- Question in the narrative
- Based on the stylistic use
of structural meaning
Arnold distinguishes the following groups of
syntactical stylistic structures –
- Those based on the unusual
arrangement of the sentence elements
- Those based on the transposition
of the synt. Structures
- Those based on redundancy
- Those based on the omission of the logically obligatory elements or on syntactical
compression
- Based on Violation the integrity
of the sentence
Inversion
Word order is a crucial syntactical problem
in many languages. In English it has peculiarities which have been caused by the concrete and specific
way the language has developed. The predominance of the subject-predicate-object
word order makes conspicuous any change in the structure of the sentence.
Unlike grammatical inversion, stylistic inversion does not change the
structural meaning of the sentence. Stylistical inversion aims at attaching
logical stress or additional emotional coloring to the service meaning
of the sentence. Therefore, a specific intonation pattern is an inevitable
satellite of inversion. Stylistic inversion in modern English should
not be regarded as a violation of the norms of standard English. It
is only the practical realization of what is potential in the language
itself. The following patterns of stylistic inversion are most frequently
met in both English prose and poetry:
- The object is placed at the beginning of the
sentence – talent Mr Smith has, capitol Mr Smith has
not.
- The attribute is placed after the word it modifies
- Once upon a midnight dreary….
- The predicative is placed before the subject – a good generous prayer it was…
- Predicative stands before the link verb and
both a placed before the subject – rude am I in my speech.
- The adverbial modifier is placed at the beginning
of the sentence – eagerly I wished the morrow.
- Both modifier and predicate stand before the
subject – In went mr Pickwick.
- Part of the compound modal predicate is placed
at the beginning of the sentence – go I must.
- Direct object is placed at the beginning of
the sentence – her love letters I returned to the detectives.
- Partial and complete inversion
- Partial – connected with a displacement of a secondary
members of the sentence
- Complete – involves the displacement of the principal members
of the sentence
- Secondary inversion consists in preserving direct WO in questions. In modern English poetry
there appears a definite tendency to experiment with the word order.
In this case there can be almost unlimited number of rearrangements
of the members of the sentence.
Detached construction.
Sometimes one of the secondary parts of the
sentence by some specific consideration of the writer is placed so that
it seems formally independent of the word it logically refers to. Such
parts are called detached. The detached part being torn away from its
referent, assumes a greater degree of significance, and is given prominence
by intonation. There may be various types of detached constructions
- attribute, adv.modifier, are placed not in the immediate proximity
to its referent, but in some other position. (He rose up, grinding his
teeth, pale and with fury in his eyes).
A nominal phrase may serve as a detached element
(and he walked slowly passed along the river – an evening of clear
quiet beauty, all harmony and comfort except within his heart). This
stylistic device is akin to inversion, as the functions are almost the
same, but the detached constr-s produce the stronger effect.
Gradation.
Gradation is based on the recurrence of a certain
syntactic pattern. In each recurrent sequence the lexical unit
is either emotionally stronger or logically more important. (her parlor-maid
was ugly on purpose, malignantly, criminally ugly) A gradual increase
in significance may be maintained in 3 ways – logical, emotional,
quantitative. Logical climax is based on relative importance of the
component parts looked at from the point of view of the concepts embodied
in them. There are drinkers, there are drunkards, there are alcoholics.
The climax is based on the relative emotional tension produced by the
words with emotive meaning.
Quantitative climax is based on the evident increase in the volume of the corresponding
concept. They looked at hundreds of houses, they climbed thousands of
stairs, they inspected innumerable kitchens.
While reading a literary text, one gradually moves from
the first word, sentence, paragraph, to chapters, sections and parts.
All this represents the verbal layer of the literary text. The same
time when one reads a text of imaginative literature, one cannot but
see another layer gradually emerging out of this verbal sequences. Thus,
plot, theme, composition, genre, style, image and the like, make the
supraverbal poetic layer, which is entirely revealed in verbal sequences.
The cohesion of the 2 layers (verbal and supraverbal) constitute the
poetic structure of the literary text. It is the whole of the poetic
structure that conveys the authors message . All this composes the hierarchy
and organization of the interdependent layers. The basic unit of the
poetic structure is the word because all the other layers’ -
syntactic semantic compositional stylistic – are expressed in words.
