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ENGLISH STYLISTICS
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I 24 English Stylistics. Vu-u .
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Contents
PreIace 4
1 Figures oI Speech Handbook 5
2 Stylistic Devices and Expressive Means Drills 35
3 Texts Ior Stylistic Analysis 49
Bibliography 72
Appendix A Index oI stylistic devices and expressive means 73
7
Preface
English Stylistics is meant as a manual illustrating the structure,
types, usage, and Iunctioning oI English speech Iigures.
I think it is very important to understand the essence oI each speech
Iigure, and I share the idea oI Thomas A. Knott that 'The most important
element in a human being is his thought. The next is the manner in which
he communicates his thought.
The manual is intended both Ior seminars and individual work oI
intermediate and advanced students oI English stylistics (both day- and
part-time).
The purpose oI English Stylistics is to help the students understand
the essence oI each speech Iigure, as well as practice in deIining Iigures oI
speech both in the context oI a sentence (microcontext) and that oI a text
(macrocontext).
The manual Ialls into three parts. The Iirst part is the handbook oI
speech Iigures. It provides the students oI English stylistics with a more or
less complete survey oI English speech Iigures, arranged alphabetically. At
the beginning oI this part, you can Iind some ideas on existing
classiIications oI English speech Iigures. Both traditional and modern,
Soviet and abroad ideas on the subject were taken into consideration. Yet,
it is strongly advisable to read other books on the subject (see
Bibliography), because many oI important points were outlined very
cursorily due to the size oI the manual. The second part consists oI
sentences-drills. It aids the students oI stylistics to acquire skills in deIining
speech Iigures in the context oI a sentence. All the sentences were taken
Irom the books oI English and American men oI letters. The third part
includes texts Ior stylistic analysis. It enables the user to acquire the skills
in stylistic analysis oI texts by English and American authors. The texts
belong to various literary styles Ior the students to understand the
diIIerence in the usage and eIIect produced by speech Iigures in diIIerent
styles.
The greater part oI this manual has already been successIully used in
my teaching.
I Ieel much grateIul Ior the love oI the subject to my university
TEACHER oI stylistics Luybov Anatolyevna Kim .
Yuliya GaIiatulina
4
1 Figures of Speech Handbook
Figures of speech, or tropes (the terms used by Yu. M. Skrebnev),
rhetorical figures (the term used by Edgar V. Roberts), or stylistic means
oI a language (the term used by I. R. Galperin, V. A. Kukharenko, and
other Soviet linguists (see Bibliography) dealing with stylistics) are
particular patterns and arrangements oI thought that help to make literary
works eIIective, persuasive, and IorceIul.
American and British stylists do not divide Iigures oI speech, or, as
they call them, rhetorical Iigures, into any classes or groups.
I. R. Galperin, V. A. Kukharenko, and other Soviet scholars
classiIied all stylistic means oI the English language into stylistic devices
(SDs) and expressive means (EMs).
They deIined stylistic devices as generative models, intentionally
intensiIying some property oI a language unit in an unpredictable and
original way. Overuse makes SDs lose their originality, become trite, and,
sometimes, be Iixed in dictionaries.
Expressive means are deIined as language Iorms used Ior emotional
or logical intensiIication. They are Iixed in the grammars and dictionaries.
I. R. Galperin subdivided stylistic means into the Iollowing groups:
a) phonetic SDs (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, rhyme, and
rhythm);
b) lexical SDs and EMs
1) based on the interaction of the dictionary and contextual
meanings (metaphor and its subtype (personiIication), metonymy and its
subtypes (antonomasia, synecdoche), and irony);
2) based on the interaction of primary and derivative logical
meanings (polysemy, zeugma, and pun);
3) based on the interaction of logical and emotive meanings
(interjections, oxymoron, and epithet);
4) based on the interaction of logical and nominative meanings
(simile, periphrasis, euphemism, hyperbole, and understatement);
c) syntactical SDs and EMs (climax, anticlimax, antithesis,
attachment, asyndeton, polysyndeton, break-in-the-narrative, chiasmus,
detachment, ellipsis, enumeration, litotes, parallel constructions, question-
in-the-narrative, represented speech, rhetorical questions, suspense,
inversion, and repetition).
V. A. Kukharenko classiIied all stylistic means into the Iollowing
groups:
a) phono-graphical EMs (onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance,
and graphon);
5
b) graphical EMs (italics, capitalization, spacing oI lines, and
spacing oI graphemes, such as hyphenation and multiplication);
c) lexical SDs (metaphor, metonymy, pun, zeugma, irony, epithet,
hyperbole, understatement, and oxymoron);
d) syntactic SDs (sentence length, sentence structure, punctuation,
rhetorical questions, repetition, parallel constructions, chiasmus, inversion,
suspense, detachment, ellipsis, apokuinu construction, polysyndeton,
asyndeton, and attachment);
e) lexico-syntactic SDs (antithesis, climax, anticlimax, simile,
litotes, and periphrasis).
I. V. Arnold also dwells upon the violations oI syntactic structure.
Yu. M. Skrebnev has a somewhat diIIerent view on the Iigures oI
speech nature. He doesn`t consider litotes to be an independent trope, but a
type oI meiosis. Periphrasis, epithet, question-in-the-narrative, break-in-
the-narrative, represented speech, rhetorical questions, asyndeton, and
suspense are not included into Yu. M. Skrebnev`s classiIication.
As Ior the rest oI speech Iigures, he divided them into stylistic units
(having paradigmatic nature) and stylistic sequences (having syntagmatic
nature). Each oI the above mentioned can be phonetic, morphological,
lexical, syntactical, or semasiological. Thus ProIessor Skrebnev has the
Iollowing classiIication oI tropes:
a) paradigmatic phonetics units (graphon, grapheme multiplication,
capitalization, and hyphenation);
b) syntagmatic phonetics units (assonance, alliteration,
paronomasia, rhythm, and rhyme);
c) paradigmatic morphology units (morphemes and morphological
meanings synonymy and variability);
d) syntagmatic morphology units (units oI paradigmatic
morphology co-occurrence);
e) paradigmatic lexicology units (proIessionalisms, terms, jargon,
neologisms, barbarisms, and poetic, colloquial, oIIicial, vulgar, bookish,
archaic words);
I) syntagmatic lexicology units (units oI paradigmatic lexicology
co-occurrence);
g) paradigmatic syntax units (ellipsis, aposiopesis, polysyndeton,
nominative sentences, syntactic tautology (prolepsis), inversion, and
detachment);
h) syntagmatic syntax units (repetition and chiasmus);
i) paradigmatic semasiology (onomasiology) units, or figures of
replacement, subdivided into figures of quantity (hyperbole and
understatement) and figures of quality (metonymy and its types
6
(synecdoche and antonomasia), metaphor and its types (allusion and
personiIication), and irony);
j) units of syntagmatic semasiology (onomasiology), or figures of
co-occurrence, subdivided into figures of identity (simile), figures of
inequality (climax, anticlimax, pun, zeugma, and tautology), and figures
of contrast (oxymoron and antithesis).
Alliteration |elite'rein| (Irom Latin ad 'near and littera 'a
letter, i.e. 'letters near) repetition oI similar consonant sounds (usually
at the beginning oI successive/closely Iollowing words) to impart a melodic
eIIect to an utterance.
E.g.: a Monday morning meeting, the silver sweep oI the sea.
Allusion | 'lun| (Irom Latin allusio 'a hint) a reIerence to
some commonly known literary, historical, mythological, biblical, etc.
event.
E.g.: He has the strength of Samson (a strong man in the Bible).
He has the strength of Hercules (a strong man in Greek mythology).
'By the Waters of Babylon by St. V. Benet (a psalm in the Bible).
Anticlimax |'nti'klaimks| (Irom Greek u 'against and
'ladder, i.e. 'a descending ladder), bathos |'beis|, or back
gradation |'bkgre'dein| (i.e. 'gradual descent) a stylistic means
opposite to climax (see Climax) a sudden change oI thought Irom the
loIty/serious to ridiculous by adding a weaker element to one/several strong
ones mentioned beIore.
E.g.: He was inconsolable for an afternoon. (. Galsworthy)
Antithesis |n'ti sis| (Irom Greek u 'contradiction)
two points oI sharp contrast set one against the other, generally in parallel
constructions: Antagonistic Ieatures are more easily perceived in similar
structures.
E.g.: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age
of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was
the era of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of
Darkness, it was the spring of Hope, it was the winter of Despair, we had
eerything before us, we had nothing before us. in front and behind..
(Ch. Dickens)
Antithesis stresses the heterogeneity oI the described phenomena,
demonstrates their contradictory nature, or conIronts quite diIIerent things.
7
Stylistic antithesis is diIIerent Irom lexical (i.e. antonyms), though
the Iormer is based on the latter. E.g.:
A Soul as full of Worth as oid of !ride. (A. Pope) In this sentence
words full and oid are antonyms, on which antithesis, i.e. the contradiction
oI words worth and pride, is based.
Antonomasia |ntene'meizie| (Irom Greek u 're-
naming) a proper name used Ior a common one or vice versa.
E.g.: " traitor may be reIerred to as Brutus#
" man who loes women deserves the name oI Don $uan#
I don`t mean only myselI, my partner, and the radiologist who does
your -rays; the three I`m reIerring to are Dr# %est& Dr# Diet, and Dr#
'resh "ir. (R. Cussack)
Semantically antonomasia splits into genuine and trite.
Genuine (Poetic/Fresh/Original/Newly-created) antonomasia is
Iresh and absolutely unexpected (see example about Dr. Rest, Dr. Diet, etc.
above).
The original Iigurative meaning oI trite (dead/hackneyed/
stale/banal/stereotyped) antonomasia has been Iorgotten due to the
overuse (see examples about Brutus and Don uan).
Apokuinu construction |pe'kjuineken'strkn| (Irom Greek
u 'oII) the omission oI pronominal/adverbial connectives to create a
blend oI the main and the subordinate clauses so that the predicative/object
oI the Iirst clause is simultaneously used as the subject oI the second one.
E.g.: There was a door led into the kitchen. (Sh. Anderson)
He was the man killed that deer. (R. P. arren)
It is used as a means oI speech characteristics in dialogues, in
reported speech, and the type oI narrative known as 'entrusted, in which
the author entrusts the Ieeling oI the story to an imaginary narrator who is
either an observer or participant oI the described events.
Assonance |'s(e)nens| (Irom French assonance 'accord)
repetition oI similar vowel sounds (usually at the beginning oI
successive/closely Iollowing words) to impart a melodic eIIect to an
utterance.
E.g.: about the house, moaning and groaning.
Asyndeton |e'sinditen| (Irom Greek 'without
connection) a stylistic means opposite to polysyndeton (see
Polysyndeton) deliberate omission oI conjunctions.
8
E.g.: Soames turned away; he had an utter disinclination to talk .
(. Galsworthy) In this sentence conjunction because is omitted, which
makes the subordinate clause almost independent.
Attachment |e'ttment|, annexation |nek'seien|, or gap-
sentence link connection oI two seemingly unconnected sentences Ior
the reader to grasp the idea implied, but not worded.
E.g.: She and that Iellow ought to be the suIIerers, and they are in
(taly. (. Galsworthy) Though the second part seems unmotivated, and the
whole sentence, incoherent, we understand that 'those who ought to suIIer
are enjoying themselves in Italy.
Attachment stirs up the reader`s/listener`s suppositions, associations,
and connections, under which the sentence can really exist.
Break-in-the-Narrative |'breikine'nretiv| (aposiopesis)
|psaieu'pi:sis| (Irom Greek u 'concealment) a break oI a
sentence Ior a rhetorical eIIect (to reIlect emotional or/and the
psychological state oI the speaker).
A sentence may be broken on the Iollowing grounds:
- The speaker`s emotions prevent him Irom Iinishing it.
E.g. George loves Emily and tries to make a proposal: 'Emily, iI I do
improve and make a big change . would you be . ( mean could you be
. ')es . yes.(Th. ilder)
- The speaker desires to cut short the inIormation with which the
sentence begun.
E.g.: This is a story how a Baggins had an adventure. He may have
lost the neighbours` respect, but he gained well& you will see whether he
gained anything in the end. (. Tolkien)
- The speaker doesn`t want to call the things their names.
E.g. in the play Suddenly Last Summer by . Tennessee a rich old
woman tries to make a doctor to operate on the brains oI her niece, being
aIraid oI her revelations. The doctor is not willing to call the things their
names: In your letter, last week, you made some reIerence to a to a
fund of some kind * it+s well risky *
- The speaker is uncertain as to what exactly he is to perIorm, most
oIten in threats.
E.g.: You just come home or (+ll *
To mark the break dashes and dots are used (see examples above). It
is only in cast-iron structures that Iull stops may also appear.
E.g.: Good intentions, but.
It depends.
9
Capitalization |kepitelai'zei(e)n| some common nouns written
with capital letters. Capitalization takes place in the Iollowing cases:
- In address or personiIication, which gives some importance and
solemnity to the text.
E.g.: Music Sphere-descended maid; Friend oI Pleasure, Wisdom`s
aid (. Collins)
Such solemnity may be ironical.
E.g.: He`s a big chap. ell you`ve never heard so many well-bred
commonplaces come Irom beneath the same bowler hat. The Platitude Irom
Outer Space that`s brother Nigel. (. Osborne)
- To show that words are pronounced with emphasis or loudly.
E.g.: And there was dead silence. Till at last came the whisper: 'I
didn`t kill Henry. No, NO (D. H. Lawrence)
'ILL YO BE IET he bawled. (A. Sillitoe)
Some poets oI the 20
th
century do not use capital letters at all. For
example, edward estlin cummings (1894 1962):
1 (a
1 (a
le
aI
Ia
ll
s)
one
1
ness
Chiasmus |kai'zmes| (Irom Greek 'in the Iorm oI the
Greek letter , i.e. in the Iorm oI a cross) a sudden change Irom active
voice to passive, or vice versa: Two syntactical constructions
(sentences/phrases) are parallel, but their members (words) change places.
The segments that change places enter opposite logical relations.
E.g.: The register oI his burial was signed by the clergyman, the
clerk, the undertaker and the chieI mourner. Scrooge signed it.(Ch.
Dickens)
Chiasmus breaks the monotony oI parallel constructions, brings in a
shade oI meaning or additional emphasis on some portion oI the second
part.
Chiasmus is a syntactical, not a lexical device. Thus, the sentence 'In
the days oI old men made the manners; ,anners now make the men (G.
10
G. Byron) contains a lexical device (epigram), but not inversion: Both parts
oI the parallel construction have the same, normal word order.
Climax |'klaimks| (Irom Greek 'a ladder), or gradation
|gre'dein| (Irom Latin gradatio 'gradual ascent/climbing up) a
sentences arrangement, in which each Iollowing word/word
combination/clause/sentence is logically more important and emotionally
stronger. The minimum number oI elements is two.
E.g.: Better to borrow, better to beg, better to die (Ch. Dickens)
Climax types:
- Logical, based on the components relative logical importance.
E.g.: For that one instant there was no one else in the room, in the
house, in the world, beside themselves. (M. ilson)
- Emotional, based on the relative emotional tension produced by
the components.
E.g.: He was pleased, when the child began to adventure across
Iloors on hand and knees; he was gratified, when she managed the trick oI
balancing herselI on two legs; he was delighted, when she Iirst said 'ta-ta;
and he was re-oiced, when she recognized him and smiled to him. (A.
Paton)
- Quantative, based on the relative increase in the volume/size oI the
components.
E.g.: They looked at hundreds oI houses; they climbed thousands oI
stairs; they inspected innumerable kitchens. (. S. Maugham)
- Negative, based on the absence oI a substance/quality, the
components being arranged in the descending order.
E.g.: 'Be careIul, said Mr. ingle. 'Not a look. Not a wink, said
Mr. Tupman. 'Not a syllable. Not a whisper. (Ch. Dickens)
Climax can be realized through the Iollowing language means:
- A string oI synonyms.
E.g.: I`ll smash you, I`ll crumble you, I`ll powder you.
- IntensiIying words.
E.g.: I`m sorry, I`m terribly sorry.
Detachment |di'ttment|, or detached construction
|di'tttken'strkn| a secondary member oI a sentence singled out
with the help oI punctuation and intonation. Such members oI a sentence,
called detached, represent a kind oI independent whole thrust into the
sentence or placed in a position, which will make it seem independent
E.g.: I have to beg you Ior money. Daily* (S. Lewis)
11
Sir Pitt came in Iirst, ery much flushed and rather unsteady in his
gait. (. M. Thackeray)
Brae boy, he saved my liIe and shall not regret it. (M. Twain)
It was indeed, to 'orsyte eyes, an odd house. (. Galsworthy)
Ellipsis |i'lipsis| (Irom Greek 'Ialling out) a deliberate
omission oI at least one member oI a sentence. The missing parts are either
present in the context or implied by the situation.
E.g.: hat "ll my pretty chickens and their dam. "t one swoop/ (G.
G. Byron): fell is omitted.
0othing so difficult as a beginning. (G. G. Byron): is is omitted.
Ellipsis is a SD only in written speech: It is typical Ior oral speech to
omit some units. Thus sentences like See you tomorrow& Hae a good time&
Won+t do contain no SDs. But used in prose dialogues, they become SDs.
Then they are consciously employed by the author to reIlect the natural
omissions that characterize colloquial speech, impact brevity, quick tempo,
or (sometimes) emotional tension, add emotional colouring, and make the
sentence more emphatic.
Ellipsis is oIten met close to a dialogue, in an author`s introductory
remarks commenting on the speech oI his characters. It is practically
always employed in encyclopedic dictionaries and reIerence books,
telegraphic messages, papers or handbooks on technology and natural
sciences.
Enumeration |inju:me'rei(e)n| homogeneous parts oI an
utterance put together to be made semantically heterogeneous.
