Stylistic enumeration
E n u me r a t i o n is a stylistic device by means of which homogeneous parts of an utterance are made heterogeneous from the semantic point of view. There is hardly anything in this enumeration that could be regarded as making some extra impact on the reader. Each word is closely associated semantically with the following and preceding words in the enumeration, and the effect is what the reader associates with all kinds of consecutive disasters. The utterance is perfectly coherent and there is no halt in the natural flow of the communication. In other words, there is nothing specially to arrest the reader's attention; no effort is required to decipher the message: it yields itself easily to immediate perception.
Suspense
Suspense i s a compositional device which consists in arranging the matter of a communication in such a way that the less important, descriptive, subordinate parts are amassed at the beginning, the main idea being withheld till the end of the sentence. Thus the reader's attention is held and his interest kept up. Suspense and climax sometimes go together. In this case all the information contained in the series of statement-clauses preceding the solution-statement are arranged in the order of gradation, as in the example above from Byron's maiden speech in the House of Lords.
The device of suspense is especially favoured by orators. This is apparently due to the strong influence of intonation which helps to create the desired atmosphere of expectation and emotional tension which goes with it.
Suspense always requires long stretches of speech or writing. Sometimes the whole of a poem is built on this stylistic device, as is the case with Kipling's poem "If" where all the eight stanzas consist of ^/-clauses and only the last two lines constitute the principal clause.
Climax
C I i in a x is an arrangement of sentences (or of the homogeneous parts of one sentence) which secures a gradual increase in significance, importance, or emotional tension in the utterance. Gradual increase in emotional evaluation in the first illustration and in significance in the second are realized by the distribution of the corresponding lexical items. Each successive unit is perceived as stronger than the preceding one. Of course, there are no objective linguistic criteria to estimate the degree of importance or significance of each constituent. A gradual increase in significance may be maintained in three ways: logical, emotional and quantitative.
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Logical с I i m a x is based on the relative importance of the component parts looked at from the point of view of the concepts embodied in them. This relative importance may be evaluated both objectively and subjectively, the author's attitude towards the objects or phenomena in question being disclosed. E m о t i о n a I c lima x is based on the relative emotional tension produced by words with emotive meaning, as in the first example, with the words 'lovely', 'beautiful', 'fair',
Finally we come to quantitative c I i m a x. This is an evident increase in the volume of the corresponding concepts
Antithesis
In order to characterize a thing or phenomenon from a specific point of view, it may be necessary not to find points of resemblance or association between it and some other thing or phenomenon, but to find points of sharp contrast, that is, to set one against the other. Here we have deliberate anticlimax, which is a recognized form of humour. Anticlimax is frequently used by humorists like Mark Twain and Jerome K- Jerome.
In "Three Men in a Boat", for example, a poetical passage is invariably followed by a ludicrous scene. It Is not only the semantic aspect which explains the linguistic nature of antithesis, the structural pattern also plays an important role. Antithesis is generally moulded in parallel construction. The antagonistic features of the two objects or phenomena are more easily perceived when they stand out in similar structures. This is particularly advantageous when the antagonistic features are not inherent in the objects in question but imposed on them. The structural design of antithesis is so important that unless it is conspicuously marked in the utterance, the effect might be lost.
Asyndeton
Asyndeton, that is, connection between parts of a sentence or between sentences without any formal sign, becomes a stylistic device if there is a deliberate omission of the connective where it is generally expected to be according to the norms of the literary language. The deliberate omission of the subordinate conjunction because or for makes the sentence 'he had an utter...' almost entirely independent. It might be perceived as a characteristic feature of Soames in general, but for the comparison, beginning with tike, which shows that Soames's mood was temporary. Here a reminder is necessary that there is an essential difference between the ordinary norms of language, both literary and colloquial, and stylistic devices which are skilfully wrought for special informative and aesthetic purposes. The crucial problem in ascertaining the true intonation pattern of a sentence composed of two or more parts lies in a deeper analysis of the functions of the connectives on the one hand, and a more detailed investigation of graphical means — the signals indicating the correct interpretation of the utterance — on the other.
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Polysendeton
Polysyndeton is the stylistic device of connecting sentences or phrases or syntagms or words by using connectives (mostly conjunctions and prepositions) before each component part. The repetition of conjunctions and other means of connection makes an utterance more rhythmical; so much so that prose may even seem like verse. The conjunctions and other connectives, being generally unstressed elements, when placed before each meaningful member will cause the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables — the essential requirement of rhythm in verse. Hence one of the functions of polysyndeton is a rhythmical one. In addition to this, polysyndeton has a disintegrating function. It generally combines homogeneous elements of thought into one whole resembling enumeration. But unlike enumeration, which integrates both homogeneous and heterogeneous elements into one whole, polysyndeton causes each member of a string of facts to stand nut conspicuously. That is why we say that polysyndeton has a disintegrating function. Enumeration shows things united; polysyndeton shows them isolated
Ellipses
Ellipsis is a typical phenomenon; in conversation, arising out of the situation. We mentioned this peculiar feature of the spoken language when we characterized its essential qualities and properties.But this typical feature of the spoken language assumes a new quality when used in the written language. It becomes a stylistic device, inasmuch as it supplies supersegmental information. An elliptical sentence in direct intercourse is not a stylistic device. It is simply a norm of the spoken language. Ellipsis, when used as a stylistic device, always imitates the common features of colloquial language, where the situation predetermines not the omission of certain members of the sentence, but their absence. It would perhaps be adequate to call sentences lacking certain members "incomplete sentences", leaving the term ellipsis to specify structures where we recognize a digression from the traditional literary sentence structure.
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