Lexical and syntactic techniques

You have probably heard more than once that Russian is one of the most difficult languages. Why? It's all about the design of the speech. Expressive means make our words richer, poems more expressive, prose more interesting. It is impossible to clearly convey thoughts without the use of special lexical figures, because speech will sound poor and ugly.

Let's figure out what means of expressiveness of the Russian language are and where to find them.

Perhaps at school you wrote essays poorly: the text “didn’t go”, the words were chosen with a scratch, and it was generally unrealistic to finish the presentation with a intelligible thought. The fact is that the necessary syntactic means are laid in the head with the reading of books. However, they alone are not enough to write interesting, colorful and easy. You need to develop your skill in practice.

Just compare the next two columns. On the left - text without expressive means or with their minimum amount. On the right is a text full of expressiveness. These are often found in the literature.

It would seem that there are three banal sentences, but how interesting they can be described! The expressive means of language help the viewer to see the picture you are trying to describe. Using them is a whole art, but it is not difficult to master it. It is enough to read a lot and pay attention to the interesting techniques used by the author.

For example, in the paragraph of the text on the right, epithets are used, thanks to which the object instantly appears bright and unusual. What will the reader remember better - an ordinary cat or a fat cat-commander? Rest assured that the second option will probably be more to your liking. Yes, and there will not be such embarrassment that in the middle of the text the cat will suddenly turn white, but the reader has long imagined him gray!

So syntactic tools are special tricks artistic expression that prove, substantiate, draw information and engage the imagination of the reader or listener. This is extremely important not only for writing, but also for oral speech... Especially if the speech or text is compiled in. However, both there and there the means of expressiveness in the Russian language should be in moderation. Do not oversaturate the reader or listener with them, otherwise he will quickly get tired of wading through such a "jungle".

Existing expressive means

There are a lot of such special techniques, and you hardly know everything about them. To begin with, you don't need to use all means of expression right away - this makes speech difficult. You need to use them in moderation, but do not skimp. Then you will achieve the desired effect.

Traditionally, they are divided into several groups:

• phonetic - most often found in poems;
• lexical (paths);
• stylistic figures.

Let's try to deal with them in order. And to make it more convenient for you, after the explanation, all the expressive means of the language are presented in convenient plates - you can print and hang on the wall to re-read from time to time. This way you can learn them unobtrusively.

Phonetic techniques

Among phonetic devices, two are most often encountered - alliteration and assonance. They differ only in that in the first case consonants are repeated, in the second - vowels.

This technique is very convenient to use in poems when words are few and you need to convey the atmosphere. And poetry is most often read aloud, and assonance or alliteration helps to "see" the picture.

Suppose we want to describe a swamp. There are reeds that rustle in the swamp. The beginning of the line is ready - the reeds rustle. We can already hear this sound, but this is not enough for a complete picture.

Do you hear the reeds rustling and hissing silently? Now we can feel this atmosphere. This technique is called alliteration - consonants are repeated.

Likewise with assonance, repetition of vowels. This is a little easier. For example: I hear a spring thunderstorm, then I fall silent, then I sing. In this way, the author conveys a lyrical mood and spring sadness. The effect is achieved through the skillful use of vowels. The table will help in explaining what assonance is.

Lexical devices (paths)

Lexical techniques are used much more often than other means of expression. The fact is that often people use them unconsciously. For example, we might say that our heart is lonely. But the heart actually cannot be lonely, it is just an epithet, a means of expression. However, such expressions help to emphasize deep meaning said.

The main lexical techniques include the following paths:

• epithet;
• comparison as a means of expressiveness of speech;
• metaphor;
• metonymy;
• irony;
• hyperbole and litota.

Sometimes we use these lexical units unconsciously. For example, comparison slips into the speech of everyone - this means of expressiveness has firmly entered daily life, so you need to use it wisely.

The metaphor is a more interesting form of comparison because we are not comparing slow death to cigarettes using the word "as if." We already understand that slow death is a cigarette. Or, for example, the expression "dry clouds". Most likely, this means that it has not rained for a long time. The epithet and metaphor often overlap, so when analyzing the text, it is important not to confuse them.

Hyperbole and litota are exaggeration and understatement, respectively. For example, the expression “the sun has absorbed the power of a hundred bonfires” is a clear hyperbole. And "quietly, quieter than a brook" - litota. These phenomena have also become firmly established in everyday life.

