteristics to the objects described

They are simile and periphrasis (перифраза).

Simile is a structure of three components. It is an imaginative comparison of two unlike objects belonging to two different classes. The one which is compared is called the tenor, the one with which it is compared is called the vehicle. The tenor and the vehicle are connected by one of the following link words like, as, as though, as like, such as, as…as, etc.

              E.g. The girl is like a rose

              The girl is the tenor; a rose – the vehicle; like – a link word.

The feature which is called foundation of the simile may be explicitly mentioned

E.g. He stood immovable like a rock. (immovable – foundation)

When the foundation is not explicitly named the simile is considered to be richer in possible associations.

Simile in which the link between the tenor and vehicle is expressed by notional verbs such as to resemble, to seem, to remember, to remind, to recollect to look like, to appear are called disguised or hidden similes.

              E.g. He reminded James of a hungry cat.

Periphrasis is a word combination which is used instead of word designating the object. Periphrasis can be of three types:

1) Logical is based on logical notions e.g. Mr. X bore under his arm the instrument of destruction. – (pistols).

2) Figurative is based on metaphor and metonymy e.g. Back foolish tears, back to your native spring. – (eyes)

3) Euphemistic (благозвучный) give a mild, delicate expression instead of one which seems rude or unpleasant. It is used for different stylistic purposes, sometimes to achieve humorous effect.

e.g. Mr. Pont was dressed in the conventional disguise (=the suit) with which Brooks Brothers cover the shame of American millionaires(=the belly).

The often repeated periphrasis becomes trite and serves as universally accepted periphrastic synonyms

E.g. the gentle sex means women; my better half – my spouse.

The main function of P. is to convey a purely individual perception of the described object. To achieve it the generally accepted nomination of the object is replaced by the description of one of its features or qualities, which seems to the author most important for the characteristic of the object, and which thus becomes foreground.

 

 

Syntactical Stylistic Devices

Syntactical SDs deal with the syntactical arrangement of the utterance which creates some particular emotional colouring. The problem of SSDs is closely connected with the problem of the word order in English. The English affirmative sentence is regarded as neutral if it maintains the regular word order: the subject – the predicate – the object.

In oral speech (which is more emphatic than the written type of speech) different syntactical structures are used automatically as a norm of oral intercourse communication and are not considered to be SDs. Within the written type of the speech even a slightest change in the word order of the sentence will add something to the volume of the information contained in the sentence.

SSDs can be subdivided into 3 groups:

1. SDs used within a sentence. This group can be divided into:

a) SDs based on the juxtaposition (соположение) of different parts of the utterance (inversion, detachment),

b) SDs based on the peculiarities of oral speech (ellipsis, aposiopesis, represented speech),

c) SDs based on the stylistic use of interrogative and negative constructions (rhetorical questions, litotes);

2. SDs used within an utterance:

a) SDs based on parallelism (parallel constructions, chiasmus/reversed parallelism),

b) SDs based on a special arrangement of the parts of the utterance (climax, anticlimax or bathos, suspense, antithesis),

c) SDs based on repetition (repetition);

3. SDs based on a special use of connection between words, phrases and utterance.