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Lecture 7 А. Stylistic Devices. Part 2.Docx

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Lecture 7 А. Stylistic Devices. Part 2.Docx

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andrianaoleksin49
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Lecture 7 А.

Stylistic devices

Basics

In literature and writing, a figure of speech (also called stylistic device or


rhetorical device) is the use of any of a variety of techniques to give an auxiliary
meaning, idea, or feeling.
Sometimes a word diverges from its normal meaning, or a phrase has a
specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it. Examples are
metaphor, simile, or personification.
Stylistic devices often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity.
Here is a list of some of the most important figures of speech:
----allusion: Indirect reference to another work of literature or art
----ambiguity: Phrasing which can have two meanings
----analogy A comparision
----humour: Provoking laughter and providing amusement
----hyperbole: Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis
----meiosis: Use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance of something
----metaphor: Stating one entity is another for the purpose of comparing them in
quality
----metonymy: Substitution of an associated word to suggest what is really meant
----neologism: The use of a word or term that has recently been created, or has been
in use for a short time. Opposite of archaism
----onomatopoeia: Words that sound like their meaning
----oxymoron: Using two terms together, that normally contradict each other
----simile: Comparison between two things using like or as (He fights like a lion).
----zeugma: The use of a word in both its figurative and literal sense
Metonymy - figurative expression, closely associated with the subject
Metonomy (unlike metaphor) uses figurative expressions that are closely
associated with the subject in terms of place, time or background. The figurative
expression is not a physical part of the subject, however.
Examples:
▪ The White House declared … (White House = US government / President)
▪ The land belongs to the crown. (crown = king / queen / royal family / monarchy)
▪ Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do
that. (Norman Vincent Peale)
▪ (empty pockets = poverty; empty heads = ignorance / dullness / density; empty
hearts = unkindness / coldness)

Parallelism - successive clauses or sentences are similarly structured. This similarity


makes it easier for the reader / listener to concentrate on the message.
Example:
▪ We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our
interest, and teach us what it means to be citizens. (2)
▪ The mediocre teacher tells, The good teacher explains. The superior teacher
demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. (William A. Ward)
▪ The mistakes of the fool are known to the world, but not to himself. The mistakes of
the wise man are known to himself, but not to the world. (Charles Caleb Colton)
▪ Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I will learn.
(Benjamin Franklin)
Note: When writing, parallelism is a useful device for instructions. Due to the
parallel structure, the reader can concentrate on the message and will immediately
know what to do (see examples below).
Example 1 (no parallelism):
▪ Open the book first.
▪ You must read the text now.
▪ There are pictures in the book–Look at them.
▪ The questions must be answered.
Example 2 (parallelism):
▪ Open the book.
▪ Read the text.
▪ Look at the pictures.
▪ Answer the questions.
You surely agree that the second instruction is easier to follow (and to
remember) than the first one. The change of structure in the first example is
confusing and distracts the reader from the actual message. It might be okay with
simple messages like the ones we used here. But following more complex
instructions is really hard if they are not in parallel structure.

Simile - direct comparison

Two things are compared directly by using 'like' (A is like B.). A simile is a figure
of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the word "like" or
"as". It takes the form of:
Other possibilities are for example:
▪ A is (not) like B
▪ A is more/less than B
▪ A is as … as B
▪ A is similar to B
▪ A is …, so is B
▪ A does …, so does B
Examples:
▪
▪ Personality is to a man what perfume is to a flower. (Charles Schwab)
▪ My friend is as good as gold.

▪ He fights like a lion.


▪ He swims as fast as a fish.
▪ "My dad was a mechanic by trade when he was in the Army, When he got the
tools out, he was like a surgeon."

Understatement - weaken or soften a statement


A statement is deliberately weakened to sound ironical or softened to sound
more polite.
Note that understatement is a common feature of the English language
(especially British English) used in everyday-life situations.
Examples:
▪ I know a little about running a company. (a successful businessman might modestly
say.)
▪ I think we have slightly different opinions on this topic. (instead of: I don't agree
with you at all.)

OXYMORON
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines incongruous (несумісні,
невідповідні) or contradictory terms. The plural is oxymorons or oxymora.

Examples:
An oxymoron can be made of an adjective and a noun:

▪ Dark light
▪ Deafening silence
▪ Living dead
▪ Open secret
▪ Virtual reality
Oxymorons can also be a combination of a noun and a verb.

▪ The silence whistles


ELLIPSIS

Ellipsis (or elliptical construction ) is the omission of a word or words. It refers to


constructions in which words are left out of a sentence but the sentence can still be
understood.
Ellipsis helps us avoid a lot of redundancy (надмірність). In fact there is a lot of
redundancy in language and it can be surprising how much can be left out without
losing much meaning, particularly when there are contextual clues as to the real
meaning.

Examples:

▪ Lacy can do something about the problem, but I don’t know what (she can do.)
▪ She can help with the housework; Nancy can (help with the housework), too.
▪ John can speak seven languages, but Ron can speak only two (languages.)

EUPHEMISM
Euphemism is used to express a mild, indirect, or vague term to substitute for a
harsh, blunt, or offensive term. Euphemism is often contrasted
with dysphemism. Some euphemisms intend to amuse, while others intend to
give positive appearances to negative events or even mislead entirely.
Examples:
These are examples of euphemism:
▪ Going to the other side for death,
▪ Passed away for die.
▪ On the streets for homeless.
▪ Comfort woman for prostitute
▪ Between jobs for unemployed.

IRONY
Irony is a figure of speech in which there is a contradiction of expectation
between what is said and what is really meant. It is characterized by an
incongruity, a contrast, between reality and appearance. There are three types of
irony: verbal, dramatic and situational.
Types of irony
1. Verbal irony:
It is a contrast between what is said and what is meant
2. Dramatic irony:
It occurs when the audience or the reader knows more than the character about
events. In other words, what the character thinks is true is incongruous with
what the audience knows.
3. Situational irony:
This refers to the contrast between the actual result of a situation and what was
intended or expected to happen.
Examples of irony
▪ His argument was as clear as mud.
▪ The two identical twins were arguing. One of them told the other: "You're ugly"
▪ The thieves robbed the police station.

Zeugma
Zeugma which is often also called syllepsis, or semantic syllepsis, is a construction
where a single word is used with two other parts of a sentence but must be
understood differently in relation to each.
Examples:

▪ He took his hat and his leave.


▪ She broke his car and his heart.
The above structures are grammatically correct: "took" collocates with
both "hat" and "leave" and "broke" collocates with both "car" and "heart".
But these constructions create their stylistic effect by seeming, at first hearing, to be incorrect by
exploiting multiple shades of meaning in a single word or phrase.

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