Syntactical expressive means and stylistic

Devices: COMPOSITIONAL PATTERNS OF SYNTACTICAL ARRANGEMENT

Essential Terms:

inversion - the reversal of the normal order of words in a sentence, for the sake of emphasis (in prose) or for the sake of the metre (in poetry): Dark they were and golden-eyed. (Bradbury)

The stylistic inversion has the following patterns:

1) the object is placed at the beginning of the sentence (before the subject);

2) the attribute is placed after the word it modifies;

3) the predicative is placed before the subject;

4) the predicative is placed before  the link-verb and both are placed before the subject;

5) the adverbial modifier is placed at the beginning of the sentence.

6) both the adverbial modifier and the predicate are placed before the subject.

DETACHED CONSTRUCTION (detachment)- One of the secondary parts of the sentence is detached from the word it refers to and is made to seem independent of this word. Such parts are called detached and marked off by brackets, dashes or commas or even by full stops or exclamation marks: "I have to beg you for money! Daily!"

parallel construction (or SYNTACTIC PARALLELISM) - a figure based on the use of the similar syntactic pattern in two or more sentences or syntagms:

1) When the lamp is shattered

The light in the dust lies dead –

When the cloud is scattered

The rainbow's glory is shed.

When the lute is broken.

Sweet tones are remembered not;

When the lips have spoken,

Loved accents are soon forgot.

(P.B. Shelley)

2) I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison and ye came into me (St. Matthew).

chiasmus (reversed parallel constructions) - a figure of speech based on the repetition of a syntactical pattern with a reverse word-order (see: SYNTACTIC PARALLELISM):

1) Let the long contention cease:
Geese are swans, and swans are geese.

                             (M. Arnold)

2) Beauty is truth, truth beauty_t - that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

(Keats)

3) But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first           (St. Matthew). 

I. Speak on the following:                                                                             Compositional patterns of syntactical arrangement:

1) inversion;

2) detachment;

3) parallel constructions;

4) reversed parallel constructions (chaismus).

II. In your books of either home reading or individual reading find the above mentioned expressive means and stylistic devices and comment upon their structure and stylistic function.

III. Do the following exercises:

Exercise III. Find and analyse cases of detachment, suspense and inversion. Comment on the structure and functions of each:

1. She narrowed her eyes a trifle at me and said I looked exactly like Celia Briganza's boy. Around the mouth. (S.)

2. She was crazy about you. In the beginning. (R. W.)

3. Of all my old association, of all my old pursuits and hopes of all the living and the dead world, this one poor soul alone comes natural to me. (D.)

4. On, on he wandered, night and day, beneath the blazing sun, and the cold pale moon; through the dry heat of noon, and the damp cold of night; in the grey light of morn and the  red glare of eve. (D.)

5. Benny Collan, а respected guy, Benny Collan  wants to marry her. An agent could ask for more? (T. C.)

6. Women are not made for attack. Wait they must. (J. C.)

7. Out came the chase - in went the horses - on sprang - the boys - in got the travellers. (D.)

8. Then he said: "You think it's so? She was mixed  up in this lousy business? (J. B.)        

9. And she saw that Gopher Prairie was merely an enlargement of all the hamlets which they had been passing. Only to the eyes of a Kennicot was it exceptional. (S. L.)

Reference list:

Galperin I. R. Stylistics. - Part V (A), p.p. 191-]93, 202-225.

Арнольд И. В. Стилистика. Глава IV, с. 160-169; 182-187.

Kukharenko V. A. A Book of Practice in Stylistics. - p.p. 66-67; 76-77.