Metonymy and paraphrase are interesting phenomena. Metonymy is an abbreviation for what is said. For example, there is no need to speak of Chekhov's books as "books written by Chekhov." You can use the expression "Chekhov's books", and this will be a metonymy.

And paraphrase is a deliberate replacement of concepts with synonymous ones in order to avoid tautology in the text.

Although, with the proper skill, tautology can also be a means of expressiveness!

Also, lexical means of expressiveness in speech include:

• archaisms (outdated vocabulary);
• historicisms (vocabulary related to a specific historical period);
• neologisms (new vocabulary);
• phraseological units;
• dialectisms, jargon, aphorisms.

Stylistic figures

Stylistic figures often contain specific grammatical constructions. The most commonly used are:

• anaphora and epiphora;
• compositional joint;
• antithesis;
• oxymoron or paradox;
• inversion;
• parceling;
• ellipsis;
• rhetorical questions, exclamations, addresses;
• asyndeton.

Anaphora and epiphora are often referred to as phonetic devices, but this is an erroneous judgment. Such techniques of artistic expression are pure stylistics. Anaphora - the same beginning of several lines, epiphora - the same endings. Most often they are used in poetry, sometimes in prose, to emphasize the drama and growing anxiety, or to enhance the poetry of the moment.

The compositional joint is a deliberate "escalation" of the conflict. The word is used at the end of one sentence and at the beginning of the next. It gave me everything, the word. The word helped me become who I am. Such a technique is called a compositional joint.

Antithesis is the opposition of two concepts-antipodes: yesterday and today, night and day, death and life. From interesting tricks parceling can be noted, which is used to build up conflict and change the pace of the narrative, as well as ellipsis - skipping a member of the sentence. It is often used in exclamations, calls.

Features of the use of expressive means

It should not be forgotten that gestures are also used in oral Russian speech. Sometimes they are more eloquent than the usual means of expression, but in a skillful combination of these figures. Then the role will turn out to be lively, rich and vibrant.

Do not try to insert as many stylistic or lexical figures into speech as possible. This will not make the word richer, but it will give you the feeling that you have “put on” too many jewelry, which makes you uninteresting. Means of expressiveness are like a skillfully chosen accessory. It happens that you don't even notice it right away, it is so harmoniously intertwined in a sentence with other words.

Poetry is an incredible genre of literature that relies on rhyme, that is, all the lines in a poetic work rhyme with each other. However, poems and various similar works related to this genre would not be so impressive if it were not for the poetic syntax. What it is? This is a system of special means of constructing speech, which are responsible for improving its expressiveness. Simply put, poetic syntax is a collection of these poetic means, which are most often referred to as figures. It is these figures that will be discussed in this article - you will learn about the different means of expression that can often be found in poetry.

Repeat

Poetic syntax is very diverse; it includes dozens of means of expression that can be used in certain situations. However, this article will only talk about the most important and common figures of poetic speech. And the first thing without which it is impossible to imagine poetic syntax is repetition. Exists a large number of a variety of repetitions, each of which has its own characteristics. You can find epanalypse, anadiplosis in poetry, much more, but this article will talk about the two most common forms - anaphora and epiphora

Anaphora

Peculiarities poetic syntax suggest the use of various in combination with the rest, but most often poets use repetitions. And the most popular among them is anaphora. What it is? Anaphora is a repetition of consonances or identical words at the beginning of each of the lines of a poem or part of it.

"No matter how oppressive the hand of fate,

No matter how deception torments people ... "

This is one of the ways of semantic and aesthetic organization of speech, which can be used to give one or another accent to what is said. However, the figures of poetic speech can be varied, and even repetitions, as you have already learned, can differ from each other.

Epiphora

What is an epiphora? This is also a repetition, but it is different from anaphora. The difference is that in this case the words are repeated at the end of the lines of the poem, and not at the beginning.

"Steppes and roads

The count is not over;

Stones and thresholds

Account not found. "

As in the case of the previous figure, the epiphora is an expressive means and can give a poem a special expression. Now you know what an epiphora is, but it doesn't end there. As mentioned earlier, the syntax of poems is very extensive and offers limitless possibilities.