E.g.: 'amine& despair& cold& thirst and heat had done
Their work on them by turns . (G. G. Byron)
Epithet |'epiet| (Irom Greek 'addition) an unusual
description oI a phenomenon.
E.g.: sweet thoughts, painful shoes, a heart1burning smile.
Semantically epithets split into the Iollowing types:
- Associated with the nouns Iollowing them, i.e. pointing to an
inherent in the object Ieature and conveying no emotional evaluation oI the
object by the speaker.
E.g.: wide sea, dark Iorest, careful attention.
- Unassociated with the nouns Iollowing them, i.e. adding a Ieature
not inherent in the object. They seem strange, unusual, or even accidental
and are Iormed oI metaphors, metonymies and similes.
E.g.: bootless cries, oiceless sands, sullen earth.
12
- Fixed, closely associated with the word they deIine through long
and repeated use.
E.g.: ,erry Christmas, merry old England, happy birthday.
Structurally epithets split into:
- Simple (Single), which are ordinary adjectives.
E.g.: sullen earth, careful attention.
- Compound, which are compound adjectives.
E.g.: cloud1shapen giant, mischief1making monkey.
- Phrase, composed oI a string oI epithets linked with the help oI
dashes.
E.g.: the sunshine in the breakfast room smell,
( am not that kind of girl look,
to produce Iacts in a Would you beliee it kind oI way.
- Reversed (Inverted), composed oI two nouns linked in an oI-
phrase.
E.g.: a fool of a policeman, an angel of a girl, a hook of a nose.
- Transferred (Figurative), describing inanimate objects like living
beings.
E.g.: sick chamber, sleepless pillow, merry hours.
- Two-step, in which the description passes two stages: the
description oI the object and the description oI the description itselI. It is
built on the model adverb plus adjective.
E.g.: a pompously ma-estic woman#
- String of epithets.
E.g.: You nasty& wicked& good for nothing brute.
Euphemism |'ju:Iemizem| (Irom Greek 'good/well, and
'speak, i.e. 'speaking well) a variety oI periphrases, 'a whitewashing
device a word/phrase used to replace an unpleasant or tabooed
word/expression by a conventionally more acceptable, mild, or less
straightIorward one.
E.g.: to pass away& to be no more& to -oin the ma-ority (i.e. to die).
a woman of a certain type (i.e. a prostitute).
mentally deficient person (i.e. an idiot, an imbecile)#
Euphemisms can be joking.
E.g.: to go west& to gie up the ghost& to kick the bucket (Ior to die2.
The liIe oI euphemisms is short: As soon as they become closely
associated with the object named, they give way to a newly coined
word/combination oI words to throw another veil over an unpleasant or
indelicate concept.
13
Grapheme multiplication |'grIi:mmltipli'kei(e)n| is a way oI
showing the speech intensity.
E.g.: Alllll aboarrrrrd (Ch. Dickens)
. open your eyes Ior that laaaaarge sun. (A. esker)
Graphon |'grIn| (Irom Greek pue 'I am writing) the
intentional word/word combination graphical shape violation used to
reIlect authentic pronunciation. Graphon is an extremely concise but
eIIective means oI supplying inIormation about the speaker`s origin, social
and educational background, physical or emotional condition, and the
author`s sarcastic attitude to him.
E.g.: . Thackeray`s character, butler Yellowplush, says sellybrated
instead oI celebrated and -ewinile instead oI juvenile.
Mr. Babbit, S. Lewis`s character, says Eytalians instead oI Italians
and peepul instead oI people.
Some graphons show the physical deIects oI the speaker (stumbling,
lisping, etc.).
E.g.: The b-b-b-b-bas-tud he`d seen me c-c-c-c-com-ing. (R. P.
arren)
You don`t mean to thay that thith ith your Iirtht time. (D. Cusack)
I don`t weally know wevver I`m a good girl. (. Braine)
Some amalgamated Iorms became clichs in contemporary prose
dialogues.
E.g.: gimme (give me), lemme (let me), coupla (couple oI), mighta
(might have), gonna (going to), gotta (got to), willya (will you), etc.
Hyperbole |hai'pe:beli| (Irom Greek pq 'overshooting) a
deliberate exaggeration/overstatement oI an object Ieature to such a degree
that will show its utter absurdity.
E.g.: She was a giant of a woman.
3he whole world greeted his latest invention with ridicule.
There I took out my pig . and gave him such a kick that he went out
the other end oI the alley, twenty feet ahead of his s4ueal. (O. Henry)
It is used not to deceive, but to inIect the reader with the writer`s
enthusiasm, in other words, Ior humoristic purposes.
Semantically hyperboles split into:
- genuine (poetic/fresh/original/newly-created), i.e. Iresh and
absolutely unexpected (see examples above);
- trite (dead/hackneyed/stale/banal/stereotyped), the original
Iigurative meaning oI which has been Iorgotten due to the overuse.
E.g.: I haven`t seen you for ages.
14
I have told you a thousand times.
I can eat a horse.
$ack1of1all1trades#
Hyphenation |haiIe'nein| the reIlection oI rhymed or clipped
manner in which a word is uttered.
E.g.: Adieu you, old man, I pity you, and I de - spise you. (Th.
Dreiser)
I really do n - o - t love you.
Interjections |inte'deknz| words used to express strong
Ieelings. Interjections split into:
- Primary, devoid oI any logical meaning.
E.g.: Oh Ah Bah Hush
- Derivative, which may retain some logical meaning, though always
suppressed by the volume oI emotive meaning.
E.g.: God God knows Bless me Heavens
Interjections, like other words in the English vocabulary, bear
Ieatures, which mark them as Iollows:
- Bookish.
E.g.: Alas Lo Hark
- Neutral.
E.g.: Oh Ah Bah
- Colloquial.
E.g.: Gosh ell hy
Neutral interjections as a rule have bookish and colloquial
corresponding synonyms.
E.g.: Alas (bookish) Oh (neutral) Gosh (colloquial)
Lo (bookish) Ah (neutral) ell (colloquial)
Hark (bookish) Bah (neutral) hy (colloquial)
Some adjectives and adverbs can also take on the Iunction oI
interjections.
E.g.: Terrible Great Splendid AwIul onderIul Fine
Inversion |in've:n| (Irom Latin inersio 'changing place) an
indirect order oI words in a sentence to make one oI them more
conspicuous, important, or emphatic.
E.g.: (ne5plicable was the astonishment oI the little party when they
returned to Iind out that Mr. Pickwick had disappeared. (Ch. Dickens)
6ame a day when he dragged himselI into the Enquirer alley. (.
London)
15
The Iollowing patterns oI inversion are most Irequently used in
English prose and poetry:
- Object is placed at the beginning oI a sentence.
E.g.: 3alent Mr. Micawber has, capital Mr. Micawber has not. (Ch.
Dickens)
- Attribute is placed aIter the word it modiIies.
E.g.: Once upon a midnight dreary.(E. A. Poe)
ith Iingers weary and worn. (Th. Hood)
- Predicative is placed beIore the subject.
E.g.: " good generous prayer it was. (M. Twain)
- Predicative stands beIore the link verb and both are placed beIore
the subject.
E.g.: %ude am I in my speech.(. Shakespeare)
- Adverbial modiIier is placed at the beginning oI the sentence.
E.g.: Eagerly I wished the morrow. (E. A. Poe)
- Both modiIier and predicate stand beIore the subject.
E.g.: 7ut came the chase in went the horses
7n sprang the boys in got the travellers. (Ch. Dickens)
uestions may also be inverted. The inverted question presupposes
the answer with more certainty than the normative one.
E.g.: )our mother is at home/ (. Baldwin)
Stylistic inversion is diIIerent Irom grammatical: The Iormer does
not change the grammatical essence oI the sentence, while the latter does.
CI.: Has he come? (grammatical inversion)
Come he has. (stylistic inversion)
Irony |'aireni| (Irom Greek pe 'mockery concealed) a
direct contrast oI two notions: the notion named and the notion meant. In
other words, the writer says one thing, but really means the opposite to
produce a humorous eIIect, or to express a Ieeling oI irritation, displeasure,
pity, or regret.
E.g.: The Iood was so delicious that ( took it home for my dog.
She turned with the sweet smile of an alligator. (. Steinbeck)
The context in which irony exists varies Irom the minimum oI a
word combination to the context oI the whole book.
Italics |i'tliks| sloping letters used Ior the Iollowing purposes:
- To show Ioreign words that are considered alien Ior the text.
E.g.: I want to tell you something t8te19t8te.
- To produce the eIIect oI emphasis.
16
E.g.: Now listen, Ed, stop that, now. I`m desperate. I am desperate,
Ed, do you hear? (Th. Dreiser)
Italics always go together with the Iull Iorm oI the words usually
written in the contracted Iorm, as in the example given above.
The diIIerence in type means the diIIerence in intonation, which in
its turn shows diIIerent Ieelings and emotions.
CI.: You are a baby, Robert.
You are a baby, Robert. (. B. Priestley) The second example sounds
more aIIectionate.
You are a rotter, Stanton.
You are a rotter, Stanton. (. B. Priestley) The Iirst example sounds
not so Iurious.
Litotes |'laiteuti:z, lai'teuti:z| (Irom Greek 'plain, simple),
a two-component structure, in which two negations are joined to give a
positive evaluation.
E.g.: But it is not bad (i.e. good). (E. Hemingway)
The history oI this small pastoral property was not uncommon (i.e.
common). (A. pIield)
A variant oI litotes is a construction with only one negation.
E.g.: She is not awfully well (i.e. bad).
There is not much (i.e. little) to eat. (E. Hemingway)
Malapropism |'mleprpizm| (Irom Latin mal 'bad, ill and
proper 'individual) a grotesque misuse oI words, a substitution oI one
word Ior another based on a blunder. Malapropism creates a Iunny change
oI meaning.
E.g.: illiterate can be used Ior obliterate, pineapple, Ior pinnacle.
Metaphor |'meteIe, 'meteI:| (Irom Greek up
'transIerence) transIerence oI the characteristics oI one phenomenon to
another, showing likeness/similarity in things that are basically diIIerent
(without using 'as or 'like). A metaphor states that a b. It is an
expressive characterization oI an object.
E.g.: The hotel was a huge and splendid rubbish dump.
Metaphor can be embodied in the Iollowing meaningIul parts oI
speech: nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs.
E.g. (accordingly): I am an island.
The human tide is rolling westward. (Ch. Dickens)
In the slanting beams that streamed through the open window, the
dust danced and was golden. (O. ilde)
17
The leaves Iell sorrowfully#
Semantically metaphors split into the Iollowing types:
- genuine (poetic/fresh/original/newly-created/creative), based on
some Iresh and absolutely unexpected analogy between two things (see
examples above);
- trite (dead/hackneyed/stale/banal/stereotyped), the original
Iigurative meaning oI which has been Iorgotten due to the overuse.
E.g.: to burst into tears, the eye oI a needle, the foot oI a mountain.
Structurally metaphors split into:
- Simple, which consist oI one word or word-group.
E.g.: I hope that as the weather gets colder his heart gets warmer.
- Prolonged (Sustained/Chain), in which one word, used in a
metaphoric sense, calls Iorth transIerence oI meaning in the whole
sequence oI words related to it. In other words, it`s a logical development
oI a chain oI metaphors.
E.g.: Mr. Dombey`s cup of satisfaction was so full at this moment,
however, that he Ielt he could aIIord a drop or two oI its contents, even to
sprinkle on the dust oI his little daughter. (Ch. Dickens)
- Mixed (Broken/Catachresis), which begin with one comparison,
but change to another one in an illogical way.
E.g.: The cold hand of death 4uenched her thirst Ior liIe (a hand
cannot quench one`s thirst).
Metonymy |mi'tnimi| (Irom Greek e 'renaming) the
substitution oI one object by another on the basis oI their common
existence in reality.
E.g.: I am Iond oI Dickens.
I collect old 6hina.
Metonymy can be based on the Iollowing relations between two
objects (the list is incomplete):
- The name oI a work instead oI the author.
E.g.: to read Shakespeare#
- A container instead oI its content.
E.g.: to drink a glass#
- A symbol instead oI the thing symbolized.
E.g.: the British Lion (the symbol oI British Empire).
- A material instead oI the thing made oI it.
E.g.: The marble spoke.
- A concrete thing instead oI an abstract notion.
E.g.: 3he camp& the pulpit and the law
For rich men`s sons are Iree. (P. B. Shelley)
18
- An abstract notion instead oI a concrete thing.
E.g.: The Iish desperately takes the death (i.e. snaps at the Iish-
hook).
- The instrument used instead oI the name oI the action perIormed.
E.g.: ell, Mr. eller, says the gentleman, you`re a very good whip,
and can do anything you like with your horses, we know. (Ch. Dickens)
- The relation oI proximity.
E.g.: The round game table was boisterous and happy. (Ch. Dickens)
- The consequence instead oI the cause.
E.g.: You don`t ask oe questions unless you want a new set of teeth.
(CliIIord)
Metonymy is an eIIective means to vividly visualize the
objects/ideas discussed.
Onomatopoeia |neumteu'pi:e| (Irom Greek
'making name) the combination oI speech sounds imitating those
produced in nature by things, people, or animals.
Onomatopoeia types:
- Direct, contained in words that imitate natural sounds.
E.g.: buzz, bang, ding-dong, Ilop.
- Indirect, which is a combination oI sounds making the sound
reIlection oI the meaning.
E.g.: And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling oI each purple curtain.
(E A. Poe) In the sentence above, the repetition oI sound |s| produces the
eIIect oI soItness, while the repetition oI sound |r|, the sound reIlection oI a
rustling curtain.
Oxymoron |ksi'm:rn| (Irom Greek ep 'wittily Ioolish)
two successive words (mostly an adjective and a noun, or an adverb and an
adjective), the meanings oI which clash, being opposite in sense.
E.g.: O brawling loe O loing hate Heay lightness: Serious
anity: 'eather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health (.
Shakespeare)
Oxymoron can also be based on the semantic discordance oI two
words.
E.g.: He had a Iace like a plateful of mortal sins (B. Behan) !lateful
usually reIers to Iood, while sins, to the religious sphere oI human liIe.
Structurally oxymorons split into:
- Attributive, consisting oI an adjective and a noun.
E.g.: low skyscraper, sweet sorrow, open secret, best enemy, worst
Iriend.
19
- Verbal, consisting oI a verb and an adverb.
E.g.: to shout mutely, to cry silently.
Semantically oxymorons split into:
- Genuine (Poetic/Fresh/Original/Newly-created), i.e. Iresh and
absolutely unexpected.
E.g.: e were Iellow strangers.
- Trite (Dead/Hackneyed/Stale/Banal/Stereotyped), in which the
Iirst component has lost its primary logical meaning due to the overuse and
is used only as an intensiIier.
E.g.: awIully nice, terribly hungry, damn nice.
An oxymoron discloses the essence oI an object Iull oI seeming or
genuine discrepancies.
Paragraph |'pregra:I, 'pregrI| a group oI related sentences
that develop a single idea. Sentences in a paragraph demonstrate unity
(state or develop a single main idea) and coherence and are related to each
other logically (the ideas they present are easy to Iollow).
Paragraph structure depends on the style: the scientiIic prose style
paragraph is built on logical principles; the newspaper style paragraph, on
psychological principles (sensational eIIect and capacity Ior quick reading);
the belles-letters style paragraph, according to the author`s purpose; the
publicistic style paragraph, according to the author`s purpose.
The length oI a paragraph normally varies Irom eight to twelve
sentences (in newspaper style, Irom one to three).
A paragraph usually has a topic sentence that states the main idea. It
is as a rule placed at the beginning oI a paragraph, but can also be
positioned in some other parts oI a sentence. The body oI a paragraph
presents the subordinate ideas that support or explain the main one in the
topic sentence.
Parallel construction |'prelelken'strkn| identical/similar
syntactical structure in two or more successive sentences/clauses.
E.g.: There were real silver spoons to stir the tea with, and real china
cups to drink it out of it, and plates oI the same to hold the cakes and toast
in.(Ch. Dickens)
Parallel constructions may be viewed as a purely syntactical type oI
repetition, as we deal with the reiteration oI the structure oI sentences, and
not oI their lexical 'Ilesh. Though it is true enough, parallel constructions
are oIten backed up by repetition oI words, conjunctions and prepositions
(see example above).
Parallel constructions split into:
20
- Partial, consisting in the repetition oI some parts oI successive
sentences/clauses.
E.g., in the Iollowing sentence all attributive clauses begin with
conjunction who Iollowed by a verb in the same tense Iorm: There lives at
least one being who can neer change one being who would be content to
devote his whole existence to your happiness who lies but in your eyes
who breathes but in your smile who bears the heavy burden oI liIe itselI
only Ior you. (Ch. Dickens)
- Complete (Balanced), maintaining identical structures throughout
the corresponding sentences.
E.g.: 3he seeds ye sow another reaps. the robes ye weae
another wears. the arms ye forge another bears. (P. B. Shelley)
Parallel constructions have a semantic (suggest equal semantic
signiIicance oI the component parts) and a structural (give a rhythmical
design to the component parts) Iunction.
Periphrasis |pe'riIresis| (pl. periphrases) (Irom Greek pp
'speaking around) the use oI a more or less complicated syntactical
structure instead oI one word to convey a purely individual perception oI
the described object.
E.g.: 200 pages oI blood-curdling narrative (i.e. a thriller);
the cups that cheer& but not inebriate (i.e. tea) (. F. Cooper);
alterations and improements on the truth (i.e. a lie) (Ch. Dickens).
Periphrasis is decipherable only in the context. II a periphrastic
locution can be understood outside the context, it is not a SD but merely a
synonymous expression (dictionary periphrasis/periphrastic synonym).
