Stylistic use of degrees of comparison of adjectives

      1) an attribute

e.g. Do you see the small green boat, which has such an odd shape? The lights of the farm blazed out in the windy darkness.

      Normally there is no pause between the adjective and the noun.  Such attributes are called close attributes. However,  an  adjective  placed  in  pre-position  to  the  noun  may  be separated from it by a pause. Then it becomes a loose attribute.

e.g. Clever and tactful, George listened to my story with deep concern.

      Yet loose attributes are more often found in post-position to the noun.

e.g. My father, happy and tired, kissed me good-night.

      2) a predicative

e.g. Her smile was almost professional.

       He looked mature, sober and calm.

      3)a part of a compound verbal predicate

e.g. He stood silent, with his back turned to the window.

       She lay motionless, as if she were asleep.

      4) an objective predicative

e.g. I thought him very intelligent.

       She wore her hair short.

      5) a subjective predicative

e.g. The door was closed tight.

       Her hair was dyed blonde.

       It should be noted that most adjectives can be used both attributively and predicatively, but some, among them those beginning with a-, can be used only as predicatives (e.g. afraid, asleep, along, alive, awake, ashamed and also content, sorry, well, ill, due, etc.) A few adjectives can be used only as attributes (e.g. outer, major, minor, only, whole, former, latter and some others).

      6) A few adjectives have a different meaning depending on whether they come in front of or after a noun. 

 

      For example, ‘the concerned mother’ means a mother who is worried, but ‘the mother concerned’ means the mother who has been mentioned. 

4. Stylistic potential of degrees of comparison of adjectives

      Sometimes there are a lot of adjectives in the text and sometimes they are used sparingly. As we may know, one of the main functions of adjectives is to give more expressive description to the entities found in a text; so, the use of more adjectives will result in the descriptive richness of the text, whereas a lack of them may result in descriptive sparseness or thinness. A lot of adjectives may, however, make the style of the text ornate (or flowery), and slow down the action in the text, as one feels that one has to concentrate one's attention on the details of static entities or phenomena.

      The use of comparatives is self-explanatory, and shows the interest the text has in relating the qualities of something to those of another thing, or in relating them to an assumed yardstick. Superlatives may also serve the same purpose, but they may reveal the interest the text has in viewing things in terms of extremes (a few of these superlatives, especially when used colloquially, may even be exaggerated, and this may be a point of interest in your interpretation of the passage).

      The degrees of comparison convey the degree of expressiveness produced by the adjective of indication and so, it is very close to the stylistic category of expressiveness. This is particularly fair for elative, the grammatical meaning of which is-irrelatively great measure of indication: the sweetest baby, the newest fashion of all. Along with superlative degree of adjective other devices of syntactical order is used. Compare: the sweetest baby, the sweetest of babies; a foolish wife, a foolish, foolish wife, a most foolish wife, the most foolish of wives, my fool of a wife, my wife is foolishness herself, she is as foolish as can be, is she as foolish as all that?

      In familiar-colloquial style of speech or just in colloquial speech intensification with ‘that’ is possible.

Ex: The girl is THAT stupid.

      In literary-colloquial style of speech an emotionally-appraisal component is introduced in pair use with appraisal word: nice and warm, good and strong, etc.

Ex: Oh, Josie, you are a naughty girl, you really are. I was hoping you'd have everything nice and clean and tidy when I came in.

      The degree of comparison includes only qualitative and quantitative adjectives. Use of comparative and superlative degrees for other adjectives, which this degree is not characteristic for, spares the adjective with great expressiveness.

Ex: You cannot be deader than the dead (E. Hemingway).

      Similarly, since syntactical forms of degrees of comparison of adjectives are characteristic only for monosyllabic and few polysyllabic adjectives, violation from this rule can have a stylistic function. In the following example the word ‘curiouser’ amuses the reader and at the same time gives away the nervousness of the little heroine, which is accentuated in the author’s commentaries: «Curiouser and curiouser!» cried Alice (she was so much surprised that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English) (L. Carroll. “Alice in Wonderland”).

      The violation of valency in the form of junctioning the suffix of the superlative degree with the base of a noun is expressive, comic and sticks in memory very well, and that satisfies the basic requirements of the language of advertising.

Ex: The orangemostest drink in the world.

      We can see the rise of expressiveness in colloquial speech. For example, the adjective ‘idiotic’ characterizing the mental abilities of a person should be used with a noun of person. However, it is often collocates with object names, rendering the irritation of the speaker:

Ex: My idiotic shoe-laces are undone.

      There are a number of adjectives and adverbs which may be classified as interjections. Among them are the following: terrible, awful, great, wonderful, splendid. When they are used as interjections they are not used in their logical dictionary meanings. In most cases they are used in their emotive meanings as intensifiers.

