BEGLA-137 Language Through Literature Text Book
Block 1
Understanding the Relationship between Language and Literature through Vocabulary
Block Introduction
UNIT 1
Literal Versus Metaphorical Meaning
UNIT 2
Extension of Meaning
UNIT 3
Multiple Meanings
UNIT 4
Study of Literary Texts
Course Introduction
Language through Literature (BEGLA 137)
(CHOICE BASED CREDIT SYSTEM)
Credit weightage: 6 credits
Language Through Literature which has been adapted from BEGE-101 is aimed at providing a lucid
account of how even the most common elements of language are used dexterously and aesthetically
in literature/oratory to please, entertain, persuade, gratify and create aesthetic appeal. As a matter of
fact, literature is nothing but a creative and imaginative use of language. This course will enable you
to not only understand the various and dynamic ways in which writers/orators use language but also
comprehend and appreciate literary/rhetorical pieces better and derive greater pleasure from them.
This course will primarily deal with literal versus metaphorical meaning, literary and rhetorical
devices and an understanding of the development of discourse.
This course seeks to equip you with awareness of some of the important aspects of English usage
through the study of representative samples of literary works produced in English. The course is
divided into 4 blocks of about 4 units each. Block 1 deals with the extension of meaning, multiple
meanings and overlap of meaning in the context of language acquisition process through four
units/chapters. Block 2 has four units that deal with confusion of semantic and structural criteria and
escaping wrong analogies including studying literary texts. Block 3 introduces and takes you to an
understanding of structure words and acquaints you with all its facets and dimensions including
auxiliaries and structure words in discourse with a purpose to make you aware of the role of conjunctions and linking adverbials in combining ideas/events together.
Block 4 aims to clarify certain areas of confusion relating to rhetorical devices with an emphasis on
structure and style including use of repetition and questions. The course does not include much
linguistic theory and deals with the structure of English in a practical way. The aim is to help the
undergraduate student acquire a better understanding of how language operates and attain a
reasonable level of accuracy in the use of the language, both in speech and in writing.
Follow all the units and enjoy your Course.
Block 1 Introduction
As you know that the course Language Through Literature is aimed at providing a lucid account of
how even the most common elements of language are used dexterously and aesthetically in
literature/oratory to please, to entertain, to persuade, to gratify and to create aesthetic appeal. As a
matter of fact, literature is nothing but a creative and imaginative use of language. This course will
enable you to not only understand the various and dynamic ways in which writers/orators use
language but also comprehend and appreciate literary/rhetorical pieces better and derive greater
pleasure from them. This course will primarily deal with literal versus metaphorical meaning,
literary and rhetorical devices and an understanding of the development of discourse.
In the first Unit, we shall discuss relationship of language to literature and show how literary
language is different from ordinary language so that you can understand the linkages between
language and literature. There is also a discussion on the role of context in determining meaning
and distinction between literal meaning and metaphoric (extended) meaning.
In Unit 2, the set of information is recognized in such a way that you are able to recognize that a
word may have a number of different meanings related to each other and that there are different
related meanings of a word used as the same part of speech or as different parts of speech. You
will be able to identify the different meanings of a word in different contexts in standard English
writings, and also use words correctly in your own writing.
In Unit 3 which is titled, Multiple meanings, you will understand words which have the same
sounds and spellings but entirely different meanings and get to recognize words which have the
same sounds but different spellings and meanings along with words which have the same spellings
but are pronounced differently. In addition, discussion between words that have some similarity in
sounds and spellings will take place, and the aim would be to increase your vocabulary for spoken
and written English and to make your use of the language more effective.
In the last Unit, you will be engaged in the process so that you develop an ability to understand the
ideas contained in a simple prose passage or a poem and use a dictionary to find out the particular
meaning of a word that will fit the context in which it appears in a passage, You will be taken
through a process to make you understand the meanings of words used in extended senses in a
passage, and also rewrite a given text in a different style.
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UNIT 1 LITERAL VERSUS METAPHORICAL MEANING Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.l Introduction
1:2 Language and Literature
1.3 Literal versus Metaphorical Meaning
1.4 Extension of Meaning
1.4.1 From a Concrete Object to an Abstract Idea
1.4.2 Living (Animal or Human) to Non-Living (Object) and Vice-Versa
1.4.3 Animal to Human and Vice-Versa
1.4.4 Extension of Sensory Perception
1.4.5 Extension by Magnification
1.5 Let Us Sum Up
1.6 Key Words
1.7 Suggested Reading
Answers
1.0 OBJECTIVES
In this Unit, we shall
• discuss relationship of language to literature.
• show how literary language is different from ordinary language
• the role of context in determining meaning
• learn to distinguish between literal meaning and metaphoric (extended) meaning.
On completing this Unit, you should be able to
• understand the relationship between language and literature
• distinguish between literal meanings and extended meanings,
• use some of the important words in their extended senses in order to write more effectively.
1.1 INTRODUCTION
As discussed in the introduction to the course and the Block, the thrust of this course
is to make you understand the relationship of language to literature. The important
thing, for us is to understand the dynamic nature of ’words’ and how creative
writers/orators manipulate them in particular contexts to bring about special effects.
Before we undertake a detailed discussion on how words have a number of different
meanings and how their meanings get extended, it would be appropriate here to first
explain the dynamics of language: its spoken and written modes, which lead to the
centrality of dialogues in drama, a little bit on free indirect discourse in the context of
short story/novel. In other words, the creativity in language involves the use of the
available possibilities of language in order to create new communicative possibilities.
1.2 LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Language is central to all human activity and all literature is also manifested in and
through language. All our individual and social activities are possible through
language because language functions as a powerful tool and symbol of/for the representation of 5
reality. We need to understand the difference between language and the actual
objects or events of actual life. For example, the word ‘tree’ consists of three sound ‘t’,
‘r’ and the long vowel as denoted by ‘ee’. The tree as actual physical object is part of
the world. So we have the sign ‘tree’ and the actual object of the tree. When the sign,
which is born out of use in society, gets associated with the object for its users, then
the sign can be said to have meaning.
the object
common
association
for the users
the form t — r — ee
This is how meanings get associated to spoken words and we begin to call them
words and the larger units as sentences etc.