Polysindeon

Poetic language is very euphonious precisely because poets use various means of poetic syntax. Among them, polysyndeton is often found, which is also called multi-union. it expressive means, which, due to redundancy, gives the poem a special tone. Often, polysyndeton is used in conjunction with anaphora, that is, repeated unions begin at the beginning of a string.

Asyndeton

The poetic syntax of a poem is a collection of various poetic figures, as you already learned about this earlier. However, you still do not know even a small fraction of the means that are used for poetic expression. You have already read about multi-union - it's time to learn about non-union, that is, asyndeton. In this case, the lines of the poem turn out to be without unions at all, even in those cases where, according to the logic, they should be present. Most often, this tool is used in long ones, which are eventually listed with commas to create a certain atmosphere.

Parallelism

This expressive means is very interesting because it allows the author to compare any two concepts beautifully and effectively. As a matter of fact, the essence of this technique lies in an open and detailed comparison of two different concepts, but not just like that, but in the same or similar syntactic constructions. For example:

“The day is spreading like grass.

Night - I wash my face with tears ”.

Anjanbeman

Enzhambeman is a rather complex expressive means, which is not so easy to use competently and beautifully. In simple terms, this is a transfer, but far from the most ordinary one. In this case, part of the sentence is transferred from one line to another, but in such a way that the semantic and syntactic part of the previous one appears on the other line. To better understand what is meant, it is easier to take a look at an example:

"Into the ground, laughing that the first

I got up in the dawn crown. "

As you can see, the sentence “Into the ground, laughing that I got up first” is one separate part, and “at the dawn of the crown” is another. However, the word "got up" is carried over to the second line, thus it turns out that the rhythm is observed.

Inversion

Inversion in poems is very common - it gives them a poetic flavor, and also provides the creation of rhyme and rhythm. The essence of this technique is to change the order of words to atypical. For example, you can take the sentence "A lone sail gleams white in the blue mist of the sea." No. This is a well-structured sentence with correct order words? Absolutely. But what happens if you use inversion?

"The lonely sail is whitening

In the mist of the blue sea. "

As you can see, the sentence was not composed entirely correctly - its meaning is clear, but the word order does not correspond to the norm. But at the same time, the sentence has become much more expressive, and now also fits into the general rhythm and rhyme of the poem.

Antithesis

Another technique that is used very often is antithesis. Its essence lies in the opposition of images and concepts used in the poem. This technique makes the poem more dramatic.

Gradation

This technique is a syntactic construction in which there is a certain set of words, lined up in a specific order. It can be either descending order or ascending order of importance and importance of these words. Thus, each subsequent word either enhances the importance of the previous one, or weakens it.

Rhetorical question and rhetorical appeal

Rhetoric in poetry is used very often, and in many cases it is addressed to the reader, but it is often used to address specific characters. What is the essence of this phenomenon? A rhetorical question is a question that does not imply an answer to it. It is used to get attention, not for someone to come up with an answer and communicate it. The situation is approximately the same with rhetorical address. It would seem that the appeal is used so that the person to whom they are appealing will respond to it. However, rhetorical appeal, again, is used only as a means of attracting attention.

The pictorial and expressive means of the language allow not only to convey information, but also to brightly, convincingly convey thoughts. Lexical means of expressiveness make the Russian language emotional and colorful. Expressive stylistic means used when you need an emotional impact on listeners or readers. It is impossible to make a presentation of yourself, a product, a company without using special language means.

The word is the basis pictorial expressiveness speech. Many words are often used not only in their direct lexical meaning. The characteristics of animals are transferred to the description of the appearance or behavior of a person - clumsy like a bear, cowardly like a hare. Polysemy (polysemy) - the use of a word in different meanings.

Homonyms are a group of words in the Russian language that have the same sound, but at the same time carry a different semantic load, serve to create a sound game in speech.

Types of homonyms:

• homographs - words are spelled the same way, they change their meaning depending on the stress placed (lock - lock);
• homophones - when written, words differ in one or more letters, but are perceived in the same way by ear (fruit is a raft);
• homoforms - words that sound the same, but at the same time refer to different parts of speech (flying in an airplane - treating a runny nose).

Puns - used to give speech a humorous, satirical meaning, they betray sarcasm well. They are based on the sound similarity of words or their polysemy.

