each other, etc.
There are also some instances of direct characterization in the text.
The speech of the characters is (unemotional, (inexpressive, etc.
As far as my attitude to the characters is concerned I want to say (to stress, to underline the fact that...), 1 think, 1 consider, I'm sure that, there is no doubt (no denying) that...
I am on the side of...
I sympathize with..., 1 fully support and understand...
My attitude to this character can't be expressed in a couple of words, because it is a very complex character. On the one hand, he seems to me..., on the other hand, I think that...
The author’s treatment of his characters seems to me brilliant (superb, perfect, unsurpassed, poor, /un/convincing, true-to-life, realistic), etc.
The author lets the reader form his notion (opinion, judgment) of the characters by himself.
To my mind (in my opinion) the message (main idea) of the extract is the following...
It seems to me that by this extract (story) the author wanted to convey to the reader the following message (ideas, thoughts):...
I fully /dis/agree with the author in that...
As far as my evaluation of the text is concerned 1 want to say that (it seems to me that..., I found the text interesting, not very interesting, gripping/thrilling, entertaining, merely amusing, sparkling with brilliant humor and wit, thought-provocative, too far-fetched and not very true-to-life, dull, boring, slow-moving),etc
The ideas expressed by the author are very close to me because...
His ideas concerning ... are still important, vital and urgent.
In this extract the author touches upon the most burning problems of mankind, the eternal problems.
DESCRIBING THE CHARACTERS
Virtuous characteristics:
amiable
good-natured
kind
kind-hearted
communicative
sociable
discreet
generous
considerate
attentive
thoughtful
earnest
calm
quiet
self-possessed
honest
just
patient
sympathetic
cordial
witty
benevolent
scrupulous
devoted
loyal
courageous
persevering
sweet
gentle
proud
Evil characteristics:
ill-natured
unkind
hard-hearted
reserved
unsociable
hostile
haughty
arrogant
indiscreet
unscrupulous
greedy
tactless
insincere
hypocritical
false
vulgar
double-faced
indifferent
dishonest
cruel
intolerant
conceited
self-willed
presumptuous
deceitful
harsh
sulky
sullen
obstinate
coarse
rude
vain
impertinent
revengeful
willful
capricious
ADJECTIVES APPLIED TO LITERARY CHARACTERS
Well-drawn; vividly-drawn; true-to-life; convincing; complex; subtle; poorly-drawn; superficial, flat; lacking in depth; unconvincing, lifeless,
NOTES:
All characters can nearly always be subdivided into main and minor. If there is one main character who deserves our praise, sympathy and admiration, he or she may be called the hero/heroine. Note that the words hero/heroine imply that he or she is the most important character of the book and a person whom a reader can admire Main hero/heroine is therefore incorrect. We say either main character or hero/heroine. The main character may also be called the protagonist. The antagonist is the personage opposing the protagonist. (hero). The villain is the character with marked negative features. Sometimes in a literary work the writer will give us two characters with distinctly opposing features, we then say that one character serves as a foil to the other. (For example Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson), If a character is developed round one or several! features, be becomes a type or a caricature. A type is characterized by qualities that are typical of certain social group or class A caricature is a character so exaggerated that he appears ridiculous and distorted, yet recognizable.
"Characters may be simple (fiat) or complex (well-rounded). Simple characters are constructed round a simple trait, Complex characters undergo change and growth, reveal various sides of their personalities. Contradictory features within a character make it true-to-life and convincing.
The words positive/negative are not applied to literary characters in the sense of положительный-отрицательный. There are no English equivalents for these words as used in literary criticism. Such words are preferable when speaking about characters: sympathetic, unsympathetic, admirable, virtuous, wicked, immoral, selfish, etc,
SPEAKING ABOUT THE WAY THE CHARACTERS TREAT EACH OTHER:
to offend smb . .
to adore smb. for smth.
to insult smb. with smth
to despise smb- for smth.
to treat smb- well (badly, with respect, unjustly, etc.)
to be indifferent to smb,
to feel (have) contempt for smb
to hate smb for smth. ,
to praise smb. for smth.
to blame smb. for smth./doing smth.
lo condemn smb. for smth/doing smth.
to humiliate smb. with smth.
to betray smb,
to find fault with
to make fun of smb.
to annoy smb. by smtn.
to frighten (scare) smb. by smth.
to cringe before smb.
lo reproach smb. for smth./doing smth.
to flatter smb.
to worship
to admire
to let smb. down
to bore
to feel pity for smb
to threaten smb. with smth
to jeer at smb. = to sneer at smb. = to mock at smb = to poke fun at smb.