Language is a versatile medium of communication. It is used for all kinds of human
communication — in gossip, in commercial transactions, in political persuasion, in
scientific reports in advertisement and in ‘literature’ etc. If we classify the above into
two groups, i.e., non-literary and literary languages, then can we distinguish between
the two varieties of language? The answer may be provided on the basis of the
following two reasons:
Firstly, the ‘non-literary’ or the ‘ordinary’ or ‘practical’ language can be said to be used
in carrying on the practicalities of everyday life. Literary language on the other hand
does not use language in ‘real’ day-to-day situations. The literary language may be
like or analogous to ordinary language, as in novels or dramas, but it does not carry
forward the actual happenings between ‘real’ people, such as meeting, praising,
giving a loan making a transaction, teaching a class etc. In this sense, literary
language can be said to be ahistorical.
Secondly, literary language can be seen to deviate structurally from the ‘ordinary
language in many ways. Many scholars believe that literary writers have a subtle
experience to communicate, and since ordinary language is unable to meet their
requirements, they resort to patterning or distorting the language forms/structure for
aesthetic purposes. By aesthetics, we mean the pleasure that one derives from the
observation of an object by itself. This ‘joy’ is not related to any ‘practical’ use of
language. For example Roman Jakobson (‘Linguistics and Poetics: A closing statement’ in
T.A. Sebeok (ed) Style in Language MIT Press) cites an example where a lady says “I
like Ike”. When someone asked why she didn’t say “Ike for me” or “I like Eisenhower’
(President Eisenhower of USA was known as Ike), she replied that the expression she
used has a pleasure of its own. Similar is the case of all literary language. Literary
language creates meanings by using language in both conventional and non-conventional
ways. The conventional or the ‘literal’ use of language gives us known meanings of words
whereas the unconventional or literary language creates new meanings through forms like
the metaphor etc. (The present Block will introduce you to the way meanings are
‘extended’ or ‘re-created’ in literary language).
Language as a medium of communication functions mainly through two modes, i.e.,
spoken and the written. We use the spoken medium in our daily communication, and
the written medium in all our writings and readings, official or otherwise. These two
modes have some significant differences which are as below:
Speech
1. We speak and listen to speech — so
vocal and auditory systems are used
6
Writing
We write, and read what is
written and hence it
involves our visual capacity
Understanding Vocabulary
2. Speech (minus the recording
system) is transient, for it
dissipates in air after it is spoken
3. Speech has different degrees of pauses
and it uses intonation contours for
statements, questions, special focus etc.
4. Speaker and hearer are generally
close and here there is greater
integration between the two.
5. Since the interlocutors are
present, which is assumed,
resulting in utterances which are
grammatically incomplete.
Writing can be presented
as record.
Writing exploits
punctuations to give a
rhythm of language;
and also we can have
diagrams, graphs, charts
and equations in writing.
Writing generally, involves
some distance between the
writer and the reader and
hence it involves distance
between the interlocutors.
Due to distance, writing
generally is more
grammatically complete.
Although the two are different modes of language but they are not entirely
exclusive, e.g., we can find elements of speech in written dialogues as in novels
and dramas, or even have the written form in speech as in the news
broadcast/telecast over the radio/TV.
All dramas (plays) are constructed on the pattern of oral speech (dialogues).
Dialogues in drama function at two levels as shown in the diagram below from Short
(1989: 49) [M. Short 1989: ‘Discourse analysis and the analysis of drama’. In R
Carter and P. Simpson (eds) Language, Discourse and Literature, London: Unwin
Hyman.]
Addressor 1 — • Message — • Addressee 1
(playwright) (audience/reader)
Addressor 2 — • Message — • Addressee 2
(character A) (character B)
This diagram shows that the playwright addresses the audience/reader through
constructed dialogues at one level, and at another level it is the characters within
the play that are shown to interact with one another. All dialogues get meaning
from the created ‘physical’ context and the ‘personal’ context. By physical
context, we mean creation of environments like home, workplace etc. and the
personal context encompasses social status and groups memberships by virtue of
which characters speak.
About dialogues you will learn more in later Blocks.
In writing, we generally, come across two varieties of speech — the ‘direct’
speech and the ‘indirect’ speech. Look at the two structures below:
1. She said, “I’ll come here tomorrow”
Or Direct Speech
2. ‘I’ll come here tomorrow, ” she said
3. She said that she would go there the following day. (indirect speech)
7
Literal Versus Metaphorical
Meaning
In direct speech, we have the reporting verb which can be different from the
tense of the reported speech in inverted commas. The indirect speech changes
the pronouns, the adverbs of time, and the tense of the reported speech etc.
In novels and short stories, we find a third variety called the ‘free indirect
discourse’ (FID). The FID combines elements from both the direct speech and
the indirect speech and it functions to present a ‘stream of consciousness’ etc.
The above sentence can be rendered in FID as:
4. She would be there tomorrow.
Here the adverb ‘tomorrow’ has the form as in the direct speech and the phrase ‘she
would’ as in the indirect speech, arid the higher reporting verb as ‘she said’ is missing.
The FID expressions at times do carry the punctuation marks found in direct speech such
as questions mark or sign of interrogation etc. This technique is used more in short
stories and novels about which you will read more in later Blocks.
We shall next resume our discussion on literal versus metaphorical meaning.
1.3 LITERAL YERSUS METAPHORICAL MEANING
In English, as in most other languages, a word is used in more than one sense or shade of
meaning. The original sense in which a word is used is its literal meaning. For example,
in the sentence, ‘A dog is man’s best friend’, the word dog is used in its literal sense to
refer to a particular animal. But if we call a person ‘a dog’ to mean that he is a worthless
evil person, we are extending the meaning of the word. Similarly, in the sentence ‘The
dog always barks at the postman’, the verb bark is used in its literal sense, but when we
say to a person, ‘Don’t bark like that, Hari’ to refer to the sharp and loud sound he is
making, we have extended the meaning of bark. This kind of extension is called a
metaphor. A metaphor is the use of a phrase which describes one thing by stating
another with which it can be compared. In Units 1- 2, we shall discuss the different ways
in which words get their meanings extended.
Take this sentence:
You should comb your hair more often.
The word comb is used here in its literal sense. We are asking this person to ‘tidy,
clean, straighten, or arrange his hair with a comb’.
But if we say:
‘The police combed the forest for thy missing box
we are using the word comb to mean ‘search thoroughly. This is an extension of
meaning. Just as the comb goes through the hair to clean and tidy it, so the police
search the forest to find the boy. By using a word in its extended sense we help to
make concrete the idea we are trying to convey. For instance, in the second sentence
above, it becomes easier for the reader or listener to visualize or see in his mind what
the police are doing — their thoroughness in searching the forest becomes vivid.
