From Charles Dickens' Hard Times

Assignments for stylistic analysis

1. Characterise the subject matter of the extract, the compositional es­sence of the introductory sentence, the manner of the subject matter presen­tation, and define the idea rendered in the text.

2. Analyse the syntactic expressive means and stylistic devices the writ­er resorts to in the utterances within the extract. Point out the function and effect of each syntactic stylistic peculiarity.

3. Explain the stylistic value of the expressions: "it was a town of un­natural red and black like the painted face of a savage"; "the piston of the steam-engine worked monotonously up and down like the head of an elephant in a state of melancholy madness".

4. What stylistic notions are observed within the following: "intermina­ble serpents of smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever, and never got uncoiled"! What functions do they perform in the text?

5. Point out the words and phrases which form the tone of the extract. What tone is observed?

6. Analyse what prevails in the text - metonymic or metaphoric expres­sions. Characterise the stylistic functions performed in the extract by each.

7. Explain how the notion of modality is applied to image creation within the extract. Define the formed image.

Item 4

It was Miss Murdstone who was arrived, and a gloomy-looking lady she was; dark, like her brother, whom she greatly resembled in face and voice; and with very heavy eyebrows, nearly meeting over her large nose, as if, being disabled by the wrongs of her sex from wearing whiskers, she had carried them to that account. She brought with her two uncompromising hard black boxes, with her initials on the lid in hard brass nails. When she paid the coachman she took her money out of a hard steel purse, and she kept the purse in a very jail of a bag which hung upon her arm by a heavy chain, and shut up like a bite. I had never, at that time, seen such a metallic lady altogeth­er a Miss Murdstone was.

From Charles Dickens' David Copperfield

Assignments for stylistic analysis

1. Define the theme and the idea disclosed in the extract.

2. Analyse what prevails in the extract - (1^st/ 3^rd person) narration or description. Apply the notions of "modality" and "point of view" to the episode.

3. Characterise stylistic syntax of the introductory part of the extract: "It was Miss Murdstone who was arrived, and a gloomy-looking lady she was; dark, like her brother, whom she greatly resembled in face and voice; and with very heavy eyebrows, nearly meeting over her large nose..."

4. Recognise the type and define the function of the repetition of the proper name Miss Murdstone.

5. Say whether this surname can be considered antonomasia.

6. Point out the words and phrases which characterise Miss Murdstone as "a metallic lady". Indicate the stylistic devices used in the clause: "she kept the purse in a very jail of a bag which hung upon her arm by a heavy chain, and shut up like a bite". What functions do they perform in presenting the character? Define the formed image.

Item 5

Little Miss Peecher, from her little official dwelling-house, with its little windows like the eyes in needles, and its little doors like the covers of school-books, was very observant indeed of the object of her quiet affections. Love, though said to be afflicted with blindness, is a vigilant watchman, and Miss Peecher kept him on double duty over Mr. Bradley Headstone. It was not that she was naturally given to playing the spy - it was not that she was at all secret, plotting, or mean - it was simply that she loved the unresponsive Bradley with all the primitive and homely stock of love that had never been examined or certificated out of her.

[...] Though all unseen and unsuspected by the pupils, Bradley Head­stone even pervaded the school exercises. Was Geography in question? He would come triumphantly flying out of Vesuvius and Atna ahead of the lava, and would boil unharmed in the hot springs of Iceland, and would float majes­tically down the Ganges and the Nile. Did History chronicle a king of men? Behind him in pepper-and-salt pantaloons, with his watch-guard round his neck. Were copies to be written? In capital B's and H's most of the girls under Miss Peecher's tuition were half a year ahead of every other letter in the alphabet. And Mental Arithmetic, administered by Miss Peecher, often devoted itself to providing Bradley Headstone with a wardrobe of fabulous extent; fourscore and four neck-ties at two and ninepence-halfpenny, two gross of silver watches at four pounds fifteen and sixpence, seventy-four black at eighteen shillings; and many similar superfluities.

The vigilant watchman, using his daily opportunities of turning his eyes in Bradley's direction, soon apprized Miss Peecher that Bradley was more preoc­cupied than had been his want and more given to strolling about with a down­cast and reserved face, turning something difficult in his mind that was not in the scholastic syllabus. Putting this and that together - combining under the head "this," present appearances and the intimacy with Charley Hexam, and ranging under the head "that" - the visit to his sister, the watchman reported to Miss Peecher his strong suspicions that the sister was at the bottom of it.

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From Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend

Assignments for stylistic analysis

1. Define the theme and the idea disclosed in the extract.

2. What is the manner of presentation?

3. Characterise the plot (simple/ complex/ intricate) and the setting of the events (realistic/ historical/ fantastic/ exotic?)?

4. How many and what logical parts can the extract be subdivided into?

5. Analyse stylistic functions of detachment, enumeration and repetition in the l^sl paragraph.

6. Characterise stylistic structural and pragmatic essence of the inter­rogative sentences and the replies to them within the second passage.

7. Explain how the expression "Love, though said to be afflicted with blindness, is a vigilant watchman, and Miss Peecher kept him on double duty over Mr. Bradley Headstone" has predetermined the 3^rd passage ut­terances. Analyse the stylistic device.

8. Consider whether there is any other non-person image and how it is expressed stylistically.

9. Characterise the tone of the piece - whether (and in what part exact­ly) it is formal/ semiformal/ informal/ conversational/ casual/ sympathetic/ cheerful/ vigorous/ serious/ humorous/ mock-serious/ lyrical/ dramatic/ excit­ed/ agitated/ passionate/ impassive/ detached/ matter-of-fact/ dry/ impartial/ melancholy/ moralising/ unemotional/ pathetic/ sarcastic/ ironical/ sneering/ bitter/ reproachful, etc. Specify your consideration.

