Classification of lexical stylistic devices.

There are 3 groups of Lexical Stylistic Devices: 1. The interaction of different types of lexical meaning: a) dictionary and contextual (metaphor, metonymy, irony); b) primary and derivative (zeugma and pun); c) logical and emotive (epithet, oxymoron); d) logical and nominative (autonomasia); 2. Intensification of a feature (simile, hyperbole, periphrasis). 3. Peculiar use of set expressions (cliches, proverbs, epigram, quotations).

The term ‘metaphor’ means transference of some quality from one object to another. We define metaphor as the power of realizing two lexical meaning simultaneously: “Dear Nature is the kindest Mother still” (Byron).

Zeugma is the use of a word in the same grammatical but different semantic relations to two adjacent words in the context, the semantic relation being, on the one hand, literal, on the other, transferred: “Dora, plunging at once into privileged intimacy and into the middle of the room” (B. Show).

Antonomasia is a lexical SD in which a proper name is used instead of a common noun or vice verse: You are Romeo (not from “Romeo and Juliet”); Mrs. Snake.

Simile is a comparison between objects belonging to one class of things with the purpose of establishing the degree of their sameness or difference: “The boy seems to be as cleaver as his mother”.

Metaphor. Types of Metaphor

Metaphor is a transference of names based on the associated likeness between two objects, on the similarity of one feature common to two different entities, on possessing one common characteristic, on linguistic semantic nearness, on a common component in their semantic structures. e.g. ”pancake” for the “sun” (round, hot, yellow)

The expressiveness is promoted by the implicit simultaneous presence of images of both objects – the one which is actually named and the one which supplies its own “legal” name, while each one enters a phrase in the complexity of its other characteristics.

The wider is the gap between the associated objects the more striking and unexpected – the more expressive – is the metaphor. e.g. His voice was a dagger of corroded brass. (S. Lewis); e.g. They walked alone, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate. (W.S.Gilbert).

Metaphors, like all SDs can be classified according to their degree of unexpectedness. Thus metaphors which are absolutely unexpected, i.e. are quite unpredictable, are called genuine metaphors.Those which are commonly used in speech and therefore are sometimes even fixed in dictionaries as expressive means of language are trite metaphors, or dead metaphors. Their predictability therefore is apparent and they are usually fixed in dictionaries as units of the language (I.R. Galperin); prolonged metaphor isa group (cluster) of metaphors, each supplying another feature of the described phenomenon to present an elaborated image (V.A.Kucharenko).

The constant use of a metaphor, i.e. a word in which two meanings are blended, gradually leads to the breaking up of the primary meaning. The metaphoric use of the word begins to affect the dictionary meaning, adding to it fresh connotations or shades of meaning. But this influence, however strong it may be, will never reach the degree where the dictionary meaning entirely disappears.

How metaphor works (according to Leikoff and Johnson).Source domain is a realm with the help of which the imagianary and verbal representation are made. Taken from the Source Domain (область-источник) images and words are applied to a Target Domain (область-цель).

Types of metaphors (according to Leikoff and Johnson):1. Oriental metaphors (up and down, front and back, in and out, near for, etc.)

2. Antological metaphors, associate with activity motions – personification; 3. Structural metaphors (argument is war, life is a journey, etc.)