Check Your Progress 1
In the sentences below, a number of words have been used twice — once in the
literal sense and the second time in an extended sense. Write ‘L’ beside the sentence
in which the word in italics is used in the literal sense. Write ‘E’ where it is used in
an extended sense. Check your answers with those given at the end of the unit.
He was angry with me because I had broken his pen.
8
Huge waves rose in the angry sea.
They fired at the house. The bullets buried themselves in the wall.
Understanding Vocabulary
iv) ‘Three nights later old Major died peacefully in his sleep. His body was
buried at the foot of the orchard.’
Death is a true friend.
In ancient times, the Romans brought slaves from battles.
Rajesh is my best end.
I was exposed as a slave of habit even in so trading a matter as getting the
first cigarette out of a new packet.
ix) Chakki’s peace of mind was shattered.
X) A glass pane of our window was shattered by a cricket ball.
1.4 EXTENSION OF MEANING
1.4.1 From a Concrete Object to an Abstract Idea
The meaning of a word may be transferred or extended from a concrete object
which we can feel and see to an abstract idea. This helps to make the idea vivid.
It becomes easier to ‘see’ the idea or visualize it in concrete terms with the help
of a word-picture. Take this example:
His knowledge of history was getting rusty.
The usual association of the word rusty is with things made of iron which get
covered with rust; e.g., a rusty box, rusty nails, etc. When iron and some other metals
are exposed to water and air, a reddish brown surface forms on them. This is called
rust. So, ‘rusty nails’ are nails covered with rust; they have lost their brightness
because they have been lying unused for a long time. This idea of things getting
rusted has been transferred to one’s ‘knowledge’ of a subject to mean that it is mostly
forgotten because it has not been used for a long time.
Check Your Progress 2
Read the following sentences. The italicized words have been used in an extended
sense. An abstract idea has been concretized. Say how the transference has taken
place. The first one has been done for you. Check your answers with those given by
us at the end of the unit.
i) Our conversation drifted from cricket to politics.
In a literal sense we can say that ‘logs drift in the river’. They float and are
driven along by the waves. The logs have no control over their movement.
Likewise the conversation changed gradually from cricket to politics
without the speakers being conscious of it.
ii) When her husband died, all her hopes for the future crumbled to nothing.
Literal Versus
Metaphorical
Meaning
9
iii) The military government has successfully crushed all opposition.
iv) The animals absorbed everything that they were told.
v) Karuthamma’s whole body became bathed in perspiration.
, vi) Age is my alarm clock, the old man said. ‘Why do old men wake so early? Is it to have one longer day?’ (from Ernest Hemingway: The Old Man and the Sea).
vii) The shop man, in some dim cavern of his mind, may have dared to think so
too.
Understanding Vocabulary
10
viii) They heard the newcomer’s shrill voice raised in a torrent of abuse.
ix) As long as she doesn’t break the peace, I have nothing to do with her.
x) When lights were brought and Wolfgang had a better opportunity of looking
at the stranger, he was more than even intoxicated by her beauty.
1.4.2 Living (Animal or Human) to Non-Living (Object) and Vice-Versa
When we describe non-living objects or things as if they had animal or human qualities
and feelings, we personify them. We transfer qualities or things usually associated with
living beings to non-living things. This helps us to picture things and objects more
clearly in our imagination. For example:
One leg of the table was broken.
The hands of the clock have stopped.
The mouth of the cave was blocked by a big stone.
The pencil screeched.
The transfer of meaning in all these cases has taken place like this:
Living thing → non-living thing
(animal/human)
→
(object)
e.g., leg of animal leg of table
Literal Versus Metaphorical
Meaning
The transfer of extension may be the other way, too; that is,
Non-living thing → living thing
e.g., He is a crooked person.
Usually, the word crooked is used to describe a rod or a stick, i.e. one which is
not straight, but is twisted and bent. Similarly, a crooked person is one who is
dishonest, that is, not straight in his dealings.
Check Your Progress 3
In the following sentences, the italicized words are used in an extended sense.
State whether the extension is from living to non-living (personification) or viceversa. Also say in a few words what idea from the literal use has been
transferred. e.g., The plane had to make a belly landing.
Explanation: Belly is the part of the human body between the chest and the legs,
which contains the stomach and the bowels. It can refer to an object that is curved or
round like this part of the body. (Here the extension is from living to non-living).
Now explain the following. Check your answers with those given by us at the
end of the unit.
i) He is a budding poet.
ii) Dari flared up.
iii) ‘Once upon a time the Babus of Nayanjore were famous landholders. ..
Kailas Babu, our neighbour, is the last relic of this extinct magnificence. ..
Before he grew up, his family had reached its lowest ebb.’ (Tagore: ‘Babus
of Nayanjore’).
iv) ‘The Susta (river) ‘chatters over stony ways and babbles on the pebbles’.
(Tagore: ‘Hungry Stones’).
12
Understanding Vocabulary
v) ‘The South Wind whispered in his ears.’ (Tagore: The Kingdom of the Cards).
vi) This is the brain of the computer.
1.4.3 Animal to Human and Vice-Versa
Look at this expression:
He’s a real chameleon.
Now what is the extension here? A chameleon is a small lizard which can
change its colour to match the colour of the background. In this way, it can hide
itself from its enemies. When a man is called a chameleon, the quality of
changing the colour to protect oneself is transferred from the animal to man. The
man may keep changing his behaviour and statements to suit his own interests.
The transfer has taken place as follows:
Here is an exercise to revise what you have read in Sections 1.4.1 to 1.4.3.
Check Your Progress 4
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with words from the list below:
lame nestled
beast experiments
wreathed hot
icy hand shadow
buried swallowed
Tell
i) I close to her.
ii) The in a man may wake up, if he has too much money.
iii) His face was in smiles.
iv) ‘My autobiography is really a story of my
(M.K. Gandhi: An Autobiography)
v) Youth is nimble, Age is
Youth is and bold. (Shakespeare: ‘ A Madrigal’)
vi) Death lays his on kings. (Shirley: ‘Death the Leveller’)
vii) Napoleon, the pig, was by the other animals in the farmyard.
viii) Life is but a walking _. (Shakespeare: Macbeth)
ix) Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die,
Steal from the world, and not a stone
where I lie. (A. Pope: ‘Ode on Solitude’)
x) The hungry river down everything. (Tagore: ‘Living or Dead’)
13
Literal Versus Metaphorical
Meaning
1.4.4 Extension of Sensory Perception
The extension of meaning may take place from one sensory perception (smell,
touch, taste, sound or sight) to an object, feeling or abstract idea, generally not
associated with it. Thus,
1 ‘the language of the eyes’
2 ‘the speech of the dark eyes’.
