THE SCHEME OF STYLISTIC ANALYSIS
методическая разработка по английскому языку

THE SCHEME OF STYLISTIC ANALYSIS.

 Speak of the author in brief.
- the facts of his biography relevant for his creative activities;
- the epoch (historical and social background);
- the literary trend he belongs to;
- the main literary pieces (works);

1. Give a summary of the extract (or the story) under consideration (the gist, the content of the story in a nutshell). 
2. State the problem raised (tackled) by the author. 
3. Formulate the main idea conveyed by the author (the main line of the thought, the author's message). 
4. Give a general definition of the text under study:
   - a 3d person narration
   - a 1st-person narration (an I-story)
   - narration interlaced   with   descriptive   passages   and      dialogues   of   the personages
   - narration broken by digressions (philosophical, psychological, lyrical, etc;
   - an account of events interwoven with a humorous (ironical, satirical) portrayal of society, or the personage, etc.
5. Define the prevailing mood (tone, slant,) of the extract.
   It may be lyrical, dramatic, tragic, optimistic/pessimistic, melodramatic, sentimental, emotional/unemotional, pathetic, dry and matter-of-fact, gloomy, bitter, sarcastic, cheerful, etc.
6. The composition of the extract (or the story).
   Divide the text into logically complete parts and entitle them. If possible choose the key-sentence (the topic sentence) in each part that reveals its essence. The compositional pattern of a complete story (chapter, episode) may be as follows:
   1. the exposition (introduction);
   2. the development of the plot (an account of events);
   3. the climax (the culminating point);
   4. the denouement (the outcome of the story).
7. Give a detailed analysis of each logically complete part.
   Follow the formula- matter- the form. It implies that, firstly, you should dwell upon the content of the part and, second, comment upon the language means (EM and SD) employed by the author to achieve desired effect, to render his thoughts and feelings.

NB! Sum up your observations and draw conclusions.
Point out the author's language means which make up the essential properties of his individual style.

The suggested extract represents a 3rd Person Narration (a 1st Person Narration) interlaced (interwoven, intermingled) with a dialogue, character drawings, a description, a satirical portrayal of society, a historical event, the inner monologue of the leading character, with the author's digression where he speculates upon the problem of...

The author's digression reveals his vision of life...

The writer digresses from the plot of the story to reveal (convey) his attitude to... (his view on...)

The narration is done in the 1st (the 3rd) person.

The main character is the narrator of his own feelings, thoughts and intentions.

The story-teller portrays his characters by means of a convergence of SDs, such as…

The portrayal of literary personages is done skillfully (masterfully, with great skill).

The description (portrayal,  narration) may be vivid, convincing, powerful, meaningful. Highly emotional, unemotional, suggestive etc.

The 4th part is focused on John Smith.

The author focuses (his attention) on the character's inner world.

The author depicts the life of...

The subject of depiction in the 2nd part is...

The passage opens with the atmosphere of growing suspense (excitement, nervousness, fright etc.)

The paragraph abounds in ( is abundant in ) slang set-phrases

The writer makes an abundant use of

The compositional structure of the extract (fragment) is based on parallelism.

Parallelism (parallel constructions are) is accompanied by anaphora (framing etc.)

These paragraphs stand in sharp contrast to each other.

The paragraph is built in sharp contrast to the following one. The contrast is reflected (manifested) in the language, both in syntactical and lexical means.

The paragraph is in full accord (accordance) with the preceding one as far as its idea goes.

The author (story-teller) draws a gloomy (majestic, miserable etc.) picture.

The writer uses ( makes use of, employs, resorts to ) common colloquial vocabulary juridical terminology (law terms)

to give the narration (to lend) more authenticity and objectivity to lend the story a humorous ring

to make the story sound melodramatic (sentimental etc.) It testifies to the writer's mastery (skill). This detail (fact, expression, device) is suggestive of ... is highly informative.

It suggests that...

It helps the reader guess (realize, come to the conclusion etc.)

It leaves much for the reader's guesswork.

The syntactical pattern of the sentence (paragraph) is suggestive (informative, meaningful).