GLOSSARY OF STYLISTIC TERMS
EXPRESSIVE MEANS are phonetic, lexical, word-building, phraseological, syntactical forms which exist in the language as a system for the purpose of logical and emotional intensification of the utterance, for example here belong the diminutive suffixes -ie, -y, -let, interjections and exclamations, slangisms and jargonisms, proverbs, sayings and set expressions, syntactical emphatic constructions ( e. g.: You do look smart today. It was he who came the first.), inversion (e.g.; Up went the curtain.), the use of "shall" in the second and third persons (e.g.: You shall be punished!)
Expressive means are concrete facts of the language, they already exist ready for the usage and are not specially created by the writer
STYLISTIC DEVICES do not exist in the language as the units ready for use. They are abstract patterns of the language filled with a definite content when used m speech. The stylistic effect of this or that device is based upon the clash of two meanings of a lexical unit: dictionary and contextual. Compare: She gave me a sweet bun. She gave me a sweet smile.
The word "sweet" in the second sentence is a stylistic device-epithet, whereas in the first sentence it is a simple adjective used in its direct dictionary meaning.
EPITHET is a stylistic device based on interplay of contextual and dictionary meaning in an attribute word, phrase or sentence. It is necessary to differentiate between simple adjectives and poetic epithets. Epithets are subjectively evaluative; they create an image, whereas simple adjectives indicate those features of the object which are generally recognized as inherent properties of the things spoken about.
Adjectives:
a bright sun
a sweet bun
snow-white peaks of the mountains
a voiceless man
a blue sky
Epithets:
a bloody sun
a sweet smile
a snow-white skin
voiceless sands
a copper sky
According to the compositional structure we distinguish the following types of epithets:
1) Simple (a dark forest; a true love)
2) Compound (snow-white skin, heart-burning sigh)
3) Phrase (It was this do-it-yourself attitude; a tired end-of-the day gesture)
4) Sentence (Those innocent I-don't-know-what you-are-tatking-aboul-eyes)
Another structural variety is the type called reversed. Reversed epithets are composed of two nouns linked in an "of-phrase"; (an angel of a girl, a doll of a wife, a rascal of a husband, a shadow of a smile).
According to the principle of semantics epithets are subdivided into associated and unassociated.
Associated epithets are those which point to a feature which is essential to the object they describe its inherent feature E g: dark forest; dreary midnight, careful attention: fantastic terrors
Unassociated epithets are attributes used to characterize the object by adding a feature not inherent in it, i.e. a feature which may be so unexpected as to strike the reader by its novelty. These epithets may seem strange and unusual, for them, so to say, impose a property on the objects, which is fining exclusively in the given circumstances, e.g.: heart-burning smile, sullen earth; voiceless sands.
From the point of view of the distribution of the epithets in the sentence we distinguish the string of epithets and the transferred epithet. Transferred epithets are ordinary logical attributes used to characterize human beings, but referred to lifeless things: (a sleepless pillow, an angry sky, laughing valleys). If there are a number of epithets appearing usually in an ascending order we have a string of epithets. E.g.: 1. And then in a nice, old-fashioned, lady-like, maiden-lady way she blushed. (A. Christie) 2. Such was the background of the wonderful, cruel, enchanting, bewildering, fatal, great city (О. Henry.)
METAPHOR is a stylistic device based on the principle of comparison of two objects. Some important quality is transferred from one object to another, this second object being devoid of this quality, thus, by this comparison a significant feature of the second object is revealed in an imaginary way. E.g.:
O, never say that I was false of heart,
Though absence seemed my fame to qualify. (Shakespeare)
The word "flame" here is used metaphorically; it stands for "love" and accentuates the passion of this feeling.
Some more examples of metaphors:
Her eyes were two profound menacing gun barrels. (Eyes and gun barrels are compared.) Gusts of wind whispering here and there. ( The sound produced by the gusts of wind is compared with whisper.) These metaphors are unpredictable. They are called fresh (genuine, original). There are metaphors which are commonly used in speech and sometimes even fixed in the dictionaries. They are called trite (dead, hackneyed). E. g.: time flies, floods of tears, the apple of one's eye, seeds (roots) of evil, a flight of imagination, to bum with desire, etc.
Metaphor has no formal limitations; it can be a word, a phrase, a sentence. There are not only simple, but also sustained (prolonged) metaphors. The latter occur whenever one metaphorical statement, creating an image, is followed by another, containing a continuation or logical development of the previous metaphor
E. g.: "In November a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia, stalked about the colony, touching one here and there with his icy fingers Over on the East side this ravager strode boldly, smiting his victims by scores Mr. Pneumonia was not what you would call a chivalric old gentleman... "(O. Henry. "The last leaf.")