The eyes are generally used for seeing. They do not produce any sound or speech.
Here, however, the words ‘language’ and ‘speech’ refer to the expression in the eyes.
Check Your Progress 5
1 Here are some more examples of transfer of sensory perception. Say in a few
words from what sensory perception the meaning has been transferred and
to what object or idea. What is the sense of the word thus used? (i) has
been done for you.
i) ‘a sweet stench of human flesh’ (Kamla Das: Nalapat House).
Generally, ‘stench’ is a bad smell, perceived by the nose. Here the
word ‘sweet is used with ‘stench’. ‘Sweetness’ is a pleasant taste
perceived by the tongue. It seems to suggest that the smell of
human flesh was not unpleasant.
ii) That question touched her heart somewhere.
iii) Karuthamma, worried that the quarrel was becoming too heated,
put her hand over her mother’s mouth. (Chemmeen)
iv) In any case, the Englishman’s cold reserve was infinitely
preferable to the familiarity of the French.
Understanding Vocabulary
14
v) His clothes are generally of a loud colour.
2 Match the pans of sentences in Column A to those in column B to make
meaningful sentences. Underline the words that show sensory perception. Check
your answers with those given by us at the end. Use your dictionary if necessary.
E.g. The aroma of wealth filled the house.
A B
i) The aroma of wealth exists between the USSR and the
USA.
Let your anger many people were killed.
In the dark days of the French bitter-sweet experiences.
Revolution
iv) A cold war the warmth of love.
v) Children want filled the house.
Life is full of cool down.
The music of success his lukewarm attitude.
I was hurt by with envy.
He was green rang in his ears.
1.4.5 Extension by Magnification
Often, writers use words associated with grand or sublime ideas or objects too ordinary
ideas or objects. The effect is one of humour or light-heartedness. It also helps to
highlight the importance of something.
E.g. I adore ice cream.
One may adore a person, that is, worship him as God. In the sentence given here the
word adore shows the great liking I have for ice-cream. It also indicates a’ lighthearted treatment of the subject.
Check Your Progress 6
1 Notice the words that are italicized in the following sentences and say in
what meaning each word is generally used and in what shade of meaning it is
used here. Use your dictionary whenever necessary. Check your answers:
15
Literal Versus Metaphorical
Meaning
Example: Molly, the donkey, was devoted to ribbons.
General use: ’devoted’ generally means ‘loyal, loving, caring a great deal’, as
in the sentence:
He is very devoted to his wife.
In the sentence given here the idea is that Molly attached great importance
to the use of ribbons. She loved to wear ribbons.
Effect: humour
i) You are acquitted of laziness.
ii) He was an assassin of all good virtues.
iii) It would be a crime to send the child out in the cold.
iv) The food was condemned as unfit for humans.
v) She was a victim of the mother-in-law’s tyranny.
16
Understanding Vocabulary
2 Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. Use your
dictionary if necessary. Check your answers with those given at the end of
the unit.
Filling up a bronze water-pot, a bucket, and a watering-can by turns, my
grandmother transported water from a tap at the backyard impartially to all
her plants, and finally through a brass syringe shot into the air a grand
column of water which would descend like a gift from the heavens on the
whole garden, dampening down the mud and stirring up an earthy smell
(which tempted one to taste the mud), the foliage glittering in the sun like
finely cut diamonds as water dripped off their edges. The peacock busily
kept pace with us as we moved up and down bearing the water-pots. When a
shower of water descended, the peacock fanned out its tail, parading its
colour.
(R.K. Narayan: My Days)
Questions
i) Give two examples of personification related to the peacock in the
passage. Say how the transfer has taken place.
ii) What is the meaning of ‘heavens’ in the passage?
iii) Which word in the passage tells us that the author’s grandmother did
not see any difference between the different plants and they were all
liked by her equally?
iv) Give a simpler word for ‘transported’. What sort of transfer has taken
place here?
v) In what sense is the word ‘stirring’ used in the passage?
1.5 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, you have learnt
• to distinguish the extended meaning from the literal meaning, and
• to understand the shades of meaning of certain words used in standard works
of literature.
1.6 KEY WORDS
(The mark ‘ is placed before the syllable that carries the main stress in the word.
The mark (no mark?) is placed before the syllable that has a secondary stress.)
‘content: substance; essential meaning
extension: enlargement
‘literal: taking words in their usual and obvious sense
‘magnification: making something appear larger
‘metaphorical: using words to indicate something different from the literal meaning,
as in ‘I’ll make him eat his words’
vocabulary: words which make up a language
perception: process by which we become aware of changes, through the senses of
sight, hearing, etc.
‘Sensory: of the senses
Vice-versa: other way round
1.7 SUGGESTED READING
1 R.K. Narayan: the Guide
2 R.K. Narayan: My Days
3 George Orwell: Animal Farm
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
i) L, ii) E, iii) E, iv) L, v) E, vi) L, vii) L, viii) E, ix) E, x)
L. Check Your Progress 2
ii) In a literal sense, we may say: ‘The old house crumbled during the heavy
rains’, that is, it broke into pieces and came down. Likewise, in the sentence
given in the exercise, we mean that all her hopes were shattered.
iii) When we crush an object, we break it into very small pieces. The opposition
has likewise been destroyed to such an extent that it has become powerless.
iv) Usually, when we say something absorbs water we mean that it takes water
in. Similarly, the animals listened to and understood everything they were
told. They took in all that had been said.
v) We generally bathe in water. Similarly, here, perspiration covered the whole
body.
vi) An alarm-clock wakes one up. Here it means that as one grows older one
loses some sleep. The old man naturally gets up early.
vii) The light in a cavern or cave is dim. Similarly, the ideas in the shopman’s
mind were hazy.
viii) A torrent of water is a violently rushing stream. Similarly, the newcomer used
a torrent of bad language or abuse.
ix) An object may be broken into parts. If peace is broken, it means that it has
come to an end.
x) One is usually intoxicated by alcohol, which causes a loss of one’s control of
actions and feelings. Here, ‘her beauty’ has a similar effect on Wolfgang. It
18 brings out strong feelings of wild excitement which he cannot control.
Understanding Vocabulary
Check Your Progress 3
i) A bud is a young tightly rolled up flower before it opens. A budding poet is
one who is just beginning to develop his talent. (Extension from non-living to
living)
ii) When something flares up, it suddenly bums with a bright flame for a short
time. Similarly, Hari showed sudden anger. (Non-living to living)
iii) The flow of the sea away from the shore is called the ‘ebb’. The sea reaches its
lowest level during the ebb. Kailas Babu’s family had reached its lowest state.