Synonyms - describe the same concept from different sides, have different meanings and stylistic coloring. Without synonyms, it is impossible to build a vivid and figurative phrase; speech will be oversaturated with tautology.

Types of synonyms:

• full - identical in meaning, used in the same situations;
• semantic (semantic) - designed to give a touch to words (conversation-conversation);
• stylistic - have the same meaning, but at the same time refer to different styles speech (finger-finger);
• semantic and stylistic - have a different shade of meaning, refer to different styles of speech (to do - to bungle);
• contextual (author's) - used in the context used for a more colorful and multifaceted description of a person or event.

Antonyms - words have the opposite lexical meaning, refer to one part of speech. Allows you to create vivid and expressive phrases.

Paths are words in Russian that are used in a figurative sense. They give speech and works imagery, expressiveness, are designed to convey emotions, vividly recreate the picture.

Definition of trails

Metaphor - hidden comparison, the use of nouns and verbs in a figurative sense. It always lacks the subject of comparison, but there is something with which it is being compared. There are short and detailed metaphors. The metaphor is aimed at external comparison of objects or phenomena.

Metonymy is a hidden comparison of objects by internal similarity. This distinguishes this trope from metaphor.

Syntactic means of expressiveness

Stylistic (rhetorical) - figures of speech are designed to enhance the expressiveness of speech and works of art.

Types of stylistic figures

Paths, figures of speech, stylistic means of expression, phraseological statements make speech convincing and bright. Such turns are irreplaceable in public speaking, election campaigns, rallies, presentations. In scientific publications and official business speech similar funds inappropriate - accuracy and persuasiveness in these cases are more important than emotions.

Poetic syntax is distinguished by rhetorical exclamations, which contain a special expression, increasing the intensity of speech. For example, N.V. Gogol: Lush! He has no equal river in the world! (about the Dnieper). Such exclamations are often accompanied by exaggeration, as in the above example. They are often combined with rhetorical questions: Troika! Bird three! Who invented you? .. is one of the most common stylistic figures, characterized by remarkable brightness and a variety of emotionally expressive shades. Rhetorical questions contain a statement (or denial), framed as a question that does not require an answer: Didn't you at first so viciously persecute His free, courageous gift And fanned a slightly hidden fire for fun?..

Rhetorical questions, which coincide in external grammatical design with ordinary interrogative sentences, are distinguished by bright exclamatory intonation, expressing amazement, extreme tension of feelings; It is no coincidence that the authors sometimes at the end of rhetorical questions put an exclamation mark or two marks - a question and an exclamation point: Is it her female mind, brought up in seclusion, doomed to alienation from real life, should she not know how dangerous such aspirations are and how they end?! (Bel.); And how can you still not understand and do not know that love, like friendship, like salary, like fame, like everything in the world, should be deserved and supported?! (Good.)

The rhetorical question, unlike many stylistic figures, is used not only in poetic and oratorical speech, but also in colloquial, as well as in journalistic texts, in fiction and scientific prose.

A stricter, bookish coloring characterizes parallelism - the same syntactic structure of adjacent sentences or speech segments:

Stars shine in the blue sky

In the blue sea, waves whip;

A cloud is walking across the sky

The barrel floats on the sea.

(A.S. Pushkin)

Syntactic parallelism often reinforces rhetorical questions and exclamations, for example:

Poor criticism! She studied courtesy in girls, and typed good manners in the hallways, is it any wonder that "Count Nulin" so cruelly insulted her delicate sense of decency? (Bel.); All these subtleties are incomprehensible to Bazarov. How is it, he thinks, to prepare and attune himself to love? When a person really loves, how can he be graceful and think about the little things of external grace? Does true love hesitate? Does she need any external aids of place, time and minute location caused by the conversation? (Writ.)

Parallel syntactic constructions are often built on the principle of anaphora (monotony). So, in the last of the examples we see an anaphoric repetition of the word, perhaps, in the poetic text of Pushkin's monotony - in the blue sky ... in the blue sea. Lermontov's lines are a classic example of anaphora: I am the one whom You listened to in the midnight silence, Whose thought whispered to your soul, Whose sadness you vaguely guessed, Whose image you saw in a dream. I am the one whose gaze destroys hope; I am the one that nobody loves; I am the scourge of my earthly slaves, I am the king of knowledge and freedom, I am the enemy of heaven, I am the evil of nature...