      Adjectives that characterize objects by their physical qualities do not contain any evaluation. But as a metaphor they can have it. For example, ‘dark horse’ in its direct meaning this word combination does not contain any evaluation, but in metaphoric ‘тёмная лошадка’ it expresses the negative connotation. This example shows that adjectives play a very important role in creating metaphoric epithets. It is should be pointed out that metaphoric epithet is the result of second speech attribution of lexical unit.

      The adjectives of evaluation which include descriptive semes which mean the adjectives of so called private evaluation, can easily assume metaphoric meanings. Transference of sign with object of physical world on other objects makes up one of the most important method of metaphorization: crude line – кривая линия и crude smile – кривая усмешка. Прямая линия - straight line и прямой ответ - straight answer.

      The adjective expressing positive or negative judgment about what it is calling, that is approval or disapproval (time-tested method, out-of-date method) possesses a component of evaluation.

Evaluation can be expressed both in explicit and implicit forms.

     Ex: Electric guitar packages are typically an all in one answer to the problem of getting someone started with an electric guitar. Is it the best way to go for a beginner though?

      Due to the use of the adjective ‘good’ in the superlative degree, evaluation and subjectivity are shown in explicit form. Despite the fact that, the adjective ‘best’ has strikingly positive evaluation in this case it acquires negative connotation. It is due to the fact that in this case the adjective ‘best’ is used in the sentence which bears the type of rhetorical question.

      When adjectives that are not normally used in a comparative degree are used with this category they are charged with a strong expressive power.

Ex: Mrs. Thompson, Old Man fellow’s housekeeper had found him deader than a doornail…

      This is a vivid example of grammatical transposition of the second type built on the incongruity of the lexical and grammatical meanings.

In the following sentence the unexpected superlative adjective degree forms lend the sentence a certain rhythm and make it even more expressive:

…fifteen millions of workers, understood to be the strangest, the cunningest, the willingest our Earth ever had.

      The transposition of other parts of speech into the adjectives creates stylistically marked pieces of description as in the following sentence:

A camouflage of general suffuse and dirty-jeaned drabness covers everybody and we merge into the background.

      The use of comparative or superlative forms with other parts of speech may also convey a humorous colouring.

Ex: He was the most married mad I have ever known.

      Another stylistic aspect of the adjective comes to the force when an adjective gets substantivized and acquires the qualities of a noun such as “solid, firm, tangible, hard”, etc.

Ex: All Europe was in arms, and England would join. The impossible had happened.

      The stylistic function of an adjective is achieved through the deviant use of the degrees of comparison that results mostly in grammatical metaphors of the second type (lexical and grammatical incongruity).

      The same effect is also caused by the substantivized use of the adjectives. 

5. Epithet

      From the strongest means of displaying the writer’s or speaker’s emotional attitude to his communication, we now pass to a weaker but still forceful means – the epithet. The epithet is subtle and delicate in character. It is not as direct as the interjection. Some people even consider that it can create an atmosphere of objective evaluation, whereas it actually conveys the subjective attitude of the writer, showing that he is partial in one way or another.

      The epithet is a stylistic device based on the interplay of emotive and logical meaning in attributive word, phrase or even sentence used to characterize an object and pointing out to the reader, and frequently imposing on some of the properties or features of the object with the aim of giving individual perception and evaluation of these features or properties.

      Thus, in ‘green meadows’, ‘white snow’, ‘round table’, ‘blue skies’ and the like, the adjectives are more logical attributes than epithets. They indicate those qualities of the objects which may be regarded as generally recognized. But in ‘wild wing’, ‘loud ocean’, ‘formidable waves’, the adjectives do not point or inherent qualities of the objects described. They are subjectively evaluative.

      The epithet makes a strong impact on the reader, so much so, that he unwittingly begins to see and evaluate things as the writer wants him to.

      Epithets may be classified from different standpoints: semantic and structural. Semantically, epithets may be divided into two groups: those associated with the noun following and those unassociated with it. Associated epithets are those which point to a feature which is essential to the objects they describe: the idea expressed in the epithet is to a certain extent inherent in the concept of the object. The associated epithet immediately refers the mind to the concept in question due to some actual quality of the object it is attached to, for instance, ‘dark forest’, ‘careful attention’, etc.

      Unassociated epithets are attributes used to characterize the object by adding a feature not inherent in it, i.e. a feature which may be so unexpected as to strike the reader by its novelty, as, for instance, ‘bootless cries’, ‘sullen earth’, etc. The adjectives here do not indicate any property inherent in the objects in question. They impose a property on them which is fitting only in the given circumstances. It may seem strange, unusual, or even accidental.