(Non-living to abstract)
iv) When people talk rapidly and at length, we say they are chattering ‘Babbling’
also refers to people talking quickly and foolishly. Similarly, the river makes
continuous sounds when it runs gently over rounded stones. (Living to nonliving)
v) Whispering is ‘speaking with noisy breath but not with voice, so that only a
person close by can hear’. The south wind made a soft sound of the same type.
(Living to non-living: personification)
vi) The brain is the organ of the body which controls thought and feeling. The
brain of the computer is where its operations are controlled. (Living to nonliving)
Check Your Progress 4
i) Nestled
ii) Beast
iii) Wreathed
iv) Experiments
v) Lame; hot
vi) Icy hand
vii) Buried
viii) Shadow
ix) Tell
x) Swallowed
Check Your Progress 5
1.ii) Generally, we can touch something that has substance and shape. The ‘heart’
here is thought of as the centre of feeling. When we say, the question touched
her heart; it means her feelings were aroused.
iii) An object gets heated on the fire or in the sun. Here the transfer is from the
sensory perception of touch. If we say the quarrel has become too heated, it
means there is a state of excitement in which people are likely to lose their
self- control.
iv) ‘Cold’ means ‘having a low temperature’; you can feel it when the weather is
cold. In an extended meaning ‘cold’ means ‘showing a lack of friendly
feelings’. The word ‘reserve’ refers to the quality typical of a person who does
not like to talk about himself or to make his feelings known. He is therefore
described as cold. Here the transfer is from the sensory perception of touch.
v) ‘Loud’ refers to noisy sounds. Similarly, loud colours are unpleasantly bright.
The transfer is from sound to colour.
2 ii) Let your anger cool down.
iii) In the dark days of the French Revolution many people were killed.
iv) A cold war exists between the USSR and the USA.
v). Children want the warmth of love.
vi) Life is full of bitter-sweet experiences.
vii) The music of success rang in his ears.
viii) I was hurt by his luke-warm attitude.
ix) He was green with envy.
19
Literal Versus Metaphorical
Meaning
Check Your Progress 6
1 i) Usually one is acquitted of a crime by a court of law. The effect of the use
of the word ‘acquitted’ here is humour.
ii) An assassin is a person who murders a ruler or a politician for political
reasons or for reward. Here ’an assassin of all good virtues’ means one who
destroys all good virtues. (Effect: highlighting the seriousness of his actions)
iii) A crime is art offence punishable by law. If the child is sent out, he will
catch a cold. (Effect: highlighting the effect of the cold outside)
iv)When we condemn something, we officially declare it unfit for use. The
food is so bad that it is unfit for human beings.
v) A victim is a person who suffers as a result of other people’s actions.
‘Tyranny’ is a word that refers to the use of cruel or unjust power to rule a
country. Here the mother-in-law’s treatment is as cruel and unjust as that
of a tyrant. (Effect: highlighting the cruel behaviour of the mother-in-law)
2 i) (a) ‘The peacock busily kept pace with us’. It means that it went forward at
the same rate as we did, almost walking with us.
(b) ‘Parading its colour’, which means showing it officially. The peacock
fans out its tail to show its beautiful colours.
‘heavens’ means ‘the sky’ here.
impartially
carried, magnification.
When we move a liquid around with a spoon, we stir it. Similarly, the
water falling on the mud moves it and causes the smell associated with the
mud to move across the air.
20
Understanding Vocabulary
UNIT 2 EXTENSION OF MEANING
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Multiple Meanings and Extended Meanings Compared
2.3 Related Multiple Meanings
2.3.1 as Multiple Meanings of a Word Used as the Same Part of Speech
2.3.2 Abstract and Concrete Meanings
2.3.3 Phrasal Verbs
2.4 A Word Used as Different Parts of Speech
2.4.1 Noun and Verb
2.4.2 Noun and Adjective
2.5 Let Us Sum Up
2.6 Key Words
Answers
2.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to
• recognize that a word may have a number of different meanings related to
each other,
• recognize the different related meanings of a word used as the same part
of speech or as different parts of speech,
• recognize the different meanings of a word in different contexts in
standard English writings, and
• use words correctly in your own writing.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
One reason why your vocabulary may be poor is that you know only one of the many
meanings of a word. This has two disadvantages. First, your overall comprehension
of a passage of prose or a poem may be poor, because you are not able to grasp the
meanings of words from the context. Second, with only a few of the meanings of a
word known to you, your writing may also be poor.
In this unit, we shall deal with words that have a number of meanings usually related
in some way. In the next unit, we shall deal with words which may be spelt and
pronounced in the same way, but which are entirely different words with different
meanings.
In these two units, we shall not deal with all the possible meanings of a word.
For example, we may leave out some of the colloquial expressions, that is, those
used in familiar conversation but not informal writing. We shall also leave out slang,
that is, expressions that are not usually acceptable in serious speech or writing, for
example ‘bread’ for ‘money’.
2.2 MULTIPLE MEANINGS AND EXTENDED
MEANINGS COMPARED
In Unit l, you saw how a word could be used in a number of extended
21
meanings. Such extensions of the meanings of words can be unlimited, as they will
depend on the writer’s imagination and the number of different situations dealt with.
Understanding Vocabulary
For example, the word light can be used as a noun with different meanings:
i) We don’t get any sunlight here.
ii) Please throw some light on this matter (explain it).
iii) Buddha was the light of Asia. (the one who brought spiritual knowledge to
Asians)
iv) “As soon as these questions are allowed to come into the light of day and be
examined in a rational spirit, it becomes very difficult to resist the claims of
justice …” (be made known to the public) ,
(Bertrand Russell, ‘A Scientist’s Plea for Democracy.)
In (i) above, light is used in its literal sense, but in the other sentences it is used in its
extended senses. There can be many more ways of extending the figurative use of
this word. But, though the extended senses are unlimited, the literal meanings of a
word are limited. We shall use the term ‘multiple meanings’ to refer to the various
literal meanings of a word. For example, light used as an adjective:
i) Our baggage is light. (not heavy)
ii) He has been assigned very light duties. (not difficult)
Even though the meanings of light above are in some way related to each oak, they
are, in fact, used in different contexts. There may be some more meanings of this
word. Your dictionary will give them
Check Your Progress 1
Look at the following sentences. Say whether the italicized word is used in its
extended sense or in its literal meaning. Check your answers with those given by us
at the end of the unit.
i) Some people believe that the spirit of a man leaves his body after death.
ii) ‘We are going to put him (the snake) in spirit’.