E.g.: my better half (i.e. my wiIe), the fair se5 (i.e. women), the cap
and the gown (i.e. a student).
Semantically periphrases split into:
- Genuine (Poetic/Fresh/Original/Newly-created), i.e. Iresh and
absolutely unexpected.
E.g.: Delia was studying under Rosenstock you know his repute as
a disturber of the piano keys (i.e. a pianist). (O. Henry)
- Trite (Dead/Hackneyed/Stale/Banal/Stereotyped), called clichs.
Their original Iigurative meaning has been Iorgotten due to the overuse.
E.g.: AIter only a short marriage, he wasn`t prepared to oIIer advice
to other youngsters intending to tie the knot (i.e. to marry).
Depending on the mechanism oI substitution oI a word by a more
complicated phrase, periphrases are classiIied into:
- Logical, i.e. synonymous phrases.
21
E.g.: She was still Iat aIter childbirth; the destroyer of her figure (i.e.
her child) sat at the head oI the table. (A. Bennett)
Naturally, I jumped out oI the tub, and beIore I had thought twice,
ran out into the living room in my birthday suit (i.e. nude). (B. Malamud)
- Figurative, in Iact phrase-metonymies and phrase-metaphors.
E.g.: The hospital was crowded with the surgically interesting
products of the fighting in "frica (extended metonymy Ior the wounded)# (I.
Show)
The punctual servant oI all work (i.e. the sun). (Ch. Dickens)
Personification |pesniIi'kein| (Irom Greek pe
'making Iace) the qualities oI a living thing (either animal or human)
given to an inanimate liIeless object to visualize it.
E.g.: Earth wears a green elet dress.
,y impatience has shown its heels to my politeness.
Semantically personiIications split into:
- genuine (poetic/fresh/original/newly-created), based on some
Iresh and absolutely unexpected analogy between two things (see examples
above);
- trite (dead/hackneyed/stale/banal/stereotyped), the original
Iigurative meaning oI which has been Iorgotten due to the overuse.
E.g.: lonely city streets, roar oI traIIic.
Polysyndeton |pli'sinditen| (Irom Greek 'many
together) the excessive use (repetition) oI conjunctions (conjunction and
in most cases).
E.g.: I loved to take her hair down and she sat on the bed and kept
very still, ., and I would take the pins and lay them on the sheet and it
would be loose and I would watch her while she kept very still and take out
the last two pins and it would come down and she would drop her head
and we would both be inside oI it, and it was the Ieeling oI inside a tent or
behind a Ialls. (E. Hemingway)
Polysyndeton makes an utterance more rhythmical. It also has a
distinguishing Iunction: It combines homogeneous elements oI thought into
one whole and makes each member oI the string stand out.
Polysyndeton should be diIIered Irom enumeration, as the Iormer
isolates homogeneous things and the latter units heterogeneous ones.
Pun |'pn|, quibble |'kwibl|, or paronomasia |prene'meizie|
(Irom Greek pu 'astray arrangement) a play on words the
22
use oI one word in two diIIerent applications/meanings, or the use oI two
diIIerent words, which are pronounced alike.
E.g.: There comes a period in every man`s liIe, but she is just a
semicolon in his. (B. Evans). e expect the second halI oI the sentence to
unIold the content, understanding period as an interal of time, while the
author used the word in the meaning oI punctuation mark, which becomes
clear Irom the semicolon, Iollowing it.
It is diIIicult to tell zeugma Irom pun. The only reliable distinction is
a structural one: Zeugma is the realization oI two meanings with the help oI
a verb. Pun is more independent: It depends on the context. E.g.
The title oI a play by O. ilde 3he (mportance of Being Ernest. The
context Ior this pun is the whole book.
Punctuation |p(k)tu'ein|, i.e. punctuation marks.
Exclamation and question marks show strong emotions.
E.g.: George: That`s good! Oh yes! And what about you?
Ruth ;off her balance2: hat about me?
George: hat are you doing here? All right, you`ve had your go at
me. But what about yourselI?
Ruth: ell?
George: Oh, don`t be innocent, Ruth! This house! This room! This
hideous, God-awIul room!
Dashes or three dots show emotional pauses caused by a person`s
embarrassment, hesitation, uncertainty, or nervousness oI.
E.g.: Pozzo: You took me Ior Godot.
Estragon: Oh, no, sir, not Ior an instant, sir.
Pozzo: You took me Ior him.
Estragon: That`s to say . you understand . the dusk . the strain
. waiting . I conIess . I imagined . Ior a second . (S. Becket)
Periods are used to describe events rapidly changing each other, as
they break texts into short sentences. E.g.:
Stone, bronze, stone, steel, oak leaves, horses` heels over the paving;
And the Ilags. And the trumpets. And so many eagles.
How much? Count them. And such a press oI people. ('Triumphal
March by T. S. Eliot)
Modern authors do not use periods at all. E.g., the Iollowing poem by
e. e. cummings contains neither periods nor capital letters, except O.
i'm
asking
you dear to
what else could a
23
no but it doesn`t
oI course but you don`t seem
to realize i can`t make
it clearer war was just isn`t what
we imagine but please Ior god`s O
what the hell yea it`s true that was
me but that me isn`t me
can`t you see now no not
any christ but you
must understand
why because
i am dead
Question-in-the-narrative |'kwestenine'nretiv| a question
asked and answered in the narrative by one and the same person, usually
the author.
E.g.: And, staring, she woke, and what to iew? Oh, powers oI
Heaven. What dark eye meets she there/ 3is <tis her father+s Iixed
upon the pair. (G.G. Byron)
These are not rhetorical questions, but answered by one who knows
the answer, they assume a semi-exclamatory nature.
uestioninthenarrative may also remain unanswered and contain
only the hints oI possible answers, as in the Iollowing example:
How long must it go on/ How long must we suffer/ Where is the
end/ What is the end/ (Norris)
Such sentences show a gradual transition to rhetorical questions.
uestioninthenarrative is very oIten used in oratory to chain the
attention oI the listeners to the matter the orator is dealing with, to give the
listeners time to absorb what has been said and prepare Ior the next point.
Sometimes questioninthenarrative gives the impression oI an intimate
talk between the writer and the reader.
E.g.: Scrooge knew he was dead/ 7f course he did# How could it be
otherwise/ Scrooge and he were partners for ( don+t know how many
years# (Ch. Dickens)
Repetition |repe'tin| the reoccurrence oI sentence units.
It is an EM when used to show the state oI mind oI a person under
the stress oI a strong emotion, which always maniIests itselI through
intonation, suggested by the words, such as cried, sobbed, shrieked, told
passionately in the written language.
24
E.g.: 'Stop she cried, 'Don`t tell me ( don+t want to hear; (
don+t want to hear what you`ve come Ior. ( don+t want to hear.(.
Galsworthy)
It is a SD when aims not at making a direct emotional impact but at
logical emphasis necessary to Iix the attention oI the reader on the key
word oI the utterance.
E.g.: She stopped, and seemed to catch the distant sound oI knocking.
Abandoning the traveller, she hurried towards the parlour, in the passage
she assuredly did hear knocking, angry and impatient knocking, the
knocking oI someone who thinks he has knocked too long. (A. Bennett)
According to the repeated phenomenon, there may be the repetition
oI a phoneme (see Alliteration, Assonance, Rhyme), morpheme, word,
phrase, or a syntactic structure (see Parallel construction).
According to the place, which the repeated unit occupies in a
sentence, repetition is classiIied into the Iollowing types:
- Anaphora the beginnings oI some successive
sentences/clauses/verse lines/stanzas/paragraphs are repeated to create the
background Ior the non-repeated units, which through their novelty become
Ioregrounded (A ., a ., a .).
E.g.: Always in Rome. Always with the girls. Always with the
carabineri.
- Epiphora the endings oI successive sentences/clauses/verse
lines/stanzas/paragraphs/clauses are repeated to add stress to the Iinal
words (. a, . a, . a.).
E.g.: The priest was good but dull. The oIIicers were not good but
dull. The king was good but dull. The wine was bad but not dull. (E.
Hemingway)
- Framing repetition the beginning oI a sentence/clause/verse
line/stanza/paragraph is repeated at the end to Iorm the 'Irame Ior the
non-repeated part (A . . . a.). It explains the notion mentioned at the
beginning oI a sentence: Between two appearances oI the repeated unit
there comes the developing middle part oI the sentence, which explains and
clariIies what was introduced in the beginning.
E.g.: Poor doll`s dressmaker How oIten so dragged down by hands
that should have raised her up; how oIten so misdirected when losing her
way on the eternal road and asking guidance. Poor little dressmaker. (Ch.
Dickens)
- Anadiplosis (Catch repetition/Linking repetition/Reduplication)
the end oI one clause/sentence/verse line/stanza/paragraph is repeated at
the beginning oI the Iollowing one (. a, a .).
25
E.g.: And a great desire Ior peace, peace oI no matter what kind,
swept through her. (A. Bennett)
- Chain repetition several successive anadiploses. The eIIect is
that oI the smoothly developing logical reasoning.
E.g.: Living is the art oI loving.
Loving is the art oI caring.
Caring is the art oI sharing.
Sharing is the art oI living# (. A. Davies)
- Ordinary repetition has no deIinite place in the sentence: The
repeated unit occurs in various positions to emphasize both the logical and
the emotional meanings.
E.g.: hy can`t we be Iriends now? said the other, holding him
aIIectionately. 'It`s what I want. It`s what you want. But the horses didn`t
want it they ran apart; the earth didn`t want it, sending up rocks through
which riders must pass single Iile; the temples, the tanks, the jail, the
palace, the birds, the Guest House, that came into view: they didn`t want it,
they said in their hundred voices, 'No, not yet, and the sky said 'No, not
there. (E. M. Forster)
- Successive repetition a string oI closely Iollowing each other
reiterated units (. a, a, a .) to signiIy the peak oI the speaker` emotions.
E g.: The big house, good-bye, good-bye, good-bye the silly
handsome dreams.
- Tautological repetition a repetition, which does not add to the
contents oI the sentence.
E.g.: 'Do you remember our mosque, Mrs. Moore? 'I do. I do, she
said, suddenly vital and young.
- Synonymous repetition the repetition oI synonyms to give a
concrete and Iull description.
E.g.: 'Down with the English anyhow. That`s certain. Clear out,
you Iellows, double quick, I say. e may hate one another, but we hate
you most. II I don`t make you go, Ahmed will, Karim will, iI it`s IiIty-Iive
hundred years we shall get rid of you, yes, we shall drive every
Englishman into the sea, and then he rode against him Iuriously 'and
then, he concluded, halI kissing him, 'you and I shall be Iriends.
- Half repetition the use oI synonymous words, oIten with the
same root.
E.g.: It is my love that keeps mine eyes awake;
My own true love that doth my rest deIeat;
To play the watchman ever Ior my sake:
For thee watch I whilst thou dost wake elsewhere
From me Iar oII, with others all to near. (. Shakespeare)
26
Represented speech |repri'zentid'spi:t| the presentation oI a
character`s thoughts, ideas, and Ieelings. It splits into the Iollowing types:
- Inner (Unuttered), which presents a character`s unspoken
thoughts and Ieelings. It abounds in exclamatory words and phrases,
elliptical constructions, breaks, and other means oI conveying the Ieelings
and psychological state oI the character.
E.g.: "n idea had occurred to Soames# His cousin $olyon was (rene+s
trustee& the first step would be to go down and see him at %obin Hill# %obin
Hill: 3he odd the ery odd feeling those words brought back# %obin hill
the house Bosinney had built for him and (rene the house they had neer
lied in the fatal house: "nd $olyon lied there now: Hm: (. Galsworthy)
It is usually introduced by verbs oI mental perception, such as think,
mediate, feel, occur, wonder, ask, tell oneself, understand, etc.
E.g.: 7er and oer he was asking himself= would she receie him/
Would she recogni>e him/ What should he say to her/
Why weren+t things going well between them/ he wondered#
1 Uttered, which is a character`s actual utterance representation by
the author as iI it had been spoken, whereas it has not really been spoken.
In it the tense is switched Irom present to past, and personal pronouns are
changed Irom Iirst and second to third person as in indirect speech, but the
syntactical structure oI the utterance does not change.
E.g.: 7ld $olyon was on the alert at once# Wasn+t the ?man of
property going to lie in his new house& then/ He neer alluded to
Soames now but under this title#
?0o& 1 $une said ?he was not. she knew that he was not:
How did she know/
She could not tell him& but she knew# She knew nearly for certain.(.
Golsworthy)
Rhetorical question |ri'trikl'kwesten| (Irom Greek pqep 'an
orator) a statement reshaped into a question, generally a complex one:
ithout a subordinate clause a rhetorical question would lose its speciIic
quality and might be regarded as an ordinary question. Rhetorical questions
are oIten asked in distress, or anger.
E.g.: What hae ( done to desere this/ (The implication: I have done
nothing to deserve this.)
What shall ( do when he comes/ (The implication: I do not know
what to do when he comes.)
27
Rhetorical questions can be based on negation. There is always an
additional shade oI meaning implied in such rhetorical questions: doubt,
assertion, or suggestion. In this case it may be a simple sentence.
E.g.: Hae ( not had to wrestle with my lot/
Hae ( not suffered things to be forgien/ (G. G. Byron)
Rhyme |'raim| (Irom Greek p 'proportionality) the
repetition oI identical/similar ending sound combinations. The types oI
rhyme:
- Male (Masculine/Single), ending in stressed syllables.
E.g.: understand hand.
- Female (Feminine/Double), ending in unstressed syllables.
E.g.: berry merry.
- Triple (Treble/Dactylic), ending in a stressed syllable Iollowed by
two unstressed ones.
E.g.: tenderly slenderly.
- Full (Exact/Perfect), in which the ending syllables are identical.
E.g.: might right.
- Incomplete (Half/Near), in which the ending syllables are not
identical. Incomplete rhyme splits into the Iollowing subtypes:
- Vowel, in which the vowels are identical, but the consonants are
diIIerent.
E.g.: Iresh press;
- Consonant, in which the consonants are identical, but the vowels
are diIIerent.
E.g.: Ilung long.
- Compound (Broken), in which one word rhymes with a
combination oI words, or two or three words rhyme with the corresponding
two or three words. The combination oI words is made to sound like one
word, thus producing a humorous eIIect.
E.g.: a tall at all.
- Eye (Sight), in which the letters are identical but the sounds they
produce are diIIerent.
E.g.: love prove.
- Internal, in which the rhyming words are placed within one line.
E.g.: I bring Iresh showers Ior the thirsting flowers. (P. B.Shelley)
- Initial, in which the last word oI one line rhymes with the Iirst
word oI the Iollowing line.
E.g.: The sunlight on the garden
Hardens and grows cold . (L. Macnis)
28
- Adjacent, in which the lines are placed according to the pattern
aabb.
- Crossing, in which the lines are placed according to the pattern
abab.
- Ring, in which the lines are placed according to the pattern abba.
Rhythm |'ri em| (Irom Greek p 'proportionality) the
measured Ilow oI stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry; and the
repetition oI similar structural units in prose.
Sentence length. The length oI any language unit is a very important
Iactor in inIormation exchange, Ior the human brain can receive and
transmit inIormation only iI the latter is punctuated by pauses.
Theoretically speaking, a sentence can be oI any length, so even
monstrous constructions oI several hundred words each should be viewed
as sentences. But psychologically no reader is prepared to perceive as a
syntactical whole those sentences in which the punctuation mark oI a Iull
stop comes aIter the 124
th
word (. C. Oates E5pensie !eople), or aIter 45
whole pages oI the text (. oyce @lysses). Though it is very diIIicult to
speciIy the upper limit oI sentence length, its lowest mark is one word.
One-word sentences possess a very strong emphatic impact, Ior their
only word obtains both the word and the sentence stress.
E.g.: They could keep the Minden Street Shop going until they got
the notice to quit. Or they could wait and see what kind oI alternative
premises were oIIered. II the site was good. If. Or. And, quite inevitably,
borrowing money. (. Braine)
Abrupt changes Irom short sentences to long ones and then back
again, create a very strong eIIect oI tension and suspense, Ior they serve to
arrange a nervous, uneven, ragged rhythm oI the utterance.
E.g.: 'esus Christ Look at her Iace Surprise. 'Her eyes are
closed Astonishment. 'She likes it Amazement. 'Nobody could take
my picture doing that Disgust. (R. right)
Sentence structure. The expressiveness oI sentences depends on the
position oI constituting it clauses. Depending on the position oI clauses
sentences split into:
- Loose, opening with the main clause Iollowed by dependent units.
Such a structure is not very emphatic and highly characteristic oI inIormal
writing and conversation.
29
- Periodic, opening with subordinated clauses, absolute and
participial constructions, the main clause being withheld until the end. Such
a structure is known Ior emphasis and is used mainly in creative prose.
CI.: e were deeply impressed by this vigorous survival oI an older
civilization, when we isited 3aos !ueblo (loose structure). When we
isited 3aos !ueblo, we were deeply impressed by the vigorous survival oI
an older civilization (periodic structure).
Shaped (Visual) text |'eipt'tekst| a text, in which the lines/words
Iorm a recognizable shape (Iigure), such as a cross, a star, a heart, a
triangle, etc. usually to reIlect the contents.
E.g. the Iollowing poem is shaped as a tree:
A MAN IS MADE
A man is made
OI Ilesh and blood
OI eyes and bones and water
The very same things make his son
As those that make his daughter.
A tree is made
OI leaI and sap,
OI bark and Iruit and berries.
It keeps a bird`s nest
In its boughs
And blackbirds eat the cherries.
A table`s made
OI naked wood
Planed smooth as milk I wonder
II tables ever dream oI sun,
OI wind, and rain, and thunder?
And when man takes
His axe and strikes
And sets the sawdust Irying
Is it a table being born?
Or just a tree that`s dying?
