Стилистика английского языка. Юлия Маратовна Нуриахметова

and the final action depend. The collision reaches the highest intensity. It’s interrupted through the language units naming the highest point of intensity in the development line. They are action verbs and action verbal phraseological units. The denouement shows the falling action and brings the development line to an end. The ending comes after the denouement. Sometimes it coincides with the denouement. The ending may be a surprise one, a happy or unhappy one. In a surprise ending an unexpected turn of the plot development not made clear until the end of the work. Some stories have an undetermined ending. It shows that a conflict may not be resolved, because its solution is not easy.

      Types of Plot Structure. Many stories have the norm plot-structure pattern arrangement. That’s title – text (exposition – story (beginning – development – climax – denouement) – ending). A work of fiction which has all the plot structure components is clearly identifiable is viewed as having a closed plot-structure. A literary work lacking some of its plot structure components is viewed as having an open plot-structure. However, there may be variation in the arrangement of the plot-structure components such as

      – the exposition and the beginning may be combined;

      – the climax and denouement may overlap (coincide);

      – the denouement and the ending may coincide;

      – the story part may be inserted into the exposition;

      – the ending may open the fiction piece;

      – a story may be inserted into a story.

      Character may be presented either directly or indirectly. Accordingly, direct or indirect character drawing may be analyzed. In direct presentation the writer tells us straight out what a character is or has someone else in the story tell us what he’s like. In indirect presentation the writer shows to us the character in action. We guess what he’s like from what he thinks, says, does. The character may be flat or round. The flat character is impressionistic. One or two treats are brought force. He can be described in a sentence. The round character is complex and many-sided. Stock characters (stereotyped figures) are as, for example, a cruel stepmother etc. Characters may be stating or developing. Stating are the same at the beginning and at the end. Developing (=dynamic) character undergoes some changes in personality or look, for better or worse, small or large.

      Theme is the interpreted aspect of life (War and peace, race discrimination and the like). The same theme may be differently developed and integrated with other themes. There may be the basic theme, rival themes, by-themes.

      The thematic development of the story is interpreted through nominating chains of lexical and phraseological units serving as key-units.

      Idea is a controlling (central) insight message of the story. It is the unifying generalization about life stated or implied by the story. One is supposed to answer the questions What view of life does the story support? or What did the author want to say? The idea may be stated very briefly or at greater length. It may be brief or long. The writer doesn’t state the idea, but verifies it. Sometimes it’s explicitly stated by the author or some of the characters. More often the idea is implied or implicit.

      LINGUISTIC STYLISTICS

      Lexical Stylistic Devices

      Metaphor is a secondary nomination unit based on likeness, similarity or affinity (real or imaginary) of some features of two different objects. Metaphor is usually used in the predicate group, because it aims at individualisation and characterisation of the object.

      It is a transfer of the name of an object to another object on the basis of similarity, likeness, affinity of the two objects. At the same time there is no real connection between them. The stylistic function of a metaphor is its expressive characterization, for example:

      • the apple of the eye, a leg of the table, an arm of the clock the foot of the hill etc;

      • The machine sitting at the desk was no longer a man; it was a busy New York broker… (O’Henry)

      • They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate (W.S.Gilbert).

      • «I’m the crater of a volcano,» says he. «I’m all aflame and crammed inside with an assortment of words and phrases that have got to have an exodus. I can feel millions of synonyms and parts of speech rising in me,» says he, «and I’ve got to make a speech of some sort.» (O’Henry).

      • The pulse of joy that beats in us at twenty, becomes sluggish. (O. Wilde).

      • He was a merry, unthinking moth of the lamp (Dreiser).

      Personification is a stylistic device closely related to metaphor. It is the presentation of a phenomenon or an idea as a human being. This device is usually achieved by ascribing actions and qualities characteristics of people to the idea or the thing described. It is also a variety of metaphor. It is based on ascribing some features and characteristics of a person to a thing, for example:

      • Autumn comes;

      • And trees are shedding their leaves;