Principles of foregrounding – decoding stylistics,
searches for the ways of deciphering artistic texts which will train
a language teacher in interpreting texts. The systematic structure of the text
requires for its interpretation some wider principles than a level of
stylistic devices. These principles of interpretation are called principles
of foregrounding. Foregrounding is the presence in the text of some
formal signs which focus the attention of the reader on the established
meaningful connections between the elements of different levels or distant
elements of the same level. Foregrounding draws the attention of the
reader to certain segments of the text which reveal the relative significance
of images ideas feelings and so on. So, the main functions of the means
of foregrounding are –
- To establish the hierarchy of meanings and
elements within a text.
- To provide the integrity and cohesion of the text
- To protect the message from being misunderstood
and help to decipher it
- To form an aesthetic context and to enhance
expressivity.
Means of foregrounding
- Coupling – there are several types of foregrounding based on eh principle of recurrence
- that is repetition of elements of various kinds which occur
at definite intervals. The recurrence of elements forms redundancy of expression. Redundancy makes it possible
to predict every element of the text thru the previous one due to their
connection. The simplest form of redundancy is the repetition of all
kinds of elements on all levels – semantic syntactic phonetic. When applied to poetry and emotional
prose semantic repetition together with other kinds of repetition, forms
coupling. Coupling is the similarity of elements in equivalent positions which ensures
the integrity of the whole text or its parts and ensures the proper understanding of the author’s message
as it puts the most important ideas into the foregrounding. FE – Sarah
was a menace and a tonic – my best enemy. Rosie was a disease – my worst friend. The names are equivalent in the code paradigmatically
as they are both personal names of women. They are also equivalent in
the text as they denote two closely connected principle personages.
They are placed in equivalent positions syntagmatically because they
are both subjects and stand at the beginning of the sentence. The words «menace» and «disease» are not
identical, but equivalent. They belong to one and the same semantic
field and may be viewed as contextual synonyms. Their positional equivalence
is based on the fact that they both fulfill the function of a predicative.
The phrases «my best enemy» and «my worst friend» are equivalent in structure. Besides, they present the same stylistic
device. They are oxymorons, having the same positions and being detached
attributes.
- Convergence is an accumulation of stylistic devices fulfilling one
and the same function in a small segment of the text. Being interrelated
all these devices support each other and prevent the text from being misunderstood. The following
sentence serves as illustration of convergence: And heaved and heaved
still unrestingly heaved the black sea as if its vast tides were a conscience.
The convergence here is created by a whole bunch of stylistic devices on different levels which
are closely interrelated. The rhythmical structure of the sentence renders
the idea of the motion of the waves. This rhythm is created with the
help of the repetition of the verb heaved and its inversion, and is supported by the polysyndeton.The verb heave
posesses a very strong emotive charge being highly imaginative and is
associated with heavy breathing. The author's neologisms unrestingly
is also very expressive. The unusual simile as if its vast tides were a conscience», serves the aim of depicting the waves comparing the concrete to the
abstract. Thus the poetic image of waves and the impression of their
rhythmical motion is created by inversion with a subject standing far from
the beginning of the sentence, lexical repetition, polysyndeton (and is repeated),
rhythm, the neologism unrestingly as an epithet, the expressive epithet vast, and the simile
where tides are compared to conscience.
- Defeated expectancy is based on the ability of a man to prognosticate events. A text presents the continuity of effects
which possesses a linear character. It means that the appearance of every separate
element is prepared by the preceding ones, and in its turn prepares
the appearance of the following one. But when on this background there appear some elements which are
not easily predictable, elements of low predictability, the continuity
of the text is broken, and the sudden unexpected unpredictable element
arrests the readers attention and expectancy is defeated. Thus the mechanism of this effect consists in the contrast between the
element of easy predictability and an un predictable element. The latter
slows down the decoding of the text, and thus attracts the reader's
attention to the form of the text. The stylistic effect of defeated expectancy is very strong. It
is based on the deviation from the norm of the text itself. It can be
observed when we deal with deviation of a more general kind – from
the genre, style, standard combinability of words and so on. In poetry, defeated expectancy, can be found in deviation
from the metrical scheme.
- Strong positions of text. Are titles, the beginning of the text, epigraphs,
prologues, epilogues. These parts of the text belong to the surest ways
of the reader's orientation in the text, of deciphering the principle information
that the text contains. Our reading thesaurus prompts that the outstanding
component of information should occupy the prominent places in the text. The singling out of strong positions
as certain supports of the reader's perception, is also based on the
probability of prognosis.