10. Analyse the stylistic essence of repetition of the adjective "little" in the 1^st passage.

11. Point out all the other lexico-semantic stylistic peculiarities of the extract and characterise their stylistic functional properties.

12. Make a conclusion of the author's style of writing and the types of context the characters are disclosed in.

Theoretical items for independent personal consideration

1. Integration of expressive means and stylistic devices at the text level.

2. Possible approaches to the stylistic analysis of the whole text.

Literature recommended

1. Борисова JI. В. Практическое пособие по интерпретации тек-ста. - Минск., 1987. - С. 64-79, 94-99.

2. Домашнев А. И. и др. Интерпретация художественного текста (нем. яз. ). - М., 1989. - С. 35-51.

Literature to theoretical items for independent personal consideration

1. Борисова JI. В. Практическое пособие по интерпретации текста (проза): Учеб. пособ. - Минск: Вьісшая. школа, 1987.

2. Долинин К. А. Интерпретация текста: (Фр. яз.) Учеб. пособ. -М.: Просвещение, 1985.

3. Домашнев А. И. и др. Интерпретация художественного текста: (Нем. яз. ) Учеб. пособ. - 2-е изд., дораб. - М.: Просвещение, 1989.

4. Кухаренко В. А. Интерпретация текста: Учеб. пособ. - 2-е изд., перераб. - М.: Просвещение, 1988.

5. Мороховский А. Н. и др. Стилистика английского язьїка: Учеб-ник. - К.: Вища школа, 1991.

6. Пелевина Н. Ф. Стилистический анализ художественного тек­ста: Учеб. пособ. - М.: Просвещение, 1980.

7. Разинкина Н. М. Функциональная стилистика английского язьїка: Учеб. пособ. - М.: Вьісшая. школа, 1989.

Approximate Scheme of Overall Stylistic Analysis of a Fiction Text

*The text (extract, excerpt, episode, passage, piece, paragraph) under consideration (analysis) comes from

• (indefinite) a work of literature (novel, story, short story, tale, play, fable, poem) written by ... name of the author;

• (definite) the book (novel, story, short story, tale, play, fable, poem) ... name of the work ...written by ... name of the author.

*The author (writer, poet) is famous for (known as an)... a bit of infor­mation about the author and his works, style of writing.

*The extract concerns (is devoted to, deals with) ...

*The basic theme is ...

*The central idea finds its particularization in .../ is disclosed through the following collision (internal/ external conflict)...

*From the point of view of presentation the text is the 1^st/ 3^rd person narrative

• rather a description than a narration

• rather a narration than a description

• a mixture of narration and description

with some a) insertions of direct/ interior/ represented speech;

b) lyrical/ critical/ philosophical digression/ retardation/

foreshadowing/ flashbacks to the past

*The plot is simple/ complex/ intricate. It centres around ...

*The setting of the events is realistic/ historical/ fantastic/ exotic/ rural.

The span of time the extract covers is (obviously) ...

*The narrative flow is straight/ complex/ circular/ frame-like.

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*The climax of the plot development is presented in ...

*The denouement is shown in ...

*The sentence structure is (predominantly) a) simple; b) composite; c) complicated by the following predicative complexes ...; homogeneous/ het­erogeneous enumeration of ... It is aimed at exciting (evoking) a feeling/ an emotion/ a state of mind/ the sense of being a witness of a particular logical (complex, confused) philosophical (moral, social) consideration (observation).

*The text segmentation is realized by the following graphic means: ...

*The tone of the piece of literature is formal/ semiformal/ informal/ conversational/ casual/ sympathetic/ cheerful/ vigorous/ serious/ humorous/ mock-serious/ lyrical/ dramatic/ excited/ agitated/ passionate/ impassive/ detached/ matter-of-fact/ dry/ impartial/ melancholy/ moralizing/ unemo­tional/ pathetic/ sarcastic/ ironical/ sneering/ bitter/ reproachful, etc. It be­comes obvious owing to:

1. such cases of morphemic foregrounding as repetition of the root.../ the prefix.. ./the suffix.. ./the inflexion ...;

2. the morphological transposition of...;

3. the following phonetic stylistic phenomenon/ -na:...

*The direct/ indirect characterization of the person-image/ landscape-image/ animal-image/ object-image ...mention the person/non-person im­age.. . is achieved with a number of stylistic devices.

Thus, thanks to the

• associated (unassociated) epithet(s) ...

• dead (original) nominational (cognitive, imaginative) simple (sustained) metaphor ..., etc.

we may perceive the optimistic/ involved/ critical/ contemptuous/ ironi­cal/ cynical, etc. attitude of the narrator/ interlocutor(s).

A deliberate exaggeration .../an unexpected comparison (simile) .../a round-about metonymic (metaphoric) way of portraying (exposing, revealing, enforcing, rendering, bringing out, ridiculing, etc) the positive (negative, con­tradictory, complex/ well-rounded) character of... produces the effect of...

To stimulate/ stir imagination (to arouse warmth/ affection/ compassion/ delight/ admiration/ dislike/ disgust/ aversion/ resentment/ antipathy, etc.; to in­crease the credibility of the plot; to stimulate the reader to make his own judge­ment; to increase the immediacy and freshness of the impression, etc.) the author makes use of ... name the stylistic phenomenon (phenomena), etc.

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