39. Phonetic Expressive Means & Stylistic Devices.

Galperin: Each sound may cause a definite feeling or emotion or state of mind. The arrangement of sounds carries a definite aesthetic function. Phonetic SDs are: 1) Onomatopoeia is a combination of speech-sounds which aims at imitating sounds produced in nature, by things, by people and by animals. Two varieties of onomatopoeia: direct (words that imitate natural sounds (buzz, bang, cuckoo, ding-dong)) and indirect (combination of sounds the aim of which is to make the sound of the utterance an echo of its sense (And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain)) Indirect onomat., unlike alliteration, demands some mention of what makes the sound, as rustling of curtains. 2) Alliteration is a phonetic stylistic device which aims at imparting a melodic effect to the utterance. The essence lies in the repetition of similar sounds. Alliteration is generally regarded as a musical accompaniment of the author’s idea, supporting it with some vague emotional atmosphere which each reader interprets for himself. Alliteration in the English language is deeply rooted in the traditions of English folklore. In Old English poetry alliteration and rhythm were considered the basic principles of verse. Alliteration is sometimes called initial rhyme. 3) Rhyme is the repetition of identical terminal sound combinations of words. There are: a) full rhymes (the identity of the vowel sound and the following consonant sounds in a stressed syllable, as in might – right) b) incomplete rhymes: !) vowel rhymes (the vowels of the syllables in corresponding words are identical, but the consonants are different, flesh-fresh-press) !!) consonant rhymes (vise versa, worth – forth, tale – tool) Modifications in rhyming sometimes go so far as to make one word rhyme with a combination of words. Compound rhyme may beset against what is called eye-rhyme where only letters and not the sounds are identical (love-prove, have-grave). According to the way the rhymes are arranged within the stanza, certain models have crystallized: 1) couplets – when the last words of two successive lines are rhymed. This is commonly marked aa. 2) Triple rhymes – aaa 3) Cross rhymes – abab 4) Framing or ring rhymes – abba. Internal rhyme – when the rhyming words are placed not at the ends of the lines but within the line. Thus rhyme breaks the line into two distinct parts (I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers). Rhyme has two contradictory functions: 1) Dissevering (like in internal rhyme) 2) Consolidating (uniting) 4) Rhythm exists in all spheres of human activity and assumes different forms. It’s a mighty weapon in stirring up emotions. Rhythm is primary a periodicity. It is a deliberate arrangement of speech into regularly recurring units intended to be grasped as a definite periodicity which makes rhythm a SD. Rhythm is the main factor which brings order into the utterance. Rhythm presupposes oppositions: long, short; stressed, unstressed; high, low). Metre is any form of periodicity in verse. It’s an ideal phenomenon characterized by its strict regularity, consistency and unchangeability. Rhythm is flexible and sometimes an effort is required to perceive it. In classical verse it is perceived at the background of the metre. In accented verse – by the number of stresses in a line. In prose – by the alternation of similar syntactical patterns. Rhythm intensifies and specifies emotions. Permissive deviations from the given metre are called modifications of the rhythmical pattern. Rhythm reveals itself most conspicuously in music, dance and verse. The most observable rhythmical patterns in prose are based on the use of certain stylistic syntactical devices, such as enumeration, repetition, parallel construction and chiasmus. Arnold: + Assonance (or vocal alliteration) is the repetition of stressed vowels within a line or a phrase or at the end of it in the form of an incomplete rhyme. Rhyme. Sound repetition is the main feature that tells poetry from prose. Repetitions may be euphonic (rhythm, alliteration, refrain (припев), assonance, dissonance, anaphora, epiphora, paronomasia, parallel constructions) and metrical (foot, meter, stanza). Rhymes can be divided: 1) male (last syllable stressed) 2) female (next to the last syllable is stressed) 3) dactylic (third syllable from the end is stressed) Incomplete rhymes: 1)assonance – 1st type in Galperin 2) consonance – 2d type, 3) dissonance (unstressed vowels and consonants coincide while stressed don’t, devil-evil) Rhymes: 1)poor (few syllables, by-cry) 2) rich (many, brevity – longevity)