(Khushwant Singh: The Mark of Vishnu)
iii) Ranjit Singhji understood the art of the game of cricket.
2.3 RELATED MULTIPLE MEANINGS
We said in the last section that a word could have a number of literal meanings,
which were usually related in some way.
For example,
bearer: i) a person who bears or carries, e.g. the bearer of this letter.
ii) a person who holds a cheque for the payment of money to himself.
e.g. the instruction on the cheque: ‘Pay or
bearer the sum of ’
iii) In Indian English the word is also used for a male servant,
particularly one who serves food.
All these meanings have a common element in the sense that the person carries
something, but the different meanings are associated with different contexts. 22
Extension of Meaning
Here are some more examples:
cap: i) a type of covering for the head
ii) a cover for the end or top of an object, e.g. Put the cap
back on the bottle.
In both cases, the cap is used to cover something.
fly (verb): i) move through the air by means of wings. e.g. Most birds andsome insects fly.
ii) control an aircraft in flight. e.g. He was the first man to flythat type of aircraft.
The common element is movement through the air .
nursery: i) a place where small children are taken care of while their
parents are at work, shopping, etc.
ii) an area where plants and trees are grown to be sold or
planted in other places.
In both cases, young things are taken care of.
Check Your Progress 2
1 Give two meanings of each of the following words and say in a few
words what is common to both. Check your answers with those given by
us at the end of this unit.
wire (noun)
bank (noun)
principal (noun)
bench (noun)
23
Understanding Vocabulary
command (verb)
2 Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with suitable words from the list
given below. Each word is to be used in two sentences. Check your answers.
bank (noun), book (verb), cold (noun), principal (noun), subject (noun).
i) We’ll have to you on a charge of speeding.
ii) You’ll get back the with interest.
iii) It’s nice to put on a warm coat and go for a walk in the
iv) He is a of the United Kingdom.
v) We sat on the of a river.
vi) You’ll catch if you don’t put a coat on.
vii) The of the college gave a speech on this
occasion.
viii) The flower beds should be separated by a
ix) Please a seat for me on this evening’s flight to
Hyderabad.
x) His strange clothes were the of great amusement.
2.3.1 Multiple Meanings of a Word Used as the Same Part of Speech
When a word has multiple meanings even when used as the same part of speech, we
can make out the meaning from the context in the sentence or in the passage. The
meaning usually relates to a particular situation in life.
Example:
key (noun) i) ‘Around his neck he bore the key of his box.’
(Thomas Hardy, ‘Midnight on the Great Western’)
(an instrument for locking or unlocking a door, box, etc.)
ii) At the end of the unit, there is a key to the exercises.
(something that explains or answers )
iiij The keys of the typewriter are jammed.
(the parts of the typewriter that are pressed down to produce
the impression of the letters or signs on paper)
iv) He sang it in a wrong key.
(set of musical notes)
The word key may have multiple meanings even when used as a verb.
Examples-,
i) The sitar has to be keyed properly to produce the correct
(the strings have to be tightened or loosened so that the right
notes are produced)
ii) This factory is keyed to produce goods for the army. (made
ready or suitable)
24
Extension of Meaning
In all these multiple meanings of the word key, four as nouns and two as verbs, there
is a common element. That is, the meanings are slightly related. In all these cases the
word refers to an instrument or device to gain the desired result.
As a noun, in i) the key unlocks a box,
in ii) it gives the answers to the exercises,
in iii) the keys operate a typewriter ,
in iv) the word refers to a set of notes that make a tune.
As a verb, in i) it refers to the adjustment of the tension of the strings of aninstrument,
in ii) it refers to the adjustments in a factory for a particular
purpose.
Check Your Progress 3
Look at the words below. Use each of them in sentences in different meanings but as
the same part of speech. Check your answers with those given by us at the end of the
unit. Use your dictionary, if you like.
column as a noun (4 meanings)
comb an a noun (2 meanings)
dry as an adjective (4 meanings)
square as a noun (2 meanings)
25
Understanding Vocabulary
dress as a verb (3 meanings)
2.3.2 Abstract and Concrete Meanings
Sometimes a word refers to both abstract and concrete things.
Example:
‘We are going to put him in spirit.’
(Khushwant Singh: The Mark of Vishnu)
(concrete: ‘methylated spirits used for preserving insects. etc.’)
The spirit leaves the body after death.
(abstract: Soul)
Check Your Progress 4
Use each of these words as nouns in two sentences, once with an abstract
meaning and then with a concrete meaning. Check your answers.
force
green
26
Extension of Meaning
2.3.3 Phrasal Verbs
In this section we shall deal, with verbs which acquire new meanings by the addition of
an adverb and/or a preposition. Such combinations are called phrasal verbs.
E.g. The verb fat can form the following phrasal verbs by an addition of
different adverbs and/or prepositions
i) Let’s take up this matter with the Principal.
(verb + adverb) ( = discuss, raise consideration of)
ii) Don’t be taken in by the false promises he
makes. (verb + adverb) ( = cheated; deceived)
iii) The child took to music like a duck to water.
(verb + preposition; sometimes called a prepositional verb)
( = conceived a liking for it; began doing it without difficulty)
iv) The government has taken over the coal mines.
(verb + adverb) ( – brought under its control and administration)
v) The plane took off to the skies.
(verb + adverb) ( – left the ground )
vi) Don’t miss him for a fool.
(verb + preposition) ( = consider)
Check Your Progress 5
1 Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with suitable adverbs or
prepositions to form phrasal verbs:
i) Please take your coat.
ii) We have taken a new project.
iii) I was taken a doctor because I had been able to cure some people in the neighbourhood.
iv) Seeta takes her mother.
v) The old lady offered to take the homeless stranger.
2 Give the meanings of the phrasal verbs in the following sentences in a few
words. Check your answers.
i) Don’t give in to the threats of the terrorists.
ii) The engine gives off steam.
iii) They tried to cover up the evil dead.
27
Understanding Vocabulary
iv) I fell for the beautiful girl.
v) We’ll see you off at the station.
vi) ‘….he had once got ready precisely at the scheduled time to set out
on foot. … ‘
vii) ‘In the Far Eastern gardens rocks stand for mountains.’
(Henry W. Wells: Shakuntala’s Watering Pot)
vii) ‘But I decided that I should put him at ease, that I should assure
him that I would be clumsy no more, but try to become polished
and make up for my vegetarianism by cultivating other
accomplishments which fitted one for polite society.’ (M.K.