The Iollowing thoughts oI A. Milne`s character are shaped to reIlect
his sitting in the running kangaroo`s pocket:
this shall
II is I never take
Ilying really to it.
30
Simile |'simeli| the imaginative comparison oI two unlike objects
belonging to diIIerent classes. A simile states that a is like/as b.
E.g.: He is as beautiIul as a weathercock. (O. ilde)
My heart is like a singing bird. (Ch. Rossetti)
Each simile consists oI the Iollowing three components: 1) the thing
which is compared, called the tenor; 2) the thing with which it is
compared, called the vehicle; 3) link-words, such as like, as, as though, as
like, such as, as . as, as if, seem, etc.
E.g.: My ,ama moved among the days like a dreamwalker in a
Iield. (L. CliIton). In this example, ,ama is the tenor, dreamwalker is the
vehicle, and like is the link-word.
The simile Iorming like can be placed at the end oI the phrase.
E.g.: Emily Barton was very pink, very Dresden1china1shepherdess
like#
Similes diIIer Irom metaphors: The comparison made between two
things is indicated by link words in simile, while there is not any
connective in a metaphor. In this case, the metaphor is a more IorceIul
statement than the simile.
CI.: My love is a rose (metaphor). My love is like a rose (simile).
Simile is diIIerent Irom simple comparison. Though structurally
identical, they diIIer semantically: In a comparison objects belong to the
same class, while in a simile objects belong to two diIIerent classes.
CI.: Comparison: She (class oI people) is like her mother (class oI
people). Simile: She (class oI people) is like a rose (class oI plants).
Semantically similes split into:
- Genuine (Poetic/Fresh/Original/Newly-created), based on some
Iresh and absolutely unexpected analogy between two things.
E.g.: hat happens to a dream deIerred? Does it dry up like a raisin
in the sun? (L. Hughes)
- Trite (Dead/Hackneyed/Stale/Banal/Stereotyped), the original
Iigurative meaning oI which has been Iorgotten due to the overuse.
E.g.: as sick as a dog, as strong as a horse, blind as a bat.
Structurally similes split into:
- ordinary (see examples above);
- disguised, in which the link between the tenor and the vehicle is
expressed by notional verbs, such as to resemble, to seem, to look like, to
appear, etc., and the likeness between the objects seems less evident.
E.g.: 3he ball appeared to the batter to be a slow spinning planet
looming toward the earth. (B. Malamud)
31
Suspense |se'spens| a deliberate postponement oI the sentence
completion, whereas the less important, descriptive, subordinate parts are
amassed at the beginning to keep up the reader`s/listener`s attention and
prepare him Ior the only logical conclusion oI the utterance.
E.g.: ,ankind, says a Chinese manuscript, which my Iriend M. was
obliging enough to read and explain to me, for the first seenty thousand
ages ate their meat raw. (Ch. Lamb)
Synecdoche |si'nekdeki| (Irom Greek q 'percepting
together) the use oI a part to denote the whole or vice versa.
E.g.: Then two men entered. The moustache (i.e. the man with a
moustache) I did not know.
Structurally synecdoche is based on one oI the Iollowing principles:
- The use oI a part Ior the whole.
E.g.: Hands wanted (i.e. workers).
A hundred head oI cattle.
- The use oI the whole Ior a part.
E.g.: Stop torturing the poor animal (instead oI the poor dog)
Reading books when I am talking to you (instead oI reading a book)
Semantically synecdoches split into:
- Genuine (Poetic/Fresh/Original/Newly-created), based on some
Iresh and absolutely unexpected analogy between two things.
E.g.: You have got a nice fo5 on (i.e. coat with the collar made oI
Iox).
- Trite (Dead/Hackneyed/Stale/Banal/Stereotyped), the original
Iigurative meaning oI which has been Iorgotten due to the overuse.
E.g.: All hands on deck
A hundred head oI cattle.
Syntactical whole |sin'tktikel'heul| a larger than a sentence unit,
which comprises a number oI sentences, interdependent structurally
(usually by means oI pronouns, connectives, tense-Iorms) and semantically
(one deIinite thought is dealt with). A syntactical whole can be taken Irom
the context without losing its relative semantic independence (CI.: a
sentence is only part oI an idea). CI.:
A sentence: Auy glanced at his wife+s untouched plate#
A syntactical whole: Auy glanced at his wife+s untouched plate# ?(f
you+e finished we might stroll down# ( think you ought to be starting#
She did not answer# She rose from the table# She went into her room
to see that nothing had been forgotten and then side by side with him
walked down the steps# (. S. Maugham)
32
A syntactical whole can be embodied in a sentence, iI the sentence
meets the requirements oI this compositional unit. On the other hand, it
may coincide with the paragraph, though usually it is a part oI it. To decide
on the number oI syntactical wholes in a paragraph one should compare its
beginning and end.
In poetical style syntactical wholes, as well as paragraphs, are
embodied in stanzas.
Syntactic structure violation the break oI the usual syntactic
structure oI a sentence.
Syntactic violations split into the Iollowing types:
- Lexical the use oI unusual lexical structures.
E.g.: a grief ago. Though the word grief does not imply time, the
author adds this meaning. The usual structure: a minute/day/year/etc. ago.
all the sun long# (Th. Dylan). The usual structure: all the day/night
long.
farmyards away# (Th. Dylan) The usual structure: many
miles/kilometers away.
hen I was a younger man two wies ago& BCD&DDD cigarettes ago&
E&DDD 4uarts of boos ago. (K. Vonnegut, r.)
6olourless green ideas sleep furiously (the title oI Della Haims`s
poem). This example is grammatically correct, though it has no sense:
Colourless can not be green; abstract ideas have no colour; only animated
persons can sleep; sleep means rest, not Iury.
- Grammatical, which are literary coinages, called occasional words
and characterized by Ireshness and originality. They are not neologisms Ior
they are created Ior special communicative situations only and are not used
beyond them.
E.g.: Suddenly he Ielt a horror oI her otherness. (. Baldwin)
David, in his new grown1upness, had already a sort oI authority. (R.
P. arren)
Grammatical violations happen on the level oI word change as well.
E.g.: But now . now I Iind myselI wanting something more,
something heaenlier, something less human. (A. Huxley)
'Mr. Hamilton, you haven`t any children, have you? 'ell no. And
I`m sorry about that, I guess, I am sorriest about that. (. Steinbeck)
- Lexico-grammatical, i.e. the mixture oI lexical and grammatical
violations.
E.g.: hat words can strangle this deaf moonlight? (H. Crane) 3o
strangle is a transitive verb, but the circle oI animated persons limits its
usage.
33
Understatement |Ande'steitment|, or meiosis |mei'eusis| the
exaggeration oI smallness. The mechanism oI understatement creation and
Iunctions is identical with that oI hyperbole (see). It does not signiIy the
actual state oI aIIairs, but presents the object through the emotionally
coloured perception oI the speaker to underline its insigniIicance.
E.g.: She was so thin she could hae hidden behind a parking meter.
She wore a pink hat& the si>e of a button.
Semantically understatements split into:
- genuine (poetic/fresh/original/newly-created), i.e. Iresh and
absolutely unexpected (see examples above);
- trite (dead/hackneyed/stale/banal/stereotyped), the original
Iigurative meaning oI which has been Iorgotten due to the overuse.
E.g.: He wouldn`t hurt a Ily.
I kind oI liked it.
British people, in opposition to Americans, are well known Ior their
preIerence Ior understatement in everyday speech.
E.g.: 'I am rather annoyed instead oI 'I`m inIuriated; 'The wind is
rather strong instead oI 'There is a gale blowing outside.
Zeugma |'zju:gme| (Irom Greek 'connection/yoke) the
use oI one word in the same grammatical but diIIerent semantic relations:
on one hand literal, and on the other, transIerred. As a general rule, zeugma
is employed in humorous texts. The general Iormula oI zeugma is as
Iollows: somebody does a and b, where a and b do not go grammatically
together.
E.g.: He took his hat and his leae. (Ch. Dickens)
She dropped a tear and her pocket handkerchief. (Ch. Dickens)
It is diIIicult to tell zeugma Irom pun. The only reliable distinction is
a structural one: Zeugma is the realization oI two meanings with the help oI
a verb. Pun is more independent: It depends on the context (see Pun).
34
2 Stylistic Devices and Expressive Means Drills
In the Iollowing sentences taken Irom original authentic literature
- Iind stylistic devices and/or expressive means oI the language;
- name them;
- deIine the group to which the tropes belong (use all known
classiIications);
- deIine the degree oI their originality (original/trite);
- deIine their other properties iI any;
- speak on the eIIect they produce.
Sample Sentence Analysis
Dad says he has holes in his teeth big enough Ior a sparrow to raise a
Iamily. Frank McCourt: "ngela+s "shes.
In this sentence the author has used the Iollowing tropes:
- Hyperbole (holes in his teeth big enough Ior a sparrow to raise a
Iamily), the exaggeration oI the real size oI holes in Dad`s teeth. It is a
lexical SD in I. R. Galperin`s, V. A. Kukharenko`s and I.V. Arnold`s
classiIications, a Iigure oI quantity in Yu. M. Skrebnev`s classiIication, or a
rhetorical Iigure in American and British stylistics. As we have neither
heard nor read such an exaggeration beIore, it is original (Iresh/newly-
created/poetic/genuine). This device is used to show that the holes in Dad`s
teeth were really very big.
- Alliteration (he has holes in his), the repetition oI consonant sound
|h| in adjacent (the Iirst three) and closely Iollowing (the last one) words.
It is a phonetic SD in I. R. Galperin`s, a phono-graphical EM in V. A.
Kukharenko`s, a unit oI syntagmatic phonetics in Yu. M. Skrebnev`s, and a
rhetorical Iigure in American and British classiIications. Alliteration makes
the sentence melodic.
The sentences Ior stylistic analysis were taken Irom the Iollowing
books:
- Anderson, Steven. 'Teacher;
- Barstow, Stan. 'The Search Ior Tommy Flynn;
- Bates, Herbert Earnest. 'How Vainly Men Themselves Amaze;
- Binchy, Maeve. 'Flat in Ringsend;
- Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights;
- Browning, Robert. Poetry;
- Burns, Robert. 'My Heart`s in the Highlands;
- Byron, George Gordon Noel. Poetry;
- Carry, oyce. 'Period Piece;
- Chrichton, Michael. " 6ase of 0eed;
- CliIton, Lucille. Poetry;
35
- Cole, Martina. 3wo Women;
- Connell, Richard. 'The Most Dangerous Game;
- Conrad, oseph. Fictory;
- Covey, Stephen R. Rider`s Digest. February, 1995: p.161;
- Doyle, Arthur Conan. 3he Lost World;
- Francis, Dick. Straight;
- Greene, Graham. 3he Guiet "merican;
- Hemingway, Ernest Miller. 'arewell to "rms;
- Hughes, Langston. Poetry;
- Hurst, ames. 'Scarlet Ibis;
- acobs, . . 'The Monkey`s Paw;
- Lee, Harper. 3o Hill a ,ocking Bird.
- London, ack. ,artin Eden;
- Lutz, ohn. 'Ride the Lightning;
- Maugham, illiam Somerset. 3he !ainted Feil;
- Pratt, Anna M. 'A Pretty Game;
- Rinehart, Mary Roberts. 'The Lipstick;
- Rossetti, Christina. Poetry;
- Sanson, illiam. 'The Vertical Ladder;
- Saroyan, illiam. 'A Cocktail Party;
- Stevenson, Robert Louis, 'The Moon;
- Stuart, essie. 'Love;
- Swindoll, Charles. Rider`s Digest. February, 1995: p.161;
- pIield, Arthur. ,adman+s Bend.
1 Finding a Ilat in Dublin, at a rent you could aIIord, was like Iinding
gold in the gold rush. M. Binchy
2 I hope it`s nice, I hope they like me, I hope it`s not expensive. M.
Binchy
3 Pauline was wearing a shirt oI such blindingly bright colours that it
hurt the eyes to look at it. M. Binchy
4 It had been a room Iull oI smoke and drink and music and people
dancing and people talking about nothing. Now it was a room Iull oI
broken glass and overturned chairs and people shouting, trying to explain
what had happened, and people trying to comIort others, or get their coats
and leave. M. Binchy
5 She was not unIriendly, she didn`t look annoyed, but she made no
eIIort to introduce her Iriend. M. Binchy
6 Her immediate reaction would be, come-home-at-once, what-are-
you-doing-by-yourselI-up-in-Dublin, everyone-knew-you-couldn`t-
manage-by-yourselI. M. Binchy
36
7 She had thought that she was meant to be part oI a Iriendly all-
girls-together Ilat. M. Binchy
8 The lead singer oI the Great Gaels was tapping the microphone and
testing it by saying, 'a-one, a-two, a-three. M. Binchy
9 'It`sh a pleashure, said the other man. M. Binchy
10 She waited Ior ages but they didn`t come in. M. Binchy
11 Yes, it was ridiculous, it was bloody silly. M. Binchy
12 It`s bloody Iantastic being grown up, she thought, as she switched
oII the light at nine o`clock. M. Binchy
13 Leave her alone. She is worried. M. Binchy
14 Lake Gladys my own lake lay like a sheet oI quicksilver
beIore me. A. C. Doyle
15 The door banged close. A. C. Doyle
16 Again the impulse to return swept over me. A. C. Doyle
17 Two creatures . had come down to the drinking place, and were
squatting at the edge oI water, their long tongues like red ribbons shooting
in and out as they lapped. A. C. Doyle
18 Then, reassured by the absolute stillness and by the growing light,
I took my courage in both hands and stole back along the path, which I had
come. A. C. Doyle,
19 The man-eatin` Papuans had me once, but they are ChesterIields
compared to this crowd. A. C. Doyle
20 And again the Ioolish pride Iought against that very word. A. C.
Doyle
21 AIter a little hesitation I screwed up my courage and continued
upon my way. A. C. Doyle
22 Suddenly it rained apes. A. C. Doyle
23 He had the short body, the big shoulders, the round chest, no
neck, a great ruddy beard, the tuIted eyebrows, the 'hat do you want,
damn you look about the eyes, and the whole catalogue. A. C. Doyle
24 It was a strange clicking noise in the distance, not unlike
castanets. A. C. Doyle
25 The ape-men put two oI them to death there and then it was
perIectly beastly. A. C. Doyle
26 Four oI the Indians jumped and the canes went through them like
knitting needles through a pat oI butter. A. C. Doyle
27 His |ProIessor Summerlee`s| thin Iigure and long limbs struggled
and Iluttered like a chicken being dragged Irom a coop. A. C. Doyle
28 He was begging, pleading, imploring Ior his comrade`s liIe. A.
C. Doyle
29 Challenger`s quick brain had grasped the situation. A. C. Doyle
37
30 . Lord ohn covered our retreat, Iiring again and again as savage
heads snarled at us out oI the bushes. A. C. Doyle
31 She smiled a wicked twelveyearold`s smile. . Lutz
32 Nudger was sitting at the tiny table in Holly Ann`s kitchen. .
Lutz
33 And you wanted the police to learn about nothisrightname
Len. . Lutz
34 'You can`t prove anything, she said, still with the same
Irightening smile. . Lutz
35 The last thing Nudger heard as he leIt the trailer was the sound oI
the bottle clinking on the glass. . Lutz
36 She listened with dead eyes. M. R. Rineheart
37 Fred watched me, his eyes red and tired. M. R. Rineheart
38 Pride is a terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines liIe and
death. . Hurst
39 A thin opal-tinted mist Iormed beIore my eyes and little silvery
bells tinkled in my ears. A. C. Doyle
40 Dully and Iar oII I heard the crack oI a riIle. A. C. Doyle
41 The great reptilian hearts, however, each as large as a cushion,
still lay there, beating slowly and steadily. A. C. Doyle
42 For a moment I had a vision oI Iour adventurers Iloating like a
string oI sausages over the land that they had explored. A. C. Doyle
43 It was the very voice oI Maple hite Land bidding us good-bye.
A. C. Doyle
44 You are awIully damned nice. E. Hemingway
45 I loved to take her hair down and she sat on the bed and kept very
still, . , and I would take out the pins and lay them on the sheet and it
would be loose and I would watch her while she kept very still and take out
the last two pins and it would all come down and she would drop her head
and we would both be inside oI it, and it was the Ieeling oI inside a tent or
be behind a Ialls. E. Hemingway
46 I`ll love you in the rain, and in the snow, and in the hail and
what else is there? E. Hemingway
47 That was awIully cheeky oI you. E. Hemingway
48 'Old baby, he said. E. Hemingway
49 I drank halI the glass. E. Hemingway
50 There were many Austrian guns in on that ridge but only a Iew
Iired. E. Hemingway
51 'That was old IishIace`s room, Piani said. E. Hemingway
52 The pair oI them |soldiers| were like two wild birds. E.
Hemingway
38
53 The elevator passed three Iloors with a click each time, then
clicked and stopped. E. Hemingway
54 'Hey he said. E. Hemingway
55 I slept thrashing and swimming in a heavyIooted panic until I
reached it. E. Hemingway
56 Now iI you aren`t with me I haven`t a thing in the world. E.
Hemingway
57 I was terriIically hungry. E. Hemingway
58 Catherine looked at me all the time, her eyes happy. E.
Hemingway
59 It was awIully Iunny. E. Hemingway
60 'There will be no unpleasantness with the police, the Iirst
oIIicial assured me. E. Hemingway
61 The electric train was there waiting, all the lights on. E.
Hemingway
62 He |child| looks like a skinned rabbit with a puckered-up old
man`s Iace. E. Hemingway
63 I shut my eyes and she was again the same as she used to be: she
was the hiss oI steam, the clink oI a cup, she was a certain hour oI the night
and the promise oI rest. G. Greene
64 I put out my hand and touched her arm their bones too were as
Iragile as a bird`s. G. Greene
65 They |clothes| were in passage like a butterIly in a room. G.
Greene
66 The dice rattled on the tables where the French were playing. G.
Greene
67 Innocence is like a dumb leper, who has lost its bell. G. Greene
68 It was the hour oI rest in the immense courtyard, which lay open
to the sky. G. Greene
69 I had met Vigot several times at parties I had noticed him
because he appeared incongruously in love with his wiIe, who ignored him,
a Ilashy and Ialse blond. G. Greene
70 The history oI this small pastoral property was not uncommon.
A. pIield
71 Meanwhile I`ll send all the hands out to locate your stepIather
that`s the men available. A. pIield
72 The hundred-year-old American clock, inIinitely more reliable
than the modern product, whirred and bonged the midnight hour. A.
