Lexical Stylistic Devices
LEXICAL STYLISTIC DEVICES
Metaphor
Genuine metaphors
Trite(dead) metaphors
Metonymy
Metonymy
Metonymy is the substitution of one word for another with which it is associated:
‘The White House said…’ (the American government) ; the press (newspapers and magazines); the cradle(infancy, place of origin);the grave(death);
The hall applauded; The marble spoke; The kettle is boiling;
I am fond of Agatha Christie; We didn’t speak because there were ears all around us; He was about a sentence away from needing plastic surgery .
Synecdoche
Simile
She passed through the grove like a shadow, and like a shadow she sailed across the garden.
Cliche
I want to die young at a ripe old age. Irony Irony Well done! A fine friend you are!
‘What a noble illustration of the tender laws of this favoured country! - they let the poor go to sleep!’ Irony must not be confused with humour, although they have very much in common. Humour always causes laughter. But the function of irony is not to produce a humorous effect. Irony is generally used to convey a negative feeling: irritation, displeasure, pity or regret.
Epithet
Epithet coveys the subjective attitude of the writer as it is used to characterize an object and pointing out to the reader some properties or features of the object. Epithet aims at evaluation of these properties or features. Heart-burning smile; wild winds; fantastic terrors; voiceless sands; unearthly beauty; deep feelings; sleepless bay. Fixed epithets (stock images) are mostly used in ballads and folk-songs:
‘true love’, ‘dark forest’, ‘sweet Sir’, green wood’; ‘good ship’, ‘brave cavaliers’. From the point of view of their compositional structure epithets may be divided into simple, compound, phrase and sentence epithets.
Simple: dreary midnight; brilliant answer; sweet smile.
Compound: heart-braking sigh; good-for-nothing fellow;
Phrase epithets and sentence epithets: 1. ‘Personally I
Metaphor
Genuine metaphors
Trite(dead) metaphors
Metonymy
Metonymy
Metonymy is the substitution of one word for another with which it is associated:
‘The White House said…’ (the American government) ; the press (newspapers and magazines); the cradle(infancy, place of origin);the grave(death);
The hall applauded; The marble spoke; The kettle is boiling;
I am fond of Agatha Christie; We didn’t speak because there were ears all around us; He was about a sentence away from needing plastic surgery .
Synecdoche
Simile
She passed through the grove like a shadow, and like a shadow she sailed across the garden.
Cliche
I want to die young at a ripe old age. Irony Irony Well done! A fine friend you are!
‘What a noble illustration of the tender laws of this favoured country! - they let the poor go to sleep!’ Irony must not be confused with humour, although they have very much in common. Humour always causes laughter. But the function of irony is not to produce a humorous effect. Irony is generally used to convey a negative feeling: irritation, displeasure, pity or regret.
Epithet
Epithet coveys the subjective attitude of the writer as it is used to characterize an object and pointing out to the reader some properties or features of the object. Epithet aims at evaluation of these properties or features. Heart-burning smile; wild winds; fantastic terrors; voiceless sands; unearthly beauty; deep feelings; sleepless bay. Fixed epithets (stock images) are mostly used in ballads and folk-songs:
‘true love’, ‘dark forest’, ‘sweet Sir’, green wood’; ‘good ship’, ‘brave cavaliers’. From the point of view of their compositional structure epithets may be divided into simple, compound, phrase and sentence epithets.
Simple: dreary midnight; brilliant answer; sweet smile.
Compound: heart-braking sigh; good-for-nothing fellow;
Phrase epithets and sentence epithets: 1. ‘Personally I