      There are combinations in which the ties between the attribute and the noun defined are very close, and the whole combination is viewed as linguistic whole. Combinations of this type appear as a result of the frequent use of certain definite epithets with definite nouns. They become stable word-combinations. Examples are: ‘valuable connections’, ‘sweet smile’, ‘powerful influence’, ‘classic example’, etc. The predictability of such epithets is very great.

      The function of epithets of this kind remains basically the same, to show the evaluative, subjective attitude of the writer towards the thing described. But for this purpose the author does not create his own, new, unexpected epithets; he uses ones that have become traditional, and may be termed “language epithets” as they belong to the language-as-a-system. Thus epithets may be divided into language epithets and speech epithets. Examples of speech epithets are: ‘slavish knees’, ‘sleepless bay’.

      The process of strengthening the connection between the epithet and the noun may sometimes go so far as to build a specific unit which does not lose its poetic flavour. Such epithets are called fixed and are mostly used in ballads and folk songs. Here are some examples of foxed epithets: ‘true love’, ‘dark forest’, ‘sweet Sir’.

      Epithets may be divided into simple, compound, phrase and sentence epithets. Simple epithets are ordinary adjectives. Compound epithets are built like compound adjectives. Examples are: ‘heart-burning sigh’, ‘cloud-shapen giant’.

      The tendency to cram into one language unit as much information as possible has led to new compositional models for epithets which we shall call phrase epithets. A phrase and even a whole sentence may become an epithet if the main formal requirement of the epithet is maintained, namely, its attributive use. But unlike simple and compound epithets, which may have pre- or post-position, phrase epithets are always placed before the nouns they refer to.

Here are some examples of phrase epithets:

“It is this do-it-yourself, go-it-alone attitude that has thus far held back real development of the Middle East’s river resources.”

“Freddie was standing in front of the fireplace with a ‘well-that’s-the-story-what-are-we-going-to-do-about-it’ air that made him a focal point.

      As in any enumeration, the string of epithets gives a many-sided depiction of the object. But in this many-sidedness there is always a suggestion of an ascending order of emotive elements. This can easily be observed in the intonation pattern of a string of epithets. There is generally an ascending scale which culminates in the last epithet; if the last epithet is a language epithet (great), or not an epithet (young), the culminating point is the last genuine epithet.  
In the examples given above the culminating point is at fatal, apple-faced, and give-and-take. Another distributional model is the transferred epithet. Transferred epithets are ordinary logical attributes generally describing the state of a human being, but made to refer to an inanimate object, for example: sick chamber, sleepless pillow, restless pace, a disapproving finger, breathless eagerness.

  As may be seen, it is the force contributed to the attribute by its position, and not by its meaning, that hallows it into an epithet. The main feature of the epithet is that of emotional assessment, is greatly diminished in this model; but it never quite vanishes. The meaning of the logical attributes in such combinations acquires a definite emotional colouring.

  The problem of the epithet is too large and too significant to be fully dealt with in a short chapter. Indeed, it may be regarded as the crucial problem in emotive language and epithets, correspondingly, among the stylistic devices of the language. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Linguistic investigation

Use of adjectives and their degrees of comparison in different functional styles of speech

      The author of any popular science article uses evaluative concepts. His aim is to instill a certain attitude to the article into a reader. He also must show that the article and all the facts contained in it are very interesting, fascinating and that they deserve not only scientists’ attention, but also the attention of any inquisitive reader. Within this aim the object of a description goes through the process of emotive-expressive colouring. For example:

1) "The handsome silvery-looking tree is the White Willow. If only the wild flowers could be changed, just for one single day, into the people who have come to them for help, or had strange dealings with them! What a fascinating spectacle we should see."

The author tries to make all his utterances emotively and expressively rich, so that the reader’s imagination could easily build images. And of course the presence of adjectives makes it much easier to percept the information.

      Evaluation can also be negative and it is reproduced with the help of such adjectives as: terrible, ghastly, nightmarish.

2) "We'll examine the microclimate down around our feet, which is far different from the one around our heads. And we'll take a look at the terrible temper tantrums of the vast sea of air."

3) "A tourist passing through Polk Country in south-eastern Tennessee suddenly came over a rise and saw a sight that could have come straight from science fiction movies. As far as his eye could see, the area was devastated. Shrubs and trees, barren of leaves, were waving ghastly arms at a grey sky, and there wasn't blade of grass on the ground. The area had the nightmarish appearance of some lifeless planet…"

Once again adjectives help the reader to build an image and to feel keenly every possible detail that the author puts in the article.

      The negative evaluation of an object can be expressed not only by adjective with independent emotive meaning, but also by emotively coloured adjectives:

4) "The scarcity of water is probably the most serious limiting factor for any Martian biology."