pIield
73 The night was as black as the ace oI spades. A. pIield
39
74 The oncoming mail car was not unlike a laden black beetle. A.
pIield
75 Your touch is like a butterIly: mine is as heavy as a carthorse.
A. pIield
76 I would be inclined to agree with Vickory were it not impossible
Ior Luch to take petrol to the utility in his pocket. A. pIield
77 LiIe is a journey, don`t you think? A. pIield
78 hat kind oI man was her husband? Like a playIul pup. A.
pIield
79 . and in the background could he hear the soIt gurgling oI water
and the barking oI a distant Iox. A. pIield
80 It`s my job to Iind out who removed illiam Lush Irom this
world. A. pIield
81 I`m not ungrateIul, but I cannot command your action. A.
pIield
82 Mac Curdle sipped his whisky beIore venturing to ask. A.
pIield
83 nder that muscled body oI his he was a mass oI quivering
sensibilities. . London
84 At the slightest impact oI the outside world upon his
consciousness, his thoughts, sympathies and emotions leapt and played like
lambent Ilame. . London
85 'Catherine, are you going somewhere this aIternoon? asked
HeathcliII. 'No-o, I don`t think so, replied Catherine, looking quickly at
me. E. Bronte
86 For an eternal second he stood in the midst oI a portrait gallery..
. London
87 He was moved deeply by appreciation oI it, and his heart was
melting with sympathetic tenderness. . London
88 I thanked her, not knowing exactly Ior what, and put down the
receiver, taking the shock physically in lightheadedness and a constricted
throat. D. Francis
89 It wasn`t until I reached twenty-eight myselI that aIter a long
Christmas-a-birthday-card politeness we`d met unexpectedly on a railway
platIorm and during the journey ahead had become Iriends. D. Francis
90 'Look, she said. 'I didn`t realize. I mean, when I came in here
and saw you stealing things. I thought you were stealing things. I didn`t
notice the crutches. D. Francis
91 My love Ior Edgar is like the leaves on the trees I`m sure time
will change it. But my love Ior HeathcliII is like the rocks in the ground not
beautiIul, but necessary and unchanging. E. Bronte
40
92 'I`ve broken an ankle, I said, apologetically. 'It takes me all my
time to cross the room. D. Francis
93 Depressed, I went back to his oIIice and telephoned to his
accountant and his bank. D. Francis
94 To the insurance company, also, my brother`s death seemed
scarcely a hiccup. D. Francis
95 I didn`t say anything Ior a moment or two and he looked up Iast,
his eyes bright and quizzical. D. Francis
96 'hat`s the izard? I asked. 'The calculator. Baby computer.
une says it does everything but boil eggs. D. Francis
97 There was a series oI between-message clicks, then the same
voice again, this time packed with anxiety. D. Francis
98 He`d had a mind like a labyrinth. D. Francis
99 . he had done it Ior simplicity when he was in a hurry, and he
would have certainly changed it, given time. D. Francis
100 They |letters| were Iastened not with romantic ribbons but held
together by a prosaic rubber band. D. Francis
101 The springs shot out, Ilexible, shining, horriIic. D. Francis
102 The Iront doorbell rang, jarring and unexpected. D. Francis
103 The boy must be a gypsy, he`s as dark as the devil E. Bronte
104 She`s a breath oI Iresh air Ior those stupid Lintons. E. Bronte
105 How Iunny and black and cross you look. E. Bronte
106 I spoke about him, not to him. E. Bronte
107 Hindley only had room in his heart Ior two people, himselI and
his wiIe. E. Bronte
108 He seemed to want people to dislike him. E. Bronte
109 She . led the way into another large oIIice where three oI the
others were already gathered, wide-eyed and rudderless. D. Francis
110 e could hear the wind whistling down the chimney, and
howling all around the house. E. Bronte
111 Suddenly there was a terrible crash oI thunder, and the branch oI
a tree Iell on the rooI. E. Bronte
112 He wore a conIident, intelligent expression on his Iace, and his
manner was no longer rough. E. Bronte
113 She could not take her eyes oI HeathcliII. E. Bronte
114 Hindley and his son Hareton seemed like lost sheep to me .
E. Bronte
115 Mr. Edgar looked at her in angry surprise. E. Bronte
116 'ell, well replied HeathcliII, looking scornIully at Mr.
Edgar`s small Iigure. E. Bronte
117 You aren`t a man, you`re a mouse. E. Bronte
41
118 . iI Edgar is going to be mean and jealous, I`ll try to break both
their hearts by breaking my own. E. Bronte
119 I`ll die with cold Iaces around me E. Bronte
120 e looked together into the icy darkness. E. Bronte
121 'Catherine hy ' hen he saw his wiIe`s Iace, he was so
shocked that he stopped speaking and stared at her in horror. E. Bronte
122 But those Iour miles were like an ocean, which I could not cross.
E. Bronte
123 oseph will show you HeathcliII`s room, iI you like. And and
you`d better lock the bedroom door. E. Bronte
124 And Catherine has a heart as deep as mine E. Bronte
125 She`s just like an insect under my Ioot. E. Bronte
126 It`s wicked oI you to say that, Catherine. You know your words
will burn Ior ever in my memory aIter you`ve leIt me. E. Bronte
127 My poor master was in the depth oI despair. E. Bronte
128 He howled like a wild animal, and hit his Iorehead several times
against a tree. E. Bronte
129 I gave him my heart, and he destroyed it, so I can`t Ieel pity Ior
him. E. Bronte
130 This tiny child soon won his heart. E. Bronte
131 'No said oseph, banging the table with his hand. E. Bronte
132 'God hat a beautiIul creature laughed HeathcliII scornIully.
'That`s worse than I expected. E. Bronte
133 I love him more than anyone else in the world, more than
myselI E. Bronte
134 Her Iather`s room had become her whole world. E. Bronte
135 As she kissed me, her Iace Ielt as cold as ice. E. Bronte
136 My Mama moved among the days like a dream walker in a Iield.
L. CliIton
137 hat happens to a dream deIerred? Does it dry up like a raisin in
the sun? L. Hughes
138 immy was sorry to the heart but the Ieeling he had Ior Maureen
was like a cancer, constantly eating away inside him. M. Cole
139 He admired, respected, loved her. M. Cole
140 And like music on the waters
Is thy sweet voice to me. G.G. Byron
141 The wild tulip, at the end oI its tube, blows
out its great red bell
Like a thin clear bubble oI blood. R. Browning
142 My heart is like a singing bird
hose nest is in a watered shoot;
42
My heart is like an apple tree
hose boughs are bent with thickest Iruit. Ch. Rossetti
143 As her mother let herselI in with her key her heart stopped in her
breast. M. Cole
145 He`d hated hurting her but what could a man do? She was old
news, like a newspaper read Irom cover to cover. hy keep it? M. Cole
146 Stretching like a long-limbed cat, une looked at herselI in the
mirror. M. Cole
147 She was a lovely little thing, plain as a pikestaII but with a huge
heart that was crying out Ior a bit oI aIIection. M. Cole
148 She was kissing and hugging her mother Ior ages until ane,
laughing, said, 'All right, Susan. M. Cole
149 Swallowing her natural aggression, she dropped her eyes and
was quiet. M. Cole
150 They were all amazed to see two Iat tears Iall Irom the old lady`s
eyes. M. Cole
151 ane hugged her, aIraid herselI now she had seen Iear in her
husband`s mother. M. Cole
152 Ivy had a Iace that could curdle milk at the best oI times. M.
Cole
153 . and by the time they let him out she would be grown up and
able to tall him where to go. M. Cole
154 Susan was a bundle oI nerves. M. Cole
155 oe turned in his seat and looked the old woman straight in the
eye. M. Cole
156 The slap on her cheek was like a gunshot in the quiet oI the
room. M. Cole
157 She looked at Susan and her grin Iaded. M. Cole
158 hat are you thinking about, Mum? You got a Iace like a wet
weekend in Brighton. M. Cole
159 The Iight started in earnest then. Mother and daughter were
clawing like wildcats. M. Cole
160 Ivy hung her head. M. Cole
161 Susan looked at her and answered in a tiny dead voice. M.
Cole
162 The shame oI it was inside her like a black cancer, eating her
Irom inside. M. Cole
163 Debbie`s eyes were like saucers as she looked at her Iather. M.
Cole
164 Her dismissive words were like a kniIe through his brain. M.
Cole
43
165 His sister`s boy was the apple oI his eye. M. Cole
166 She basked in the compliment. M. Cole
167 For the Iirst time in her liIe she Ielt like a million dollars. M.
Cole
168 My mouth Ieels like the bottom oI a bird`s cage. M. Cole
169 I wish they`d hurry up. I`m supposed to arrive late, not him.
M. Cole
170 Susan shook her head and walked away Irom him 'SSAN
His voice was an entreaty. But Susan and Debbie carried on walking Irom
the church and the guests Iollowed them outside like sheep. M. Cole
171 Ivy looked at her daughter-in-law in stunned silence. 'You
knew? You knew and didn`t do anything? M. Cole
172 A wasp was buzzing around. M. Cole
173 Pete Ielt the Iright in his chest. M. Cole
174 She heard the clack, clack oI her daughter`s shoes as Debbie
walked along the balcony towards the Iront door. M. Cole
175 Barry, realizing that she was a diamond, gave her piece and quiet
and aIIection. M. Cole
176 She stood in the garden and cried like a baby, big Iat tears ran
down her cheeks and made her make up run. M. Cole
177 She only had to look into those big blue eyes and she melted.
M. Cole
178 Barry looked at her Ior a long moment and she Ielt the icy grip
oI Iear around her heart. M. Cole
179 'hat`s he done now? hissed her Iriend. M. Cole
180 Fear lent his Ieet wings. M. Cole
181 Doreen`s voice was shocked. M. Cole
182 Peterson leaned in his chair and smiled at me, a very pleasant,
let`s-not-get-all-excited smile. M. Chrichton
183 He drank halI a glass in a single gulp. M. Chrichton
184 He saw his son beside the woman who had given birth to him.
. Saroyan
185 'Don`t look down, the blood whispered in his temples, 'don`t
look down Ior God`s sake, DON`T LOOK DON. . Sanson
186 hen he got into bed the sheets were like blankets oI dry snow.
S. Anderson
187 AIter that, every aIternoon, they drove down by the coast,
through pine Iorests, to where at last, like a small central bite taken out oI
an amber quarter oI melon, a little bay lay within a bay. H. E. Bates
188 She |the snake| was now limber as a shoestring in the wind. .
Stuart
44
189 She |the snake| quivered like a leaI in the lazy wind, then her
riddled body lay perIectly still. . Stuart
190 He had come in the night, under the rooI oI stars, as the moon
shed rays oI light on the quivering clouds oI green. . Stuart
191 'No, don`t do that, Scout. Scout? 'ha t? H. Lee
192 Her heart hammered and she swayed on the chair. S. Barstow
193 The pupils oI them |her eyes| were like bright bird`s eggs,
mottled and stenciled green and orange brown. H. E. Bates
194 At once he Ielt his body tighten like a bowstring. H. E. Bates
195 Every day he took many pictures oI her, sometimes in the nude,
sometimes in the sea, several times perched high on a rock, like some
Iabulous red-gold sea creature. H. E. Bates
196 A small snake oI irritation curled sharply up his throat and bit
the back oI his mouth. H. E. Bates
197 Each time a child was born she |mother-in-law| planted herselI
in the household and took charge oI every detail . . Carry
198 She belonged to a rougher, cruder age, where psychology was
practically unheard oI, where moral, judgments were simply thrown out
like packets Irom a slot machine, where there were only two kinds oI
character, bad and good. . Carry
199 Children, I should speak to you . your lovely mother . she is
out, she went away, she turned to an angel, she went on some kind oI trip,
she`ll never return, but she`ll always be with you. She is dead.
200 Mrs. Beer puts a red ten on a black jack, gets out an ace, looks
up and catches Frank`s eye. . Carry
201 Tutin caught his breath and gathered his nerve. . Carry
202 'Mom and Dad . You know I love you . but I want . I mean
. I`m grown up . I wasn`t to say that . 'Are you going to marry?
'Yes .
203 She seems a stupid animal. . Conrad
204 A huge lump oI glass lay balanced on the top oI a cupboard; it
could Iall at any moment. . Conrad
205 'But HY iI you could tell me HY, then I might do it, Paul
was saying. . Conrad
206 Two large tears Iell down her Iace and two more were on the
way like raindrops on a window. . Conrad
207 There was no one in there and I swung over to one oI the
counters to see what was on display. Rings I Iound, but not simple little
circles. These were huge, oIten asymmetric. D. Francis
208 On the other hand I healed everywhere Iast, bones, skin and
optimism. D. Francis
45
209 'I Iound it, he said 'hat? I was still thinking oI Greville
|brother|. 'Your brother`s wheels. D. Francis
210 Ramon Vacarro, wanted Ior drug-running, Florida, SA.
Suspected oI several murders, victims mostly pilots . Vaccaro leaves no
mouths alive to chatter. D. Francis
211 'I`m surprised he gave you a weapon like that, I said mildly.
'Aren`t they illegal? And him a magistrate. D. Francis
212 London at weekends is a graveyard. D. Francis
213 His small sitting room looked like the path oI a hurricane. D.
Francis
214 FireprooI the hiding place undoubtedly was, and thieIprooI it
had proved. D. Francis
215 Sitting on the lid oI the loo in the bathroom, I unwrapped the
crepe bandage and by hopping and holding onto things, took a long,
luxurious and much needed shower, washing my hair, letting the dust and
debris and the mental tensions oI the week run away in the soIt
bombardment oI water. D. Francis
216 The words died away on his lips, and he hid a guilty gin in his
gray beard. . . acobs
217 His dry lips shaped the words, 'How much? . . acobs
218 nconscious oI his wiIe`s shriek, the old man smiled Iaintly, put
out his hands like a sightless man, and dropped, a senseless heap, to the
Iloor. . . acobs
219 The bed was warm, and his eye heavy with sleep. . .
acobs
220 There was no breeze. The sea was as Ilat as a plate-glass
window. R. Connell
221 hat I Ielt was a a mental chill; a sort oI sudden dread. R.
Connell
222 For a seemingly endless time he Iought the sea. He began to
count his strokes; he could do possibly a hundred more and then R.
Connell
223 'here there are pistol shots, there are men. here there are
men, there is Iood, he thought. R. Connell
224 For a moment the general did not reply; he was smiling his
curious red-lipped smile. R. Connell
225 He sipped his wine. R. Connell
226 He knew his pursuer was coming; he heard the padding sound oI
Ieet on the soIt earth. He lived a year in a minute. R. Connell
227 Twenty Ieet below him the sea rumbled and hissed. R. Connell
228 He was deliciously tired`, he said to himselI . R. Connell
46
229 He remembered the dress she wore; it was her wedding dress,
and he said she looked like a lily oI the valley. . S. Maugham
230 Now that she had learnt something oI passion it diverted her to
play lightly, like a harpist running his Iingers across the strings oI his harp,
oh his aIIections. . S. Maugham
231 She was like a rosebud that is beginning to turn yellow at the
edges oI the petals, and then suddenly she was a rose in Iull bloom. . S.
Maugham
232 He stood Ior an instant on the threshold and their eyes met. .
S. Maugham
233 'I have some work to do, he said in that quiet, toneless voice,
his eyes averted. . S. Maugham
234 ell, you know, women are oIten under the impression that men
are much more madly in love with them than they really are. . S.
Maugham
235 You are simply wonderIul. I was shaking like a leaI when I came
here and you`ve made everything all right. . S. Maugham
236 She was aIraid oI her mother`s bitter tongue. . S. Maugham
237 It`s incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the
busyness oI liIe, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder oI
success only to discover it`s leaning against the wrong wall. S. R. Covey
238 Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than
money, than circumstances, than what other people think or say or do.
Ch. Swindoll
239 e cannot change our past. e cannot change the Iact that
people will act in a certain way. e cannot change the inevitable. Ch.
Swindoll
240 I looked at the gun, and the gun looked at me.
241 Don`t use big words. They mean so little.
242 Say yes. II you don`t, I`ll break into tears. I`ll sob. I`ll moan. I`ll
groan.
243 Don`t bite the hand that . looks dirty.
244 OI course it is important. Incredibly, urgently, desperately
important.
245 'ant to read it to me? he asked.
