Workshop #2
I. Discuss the following:
1. Phonetic means of Stylistics.
The main unit of the phonological level is phoneme. It can differentiate
meaningful language units but has no meaning of its own. Stylistically marked
phonemes do not exist. Consequently, there are no expressive means on the
phonological language level. Though recent studies in the sphere of sound
symbolism claim that some sounds and sound clusters have a strong associative
meaning. For example, ‘u’, ‘d’, ‘r’ are classified as frightening; ‘i’, ‘e’ — happy
and pleasant; ‘m’, ‘n’, ‘l’ — tender. J. R. Firth states that a sound cluster ‘sl-’ is
associated with something negative (slack, slush, slime, slosh, sloppy, slug, etc.);
‘gl-’ is thought to express the phenomenon of light (glitter, glisten, glow, glare);
‘fl-’ is associated with movement (flutter, flow); ‘-rk’ with energy (work, shirk,
perk, lurk).
There are certain patterns of sound arrangement. The use of these patterns
alongside with other language means may create various stylistic effects and
contribute greatly to poetic effect. The patterns of sound arrangement include
versification and instrumentation.
2. The notions of versification and instrumentation.
Versification is the art of writing poetry in keeping with certain rules based on
language regularities and poets’ experience. The main concepts of versification
are rhyme and rhythm.
Rhyme is the correspondence of two or more words with similar-sounding final
syllables placed so as to echo one another. It has two main functions: 1) it echoes
sounds and thus is a source of aesthetic satisfaction; 2) it assists in the actual
structure of verse. Rhyme is a rhythmical device for intensifying the meaning as
well as for binding the verse together. It also helps to make verse easier to
remember.
Rhythm in verse or prose is the movement or sense of movement communicated
by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables and by the duration of the
syllables. Usually rhythm is considered to be a characteristic feature of poetry.
Prose, however, can also have a distinctive rhythm.
Instrumentation is the art of selecting and combining sounds in order to make
the utterance expressive and melodic. It unites three basic stylistic devices:
alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia.
Alliteration is the repetition of the same or similar sounds or sound clusters,
usually consonants, of stressed syllables in neighbouring words or at short
intervals within a line or passage, usually at word beginnings. The repetition of
identical sounds is called full alliteration. And the repetition of similar sounds
/g-k/, /t-d/, /p-b/ is called loose alliteration. Alliteration is excessively employed
in poetry:
Wind whines and whines the shingle,
The crazy pierstakes groan;
A senile sea numbers each single
Slimesilvered stone.
Alliteration is also used in prose, where it intensifies the rhythmic effect. Very
often alliteration is used in titles of books (‘Sense and Sensibility’).
Assonance is the repetition of similar vowel sounds, usually close together, to
achieve a particular effect of euphony.
We real cool. We
Left school. We...
Both alliteration and assonance connect important words together and help the
reader notice meaning-connection between them.
Euphony is a sound pattern used to create pleasing and harmonious effect.
Cacophony is a sound pattern used to create harsh and discordant effect.
Euphony is achieved through the use of vowel sounds which are more easily
pronounced than consonants. The longer vowels are the most melodious.
However, sonorants (l, m, n, r, j, w) are also considered to be euphonious.
The mild-eyed melancholy Lotus-eaters came.
Onomatopoeia is the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the
sound associated with it (such as buzz, hiss, zoom, whiz, crash, ding-dong, pitter-
patter, yakety-yak). Onomatopoeia may also refer to the use of words whose
sound suggests the sense.
My little watch was ticking clear.
I thought the throbbing of it went
Like my continual discontent.
I thought it said in every tick...
Onomatopoeia can be direct or indirect.
Direct onomatopoeia involves words that directly replicate the actual sound
associated with the object or action they describe. These words are often used to
create vivid and sensory-rich imagery. For example: buzz (the sound of a bee or
a buzzing object), splash (the sound of something hitting water), chirp (the sound
made by a small bird or insect), boom (the sound of an explosion or a loud noise).
Indirect onomatopoeia (echo-writing) involves words that suggest the sound
through their context or by evoking an associated sensation, rather than directly
imitating the sound itself. These words often rely on the reader’s or listener’s
imagination to connect with the sound being described. For example: creak
(implies the sound of something old or worn moving, often a door or floorboard),
murmur (conveys a low, continuous sound, like a quiet conversation or a brook,
though it doesn’t sound exactly like the murmur itself).
Paronomasia is a rhetorical device that can be defined as a phrase intentionally
used to exploit the confusion between words having similar sounds but different
meanings. It is like a word play, and is also known as a “pun”. For example: I
used to be a baker, but I couldn’t make enough dough (Here, “dough” refers both
to the money and the baking ingredient).
Isovocalism is a more specific linguistic device where words or phrases share the
same vowel sounds, often creating a rhythmic or phonetic harmony. This can be
used to create a pleasing auditory effect or to emphasize a particular sound
pattern. For example: The eager beaver never needs a breather (The repeated use
of the vowel sound in “eager”, “beaver”, and “breather” creates a rhythmic
effect).
3. Rhyme and rhyme schemes. Rhythm in poetry and prose.
Rhyme is the correspondence of two or more words with similar-sounding final
syllables placed so as to echo one another. It has two main functions: 1) it echoes
sounds and thus is a source of aesthetic satisfaction; 2) it assists in the actual
structure of verse. Rhyme is a rhythmical device for intensifying the meaning as
well as for binding the verse together. It also helps to make verse easier to
remember.
In exact rhyme sounds following the vowel sound are the same: red and bread,
walk to her and talk to her. Slant rhyme (or near rhyme, imperfect rhyme)
happens when final consonant sounds are the same but the vowel sounds are
different: sun rhyming with bone, moon, rain, green).
Rhyme is used by poets and occasionally by prose writers to produce sounds
appealing to the reader’s senses and to unify and establish a poem’s stanzaic form.
There are such types of rhyme:
• end rhyme is rhyme used at the end of a line to echo the end of another
line:
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands...
• interior, or leonine rhyme is used within a line:
That what is not sense must be nonsense.
There are three rhymes recognized as “true rhymes”:
• masculine rhyme, in which the two words end with the same vowel-
consonant combination as in:
The angel that presided o’er my birth
Said, “Little creature formed of Joy and Mirth...”
• feminine rhyme (sometimes called double rhyme), in which two syllables
rhyme as in:
We poets in our youth begin in gladness,
But thereof come in the end despondency and madness...
• trisyllabic rhyme, in which three syllables rhyme as in:
Take her up tenderly,
Fashioned so slenderly...
Other types of rhyme include eye rhyme, in which syllables are identical in
spelling but are pronounced differently (cough/slough), and pararhyme, in
which two syllables have different vowel sounds but identical penultimate and
final consonantal groupings (grand/grind). Weakened, or unaccented, rhyme
occurs when the relevant syllable of the rhyming word is unstressed
(bend/frightened).
Rhyme scheme is the formal arrangement of rhymes in a stanza or a poem. The
rhyme scheme is usually presented with lowercase letters of the Latin alphabet,
each different letter presenting a different rhyme. There are certain types of rhyme
scheme:
• couplets — when the last words of two successive lines are rhymed, this
is marked aa:
Because you are to me a song
I must not sing you over-long.
• triple rhymes — aaa:
Silver bark of beech, and sallow
Bark of yellow birch and yellow
Twig of willow.
• cross rhymes — abab:
Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp...
• framing or ring rhymes — abba:
An omnibus across the bridge
Crawls like a yellow butterfly,
And, here and there, a passer-by
Shows like a little restless midge.
Rhythm in verse or prose is the movement or sense of movement communicated
by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables and by the duration of the
syllables. Usually rhythm is considered to be a characteristic feature of poetry.
Prose, however, can also have a distinctive rhythm. The rhythm of a prose passage
is created by the predominant sentence structure. Long sentences with several
subordinate clauses or sentences linked by conjunctions create a slow, flowing
rhythm. Short, simple sentences accelerate the pace of the rhythm.
III. Indicate the causes and effects of the following cases of alliteration,
assonance, and onomatopoeia:
1. Streaked by a quarter moon, the Mediterranean shushed gently into the beach.
(Direct onomatopoeia) The word imitates the soft, calming sound of a gentle sea.
It evokes a sense of peace and tranquility, as if the sea is gently calming itself.
2. He swallowed the hint with a gulp and a gasp and a grin.
(Alliteration, indirect onomatopoeia) The repetition of the “g” sound adds a
rhythmic, playful quality to the sentence, emphasizing the actions and
expressions in a dynamic way. “Gulp” imitates swallowing, and “gasp” imitates
sharp breathing to create the effect of something unexpected.
3. His wife was shrill, languid, handsome and horrible.
(Alliteration) The repetition of the “h” sound here creates a dissonant effect that
underscores the antonymic description of his wife.
4. The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, the furrow followed free.
(Alliteration) The repetition of “f”, “l” and “w” sounds enhances the musicality
and rhythm of the line, creating a sense of smooth, continuous motion and
emphasizing the natural flow of the scene.
5. The Italian trio tut-tutted their tongues at me.
(Alliteration, direct onomatopoeia) The repetition of the “t” sound creates a
rhythmic and somewhat comical effect, drawing attention to the action of
disapproval and the cultural context. The onomatopoeia imitates the sounds of
tongue touching the top of one’s mouth.
6. “You, lean, long, lanky lath of a lousy bastard!”
(Alliteration) The repetition of the “l” sound emphasizes the physical description
of the character in a mocking or contemptuous manner, adding a rhythmic quality
to the insult.
7. To sit in solemn silence in a dull dark dock, In a pestilential prison, with a life-
long lock, Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock From a cheap and
chippy chopper On a big black block.
The repetition of initial consonant sounds creates a rhythmic, almost singsong
quality that enhances the monotony and oppressive nature of the setting. It adds
to the overall grim, oppressive mood of the scene.
8. They all lounged, and loitered, and slunk about, with as little spirit or purpose
as the beasts in a menagerie.
(Alliteration) The repetition of the “l” sound emphasizes the aimlessness and
inactivity of the characters, mirroring the behavior of the animals in a menagerie,
creating a vivid sense of laziness.
9. “Luscious, languid and lustful, isn’t she?” “Those are not the correct epithets.
She is — or rather was — surly, lustrous and sadistic.”
(Alliteration) The repetition of the “l” and “s” sounds creates a rhythmic and
melodic quality that contrasts with the negative descriptions, highlighting the
complexity of the character’s traits and the shift in perspective.
10. Then, with an enormous, shattering rumble, sludge-puff, sludge-puff, the
train came into the station. (A.S.)
(Indirect and direct onomatopoeia) Onomatopoeia provides a vivid auditory
representation of the train’s entrance, enhancing the sensory experience of the
scene.
11. “Sh-sh.” “But I am whispering.” This continual shushing annoyed him.
(Direct and indirect onomatopoeia) Words imitate the sound of whispering or
shushing and reinforce the quiet, irritating nature of the noise, making the
annoyance felt more vividly.
12. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world
so high, Like a diamond in the sky.
(Alliteration, assonance) The repetition of vowel and consonant sounds creates a
musical, rhythmic quality that makes the poem memorable and pleasing to the
ear, enhancing its charm and simplicity.
13. Dreadful young creatures — squealing and squawking.
(Direct onomatopoeia, alliteration) The words imitate the sounds made by
creatures and provide a vivid and dynamic auditory image of the creatures,
emphasizing their disruptive or unpleasant nature.
14. The quick crackling of dry wood aflame cut through the night.
(Direct onomatopoeia, alliteration) The word imitates the sound of burning wood.
It evokes a sensory image of a fire, adding to the atmosphere and emphasizing
the intensity of the fire.
15. Here the rain did not fall. It was stopped high above by that roof of green
shingles. From there it dripped down slowly, leaf to leaf, or ran down the stems
and branches. Despite the heaviness of the downpour which now purred loudly
in their ears from just outside, here there was only a low rustle of slow occasional
dripping.
(Indirect onomatopoeia) The words imitate the sounds of rain and dripping. They
create a contrasting auditory image between the heavy rain outside and the gentle,
soothing sounds inside, enhancing the sense of shelter and quiet within the
described space.