(ending) - repetition last words sentences - also enhances emphatic intonation: Why destroy the independent development of a child, forcing his nature, killing his faith in himself and forcing him to do only what I want, and only the way I want, and only because I want? (Good.)

Epiphora lends lyricism to Turgenev's prose poem "How good, how fresh the roses were ..."; S. Yesenin loved this stylistic device, let's remember his epiphores! - My white linden has faded, The nightingale dawn has rung ... Nothing! I stumbled on a stone, It will all heal by tomorrow!; Foolish heart, don't beat; Care lay in my heart with a hazy mist. Why am I known as a charlatan? Why am I known as a brawler? ... A cloudy mist in the heart cleared up. That is why I am known as a charlatan, That is why I am known as a brawler... As can be seen from the last example, the author can partially update the vocabulary of the epiphora, vary its content, while maintaining the external semblance of the utterance.

In list striking examples expressive syntax should be called different ways violation of the closed sentence. First of all, this is the syntax offset: the end of a sentence is given syntactically differently than the beginning, for example: And to me, Onegin, this splendor, Tinsel of hateful life, My successes in a whirlwind of light, My fashion house and evenings, what's in them? (P.) It is also possible that the phrase is incomplete, as indicated by the author's punctuation: as a rule, this is an ellipsis - But those to whom, in a friendly meeting, I first read the stanzas... There are no others, but those are far away, As Sadi once said(NS.).

Punctuation allows the author to convey discontinuity in speech, unexpected pauses, reflecting the emotional excitement of the speaker. Let's remember the words of Anna Snegina in the poem by Sergei Yesenin! - Look ... It's getting light already. Dawn is like a fire in the snow ... Something reminds me ... But what? .. I can't understand ... Ah! ... Yes ... It was in childhood ... Another ... Not autumn dawn ... you and I sat together ... We are sixteen years old...

Emotional tension of speech is transmitted and connecting structures, there are those in which phrases do not fit into one semantic plane at once, but form an associative chain of attachment. Various methods of joining are provided by modern poetry, journalism, fiction: Every city has an age and a voice. We have our own clothes. And a special smell. And the face. And not immediately understandable pride(R.); Quote on the 1st page. About personal. - I recognize the role of personality in history. Especially if it's the president. Moreover, the President of Russia(V. Chernomyrdin's statement// Izvestia. - 1997 .-- Jan 29); Here I am in Bykovka. One . It's autumn. Late(Ast.). Professor N.S. Valgina notes: "The syntactically dependent sections of the text, but extremely independent intonationally, cut off from the sentence that gave rise to them, acquire great expressiveness, become emotionally rich and bright."

Unlike connecting structures, which are always post-positive, nominative representation(isolated nominative), calling the topic of the subsequent phrase and designed to arouse special interest in the subject of the statement, to enhance its sound, as a rule, comes first: My miller ... Oh, this miller! He drives me crazy. Arranged bagpipes, bum, and runs like a postman(EU). Another example: Moscow ! How much in this sound has merged for the heart of the Russian, How much has echoed in it! (P.) With such a peculiar emotional presentation of thought, it is separated by an emphatic pause; as noted by A.M. Peshkovsky, “... first, an isolated object is paraded, and the listeners only know that something will be said about this object now and that while this object must be observed; the next moment the thought itself is expressed. "

This is a stylistic figure, consisting in the deliberate omission of any member of the sentence, which is implied from the context: We sat down - in ashes, hails - in dust, in swords - sickles and plows(Bug.). Skipping the predicate gives speech a special dynamism and expression. From this syntactic reception it is necessary to distinguish silence - a turn of speech, consisting in the fact that the author deliberately understates the thought, giving the listener (reader) the right to guess which words are not uttered: No, I wanted ... maybe you ... I thought it was time for the Baron to die(NS.). There is an unexpected pause behind the ellipsis, reflecting the speaker's excitement. As a stylistic device, silence is often found in colloquial speech: - You have no idea, this is such news! .. How am I now? .. I cannot calm down.