Gandhi: An Autobiography)
3 Make two phrasal verbs from each of these verbs by adding adverb
or/and a preposition, and use them in meaningful sentences:
get
bring
show
put
round
28
Extension of Meaning
2.4 A WORD USED AS DIFFERENT PARTS OF SPEECH
You saw in the previous sections that a word could have a number of meanings
with some common element in them. Sometimes a word can be used as different
parts of speech, that is, with different grammatical functions, for example, both
as a noun and a verb.
2.4.1 Noun and Verb
In Section 3.3.1 we saw that a word like could have two or more meanings
related in some way even when it was used as the same part of speech. We shall
now deal with words which have different meanings as nouns and verbs, but still
related in some way.
Samples:
i) part (noun): Parts of this town are beautiful.
(verb) : ‘Here I wasted ten minutes every day before a huge
mirror watching myself arranging my tie and parting my
hair in the correct fashion.’ (M.K. Gandhi: An
Autobiography) (separating along a line with a comb)
• ii) charm (noun) : ‘ and settled in like a charm’ (Anita Desai: A Devoted
Son) (a magic spell) (verb) : She can charm you with her smile. (please; win over)
iii) couple (noun): “A Couple of years before the historic Salt March to Dandi, he
had once got ready precisely at the scheduled
time to set out on foot ” (Pyarelal: One Perfect Act)
(two; a few).
(verb) : The train will be ready to leave when all the carriages
have been coupled.
(joined together)
Check Your Progress 6
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences by using the correct forms of the
words given below. Indicate in each case whether the word is used as a noun or
a verb. (Each word has to be used twice, once as a noun and once as a verb.)
pitch, race, litter, file, spell.
i) He usually the ball at the right place.
(Answer: pitches, verb.)
ii) The cricket is wet today.
iii) Many thoughts through his mind when his son was in the operatingtheatre.
iv) I wish to see his personal
v) You have to feed the cat and its
vi) He has the word wrongly.
vii) She came first in the 100-metre
viii) The magician cast a on her.
ix) Please this letter.
x) ‘The muddy ground was with crawling worms’.
(Khushwant Singh: The Mark of Vishnu)
.29
Understanding Vocabulary
2.4.2 Noun and Adjective
You have seen that a word can be used both as a noun and a verb and thus have
different meanings. Now we shall consider words which can be used as nouns
and adjectives.
Take these examples:
i) kind (noun) ‘…an offering of cash and had’
(in kind = using goods or natural products
rather than money)
(adjective) ‘It is well to be kind to the poor.’ (Rudyard
Kipling: Kim).
ii) negative (noun) The answer is in the negative. (no)
(adjective) The test gave a negative result.
(marked by absence of qualities )
iii) sovereign (noun) The Prime Minister in Britain is appointed
by the sovereign. (king or queen)
(adjective) Ours is a sovereign state.
(independent and self-governing)
iv) general (noun) He has the rank of a General.
(the highest rank in the army)
(adjective) We are going to have a general election next
month. (throughout the country)
Check Your Progress 7
1 Complete this descriptive paragraph, filling in the blanks with the seven
adjectives given below:
stern, catholic, novel, perfect, invalid, faint, concrete.
Veeru has a look and people fear him But in fact, he means no
harm to anyone. He is a gentleman with
tastes. He loves to study the cultures of different countries. But he has
similarities with his father. He is short-tempered and is likely to
get angry at the slightest offence. At office he makes proposals
for a number of things, like a method of keeping records. He
was in the army once and claims to have been injured during a battle.
However, this has been found to be an claim.
2 Use each of the following words in sentences as two different parts of
speech having related meanings:
a) as nouns and verbs
address
cable
30
Extension of Meaning
sound
b) as adjective and verb
close
3 Here are 4 short extracts from R.K. Narayan’s the Guide. Read them
carefully and answer the multiple-choice questions given below.
Write a, b, or c for your answer.
i) There was so much warmth in their approach that he began to feel it
was but right they should touch his feet; as a matter of fact, it
seemed possible that he himself might bow low, take the dust of his
own feet, and press it to his eyes.
ii) He left his seat abruptly, as if he had been stung by a wasp, and
approached Velan.
iii) In that dark chamber, as the bats whirred about and the faroff sounds of the village ceased, a great silence descended.
iv) It occurred to him that the best course for him would be to run away
from the whole thing.
Questions
i) The word right In the tint extract means
a) not on the left
b) proper
c) morally just
ii) In the second extract left means
a) past tense of leave
b) not the right side
c) favoured the communist party
iii) In extract 3 dark means
31 a) evil
Understanding Vocabulary
b) tending towards black
c) without light
iv) In extract 3 bats mean
a) flying mouse-like animals
b) batsmen
c) wooden sticks used for hitting the ball in cricket.
v) In extract 4 course means
a) movement in space or time
b) the path over which something moves
c) plan of action
4 Give an account of an interesting incident that you saw in about 200
words, using at least 10 of the following words as any part of speech.
Compare your answer with that given by us at the end of the unit.
light, spirit, fly, nursery, bank, principal, subject, book, key, comb, dry,
square, take (+ adverb or preposition), mass, digest, part, sound, conduct,
express.
32
Extension of Meaning
2.5 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, you have learnt
• to recognize the different meanings of words in different contexts,
• to use words as different parts of speech, with different but related meanings, and
• to use words more effectively in your writing.
2.6 KEYWORDS
‘abstract: separated from what is real or concrete
‘adjective: a word that names a quality, or that defines or limits a noun
‘concrete: existing in material form; that can be touched, felt, etc.
extended: enlarged
‘multiple: having many parts or elements
noun: a word (not a pronoun) which can function as the subject or object of a
verb, or the object of a preposition
‘part of ‘speech: one of the classes of words, e.g. noun, verb, adjective
‘Phrasal ‘verb: e.g., go in for, put off, take a fifer
stress: extra force, used in speaking, on a particular word or syllable
verb: a word or phrase indicating what somebody or something does, what state
somebody or something is in, what is becoming of something or somebody.
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
i) literal ii) literal iii) extended
Check Your Progress 2
I. wire {noon)
i) length of metal drawn out into a thread.
ii) a telegram.
A telegram is a message sent through a wire.
bank (noun)
i) a place where money is deposited and withdrawn on demand.
ii) a place where reserve supplies are stored.
In both cases something is stored for use later.
principal(noun)
i) the person who administers and controls a school or college.
ii) the money put into a business or lent, on which interest is payable.
33
Understanding Vocabulary
The common element is the idea of being the chief(person/amount).
bench (noun)
i) a long seat for two or more people.
ii) The bench: the seat where a judge sits in court.