246 'hat do you mean, she asked him. . S. Maugham
247 'I had no illusions about you, he said. 'I knew you were silly
and Irivolous and empty-headed. But I loved you. I knew that your aims
and ideals were vulgar and commonplace. But I loved you. I knew that you
were second-rate. But I loved you. . S. Maugham
47
248 ounded vanity can make a woman more vindictive than a
lioness robbed oI her cubs. . S. Maugham
249 He stretched out his hand and took hers. 'It`s a scrape we`ve got
into, but we shall get out oI it. It`s not . He stopped and Kitty had a
suspicion that he had been about to say that it was not the Iirst he had got
out oI. . S. Maugham
250 'He agrees to my divorcing him iI your wiIe will give him the
assurance that she will divorce you. 'Anything else? 'And it`s awIully
hard to say, Charlie, it sounds dreadIul iI you`ll promise to marry me
within a week. . S. Maugham
251 e`ve always got on very well together. She`s been an awIully
good wiIe to me, you know. . S. Maugham
252 It`s the ruin oI my whole liIe. hy couldn`t you leave me alone?
hat harm had I ever done to you? . S. Maugham
253 Her night was tortured with strange dreams. . S. Maugham
254 He knew that you were vain, cowardly, and selI-seeking. He
wanted me to see it wanted me to see it with my own eyes. He knew that
you`d run like a hare at the approach oI danger. He knew how grossly I was
in thinking that you were in love with me, because he knew that you were
incapable oI loving any one but yourselI. He knew you`d sacriIice me
without a pang to save your own skin. . S. Maugham
255 The morning drew on and the sun touched the mist so that it
shone whitely like the ghost oI snow on a dying star. . S. Maugham
256 Listen, ma chIre infant * . S. Maugham
257 My heart`s in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart`s in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;
A-chasing the deer, and Iollowing the roe
My heart`s in the Highlands wherever I go. R. Burns
258 The dead have been awakened
Shall I sleep?
The world`s at war with tyrants
Shall I crouch? G. G. Byron
259 The moon has a Iace like the clock in the hall. R. L. Stevenson
260 The sun and rain in Iickle weather
ere playing hide-and-seek together A. M. Pratt
261 The hand that rocked the cradle has kicked the bucket
262 oin the ippi appa Festival in amaica
263 The garden was alive with the buzz oI bees.
264 He`s so crooked he has to screw his socks on.
265 You`ve buttered your bread; now lie in it.
48
3 Texts for Stylistic Analysis
Make a thorough stylistic analysis oI the Iollowing texts: Find the
artistic message and principles underlying a writer`s choice oI language.
hile making the stylistic analysis oI a text, speak on the Iollowing items:
- the style in which the text is written (belles-letters (poetry, drama,
or emotive prose), publicistic (speech, essay, or an article), oIIicial
documents, newspaper, or scientiIic);
- the Iorm in which the text is written (Iirst/third person narration,
dialogue, soliloquy, description);
- sentence complexity prevalence (simple/complex);
- vocabulary prevalence (bookish/neutral/colloquial);
- SDs and EMs and the eIIect produced by them.
Sample Text Analysis
The older proIessor looked up at the assistant, Iumbling IretIully
with a pile oI papers. 'Farrar, what`s the matter with you lately? he said
sharply.
The younger man started, 'hy . why . the brusqueness oI the
other`s manner shocked him suddenly into conIession. 'I`ve lost my nerve,
ProIessor Mallory, that`s what s the matter with me. I`m Irightened to
death, he said melodramatically.
'hat of? asked Mallory, with a little change in his tone.
The Iloodgates were open. The younger man burst out in
exclamations, waving his thin, nervous, knotted Iingers, his Iace twitching
as he spoke. 'OI myselI . no, not myselI, but my body I`m not well .
I`m getting worse all the time. The doctors don`t make out what is the
matter . I don`t sleep . I worry . I Iorget things, I take no interest in
liIe . the doctors intimate a nervous break down ahead oI me . and yet I
rest . I rest . more than I can aIIord to I never go out. Every evening
I`m in bed by nine o`clock. I take no part in college liIe beyond my work,
Ior Iear oI the nervous strain. I`ve reIused to take charge oI that summer
school in New York, you know, that would be such an opportunity Ior me
. iI I could only sleep But though I never do anything exciting in the
evening . heavens hat nights I have. Black hours oI seeing myselI in a
sanitarium, dependent on my brother I never . why, I`m in hell . that`s
what the matter with me, a perIect hell oI ignoble terror Dorothy
CanIield Fisher, an extract Irom 'The Heyday oI the Blood
The extract above is taken Irom a short story 'The Heyday oI the
Blood by Dorothy CanIield Fisher, so it belongs to belles-letters style.
49
The extract is written in the Iorm oI the dialogue between ProIessor
Mallory and his young assistant Farrar.
Sentences in the extract are mainly short to reIlect Farrar`s worried
emotional state and excited speech.
To reIlect the social status and education oI the two characters
Iormal (bookish) words are used, such as fretfully& brus4ueness& to
intimate& for fear& sanitarium& ignoble. Though neutral words prevail, as
they are the best means to reIlect Farrar`s emotional state and speech.
Dorothy CanIield Fisher used the Iollowing tropes:
- Alliterations (the repetition oI adjacent or closely Iollowing
consonant sounds |I|, |p| and |b|) fumbling fretfully; pile oI papers; in
bed by nine; for fear. This phonetic SD (I. R. Galperin), phono-graphical
EM (V. A. Kukharenko), unit oI syntagmatic phonetics (Yu. M. Skrebnev),
or rhetorical Iigure (American and British stylists) brings a melodic eIIect
into the extract.
- Italics what`s the matter with you; what of# This graphical EM
(V. A. Kukharenko), or rhetorical Iigure (American and British stylists) is
used in the extract to show the words that are pronounced with emphasis.
- Breaks-in-the-narrative (aposiopesis) shown graphically by three
dots why . why .; oI myselI . no, not myselI, but my body I`m not
well . I`m getting worse all the time. The doctors don`t make out what is
the matter . I don`t sleep . I worry . I Iorget things, etc. This
syntactical SD (I. R. Galperin), a unit oI paradigmatic syntax (Yu. M.
Skrebnev), or rhetorical Iigure (American and British stylists) is used to
show that Farrar is overexcited, over worried and does not know what to do
and what he is ill with, and his emotions prevent him Irom speaking.
- Hyperbole (deliberate exaggeration) I`m Irightened to death. It is
a lexical SD (I. R. Galperin and V. A. Kukharenko), a Iigure oI quantity
(Yu. M. Skrebnev), or a rhetorical Iigure (American and British stylists).
As this phrase is used quite oIten to show how much one is Irightened, it is
a trite hyperbole.
- Metaphors - the Iloodgates were open; the younger man burst out
in exclamations; I`m in hell. It is a lexical SD (I. R. Galperin and V. A.
Kukharenko), a Iigure oI quality (Yu. M. Skrebnev), or a rhetorical Iigure
(American and British stylists). In the extract we have one trite metaphor
(I`m in hell) and two genuine ones (the Iloodgates were open; the younger
man burst out in exclamations) to characterize Farrar and his state.
- Epithets thin, nervous, knotted Iingers; black hours. Both epithets
are trite, as they are quite oIten used to describe thin Iingers and one`s
diIIicult time respectively. The Iirst (thin, nervous, knotted Iingers) is a
string oI epithets, and the second (black hours) is a transIerred (Iigurative)
50
epithet. Epithet is a lexical SD according to I. R. Galperin and V. A.
Kukharenko, or a rhetorical Iigure according to American and British
stylists.
- Complete parallel constructions I worry; I Iorget things; I take no
interest. This syntactical SD (I. R. Galperin and V. A. Kukharenko), or
rhetorical Iigure (American and British stylists) is used to bring rhythmic
eIIect to the utterance and make several ides equally important.
- Interjection heavens It is a derivative bookish interjection, a
lexical EM (I.R. Galperin) used to show Farrar`s emotions.
- Oxymoron a perIect hell oI ignoble terror. Oxymoron is a lexical
SD (I. R. Galperin and V. A. Kukharenko), a Iigure oI contrast (Yu. M.
Skrebnev), or a rhetorical Iigure (American and British stylists). In this
extract two genuine attributive oxymorons are used in one string to
characterize Farrar`s great Iear oI the situation.
- Punctuation. Exclamation marks and dots are used to show that
Farrar is overexcited.
Text 1
'Splash, said a raindrop
As it Iell upon my hat;
'Splash, said another
As it trickled down my back.
'You are very rude, I said
As I looked up to the sky;
Then another raindrop splashed
Right into my eye
Text 2 The Tell-Tale Heart (Edgar Allan Poe)
True nervous very, very dreadIully nervous I had been and am;
but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my
senses not destroyed not dulled them. Above all was the sense oI
hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard
many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken and observe how
healthily how calmly I can tell you the whole story.
It is impossible to say how Iirst the idea entered my brain; but
once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none.
Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me.
He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was
his eye yes, it was this He had the eye oI a vulture a pale blue eye, with
a Iilm over it. henever it Iell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by
51
degrees very gradually I made up my mind to take the liIe oI the old
man, and thus rid myselI oI the eye Iorever.
Now this is the point. You Iancy me mad. Madmen know nothing.
But you should have seen me# You should have seen how wisely I
proceeded with what caution with what Ioresight with what
dissimulation I went to work I was never kinder to the old man than
during the whole week beIore I killed him. And every night, about
midnight, I turned the latch oI his door and opened itoh, so gently
And then, when I had made an opening suIIicient Ior my head, I put in a
dark lantern, all closed, closed, so that no light shone out, and then I
thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly
I thrust it in I moved it slowly very, very slowly, so that I might
not disturb the old man's sleep. It took me an hour to place my whole
head within the opening so Iar that I could see him as he lay upon his
bed. Ha would a madman have been so wise as this? And then, when
my head was well in the room, I undid the lantern cautiously oh, so
cautiously cautiously (Ior the hinges creaked) I undid it just so much
that a single thin ray Iell upon the vulture eye. And this I did Ior
seven long nights every night just at midnight but I Iound the eye
always closed; and so it was impossible to do the work; Ior it was not
the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye. And every morning, when
the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke courageously to
him, calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he had
passed the night. So you see he would have been a very proIound old
man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon
him while he slept.
pon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening
the door. A watch's minute hand moves more quickly than did mine.
Never beIore that night had I Ielt the extent oI my own powers oI my
sagacity. I could scarcely contain my Ieelings oI triumph. To think that
there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream oI
my secret deeds or thoughts. I Iairly chuckled at the idea; and perhaps
he heard me; Ior he moved on the bed suddenly, as iI startled. Now you
may think that I drew back but no. His room was as black as pitch with
the thick darkness (Ior the shutters were close Iastened, through Iear oI
robbers), and so I knew that he could not see the opening oI the door, and
I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily.
I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my
thumb slipped upon the tin Iastening, and the old man sprang up in bed,
crying out ho's there?
52
I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not
move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was
still sitting up in the bed listening just as I have done, night aIter night,
hearkening to the deathwatches in the wall.
Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan oI
mortal terror. It was not a groan oI pain or oI grieI oh, no it was the
low stiIled sound that arises Irom the bottom oI the soul when
overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at
midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up Irom my own
bosom, deepening, with its dreadIul echo, the terrors that distracted me.
I say I knew it well. I knew what the old man Ielt, and pitied him,
although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he had been lying awake ever
since the Iirst slight noise, when he had turned in the bed. His Iears had
been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to Iancy them
causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himselI, It is nothing
but the wind in the chimney it is only a mouse crossing the Iloor, or It
is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp. Yes, he had been trying
to comIort himselI with these suppositions: but he had Iound all in vain.
All in vain; because Death, in approaching him, had stalked with his black
shadow beIore him, and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournIul
inIluence oI the unperceived shadow that caused him to Ieel although he
neither saw nor heard to Ieel the presence oI my head within the room.
hen I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him
lie down, I resolved to open a little a very, very little crevice in the
lantern. So I opened it you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily
until, at length, a simple dim ray, like the thread oI the spider, shot Irom
out the crevice and Iell Iull upon the vulture eye.
It was open wide, wide open and I grew Iurious as I gazed upon
it. I saw it with perIect distinctness all a dull blue, with a hideous veil
over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones; but I could see nothing
else oI the old man's Iace or person: Ior I had directed the ray as iI by
instinct, precisely upon the spot.
And have I not told you that what you mistake Ior madness is but
overacuteness oI the senses? now, I say, there came to my ears a low,
dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I
knew that sound well, too. It was the beating oI the old man's heart. It
increased my Iury, as the beating oI a drum stimulates the soldier into
courage.
But even yet I reIrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held
the lantern motionless. I tried how steadily I could maintain the ray upon
the eye. Meantime the hellish tattoo oI the heart increased. It grew quicker
53
and quicker, and louder and louder every instant. The old man's terror
must have been extreme It grew louder, I say, louder every moment
do you mark me well? I have told you that I am nervous. So I am. And now
at the dead hour oI the night, amid the dreadIul silence oI that old house,
so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror. Yet, Ior
some minutes longer I reIrained and stood still. But the beating grew
louder, louder I thought the heart must burst. And now a new anxiety
seized me the sound would be heard by a neighbor The old man's hour
had come ith a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the
room. He shrieked once once only. In an instant I dragged him to the Iloor,
and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to Iind the deed so
Iar done. But, Ior many minutes, the heart beat on with a muIIled sound.
This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard through the wall.
At length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the bed and
examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon
the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was
stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more.
II still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I
describe the wise precautions I took Ior the concealment oI the body. The
night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First oI all I
dismembered the corpse. I cut oII the head and the arms and the legs.
I then took up three planks Irom the Ilooring oI the chamber, and
deposited all between the scantlings. I then replaced the boards so cleverly,
so cunningly, that no human eye not even his could have detected
anything wrong. There was nothing to wash out no stain oI any kind no
blood spot whatever. I had been too wary Ior that. A tub had caught all
ha, ha
hen I had made an end oI these labors, it was Iour o'clock still
dark as midnight. As the bell sounded the hour, there came a knocking at
the street door. I went down to open it with a light heart, Ior what had I
now to Iear? There entered three men, who introduced themselves, with
perIect suavity, as oIIicers oI the police. A shriek had been heard by a
neighbor during the night; suspicion oI Ioul play had been aroused;
inIormation had been lodged at the police oIIice, and they (the oIIicers)
had been deputed to search the premises.
I smiled, Ior what had I to Iear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The
shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was
absent in the country. I took my visitors all over the house. I bade them
search search well# I led them, at length, to his chamber. I showed them
his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm oI my conIidence, I
brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest Irom their
54
Iatigues, while I myselI, in the wild audacity oI my perIect triumph, placed
my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse oI the
victim.
The oIIicers were satisIied. My manner had convinced them. I was
singularly at ease. They sat, and while I answered cheerily, they chatted oI
Iamiliar things. But, ere long, I Ielt myselI getting pale and wished them
gone. My head ached, and I Iancied a ringing in my ears; hut still they sat
and still chatted. The ringing became more distinct it continued and
became more distinct; I talked more Ireely to get rid oI the Ieeling; but it
continued and gained deIiniteness until, at length, I Iound that the noise
was not within my ears.
No doubt, I now grew ery pale but I talked more Iluently, and with
a heightened voice. Yet the sound increased and what could I do? It
was a low& dull& 4uick sound much such a sound as a watch makes
when eneloped in cotton# I gasped Ior breath and yet the oIIicers heard
it not. I talked more quickly more vehemently; but the noise steadily
increased. I arose and argued about triIles, in a high key and with violent
gesticulations; but the noise steadily increased. hy would they not be
gone? I paced the Iloor to and Iro with heavy strides, as iI excited to Iury
by the observations oI the men but the noise steadily increased. Oh
what could I do? I Ioamed I raved I swore I swung the chair upon which
I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over
all and continually increased. It grew louder louder louder: And still
the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled. as it possible they heard not? No,
no They heard they suspected they knew they were making a
mockery oI my horror this I thought, and this I think. But anything was
better than this agony Anything was more tolerable than this derision I
could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer I Ielt that I must scream or
die and now again hark louder louder louder louder:
Villains I shrieked, dissemble no more I admit the deed tear up the
planks here, here it is the beating oI his hideous heart
Text 3 Language Families
A language Iamily is a group oI languages that have a common
origin. Among the most important language Iamilies are the Indo-
European, Finno-gric, Indo-Chinese, Malayo-Polynesian and Semitic.
Various branches exist within language Iamilies. For example, in the
Indo-European Iamily Germanic and Italic are subIamilies, and the Roman
languages are a subgroup oI Italic.
Linguists can trace the relationship oI languages by comparing words
in one language with words having the same meaning in another language.
55
For instance, iI we compare words in English and German, we Iind hand
and Hand& foot& feet and 'u& 'Je& lips and Lippen& lungs and Lungen#
The relationships oI this kind are characteristic oI languages that
belong to the same language Iamily and do not exist across language-
Iamily lines.
Thus it may be established that Greek, the Slavic languages (such as
Russian), the Celtic languages (such as Irish) and even some oI the
languages oI India (such as Sanskrit) are members oI the Indo-European
Iamily but it has been proved that Finnish and Hungarian do not belong to
this Iamily.
Text 4 MOMI: Museum of the Moving Image
Lights . Cameras . Action . Come to the award-winning
Museum oI the Moving Image and discover the Iascinating and magical
world oI Iilm and television. Both a museum and an experience, MOMI is
an exciting blend oI entertainment and education with plenty oI hands-on
Iun. Enjoy a magic lantern show, 'Ily over the Thames like Superman, be
interviewed by Barry Norman or audition Ior a Hollywood screen test.
Text 5 Honeymoon under Capricorn
The perIect place Ior that once-in-a-liIetime (hopeIully) dreamtime?
How about a thousand miles east oI AIrica, under Capricorn
1
, on a sugar-
and-spice island that dips its toes in the Indian Ocean? An island where
casuarinas pines sway across white talcum powder sand and a coral reeI
keeps the sharks at a saIe distance. here the people are charming, the
service in the hotels irreproachable and the Iood is terriIic. II this is your
idea oI a honeymoon base, then go to Mauritius. AIter no less than Iive
visits, it`s still one oI my Iavourite islands.
From somewhere Iew people in the west had heard oI 18 years ago,
Mauritius has become a prize destination in the brochures. Tourism has
been a tremendous boost to the island`s economy and the capital, Port
Louis, has grown Irom a dusty old port into a sprawling commercial center,
but elsewhere the island`s beauty spots remain unspoilt.