An expressive stylistic figure is used for the intonation and logical emphasis of the highlighted objects - multi-union (polysindeton). Usually compositional, connecting conjunctions are repeated and, neither - The ocean walked before my eyes, and swayed, and thundered, and sparkled, and faded away, and went somewhere into infinity... (King.); Though this book did not reveal Neither the sweet inventions of the poet, nor wise truths, nor pictures; But neither Virgil, nor Racine, nor Scott, nor Byron, nor Seneca, nor even Ladies' Fashion Magazine did not interest anyone: That was, friends, Martin Zadeka, Head of the Chaldean sages, Fortuneteller, interpreter of dreams(NS.). The lines in which the opposite stylistic device, non-union, is used next to the multi-union, is gaining greater expressiveness: There was typhus and ice and hunger and blockade. It's all over: cartridges, coal, bread... The mad city turned into a crypt, where the cannonade echoed(Sheng.). As D.E. Rosenthal, "The absence of alliances gives impetus to the statement, saturation of impressions." Let us recall Pushkin's lines: Booths, women, Boys, shops, lanterns, Palaces, gardens, monasteries, Bukharians, sleighs, vegetable gardens, Merchants, hovels, men, Boulevards, towers, Cossacks, Pharmacies, fashion stores, Balconies, lions on the gates And flocks of jackdaws on crosses(NS.). This excerpt from "Eugene Onegin" draws a quick change of pictures, objects really flicker! But the possibilities of non-union and multi-union are varied, the poet used these techniques, describing the dynamics of the Poltava battle: Swede, Russian - stabs, chops, cuts, Drum beat, clicks, rattle, The thunder of cannons, stomp, neighing, groan, And death and hell from all sides(NS.).

Stringing of the same type syntactic units(for example, homogeneous members, subordinate clauses) often creates a gradation - that is, such an arrangement of words, (phrases, parts of a complex sentence), in which each subsequent enhances (less often weakens) the meaning of the previous one, thereby creating an increase in intonation and emotional tension of speech. This can be illustrated by the above passage from Eugene Onegin ( Though this book did not reveal Neither the sweet inventions of the poet...) and many other examples, including prosaic ones: In the fall, feather-grass steppes completely change and get their special, original, not similar to anything(Ax.).

Stylistic figures often combine, complement, reinforce one another, imparting exciting intonations to speech. Let's remember Onegin's explanation with Tatiana! -

Whenever life is at home

I wanted to limit;

When would I be a father, a spouse

a pleasant lot commanded;

When would a family picture

I was captivated even for a single moment, -

That is true b, except for you alone

I was not looking for another bride.

Gradation is combined in this statement, which is a brilliant example of a special type of complex sentence - the period.

A complex syntactic construction, harmonious in form, is called, characterized by a special rhythm and orderliness of parts, as well as an exceptional completeness and completeness of the content. A.P. Kvyatkovsky, naming classical works as examples of the period - "When sometimes the memory" by Pushkin (in 26 lines), "When the yellowing cornfield is agitated" by Lermontov (16 lines), "Oh, I will be in the silence of the secret night for a long time" by A. Fet (12 lines) and his “When I dreamily am devoted to silence” (20 lines), - asserts: “The poem, written in the form of a period, testifies to the breadth of the author's poetic breathing and great mature mastery”, which allows “to cope with the complex apparatus of verse, including into myself a few stanzas ".

The doctrine of the period as a means of emphatic intonation was developed in ancient rhetoric. The period owes its name to intonation in a complex syntactic structure: at first the voice rises smoothly, as if describing a curved line, then reaches highest point on the main part of the utterance, after which it sharply decreases, returning to its original position, closing the line (period - from the Greek periodos, literally bypass). Compositionally, the period splits into two mutually balanced parts: the first is characterized by an increase in intonation, the second - by a decrease, which determines the harmony and intonation completeness of the period. In terms of content, the period represents one whole, develops one theme, revealing it with a certain completeness and versatility. The main position in the period is transmitted dismembered, which allows you to comprehend it different sides, shades (remember the poem by AS Pushkin "Am I wandering along noisy streets ..." This is the period.). The musicality and rhythm of the period is achieved by its structure: it consists of several of the same type, proportionate syntactic units, often having the same conjunctions, a similar grammatical structure, approximately the same size. Their repetition creates a rhythmic pattern of speech.

Most often, a period is built as a complex sentence with homogeneous clauses that appear at the beginning. For example: