Contest
Introduction 2
Chapter 1. Studying of Epithets in Modern Stylistics 3
1.1.Notion of Epithets 3
1.2.Main types of Epithets in English Language 6
Chapter 2. Analyze of epithet functioning in the literary texts 10
2.1.Jane Austin and her works 10
2.1.Epithets and their role in creation of portrait images in «Sense and sensibility» by Jane Austen 12
Conclusion 20
Referencies 21
Introduction
One of the most important problems of modern linguo-stylistics is studying of the linguistic nature and functioning of separate stylistic devices in various literary functional styles. Every research in this area is a necessary step on the way to creation of the adequate stylistic description of the language system in general.
This research work is devoted to one of the oldest stylistic devices – epithet. The epithet has a long history, it has been attracting attention of the scientists for a long time because of its nature and variety.
Epithets in English emotive prose can fulfil different stylistic functions: a descriptive function (to describe characters, views, situations, different things and feelings); an expressive function (to make the texts more expressive and emotional).
The purpose of the research work is to study and analyze the functioning of epithets in English prose for creation of an portrait image.
The object is literary text.
The subject is linguostylistic peculiarities of epithet using for creation of an portrait image.
To achieve the set goal the following objectives were identified, namely:
to study the theoretical material to the researching point;
to study the definition of an epithet and its functioning peculiarities;
to read and analyze the novel «Sense and sensibility» written by Jane Austin.
The material of the work is Jane Austin’s novel «Sense and sensibility» and its translation «Разум и чувства» done by I. Gurov.
The work consists of introduction, two chapters and four paragraphs, conclusion and references.
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Chapter 1. Studying of Epithets in Modern Stylistics
1.1.Notion of Epithets
An epithet (from Greek: ἐπίθετον epitheton, neut. of ἐπίθετος epithetos, "attributed, added") or byname is a descriptive term (word or phrase) accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It can be described as a glorified nickname. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It can also be a descriptive title: for example, Alexander the Great.
In contemporary usage, epithet often refers to an abusive, defamatory, or derogatory phrase, such as a racial epithet or as in economics, «the dismal science». The less offensive use is criticized by Martin Manser and other prescriptive linguists.
In linguistics, an epithet only can be a metaphor, essentially a reduced or condensed use of apposition. Epithets are sometimes attached to a person's name or appear in place of their name, as what might be described as a glorified nickname or sobriquet. An epithet is linked to its noun by long-established usage. Not every adjective is an epithet. An epithet is especially recognizable when its function is largely decorative, such as if «cloud-gathering Zeus» is employed other than in reference to conjuring up a storm. «The epithets are decorative insofar as they are neither essential to the immediate context nor modelled especially for it. Among other things, they are extremely helpful to fill out a half-verse», Walter Burkert has noted.
Some epithets are known by the Latin term epitheton necessarium because they are required to distinguish the bearers, e.g. as an alternative to numbers after a prince's name — such as Richard the Lionheart (Richard I of England), or Charles the Fat alongside Charles the Bald. The same epithet can be used repeatedly joined to different names, e.g. Alexander the Great as well as Catherine the Great.
Other epithets can easily be omitted without serious risk of confusion, and are therefore known (again in Latin) as epitheton ornans. Thus the classical Roman author Virgil systematically called his main hero pius Aeneas, the epithet being pius, which means religiously observant, humble and wholesome, as well as calling the armsbearer of Aeneas fidus Achates, the epithet being fidus, which means faithful or loyal.
Arnold (Arnold 2002) defines an epithet as «lexical-syntactical figure of speech which fulfils a function of the definitive (а silvery laugh) or the adverbial modifier(to smile cuttingly) or just predicative». The epithet has a figurative meaning and emotive and expressive connotations, which help him to show author’s attitude to the subject.
According to Prof. Galperin I.R., Epithet is a stylistic device based on the interplay of emotive and logical meaning in an attributive word, phrase or even sentence, used to characterise an object and pointing out to the reader and frequently imposing on him.
According to Prof. Sosnovskaya V.B., Epithet is an attributive characterisation of a person, thing or phenomenon. It is, as a rule, simple in form. In the majority of cases it consists of one word: adjective or adverb, modifying respectively nouns or verbs.
I.R. Galperin underlines that an epithet has both referential and emotive meaning.
The stylists determine conventional or standing epithet, they are, for example: green wood, lady gay, fair lady, fair England, salt seas, salt tears, true love.
The conventional epithet can be tautological: soft pillow, green wood, or estimative: bonny boy, bonnie young page, bonnie ship, bonnie isle etc.. or false steward, proud porter, and finally, descriptive: silk napkin, silver cups, long tables.
The epithets of private character opposed to them mark out those qualities which matter for this thinking in subjects and the phenomena and don't form constant couples.
Many fixed epithets are closely connected with folklore and can be traced back to folk ballads (e.g. "true love", "merry Christmas", etc.).The structure and semantics of epithets are extremely variable which is explained by their long and wide use. Semantically, there should be differentiated two main groups, the biggest of them being affective (or emotive proper). These epithets serve to convey the emotional evaluation of the object by the speaker. Most of the qualifying words found in the dictionary can be and are used as affective epithets (e.g. "gorgeous", "nasty", "magnificent", "atrocious", etc.). The second group -figurative, or transferred, epithets-is formed of metaphors, metonymies and similes (which will be discussed later) expressed by adjectives. E.g. "the smiling sun", "the frowning cloud", "the sleepless pillow", "the tobacco-stained smile", "a ghost-like face", "a dreamlike experience. In the overwhelming majority of examples epithet is expressed by adjectives or qualitative adverbs (e.g. "his triumphant look" = he looked triumphantly).* Nouns come next. They are used either as exclamatory sentences (You, ostrich!) or as postpositive, attributes ("Alonzo the Clown", "Richard of the Lion Heart").
Epithets are used singly, in pairs, in chains, in two-step structures, and in inverted constructions, also as phrase-attributes. Pairs are represented by two epithets joined by a conjunction or asyndetically as in "wonderful and incomparable beauty" or "a tired old town". Two-step epithets are so called because the process of qualifying seemingly passes two stages: the qualification of the object and the qualification of the qualification itself, as in "an unnaturally mild day" (Hut.), or "a pompously majestic female". Phrase-epithets always produce an original impression. Cf.: "the sunshine-in-the-breakfast-room smell. Their originality proceeds from rare repetitions of the once coined phrase-epithet which, in its turn, is explained by the fact that into a phrase-epithet is turned a semantically self-sufficient word combination or even a whole sentence, which loses some of its independence and self-sufficiency, becoming a member of another sentence, and strives to return to normality. Inverted epithets. They are based on the contradiction between the logical and the syntactical: logically defining becomes syntactically defined and vice versa. E.g. instead of "this devilish woman", where "devilish" is both logically and syntactically defining, and "woman", also both logically and syntactically defined, W. Thackeray says "this devil of a woman". Here "of a woman" is syntactically an attribute, i.e. the defining, and "devil"-the defined, while the logical relations between the two remain the same as in the previous example-"a woman" is defined by "the devil".
So, epithet is a lexical stylistic device that relies on the foregrounding of the emotive meaning. Epithet is a characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing. The structure and semantics of epithets are extremely variable which is explained by their long and wide use. Epithets may be classified from different standpoints: semantic and structural. Semantically, epithets should be divided into two main groups: affective (associated) and figurative (unassociated). Structurally, epithets can be viewed from the angle of composition and distribution. From the point of view of their compositional structure epithets may be divided into simple, сompound, phrase and sentence epithets.
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