This sustained metaphor is a sample of personification which consists in transferring human features to abstract notions and lifeless objects. The objects personified may be substituted by personal pronouns he/she and used with the verbs of speech, mental activity, wish, etc. Sometimes they are spelt with the capital letter. E.g.:
And Time, that gave doth now this gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set of youth
And delves the parallels in beaty's brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth.
METONYMY consists in applying the name of an object to another object that is hi some way connected with the first.
Whenever we say something like: "The kettle is boiling." or "The gallery applauded." we do not actually mean the vessel or the theatre balcony, but what is connected with them: the water, or the spectators. The thought is thus concretized and the expression < shortened, (cf.: the water in the kettle, the spectators in the gallery)
Metonymic relations are varied in character. Their main types are the following:
1) Names of tools used instead of the names of actions: E.g: He is a famous pen.
2) What a person possesses may be used for the person himself. (E. g.: He married money)
3) The container may be used for what is contained; E. g.: She is fond of the bottle)
4) Symbol used instead of the object symbolized (e.g.: a crown for king or queen)
SYNECDOCHE is a kind of metonymy. It is based on a specific kind of metonymic relationship when a part stands for a whole or a whole for a part, an individual for a whole class, or a whole class for an individual.
AUTONOMASIA is the use of a proper name for a common one, or vice versa. E.g.: He is a typical Don Juan (i.e., he possesses all features of Don Juan). What can be prettier than an image of Love on his knees before Beauty? (W. M. Thackeray.)
SIMILE is an imaginative comparison. This is an explicit statement of partial identity of two objects. In a simile there are always two names of two separate objects and a word or a word group signalizing the idea of juxtaposition and comparison. These formal signals are mostly the conjunctions "like" and "as"(as if, as though), "than" There may also be verbs, such as: to resemble, to remind one of, or verbal phrases: to bear a resemblance (o, to have a look of). E.g.: He is as beautiful as a weathercock." (O. Wilde) The common feature is expressly indicated, it is beauty that unites him with a weathercock.
E.g. "My heart is like a singing bird." (Rossetti) Here the most probable reason for likening a person's heart to a singing bird would be the feeling of happiness: the poet's heart is as gay as the bird that enjoys the pleasures of life.
Simile is close to metaphor in that the latter is also based on analogy in dissimilar things. The difference is that the metaphor has no formal element to indicate comparison and therefore the analogy upon which the metaphor is based sometimes is very difficult to perceive, whereas in simile it is obvious.
HYPERBOLE is a deliberate exaggeration of some quality or quantity or size of an object. It serves to intensify one certain property of the object and adds vividness to the description Hyperbole is an expression of emotional evaluation of reality by a speaker. The main sphere of use of hyperbole is colloquial speech, in which the form is hardly ever controlled and the emotions are expressed directly without any particular reserve. Many colloquial hyperboles are stereotyped: A thousand pardons/thanks I've told you forty times. He was frightened/scared/sick to death. I'd give worlds for it. Haven't seen you for ages.
An expressive hyperbole, as distinct from trite ones (used in everyday speech), is an exaggeration on a big scale. There must be something illogical in it, something unreal, utterly impossible, contrary to common sense.
E.g.: "One after another those people lay down on the ground to laugh-and two of them - died. One of the survivors remarked..." (M. Twain) "There I took out my pig ... and gave him such a kick that he went out the other end of the alley, twenty feet ahead of his, squeal."(O. Henry) "And talk! She could talk the hind leg off a donkey!" (Peters,)
OXYMORON is a stylistic device in which two antonymous words are joined together into one syntagm thus creating an image of the clash of the meanings of these words. Oxymoron ascribes some feature to an object incompatible with that feature. E.g.; "He was magnificently imbecile." (S. Lewis.) "...desperate efforts to look their horrid best... (J. B. Priestley) "The major again pressed to his blue eyes the tips of the fingers that were disposed on the ledge of the wheeled chair with careful carelessness." (Ch. Dickens.) "Cops enjoy it, when a body looks timid, hat in hand, eyes fall of nothing" (R Chandler.)
ZEUGMA is a use of a word in the satae grammatical, but different semantic relations to two adjacent words in the context, the semantic relations being, on the one hand, literal and, on the other, transferred. As a consequence, the very fact of proximity, of close co-occurrence is unnatural, illogical since the resulting combinations are essentially different: they simply do not go together. E.g. "He was alternately cudgeling his brains and his donkey." (Ch. Dickens.) "She dropped a tear and her pocket handkerchief." (Ch. Dickens.) "She possessed two false teeth and a sympathetic heart." (O. Henry.) "At noon Mrs. Turpin would get out of bed and humor, put on kimono, airs and the water to boil for coffee." (Q. Henry.)