Hyperbole

Euphemism

Periphrasis

Periphrasis is the re-naming of an object by a phrase that brings out some particular feature of the object. Here are some examples of well-known dictionary periphrases:

the cap and gown ('student body'); a gentleman of the long robe ('a lawyer'); the fair sex ('women'); my better half {'my wife').

Stylistic periphrasis can also be divided into logical and figurative. Logical periphrasis is based on one of the inherent properties or perhaps a passing feature of the object described, as in instruments of destruction = 'pistols'; the most pardonable of human weaknesses = 'love'. Figurative periphrasis is based either on metaphor or on metonymy, the key-word of the collocation being the word used figuratively as in 'the punctual servant of all work' = the sun; 'to tie the knot' = to marry.

There is a variety of periphrasis which are called euphemistic.

Euphemism, as is known, is a word or phrase used to replace an unpleasant word or expression by a conventionally more acceptable one, for example, the word 'to die' has bred the following euphemisms: to pass away, to be no more, to depart, to join the majority. So euphemisms are synonyms which aim at producing a deliberately mild effect.

Euphemisms may be divided into several groups according to their spheres of application. The most recognized are the following: 1) religious, 2) moral, 3) medical and 4) parliamentary.

Hyperbole is 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 will show its utter absurdity.

In order to depict the width of the river Dnieper Godol uses the following hyperbole:

"It's a rare bird that can fly to the middle of the Dnieper."

4. Compositional patterns of syntactical arrangement:

The structural syntactical aspect is sometimes regarded as the crucial issue in stylistic analysis, although the peculiarities of syntactical arrangement are not so conspicuous as the lexical and phraseological properties of the utterance.

Structural syntactical stylistic devices are in special relations with the intonation involved.

When viewing the stylistic functions of different syntactical designs we must first of all take into consideration two aspects:

1. The juxtaposition of different parts of the utterance.

2. The way the parts are connected with each other.

In addition to these two large groups of EMs and SDs two other groups may be distinguished:

1. Those based on the peculiar use of colloquial constructions.

2. Those based on the transferred use of structural meaning. Stylistic Inversion

Word order is a crucial syntactical problem in many languages. Stylistic inversion aims at attaching logical stress or additional emotional colouring to the surface meaning of the utterance.

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 English poetry.

1. The object is placed at the beginning of the sentence.

2. The attribute is placed after the word it modifies (postposition of the attribute). "With fingers weary and worn... "

3. a) The predicative is placed before the subject as in "A good generous prayer it was."

or b) the predicative stands before the link verb and both are placed before the subject as in "Rude am I in my speech..."

4. The adverbial modifier is placed at the beginning of the sentence, as in "Eagerly I wished the morrow."

5. Both modifier and predicate stand before the subject, as in "In went Mr. Pickwick."

Дата добавления: 2014-12-23