The stylistic function of the English article
stylistic english article
The problem of the article in English is one of the most complicated. There is no single opinion about the functions and the nature of he article. Thus, it was stated that there is the category of definite/indefinite in English. Commonly it is expressed by the articles. There is a connection between the noun and the article. This connection defines the meaning of the noun.play great stylistic role in the sentence. It is realized by two possible means: either by the violation of the combinability of the morphemes in the word or by violation of the common usage of the forms of noun in the sentence.it is known, the proper names are used without the article in English. But there some cases when both definite and indefinite articles can be used with proper names.definite article can be used:
В· with the surnames in plural
E.g. The Hardys were rather late. (S. Maugham)
В· with the proper names in singular to define the quality of the person
E.g. He was too proud to creep back to the treacherous Clare (J. Cary); you are not the Andrew Manson I married (A. Cronin); Miss Lemon, the efficient Miss Lemon, had let him down (A. Christie).
В· with the surnames to define the person mentioned is a celebrity
e.g. В«Know my partner? В«p align="justify"> В«Old RobinsonВ»
В«Yes, the RobinsonВ»
В«Don t you know? В«
В«The notorious RobinsonВ» (J. Conrad) indefinite article can also be used with the proper names:
В· when the person discussed is unknown to the speaker
E.g. He said: В«You have not then had a Captain Curtis staying here? В«(A. Christie) When the door of the pub had closed behind him the woman said:В« I know a Tommy Flynn В». (S. Barstow). p align="justify"> В· when we use the surnames and mean the texts, pictures, pieces of music written by the person
e.g. В«Have you a Rosetti? В«I asked. (The pictures of Rosetti are meant). p align="justify"> В· when the estimation is implied
E.g. I do not claim to be a Caruso. (I don t think I sing as perfect as Caruso does).
В· when the negative or positive attitude is implied
E.g. I will never marry a Malone or a Sykes - and no one else will marry me. (Sh. Bronte). I were a sculptor [...] I should choose Mr. Neil Gibson as my model. His tall, gaunt, craggy figure had suggestion of hunger and rapacity. An Abraham Lincoln keyed to base uses instead of high ones would give some idea of ​​the man. (A. Conan Doyle). p align="justify"> · with the surnames to imply the relation to the famous family. The estimation component plays a great role here. Usually it is meant that the person discussed has some typical features of the famous family
E.g. Elisabeth was a Tudor. p align="justify"> В· in the ironical context
E.g. She was a Dodson (J. Elliot). This surname sound unaristocraticaly, and usage with the indefinite article creates the typical for the satire disharmony.usage of the articles with the common names also has some stylistic functions.definite article is used with common names:
В· while organizing the metaphors
E.g. I will o ertake thee, Cleopatra, weep for my pardon. So it must be, for nowlength is torture! since the torch is out.
(W. Shakespeare) definite article used with the word В«torchВ» defines the connection of the word with the context.the attributive phrases with the several dependent homogeneous parts of the sentence, they are usually having only one article before the first homogeneous part. However, the second may also possess an article,. G. Under the low sky the grass shone with a brilliant, an almost artificial sheen. (CPSnow) appearance of the second article stresses the importance of the word it is related to.the nouns that are commonly used with the definite article can be used with the indefinite one and as a result of it they get the meaning В«one of the possible В»,. g. A moo...