The syntactical pattern (structure, design) is peculiar (is broken, is violated...) He resorts to high-flown (elevated) words to convey the inner tragedy of his personage.

There is a discrepancy between the bookish, elevated vocabulary and the trivial (banal) situation with ordinary men doing everyday things (or the daily routine of ordinary men).

It usually produces a humorous (ironical) effect. It reveals the writer's ironical attitude to... It is used as a means of irony. The writer makes use of various language means to depict (portray, convey, reveal etc.) The author digresses from the thread of narration (the topic of story).

To pursue his aim the author employs (resorts to, adheres to, uses). The author converses with the reader as if he has an interlocutor before him. (The reader is involved into the events of the text.) The author lays bare (exposes, unmasks,  condemns, touches upon, dwells on, delineates, highlights, stresses, underlines, ridicules, mocks at, accentuates)... The author lays (puts, places) emphasis (stress) on... The writer carries the idea to the mind of the reader through... The SD is the indicator (signal) of the character's emotions (emotional tension, mixed feelings).

The SD stresses (underlines, discloses, accentuates, emphasizes, is meant to point out, throws light on, highlights, adds to, contributes to, (lightens, enhances, intensifies, gives an insight into, explains and clarifies, serves to provide the text with additional emphases). The satirical (humorous, ironical) effect is hightened (enhanced, intensified, augmented) by a convergence of SD and EM in the paragraph. The SD contributes (adds) to the same effect (the effect desired by the author, the effect the author strives for, a more colourful and emotional presentation of the scene). The SD adds importance to the indication of the place (time, manner) of action is suggestive (illustrative, expressive) (it indicates where and when the scene is laid). The SD is suggestive (illustrative, expressive, explicit, implicit) of...

The SD and EM are linked and interwoven to produce a joint impression (are aimed at achieving the desired effect). The SD wants (needs) interpreting, decoding. It prepares the ground for the next sentence (paragraph). The SD makes explicit what has been implied before (lends an additional expressiveness). It is implicit in nature, makes the
utterance arresting, enables the author to convey the feelings and emotions of the character, reveals the character's low (high) social position, indicates the step the character occupies in the social ladder, serves best to specify the author's (character's)
attitude to. There is no direct indication of that. It is understood indirectly
through (perceived through)... The title (SD) is highly informative (symbolic, emotive, emotionally coloured, emphatic).

The SD suggests a definite kind of informational design. It is to the word "..." that prominece must be given. If we analyse the intonational pattern of the sentence we see that to the word "..." is given a strong (heavy) stress. Looking deeper into the arrangement of the utterance we come to the conclusion that... The reader traces the marked partiality of the writer for his personage. In order to impose (impress) on the reader his attitude towards the character the author employs...

Leading gradually up to the hidden idea that he is pursuing the writer makes the reader feel... The most convincing proof of the idea is... We'll discuss the implication the following sentence suggests... Hints and suggestive remarks (implications and suggestions) are scattered all over the text. On a more careful observation it becomes obvious that...

It is worthwhile going a little deeper in (to) the language texture.

The idea is hidden between the lines in order to grasp the author's idea.

The word (sentence) is charged (loaded, burdened) with implication (connotation).

The SD suggests a touch of authenticity (plausibility) to the narrated events (it makes the reader believe that the narrated events have actually taken place in real life).

The episode is presented through the perception of the character (this type of presenting a picture of life as if perceived by a character that creates the so-called effect of immediate presence). The SD serves as a clue to the further development of the action. The plot unfolds (itself) dynamically ('slowly).

Words and word combinations suggested for reproducing dialogues in narrative form.

• to think that                                                     to believe that
• to wonder why (when, how, where)               to understand
• to point out                                                      to admit
• to persist                                                          to doubt
• to stress                                                            to confirm
• to insist                                                            to reassure
• to suggest                                                         to wish
• to know                                                            to reject 
• to assure                                                           to expect that 
• to reproach                                                       to deny 
• to consider (regard)                                         to suppose that 
• to urge                                                             to be certain that 
• to object to

Assignment

1. Translate the word combinations and sentences suggested above and
   learn them.
2. Make use of these word combinations and sentences when fulfilling
   the assignments on the scheme of stylistic analysis.