Реферат: Stylistic phonetics based on the examples of the works by P.B. Shelley

Shelter, food, love’s gentle balm ?»

«Weave robes, – let no idler wear ;

Forge arms, – in your defence to bear .»

«Shrink to your cellars, holes, and cells ;

In halls ye deck, another dwells .»

Here are the cases of the full or identical rhyme. The rhyming scheme is couplet (aa bb). Throughout the whole poem there are only several cases of different kinds of incomplete rhymes and the full rhymes are prevailing. Using rhymes, the author reinforces the meaning he wishes to convey and gives a tone and pace of the poem, making it sound agitating, worrying and sometimes even looming.

«The seed ye sow, another reaps;

The wealth ye find, another keeps;…

«Sow seed – but let no tyrant reap;

Find wealth, – let no impostor heap;…»

The ideas, expressed in these lines from fourth and sixth stanzas are expressed through a syntactical stylistic device of parallel constructions , forming a kind of antithesis. Although this stylistic device is syntactical, it also produces a strong phonetic effect, making these lines sound imperative.

«With plough and spade, and hoe and loom ,

Trace your grave, and build your tomb ,

And weave your winding-sheet, till fair

England be your sepulchre .»

The lines of the last stanza bear cases of compound rhyme , which can only be perceived in oratory speech. The last words of each line are pronounced quite similar: [lu:m] – [tu:m], [feə] – ['sep(ə) lkə]. This stanza with its broken rhymes presents a kind of sinister warning.

«Why shake the chains ye wrought? Ye see

The steel ye tempered glance on ye .»

«The robes ye weave, another wears;

The arms ye forge,

another bears.»

One must note that the use of archaic form of pronounce «ye» adds to a solemn atmosphere created by the use of phonetic stylistic devices and some syntactical stylistic devices and heightens the emotional appeal of the poem. In the seventh stanza «ye» and «see» also produce a full rhyme .

Having analyzed the song «To the Men of England», it can be said that he possesses a great mastery, expressing it through the use of the phonetic stylistic devices and expressive means. Through his strikingly beautiful prose and poetry he conveys a message of hope and aspiration, though he has been criticized for his obscure symbolism and arrogance.

In this song Shelley pays special attention to rhymes, especially to full or perfect rhymes, and also to alliteration. With the help of alliteration he makes his stanzas sound imperative and also gives them a colouring of bitter irony. The rhyming scheme of the poem is couplet, which is the most melodical one. [9]

All phonetic expressive means, used by Shelley in the poem, were introduced with the help of syntactical stylistic devices and graphical means.

There are imperfect compound rhymes in the two first stanzas and in the last one. These compound or broken rhymes produce an effect of sinister warning.

There is no cases of direct or indirect onomatopoeia in the poem, but the choice of sounds, especially of consonants [w], [r], [s] makes the poem sound loom and sinister and on the same time quite melodically, so it is even called song.

Throughout the poem the archaic form of the pronoun «ye» was used. The use of this archaic form makes the atmosphere of the poem more solemn and also produces a certain melodical effect, since the sound [i] repeats quite often throughout it.

The results of the investigation of the poem can be seen in Supplement №2.