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Peculiarities of lexical and syntax repetition in artistic text on the example of William Somerset Maugham’s stories
Contents
Introduction
Classification of repetitions
Peculiarities of lexical and syntax repetition in artistic text on the example of William Somerset Maugham’s stories
Introduction
This work is dedicated to one of the most often used and the most expressive stylistic devices which is repetition. As the examples of the use of repetitions we consider the short stories of William Somerset Maugham. The scheme of the work is as follows: the introduction touches upon the problem of repetition, its definition and its basic functions in the text; the chapter one is about the classification of repetition, the variety of the stylistic device; in the chapter two we refer to the creative work of William Somerset Maugham, and, after the short review of his literary career, we switch to the analysis of use of repetitions in his short stories, examine the frequency of repetition usage by the author, which types of repetitions are more often met in the pages of Maugham’s short stories and what is the meaning of the stylistic device.
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None of artistic text can exist without stylistic devices, urged to decorate it, add dynamic and expressiveness, the ability to produce an impression on the reader or to emphasize some important details. Many scientists touch upon the problem of repetition. In our work we stick to the opinion of I. Galperin, as his work on this topic is one of the most fundamental.
The aims of stylistics are expressive means and stylistic devices, based on some important structural moment of an utterance, which can consist of one or several sentences. Stylistic device is the method of text organization, which intensifies its expressiveness.
Stylistic repetition is one of the most favourite devices in artistic texts. Many writers use the wide variety of this device to concentrate the reader’s attention on this or that important detail, to reinforce the impression the scene or the episode could produce or to create expression of the speech, in other words, repetition is definitely the decoration of an artistic text. So let’s talk about repetition, its definition and its functions in the artistic work.
Repetition is a stylistic device, the essence of which is to repeat one and the same word or phrase, aiming to add more expressiveness to the utterance.
Repetition of the same content word across a text or paragraph is the simplest, most basic meaning link between vocabulary. The easiest way to connect information or an idea across a text through lexical cohesion is to repeat the same word – but it should not be the only type of lexical cohesion you use.
Repetition is also defines as the basic variety of stylistic figures of addition. So we can define repetition as the use of the same words, synonyms, morphemes, sounds or syntactical constructions a few times and within noticeable distance. Since such disciplines as linguistics and literary stylistics have appeared, the investigators have been searching for the answers on the problems of repetition and its classification. The interest to this phenomenon is constantly growing, as more and more works are dedicated to the topic of repetition. Repetition can be lexical and syntactical (including anaphora, epiphora, anadiplosis, framing constructions, syntactical tautology, etc.).
“Lexical repetition”, Galperin writes, “is defined as the repetition of a word or a phrase in the structure of one utterance (it can be a sentence, complicated syntactical structure, a paragraph) and within the bigger units of communication, including a number of utterances (for example, a text). The distance between the repeated units and the quantity of repetitions can be different, but it is obligatory that the repetition could be noticeable by the reader. If the repetition doesn’t go with the use of polysemantic function, then its function may be intensifying, or emotional, or intensifying-emotional”.
Repetition as a stylistic device is the typical generalization of linguistic means of expressing excited condition, which could be expressed by different means, depending on the degree and the character of the excitement. The speech can be sublime, passionate, nervous, touched, etc. The excited speech is notable for fragmentariness, sometimes for illogicality, for repetition of separate parts of the utterance. Moreover, the repetitions of the words and phrases (such as fragmentariness and illogicality of the structure) are appropriate in the emotional excited speech. They don’t have any stylistic function.
Repetition includes all words with the same content meaning even if their forms are different, like those indicating different word classes, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
For example,
psychology – psychology – psychology is the repetition of the same word of the same meaning in the same form
psychology – psychological – psychologically is the repetition of the same word of the same meaning in the different forms
Repetition can be used not only in stylistic aims; it can serve as the means of clarifying the utterance and helps to avoid the obscurity of the narration.
What is the function of repetition as a stylistic device? What are the functions of repetitions in different styles of speech?
The most common function of the repetition is the intensifying function. Repetition in this function as a stylistic device stands near the repetitions as the norm of colloquial excited speech. Repetitions with the intensifying function are usually simple in their composition: the repeated words are situated near each other. Other functions of repetition are not connected with the emotional meaning as in colloquial speech. Other functions of repetition are usually revealed in the context of the utterance.
Another function of repetition, which is often used, is the function of increasing. Words repetition promotes the greater power of the utterance, the greater intensity of the narration. This function is similar to the intensifying function, but the difference is that increasing expresses the gradation of increasing of the emotional power. In some cases repetition can fulfill the function which contradicts the purpose of repetition as the means of distinguishing separate parts of the utterance. The repeated units, words and phrases, serve as a background to distinguish the other, unrepeated units of the utterance.
We should also mention the function of repetition which is secondary, but it usually accompanies the abovementioned functions of repetition. This is the rhythmical function. Repetition of one and the same units (words, phrases or sentences) is conductive to the clearer rhythmical organization of the sentence, getting the text closer to poetry.
So, repetition is one of the most important and more intensively used stylistic devices which accomplishes different functions in speech, most common of which is the function of adding expressiveness to the utterance.
Classification of repetition
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