Most oI the hotels are in splendid isolation or little groups. You wake
up not to the sound oI traIIic but to the musical notes oI the little red
cardinals or bull-bulls who later sneak beakIuls oI sugar Irom the breakIast
tables.
Choose the old-colonial graciousness oI the St. Geran. Princess
Caroline oI Monaco sleeps here and so does Frederick Forsyth
2
. one oI his
short stories is set in this hotel.
56
On the island you can play Hemingway and go deep-sea Iishing. This
is one oI the world`s best areas to catch the big marlin and yellow-Iish tuna.
But save that Frederick Forsyth story until you`re back at home.
You`ll see why when you read 3he Emperor in 0o 6omebacks#
1
reIers to the Tropic oI Capricorn, an imaginary line around the earth
23.5 south oI the Equator.
2
an English writer oI thrillers
Text 6 Declaration of Independence (Thomas eIIerson)
hen in the Course oI human events it becomes necessary Ior one
people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with
another, and to assume among the powers oI the earth the separate and
equal station to which the Laws oI Nature and oI Nature's God entitle
them, a decent respect to the opinions oI mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
e hold these truths to be selI-evident: that all men are created
equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights; that among these are LiIe, Liberty and the pursuit oI
Happiness; That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted
among Men, deriving their just powers Irom the consent oI the
governed; That whenever any Form oI Government becomes
destructive oI these ends, it is the Right oI the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Ioundation on
such principles, and organizing its powers in such Iorm, as to them shall
seem most likely to eIIect their SaIety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed,
will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed
Ior light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath
shown that mankind are more disposed to suIIer while evils are
suIIerable than to right themselves by abolishing the Iorms to which
they are accustomed. But when a long train oI abuses and usurpations,
pursuing invariably the same Objects, evinces a design to reduce them
under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw oII
such Government, and to provide new Guards Ior their Iuture security.
Such has been the patient suIIerance oI these Colonies; and such is now
the necessity which constrains them to alter their Iormer Systems oI
Government. The history oI the present King oI Great Britain is a
history oI repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object
the establishment oI an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove
this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has reIused his Assent to Laws the most wholesome and
necessary Ior the public good.
57
He has Iorbidden his Governors to pass Laws oI immediate and
pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent
should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected
to attend to them.
He has reIused to pass other Laws Ior the accommodation oI large
districts oI people, unless those people would relinquish the right oI
Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and
Iormidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomIortable, and distant Irom the depository oI their public
records, Ior the sole purpose oI Iatiguing them into compliance with
his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, Ior opposing
with manly Iirmness his invasions on the rights oI the people.
He has reIused Ior a long time aIter such dissolutions to cause
others to be elected, whereby the Legislative powers, incapable oI
Annihilation, have returned to the People at large Ior their exercise,
the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers oI in-
vasions Irom without and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population oI these States; Ior
that purpose obstructing the Laws Ior Naturalization oI Foreigners,
reIusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising
the conditions oI new Appropriations oI Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration oI ustice, by reIusing his
Assent to Laws Ior establishing udiciary powers.
He has made udges dependent on his ill alone Ior the tenure oI
their oIIices, and the amount and payment oI their salaries.
He has erected a multitude oI New OIIices, and sent hither swarms
oI OIIicers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times oI peace, Standing Armies, without
the Consent oI our legislatures.
He has aIIected to render the Military independent oI, and superior
to, the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction
Ioreign to our constitutions and unacknowledged by our laws; giving
his Assent to their Acts oI pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies oI armed troops among us;
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, Irom punishment Ior any
Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants oI these States;
For cutting oII our Trade with all parts oI the world;
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent;
58
For depriving us, in many cases, oI the beneIits oI Trial by ury;
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried Ior pretended oIIenses;
For abolishing the Iree System oI English Laws in a neighboring
Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its
Boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and Iit instrument Ior
introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies;
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws,
and altering, Iundamentally, the Forms oI our Governments;
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves
invested with Power to legislate Ior us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out oI his
Protection and waging ar against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burned our
towns, and destroyed the lives oI our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies oI Ioreign Mercenaries
to complete the works oI death, desolation and tyranny, already begun
with circumstances oI Cruelty and perIidy

scarcely paralleled in the most
barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head oI a civilized nation.
He has constrained our Iellow Citizens taken Captive on the high
Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners oI
their Iriends and Brethren, or to Iall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has
endeavored to bring on the inhabitants oI our Irontiers the merciless
Indian Savages whose known rule oI warIare is an undistinguished
destruction oI all ages, sexes, and conditions.
In every stage oI these Oppressions e have Petitioned Ior
Redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated Petitions have been
answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus
marked by every act which may deIine a Tyrant is unIit to be the ruler
oI a Iree people.
Nor have e been wanting in attentions to our British brethren.
e have warned them Irom time to time oI attempts by their
legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. e have
reminded them oI the circumstances oI our emigration and settlement here.
e have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have
conjured them by the ties oI our common kindred to disavow these
usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and corre-
spondence. They too have been deaI to the voice oI justice and oI
consanguinity. e must thereIore acquiesce in the necessity which
denounces our Separation and hold them, as we hold the rest oI mankind,
Enemies in ar, in Peace Friends.
59
e, thereIore, the Representatives oI the nited States oI America
in General Congress Assembled, appealing to the Supreme udge oI the
world Ior the rectitude oI our intentions, do in the Name and by the
Authority oI the good People oI these Colonies, solemnly publish and
declare that these nited Colonies are and oI right ought to be Free and
Independent States; that they are Absolved Irom all Allegiance to the
British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the
State oI Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved, and that as
Free and Independent States, they have Iull Power to levy ar, con-
clude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other
Acts and Things which Independent States may oI right do.
And Ior the support oI this Declaration, with a Iirm reliance on
the protection oI Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other
our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Text 7 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech (illiam Faulkner)
I Ieel that this award was not made to me as a man but to my
work a liIe's work in the agony and sweat oI the human spirit, not Ior
glory and least oI all Ior proIit, but to create out oI the materials oI the
human spirit something which did not exist beIore. So this award is only
mine in trust. It will not be diIIicult to Iind a dedication Ior the money
part oI it commensurate with the purpose and signiIicance oI its origin.
But I would like to do the same with the acclaim too, by using this
moment as a pinnacle Irom which I might be listened to by the young
men and women already dedicated to the same anguish and travail,
among whom is already that one who will some day stand here where I
am standing.
Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical Iear so long
sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems
oI the spirit. There is only the question: when will I be blown up?
Because oI this, the young man or woman writing today has Iorgotten the
problems oI the human heart in conIlict with itselI which alone can
make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the
agony and the sweat.
He must learn them again. He must teach himselI that the basest
oI all things is to be aIraid; and, teaching himselI that, Iorget it Iorever,
leaving no room in his workshop Ior anything but the old verities and
truths oI the heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story is
ephemeral and doomed love and honor and pity and pride and
compassion and sacriIice. ntil he does so he labors under a curse. He
writes not oI love but oI lust, oI de Ieats in which nobody loses anything
60
oI value, oI victories without hope and worst oI all with out pity or
compassion. His grieIs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He
writes not oI the heart but oI the glands.
ntil he relearns these things he will write as though he stood
among and watched the end oI man. I decline to accept the end oI
man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will
endure, that when the last ding-dong oI doom has clanged and Iaded Irom
the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening,
that even then there will still be one more sound: that oI his puny
inexhaustible voice, still talking. I reIuse to accept this. I believe that man
will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he
alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a
soul, a spirit capable oI compassion and sacriIice and endurance. The
poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things It is his privilege to
help man endure by liIting his heart, by reminding him oI the courage and
honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacriIice which
have been the glory oI his past. The poet's voice need not merely he the
record oI man, it can be one oI the props, the pillars to help him endure
and prevail.
Text 8 Life Without Principle (extract) (Henry David Thoreau)
Let us consider the way in which we spend our lives.
This world is a place oI business. hat an inIinite bustle I am
awaked almost every night by the panting oI the locomotive. It interrupts
my dreams. There is no sabbath. It would be glorious to see mankind at
leisure Ior once. It is nothing but work, work, work. I cannot easily buy a
blankbook to write thoughts in; they are commonly ruled Ior dollars and
cents. An Irishman, seeing me making a minute in the Iields, took it Ior
granted that I was calculating my wages. II a man was tossed out oI a
window when an inIant, and so made a cripple Ior liIe, or scared out oI his
wits by the Indians, it is regretted chieIly because he was t hus
i ncapaci t ed Ior business I think that there is nothing, not even
crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to liIe itselI, than this
incessant business.
II a man walks in the woods Ior love oI them halI oI each day, he is
in danger oI being regarded as a loaIer; but iI he spends his whole day
as a speculator, shearing oII those woods and making earth bald beIore
her time, he is esteemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. As iI a
town had no interest in its Iorests but to cut them down
Most men would Ieel insulted iI it were proposed to employ them in
throwing stones over a wall, and then in throwing them back, merely
61
that they might earn their wages. But many are no more worthily
employed now. For instance: just aIter sunrise, one summer morning, I
noticed one oI my neighbors walking beside his team, which was slowly
dragging a heavy hewn stone swung under the axle, surrounded by an
atmosphere oI industry his day`s work begun, - his brow commenced
to sweat a reproach to all sluggards and idlers pausing abreast the
shoulders oI his oxen, and halI turning round with his merciIul whip
while they gained their length on him. And I thought, such a labor
which the American Congress exists to protect, - honest, manly toil, -
honest as the day is long, - that makes his bread taste sweet, and keeps
society sweet, - which all men, respect and have consecrated; one oI the
sacred band, doing the needIul but irksome drudgery. Indeed, I Ielt a
slight reproach, because I observed this Irom a window, and was not
abroad and stirring about a similar business. The day went by, and at
evening I passed the yard oI another neighbor, who keeps many
servants, and spends much money Ioolishly, while he adds nothing to
the common stock, and there I saw the stone oI the morning lying
beside a whimsical structure intended to adorn this Lord Timothy
Dexter's premises, and the dignity Iorthwith departed Irom the teamster's
labor, in my eyes. In my opinion, the sun was made to light worthier toil
than this. I may add that his employer has since run oII, in debt to a
good part oI the town, and, aIter passing through Chancery, has settled
somewhere else, there to become once more a patron oI the arts.
The ways by which you may get money almost without exception
lead downward. To have done anything by which you earned money
merely is to have been truly idle or worse. II the laborer gets no more than
the wages, which his employer pays him, he is cheated, he cheats himselI.
The aim oI the laborer should be, not to get his living, to get 'a good
job, but to perIorm well a certain work. Do not hire a man who does your
work Ior money, but him who does it Ior love oI it .
Text 9 maggie and milly and molly and may (e. e. cummings)
maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn`t remember her troubles, and
milly beIriended a stranded star
whose rays Iive languid Iingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
62
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it' s always ourselves we Iind in the sea
Text 10 Return to Dust (George Bamber)
Characters
ames Howard, a research scientist
Miss Pritchart, a secretary
Dr. Bader, Director oI Research
Act 1
K,usic= @p and outL
1ames: KAaining presence with the breathy 4uality of an amateurL
Testing. . . one two three. Testing-testing. Attention, Dr. arren
Bader, Department oI Pathology, School oI Medicine, State
niversity. Dear Dr. Bader: This is ames Howard, Research
Fellow in Pathology speaking. Ahhh, I don't know quite how to
begin. At the moment I am seated on the tape recorder that is
recording this message to you. As a point oI Iact, by the yard stick on
my desk, I stand exactly one Ioot, one inch tall and I am steadily
decreasing in size. Ahhh-hem. I am on top oI my desk; I climbed up
here beIore I should shrink to a point where I would be physically
unable to get Irom the Iloor to the chair and thus to the desk top,
and the telephone.
Ahh, it is a very strange experience to Iind one's desk an
insurmountable object, like a mountain, to climb. However, the
phone is by my side now and since it is my last contact with the
outside world, it is imperative that I do not become separated Irom
it. I have been trying to reach you by phone since eight this
morning. As you are not at home, and have not yet arrived at your
oIIice, it occurred to me there exists a distinct possibility that I
might not be able to contact you beIore it becomes too late. I
calculate that iI I continue to shrink at my present rate oI speed, it is
possible that I will become invisible to the human eye sometime
beIore midnight.
Since you are the only person with an adequate scientiIic
background and technical knowledge to save me, it is imperative that
63
my last whereabouts is known to you in the event that I cannot contact
you by phone. KGuicklyL I'm conIident that it will just be a matter oI
moments beIore I do; this recording is merely a precaution.
As you will have discovered by now, I have gone against your
orders and pursued my theory oI cancer cell growth by working at
night aIter my regular duties. This is the same theory I proposed in
publication December 1, 1957, and which you publicly ridiculed in the
Scientific "merican $ournal& September 3, 1958. nIortunately, you
were wrong, Dr. Bader. The biochemical agent not only stops abnormal
cell division, but reduces the existing cells in physical size until the
neutralizer is induced. KAroping for proofL The Iact that I have shrunk
Irom Iive and one halI Ieet to one Ioot should be prooI beyond
reIutation, though my condition is the result oI an accident.
hile trying to introduce a more powerIul catalyst in the
laboratory last night, I inadvertently created an uncontrolled reaction
which maniIested itselI as a white mist which Iilled the entire lab. The
mist lasted no more than a Iew seconds and as I could observe no
eIIects other than this, I continued working. hen I got home, I
descended into one oI the deepest and blackest sleeps I have ever
experienced. I awoke this morning to discover myselI literally lost in a
sea oI blankets.
I had shrunk Iive Ieet during the night. Naturally, my Iirst
reaction was one oI panic, but I soon realized that my only salvation
was to remain calm until I contacted you. You'll Iind a more complete
report oI my theory, and the experiments which I've conducted to
prove it, in the uncompleted thesis here on my desk. K3rying to conceal
his prideL My thesis, Dr. Bader, will open the door to a cure Ior man's
worst disease: Cancer. Ahhh-hem.
As Ior myselI, you'll Iind detailed instructions on how to reverse
the action which I've accidentally initiated upon myselI. You'll Iind this
on pages KgruntingL 79.
KSound= E5aggerated sound& as if the first page of a manuscript were
being turned close to a microphoneL
1ames: . . . through 82, yes, that's right: 79 through 82. No
matter how small I may become, even microscopic, you will be able to
reverse the process iI you Iollow the instructions on those pages. KHe
grunts& as if dropping the leaf of a heay bookL
KSound= 3he swish and thud of page and book coer closingL
1ames: K(ntrospectielyL To think that the cover oI my thesis, the
manuscript I used to carry easily in one hand, has become as diIIicult
Ior me to move as the cover to my grave. KShaking himself out of his
64
reerieL Here now, no time Ior morbidity. I had better place another
telephone call to your oIIice, Dr. Bader, while I'm still big enough to
dial the phone.
KSound= @nder his speech& $ames+ footsteps across the papers on his
desk to the phoneL
1ames: It is just possible your eIIicient secretary Iorgot to tell
you that I called. K"musedL The phone has grown almost halI as tall as I
am. KHe lifts the phoneL A strange sensation.
KSound= We hear the phone being bumped from its cradle and
then clatter as he lets it fall to the desk# 3he dialing of the phone is
e5aggerated in amplitude. while the release spin is normal& the wind
up is torturedL
1ames: KDialing& with effortL ho would think KAruntL the
tensor springs on these. . . dials would be so. . . strong. KHe laughsL
And who would think. . . I would have to use both hands. . . to dial
a telephone. KHe chuckles mirthlesslyL Steady, ames Howard; now
is no time to misdial.
KSound= 3he last digit of the number spins into place and we
settle down to wait as the phone rings at the other end of the line&
once& twice& three times before it is finally picked upL
Miss Pritchart: KShe is a woman who has retained her maidenhood
for fifty1three years& not only physically& but mentally as wellL K'ilteredL
Pathology, Dr. Bader's oIIice. Miss Pritchart speaking.
1ames: K@nable to hide the urgency of his situation from his oiceL
Miss Pritchart, has Dr. Bader come in yet?
Miss P.: K'ilteredL ho shall I say is calling?
1ames: This is ames Howard, Miss Pritchart. It's urgent.
Miss P.: K'ilteredL It doesn't sound like you, Mr. Howard.
1ames: It's me I all right.
Miss P.: KSilence as the line goes deadL I'm sorry, Dr. Bader
isn't in. I have your number. . .
1ames: Are you sure?
Miss P.: K'ilteredL Yes, I am sure. Dr. Bader is not, at this
moment, in his oIIice.
1ames: Now look, Miss Pritchart, don't pull that Dr. Bader-
isn't-in stuII to me. You tell Dr. Bader I have to talk to him.
Miss P.: K'ilteredL I'm sorry, Mr. Howard, Dr. Bader is not in.
1ames: Look, this is a matter oI liIe and death.
Miss P.: K'ilteredL Mr. Howard. . .
1ames: Tell him to answer his damn telephone.
65
Miss P.: K'ilteredL Mr. Howard, I assure you Dr. Bader is not in
his oIIice. I will have him call you as soon as he comes in. In the
meantime, is there anything I can do?
1ames: There's nothing anyone can do but Dr. Bader. He's the
only man in the world that can help me. Do you understand that?
Miss P.: K'ilteredL ell, I'll tell him as soon as he comes in.
1ames: Yes, you do that, Miss Pritchart.
KSound= 3he filtered click of the receier being hung up at her end
of the line& the thump and clatter of the phone at his end as he replaces it
on the cradleL
1ames: KSilence& after a momentL hy Dr. Bader, why oI all
days did you have to pick today to change your routine? For the last
twenty years you've been in your oIIice Irom nine until twelve. hy
in hell did you have to pick this morning to change?
