A Sample of Stylistic Analysis

The text under consideration is a part of the well-known novel… and bears all the peculiarities of the author’s individual style…

I. 1) The story is being told in the 1^st / 3^rd person Sg., which indicated that we deal with the entrusted narrative/author’s narrative. The whole narration sounds objective/subjective.

2) The text of the story is not homogeneous; the author’s narration is interrupted by the dialogues of the characters, inner thoughts of the character are imperceptibly interwoven with the narration.

II. 1) The composition of the whole text is rather complicated/simple. The story is built in two parts which are united in time and space.

2) The extract is more or less complete in itself, with the unity of its subject matter and idea. The main problems seem to be touched upon in it.

3) The extract can be divided into smaller fragments each dealing with a certain theme and having a certain function in the development of the narration.

III. 1) The words are stylistically neutral/loaded. The communicative situation is highly informal. The vocabulary includes not only standard colloquial words and expressions such as…, but also slangy words and expressions…, jargonisms…etc. The writer’s strong sense of place is revealed by the use of barbarisms…they help to create local colouring and add to the concreteness of the description of…

2) The analysis of the vocabulary shows an obvious difference between words in the author’s narrative and those in represented speech… The words are neutral but rich in connotations.

IV. 1) Syntactical constructions used in the extract are stylistically neutral/loaded. Syntactical parallelism (complete or partial) supported and intensified by repetition…lends an unmistakable rhythm to the passage.

2) The passage tends to rhythmical structure: parallel constructions…, various types of repetitions… - all contribute to this impression. A change in rhythm from slow to rapid reinforces the effect of suspense and climax… The idea of suspense of the effect of implication is masterfully revealed at the end of the story…

3) The main dramatic effect is achieved by syntax – by the master’s masterly using of parallel constructions…, suspenses…, break-in-the-narrative… the effect of a rhythmical arrangement is heightened by alliteration… Repetition assumes in the extract various structural forms.

V. 1) The general tone of the narration is serious (ironical, amusing, etc) The ironical effect is achieved by the use of… The ironical treatment of the subject is seen in the lines… The ironical tone of the description is created by the combination of high-flown words and phrases…

2) The character’s behaviour is revealed through the prolonged metaphor… The paragraph abounds in epithets… which characterize the protagonist. The number of SDs… are employed by the writer to describe the character. The SD’s of antithesis… emphasizes the striking differences between… represented inner speech is widely used by the author. It reveals the character’s thoughts and his individual perception of the events. The SD of metonymical description makes the reader supply what is missing and creates the effect of implication.

VI. The stylistic analysis at the level morphology

e.g. The change of tenses registers changes in the chronology of narrated events. The introduction of Present Indefinite Tense is very conspicuous, it creates the effect of immediate presence, signifies the importance of events and so on.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 930