Lexico-syntactical stylistic devices based on contrast (anticlimax, antithesis, litotes)

Climax

Climax (gradation) - an ascending series of words or utterances in which intensity or significance increases step by step. e.g."Better to borrow, better to beg, better to die!" (D.)

Climax or gradation (Greek climax – “ladder”; Latin gradatio – “ascent, climbing up”) is a type of semantically complicated parallelism, in which every successive unit is logically more important or emotionally stronger or more explicit than the preceding one. Climax is based onthe usage ofhomogeneous members which are arranged in ascending or descending scale, reaching climax or the highest (the lowest) point of intensity or expressiveness: “ Hewas numbed. He wanted to weep, to vomit, to die, to sink away”. ( A.B.)

Climax is marked by parallelism, enumeration and repetition.

“ The liar! The brute! The monster! (Emotive climax, ascending scale)

"No tree, to shrub, no blade of grass that was not owned." (G.) ( Descending scale)

The first type of climax (the literary one) will be the following fragment: “and he PULLED! And the tail broke” whereas the second (the stylistic one) is much lengthier –“so he took off his plaid, and bent down and took hold of the sheep’s tail, and he pulled! The sheep was heavy with water, and he could not lift her, so he took off his coat and he pulled! But it was too much for him, so he spit on his hands, and took a good hold of the tail and he PULLED! And the tail broke! And if it had not been for that this tale would have been a great deal longer”.

Leading to the climax (understood as a literary term), the latter shows how gradually the character’s involvement and excitement, as well as the tension of the narration, grow. It is worth while to note that this happens not infrequently in literary works on the whole and in short stories in particular. The climax (as gradation) is often a formal marker preceding the climax (as culmination).

According to I.R.Galperin and V.A.Kukharenko a gradual increase in significance may be maintained in three ways: logical, emotional and quantitative. Study the table below:

Types of Climax	Logical	Every succeeding concept is logically more important than the previous one: Like a well, like a vault, like a tomb, the prison had no knowledge of the brightness outside. (D.)
Emotional/ Emotive	A row of synonyms with emotive meaning (often contextual ones) gradually increase the emotional tension of the utterance: "It was a lovely city, a beautiful city, a fair city, a veritable gem of a city."
Quantitative	An increase in the volume, size or number of each succeeding unit is implied: "They looked at hundredsof houses; they climbed thousandsof stairs; they inspected innumerablekitchens."(Somerset Maugham)

Climax (gradation): Homogeneous members are arranged in ascending or descending scale, reaching climax or the highest (the lowest) point of intensity or expressiveness.

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