Stylistic transposition of pronouns
The personal pronoun is a formal sign of the 1st person narration. If used too often it denotes the speaker’s self-estimation, self-satisfaction and egoism: “ And that’s where the real businessman comes in: where I come in. But I am cleverer than some. I don’t mind dropping a little money to start the process. I took your father’s measure, I saw that he had a sound idea; I saw… I knew… I explained… (B.Shaw)
When I is substituted for the indefinite one or you in a generalizing function the contact of the speaker and listener is closer, making the words of the speaker sound modest and reserved: “You see, Chris, even in quite a small provincial town you could have a clinic, a little team of doctors, each doing his own stuff” (A.Cronin).
“I am ancient but I don’t feel it. That’s one thing about painting, it keeps you young. Titian lived to ninety-nine and had to have plague to kill him off”. (J.Galswarthy)
I may be substituted by nouns a man, a chap, a fellow, a girl. Thus the listener is included in the events and feelings portrayed.
Archaic pronouns (Archaisms): thee (you), thou (your), thy (your), thine (yours) thyself (yourself) are used in poetry and create a high-flown atmosphere: Hail to thee, blithe spirit! Bird thou never wert (P.B.Shelly). Pronouns he, she, it may be formal indication of personification when used in reference to natural phenomena as the sun(he) and the earth(she) in T. Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. When he or she are substituted for it living beings are reduced to the class of things, hence a humorous or an ironical effect and mostly negative evaluation being created. The same function is performed by pronouns what, this, that, anything and nouns beast, brute, creature: “Is there anything wrong with me, Mister Mate? It asked” (J.Conrad).
‘ We’ may denote some group of people with whom the speaker connects himself: “ Because he was a Forsyte; we never part with things you know, unless we want something in their place; and not always then. (J.Galsworthy)
Proverbs: We never know the value of water till the well is dry.
We soon believe what we desire.
There exist the so-called Pluralis Majestatis (множественное величия – королевские указы, манифесты и т.д): “ We, the king of Great Britain”’ and Pluralis Modestiae (множественное скромности) or the author’s “we”. In fiction Pluralis Modestiae brings associations with scientific prose and produces the impression of historic truth (authenticity). “We soon believe what we desire” (Pluralis Modestiae)
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The pronoun “ they ” denotes that the action is performed by a group of people where the speaker is not included, as if he is separated from them: “ My poor girl, what have they been doing to you!”
Demonstrative pronouns this and that single the objects out of the whole class and emotionally stress them: “George: Oh, don’t be innocent, Ruth. This house! This room! This hideous, God-awful room!” This and That may express anger and irritation, merriment and mockery especially in case of redundancy typical of familiar-colloquial style: “ They had this headmaster, this very cute girl”. “By all means let us have a policy of free employment, increased production, no gap between exports and imports, social security, a balanced This and a planned That, but let us also have fountains, exquisite fountains, beautiful fountains…” (J.B.Priestley)
Demonstrative pronouns are especially expressive when used with possessive ones in postposition and accompanied by epithets: that lovely ring of your s, that brother of mine, this idea of his, that wretched puppy of yours!
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