K,usic= @p and out end of "ct ML
Act 2
K,usic= @p and out& indicates passage of timeL
1ames: Yes, selI preservation is the most powerIul instinct. It is
now three-thirty in the aIternoon, and I have shrunk to the incredible
height oI six inches, and I am continuing to shrink, yet I am taking
every precaution to guarantee that I stay alive.
But what have I got to live Ior? hat am I? A thirty-two-year
old, old man that's losing his hair in Iront and walks with a stoop
Irom years oI hunching over microscopes to watch little cells divide.
And what have I got to show Ior it? A cheap Iurnished room, a
meager position as a research Iellow, which doesn't pay enough to
live like other people. Not enough to have a wiIe or children. And no
dignity certainly: Yes, Dr. Bader, no, Dr. Bader, most assuredly, Dr.
Bader. The old hypocrite
KSound= (n the background& we hear the tentatie chirp of a
parakeet
1ames: All that I can call mine is in this room: one suit, some
socks with holes in them, piles oI heavy books, the microscope on my
desk, and a tape recorder to record my notes on. That's all that will
be leIt oI Mr. ames Howard, research Iellow.
Sound= 3he chattering of the parakeet attracts our attention# He
is in a cage oerheadL
66
1ames: KSlightly cheeredL Excuse me, Dr. Pasteur.
KSound= Bird againL
1ames: And one green and gold parakeet with the name oI
Pasteur.
KSound= BirdL
1ames: KShouting up to cageL To pose a hypothetical problem,
Dr. Pasteur, who's going to change the water in your cage iI I shrink
away to inIinity? Certainly not Dr. Bader; he might steal what
little water you had, but he wouldn't change it.
KSound= Bird chatteringL
1ames: K3o himselfL ho will? II I don't contact the good doctor,
it may be a week beIore the landlady comes up here to clean. He'd
starve to death. I've got to open that cage and let him loose. But
how? The yard stick.
KSound= His walking to the yard stickL
1ames: I can push the latch open with that. . . yes. . .
KSound= 3he distant sound of the stick knocking against the metal
cageL
1ames: Yes. . . I can just reach it. . . K3he effort of swinging the
stickL There. Ah, come on out, the door's open, Dr. Pasteur. You're
Iree. The window is open across the room. There's a whole world
ahead oI you. Fly away and make a name Ior yourselI. K3o himselfL
The whole world. hat am I talking about? I've got the whole world
at my Ieet iI I live. AIter I publish my thesis, I'll be Iamous. I'll
have everything I ever dreamed oI. But not unless Dr. Bader has all
the instructions. So, we resume taping. But I can't reach the start
button on the recorder. These books, like a grand staircase to the top
oI the recorder.
KSound= 6lambering footsteps# 'eet on metalL
1ames: And now to start the machine. KEffortL But I can't push
it. Kick it ow, that hurt. I've got it. ump on it.
KSound= $umps# Big click# Big whirr of machineL
1ames: There we go. Dr. Bader? Dr. Bader, this is ames
Howard recording again. I have still not received your phone call,
but I have not given up hope. The call will come. K3he strain is eident
in his oiceL I am convinced oI that. It is just a matter oI time. In the
meanwhile, I have made the necessary precautions Ior isolating
myselI in the event that you do not call beIore tomorrow morning. I
have taped a ramp, Irom a ruler, to the stage oI the microscope.
67
Glued to the microscope is a transparent glass petri dish. As soon as it
becomes apparent that I'm in danger oI being lost Irom view on the
desk, I will make my way to the petri dish.
But what iI you haven't called by that time? I could be lost in
the petri dish. I could prepare a slide Ior myselI. K3hinkingL II I
diminished to the size oI a one-celled organism, I would have no
diIIiculty in crawling under the cover glass and taking up a position
directly under the lens. Perhaps I should prepare a slide now.
KSound= With piercing suddenness the phone begins to ringL
1ames: KWith unconcealed -oy and relief in his oiceL You've
called, Dr. Bader. You've called at last.
KSound= 3he footsteps of a si51inch man running across the desk to the
telephone and then the silence that follows as we hear him tugging and
grunting# !hone ring# 3he noise of a phone being pushed this way and that
in its cradleL
1ames: KHorrifiedL No.
KSound= "gain the struggle and the phone rings againL
1ames: I can't liIt it. I'm too small. I can't liIt it oII the cradle.
KSound= !hone ringL
1ames: Don't stop ringing, please I'll liIt it. . . but how? A lever
Give me a lever and I can move the world.
KSound= !hone ringL
1ames: But what? A pencil I can do it with a pencil. Don't
hang up, Dr. Bader. . . I'm looking. . . I'm looking.
KSound= His scuffling through the papers on his deskL
1ames: A pencil. . . a pencil, a pen. . . Here we are.
KSound= !hone ring& and AMES running to the phoneL
1ames: Please don't hang up, Dr. Bader, I'm coming, I'm
coming.
KSound= 3he sound of the pencil being -ammed between the receier
and its base and the ensuing struggle to leer it off its baseL
1ames: ust don't stop ringing. . . please don't stop ringing. . .
please. . .
KSound= !hone ringL
1ames: K"lmost hystericalL I'm trying. . . I'm trying. . . just don't
hang up, Dr. Bader. . . I've almost got it. . . just a little more.
68
KSound= Suddenly the phone receier clatters against the desk&
followed by the running whip of cord against the edge of the deskL
1ames: No.
KSound= " bump and the crash and ring characteristic of a phone base
as it hits the floor after a fall from a tableL
Miss Pritchart: K'ilteredL Hello?
1ames: K)ellingL Miss Pritchart?
Miss P.: Mr. Howard?
1ames: Can you hear me? Get Dr. Bader.
Miss P.: K(mpatientL Hello?
1ames: K)ellingL Miss Pritchart, I'm on top oI the desk. The
phone Iell on the Iloor.
Miss P.: Hello?
1ames: I'm only six inches tall. You've got to get me help.
Miss P.: Hello, are you there, Mr. Howard?
1ames: Yes, I'm here. I'm here.
KSound= 3he electric bu>> of an office intercom filtered oer# 3he phone
lying on the floorL
Dr. Bader: K'iltered curtlyL Howard
Miss P.: K'ilteredL No, this is Miss Pritchart. I called Mr.
Howard's room but he doesn't answer or something.
1ames: K)ellingL I'm here, Dr. Bader, I'm here.
Dr. Bader: hat do you mean he doesn't answer?
Miss P.: ell, I rang and rang and then the phone just went
dead. You can hear Ior yourselI.
Dr. Bader: ent dead?
1ames: K)ellingL The phone didn't go dead, it Iell on the Iloor.
Dr. Bader: K'ilteredL ell, call him back in about an hour. See iI he
answers then.
1ames: Don't hang up, Miss Pritchart. I can't put my phone back
on the hook.
Miss P.: hat iI he doesn't answer then?
1ames: K)ellingL All you'll get is a busy signal.
Dr. Bader: hat do you mean, what iI he doesn't answer? He will.
Miss P.: hen he called this morning, he sounded very strange.
1ames: Don't let him hang up, Miss Pritchart.
69
Dr. Bader: Howard's been very strange since the day he joined the
department. II you can't get him today, I'll talk to him when I see him
tomorrow.
1ames: No. . . no. . . no. . .
Miss P.: Yes, Dr. Bader.
1ames: No-o-o. . . please don't hang up. . .
KSound= 3he click of the receier being hung up at the far end&
followed by the unrelenting dial toneL
1ames: I'm still here. . . please don't hang up. . . Dr. Bader,
please. . .
KSound= (n the background& again the dial tone continues# # #L
K,usic= @p and out# End of "ct BL
Act 3
K,usic= @p and outL
1ames: I almost gave up when you hung up, Dr. Bader, but
then I remembered a simple law oI mathematics. No matter how oIten
you divide a thing, there's still something leIt. So I went ahead with
the preparation Ior my survival. And a good thing too. It's not yet six
o'clock, and I am now only an inch and a halI tall.
But everything is now arranged. In the exact center oI the petri
dish on the microscope stage is a prepared slide complete with slip
cover and label. The only thing lacking is the specimen, and that is
me. II I become so small that I am in danger oI being lost in the petri
dish, I will make my way to the exact center oI the slide and take up a
position there. You should be able to see me Ior some time to come
because I Iocused the microscope. All you have to do, Dr. Bader, is
look, just look to see me. My world is such a diIIerent place now:
books are as huge as buildings and pencils seem like telephone poles. I
wonder what my world will look like iI no one ever Iinds me. Oh, yes,
Dr. Bader, the slide under the microscope is labeled careIully. OI all
the slides I've labeled in my liIe time, I hardly thought the last one
might become my epitaph. Specimen: ames Howard; Species: Homo
Sapiens; Condition: Excellent.
KSound= 3he flutter of wings passing close byL
1ames: Dr. Pasteur.
KSound= "nother passL
1ames: Haven't you Ilown the coop yet?
KSound= "flutter and a chirpL
70
1ames: Is your loyalty so great that you reIuse to leave so long as
the last particle oI me remains?
KSound= 6hirpL
1ames: hat an ugly monster you are when viewed Irom this
perspective. Your Ieathers are like scales oI armor, inIested with
lice, I see. . . and that beak. . .
KSound= " chirp and a sharp thud on the deskL
1ames: KScreamsL
KSound= 3he scream frightens the bird& eidently& because we hear the
flutter of wings lifting in the air and then settling back downL
1ames: No. Dr. Pasteur, NO. II only I had a weapon. . .
KSound= 6hirpL
1ames: Stay away. K3o himselfL Back up slowly. . . don't run. . .
low . . . back between the books and the microphone . . . slowly:
NO
KSound= 6onfusion of feet and wings and a screaming chirp
followed by heay breathing close to microphone # # # then a chirp& and
a tentatie peck at the microphoneL
1ames: I'm saIe here . . . until he loses interest. I should have let him
starve to death in his cage. KSuddenly afraidL I wonder iI the tape's still
recording? I can see the spools still turning, high above me, the clear plastic
reIlecting the last rays oI the sun setting outside my window. . . but I can't
see iI there's tape. K)ellingL Are you still there? Am I recording, Dr. Bader?
This is ames Howard. As soon as that bird loses interest, I'm going to make
a break Ior it.
I'll make the microscope, Bader, don't you worry. Treat that slide
marked ames Howard just like it was me. You understand? Even iI you
don't think I'm in it. II you can't bring me back, publish my thesis Ior me.
K)ellingL You hear me, Dr. Bader? Publish my thesis. I can't die smaller than
dust unknown. Publish. . . I have nothing leIt, Dr. Bader, not even my
body. Give me my thesis. K" new ideaL You wouldn't dare publish it in your
name, Dr. Bader, would you? All you'll have to do is change the name on the
title page. You wouldn't stoop that low, would you? KScreamingL No, no Give
me my thesis, Dr. Bader, give me that much. Do you hear me? Am I
recording? Give me immortality, Dr. Bader. I want the world to know I
lived. Publish the thesis in my name. Do you hear me, Dr. Bader? Give me
immort
KSound= @nder the approaching flutter of the bird then a huge
chirp and the thud of the birdN s # # # mandibles closing on mike # # # fade#
# # fluttering wings and chirp of bird to normal leel# # #LK,usic= @p and
outL
71
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. At H. B.
( ). .: m, 1990. 301.
2. It H.. . .: Bm
m, 1981. 334.
3. B. A.
. .: Bm m, 1986. 144.
4. H.u. u x
. H.: m, 1980. 272.
5. H. . unt
. .: Bm m, 1989. 182.
6. R. . O :
Vu ]t . .:
OOO Ht A: OOO Ht At, 2000.
224.
7. mt E. I., B.H. u .
.: Bm m, 1976. 155 .
8. Kukharenko, V. A. Seminars in Style. Moscow: Higher School
Publishing House, 1971. 184p.
72
Appendix A
(reference)
Index of Stylistic Devices and Expressive Means
Alliteration, 7
Allusion, 7
Anticlimax, 7
Antithesis, 7 8
Antonomasia, 8
banal. See trite.
dead. See trite.
Iresh. See genuine.
genuine, 8
hackneyed. See trite.
newly-created. See genuine.
original. See genuine.
poetic. See genuine.
stale. See trite.
stereotyped. See trite.
trite, 8
Apokuinu construction, 8
Aposiopesis. See Break-in-the-
narrative.
Assonance, 8
Asyndeton, 8 9
Attachment, 9
Annexation. See Attachment.
Back gradation. See Anticlimax.
Bathos. See Anticlimax.
Break-in-the-narrative, 9
Capitalization, 10
Catachresis See Metaphor mixed.
Chiasmus, 10 11
Cliche. See Periphrasis trite.
See Graphon.
Climax, 11
emotional, 11
logical, 11
negative, 11
quantative, 11
Detached construction. See Deta-
chment.
Detachment, 11 12
Ellipsis, 12
Enumeration, 12
Epithet, 12 13
associated, 12
compound, 13
Iigurative. See transIerred.
Iixed, 13
inverted. See reversed.
phrase, 13
reversed, 13
simple, 13
single. See simple.
string oI epithets, 13
two-step, 13
transIerred, 13
unassociated, 12
Euphemism, 13
joking, 13
Gap-sentence link. See Attach-
ment.
Gradation. See Climax.
Grapheme multiplication, 14
Graphon, 14
Hyperbole, 14 15
banal. See trite.
73
dead. See trite.
Iresh. See genuine.
genuine, 14
hackneyed. See trite.
newly-created. See genuine.
original. See genuine.
poetic. See genuine.
stale. See trite.
stereotyped. See trite.
trite, 14 15
Hyphenation, 15
Interjections, 15
bookish, 15
colloquial, 15
derivative, 15
neutral, 15
primary, 15
Inversion, 15 16
Irony, 16
Italics, 16 17
Litotes, 17
Malapropism, 17
Meiosis. See nderstatement.
Metaphor, 17 18
banal. See trite.
broken. See mixed.
chain. See prolonged.
creative. See genuine.
dead. See trite.
Iresh. See genuine.
genuine, 18
hackneyed. See trite.
mixed, 18
newly-created. See genuine.
original. See genuine.
poetic. See genuine.
prolonged, 18
simple, 18
stale. See trite.
stereotyped. See trite.
sustained. See prolonged.
trite, 18
Metonymy, 18 19
Onomatopoeia, 19
direct, 19
indirect, 19
Oxymoron, 19 20
attributive, 19 20
banal. See trite.
dead. See trite.
Iresh. See genuine.
genuine, 20
hackneyed. See trite.
newly-created. See genuine.
original. See genuine.
poetic. See genuine.
stale. See trite.
stereotyped. See trite.
trite, 20
verbal, 20
Paragraph, 20
Parallel construction, 20 21
balanced. See complete.
complete, 21
partial, 21
Paronomasia. See Pun.
Periphrasis, 21 22
banal. See trite.
dead. See trite.
Iigurative, 22
Iresh. See genuine.
genuine, 21
hackneyed. See trite.
logical, 22
newly-created. See genuine.
original. See genuine.
poetic. See genuine.
74
stale. See trite.
stereotyped. See trite.
trite, 21
PersoniIication, 22
banal. See trite.
dead. See trite.
Iresh. See genuine.
genuine, 22
hackneyed. See trite.
newly-created. See genuine.
original. See genuine.
poetic. See genuine.
stale. See trite.
stereotyped. See trite.
trite, 22
Polysyndeton, 22
Pun, 23
Punctuation, 23 24
zero, 23 - 24
dashes, 23
exclamation mark, 23
periods, 23
question marks, 23
three dots, 23
uestion-in-the-narrative, 24
uibble. See Pun.
Repetition, 24 27
anadiplosis, 26
anaphora, 25
catch. See anadiplosis.
chain repetition, 26
epiphora, 25
Iraming, 25
halI, 26 27
linking. See anadiplosis.
ordinary, 26
reduplication. See anadiplosis.
successive, 26
synonymous, 26
tautological, 26
Represented speech, 27
inner, 27
unuttered. See inner.
uttered, 27
Rhetorical question, 27 28
Rhyme, 28 29
adjacent, 29
broken. See compound.
compound, 28
consonant, 28
crossing, 29
dactylic. See triple.
double. See Iemale.
exact. See Iull.
eye, 28
Iemale, 28
Ieminine. See Iemale.
Iull, 28
halI. See incomplete.
incomplete, 28
initial, 28 29
internal, 28
male, 28
masculine. See male.
near. See incomplete.
perIect. See Iull.
ring, 29
sight. See eye.
single. See male.
treble. See triple.
triple, 28
vowel, 28
Rhythm, 29
Sentence length, 29
Sentence structure, 29 30
loose, 29
periodic, 30
Shaped text, 30
Simile, 31
75
banal. See trite.
dead. See trite.
disguised, 31
Iresh. See genuine.
genuine, 31
hackneyed. See trite.
newly-created. See genuine.
ordinary, 31
original. See genuine.
poetic. See genuine.
stale. See trite.
stereotyped. See trite.
trite, 31
Suspense, 32
Synecdoche, 32
banal. See trite.
dead. See trite.
Iresh. See genuine.
genuine, 32
hackneyed. See trite.
newly-created. See genuine.
original. See genuine.
poetic. See genuine.
stale. See trite.
stereotyped. See trite.
trite, 32
Syntactical whole, 32 33
Syntactic structure violation, 33
grammatical, 33
lexical, 33
lexico-grammatical, 33
nderstatement, 34
banal. See trite.
dead. See trite.
Iresh. See genuine.
genuine, 34
hackneyed. See trite.
newly-created. See genuine.
original. See genuine.
poetic. See genuine.
stale. See trite.
stereotyped. See trite.
trite, 34
Visual text. See Shaped text.
Zeugma, 34
76