The common element is ‘the seat’.
command (verb)
e.g. The officer commanded his soldiers to attack the city.
ii) to deserve and get.
Great men command respect.
In both meanings, one has the right to get something (obedience or respect).
2. i) book ii) principal iii), cold iv) subject v) bank vi) cold vii) Principal
viii) bank ix) book x) subject.
Check Your Progress 3
column (noun)
i) This building has a number of beautifully carved columns. (pillars)
ii) A column of smoke rose from the house. (anything looking like a pillar)
iii) In today’s paper there is a four-column article on new books. (division of
a page)
iv) A column of soldiers marched past that building. (a number of rows)
comb (noun)
i) You must use a comb to tidy your hair.
ii) The comb on the cock’s head shook gently. (the red growth of flesh on
top of the head of a cock)
dry (adjective)
i) In dry weather, boys play cricket on this field. (without rain)
ii) You can’t get any wine in the hotels here. It’s a dry area. (where sale
of alcohol is not allowed)
iii) I find history a dry subject. (dull)
iv) The clothes are dry. (not wet)
square (noun)
i) Can you draw a square with each side 10 cm. long?
ii) I’ll meet you in the town square. (a broad open place at the meeting of
streets)
dress (verb)
i) I’ll be ready in a moment; I’m dressing. (put on clothes)
ii) You’ll have to dress the chickens before you cook them. (clean and
prepare for cooking)
iii) You’ll have to get the wound dressed. (cleaned and covered)
Check Your Progress 4
force
i) abstract
He pushed the door with great force. (bodily power)
ii) concrete
Both Army and Air force were employed to meet the attack. (groups of people
trained for military action)
green
i) abstract
Green is a nice colour for the background of this paining. 34
Extension of Meaning
ii) concrete
In summer, people gather on the village green. (smooth stretch of grass)
i) abstract
You need to face this angry mob. (Bravery, determination)
ii) concrete
He was wounded in the stomach and the surgeon had to put his guns back in.
(the bowels or intestines)
Check Your Progress 5
1 i) off, ii) up, iii) for, iv) after, v) in.
2 i)give in: yield
ii) gives off: sends out
iii) cover up: prevent it from being noticed
iv) fell for: fell in love with
v) see (you) off: go to the station with you when you are going on a
journey
vi) set out: begin a course of action
vii) stand for: represent
viii) make up for: compensate for.
3 get
we got onto a good start in our business.
The thieves got away with all our money.
It’s difficult to bring down the prices once they go up.
You must bring up your children carefully.
show
Very few people showed up at the party.
Don’t show off, People don’t like it.
Put through
They had to put through the ongoing movies.
Please put me through to Mr. Kaushal.
Round up
Let’s round up the discussion.
The police were trying to round up the smugglers.
Check Your Progress 6
ii) pitch (n.), iii) raced (v.), iv) file (n.), v) litter (n.), vi) spelt (v.), vii) mcc (n.),
viii) spell (n.), ix) file (v.), x) littered (v.).
Check Your Progress 7
1 stem, perfect, catholic, faint, concrete, novel, invalid.
2 a) address
What is your new address† (noun)
The Prime Minister addressed the large gathering (verb)
cable
A new telephone cable is being laid along the road here. (noun)35 He called his wife to come soon. (verb)
Understanding Vocabulary
coil
The electric coil of the motor had got burnt up. (noun)
The snake coiled itself around the bone. (verb)
sound
Did you hear the sound of someone coming? (noun)
They sounded the alarm as soon as they knew about the prisoner’s escape.
(verb)
b) close
Our office is close to the shops. (adjective)
Let’s close all the windows. (verb)
3 i) (b)
ii) (a)
iv) (a)
4 Specimen Answer
An Interesting Incident
Yesterday, I was coming out of our local bank when I felt that my bag had
suddenly become fight. So I went back to look for what I might have left
behind. There it was, lying on the floor near the lockers. The book I had
been reading — a Reader’s Digest volume. As I picked it up, my eyes fell on
a man trying to open one locker after another. I became suspicious. In my
hurry to inform the bank officers, I dropped the book again. The thief flew
off dropping the key from his hand. The bank officers sounded the alarm. I
followed the thief to the market square and then to the nursery school. But
he had disappeared like a spirit.
The bank guards combed the area till they found him hidden under some dry
hay behind the nursery. They immediately caught him. They expressed their
thanks to me and left. For a week, the incident was the principal subject of
discussion at our house.
36
Extension of Meaning
UNIT 3 MULTIPLE MEANINGS
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Homonyms: Words having the Same Sounds and Spellings
3.2.1 Homonyms as the Same Part of Speech
3.2.2 Homonyms as Different Parts of Speech
3.2.3 Homonyms used for Puns
3.3 Homophones: Words having the Same Sounds but Different Spellings
3.3. 1 Homophones as the Same Part of Speech
3.3.2 Homophones as Different Parts of Speech
3.4 Words having the Same Spellings but Different Sounds
3.5 Words with Some Similarity in Sounds and Spellings
3.6 Let Us Sum Up
3.7 Key Words
3.8 Suggested Reading
Answers
3.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to
• recognize words which have the same sounds and spellings but entirely
different meanings,
• recognize words which have the same sounds but different spellings
and meanings,
• recognize words which have the same spellings but are pronounced differently,
• distinguish between words which have some similarity in sounds and
spellings, and
• increase your vocabulary for spoken and written English and make your use
of the language more effective.
3.1 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit, you learnt to recognize and use words which had a number of
related but different meanings. In this unit, we are going to deal with words which
are either pronounced similarly or spelt in the same way, or have a partial similarity,
but which have entirely different meanings. While in Unit 3 we discussed words
each of which had a number of related but different meanings, in this unit we shall
take up words which are entirely different even though they look and/or sound alike.
The recognition and use of these words will help you to distinguish between them
and to make your speech and writing clear and effective. These are called homonyms
and homophones. In order to appreciate these we must understand two terms
synonym and antonym.
Synonym refers to the sameness of meaning by means of different words within a
language. E.g., the word ‘laryngitis’ and ‘sore throat’ have the same denotative meaning,
although they differ in their context of use, the former used in a more technical sense
than the latter. Similarly, the words ’steed’ and ‘charger’ in a more poetic way represent
the meaning of the word ’horse’. As a literary device the use of synonyms functions as
emphasis as well as to expand the range of meaning. e.g.
37
Understanding Vocabulary
But wherefore let we then our faithful friends,
Associates and copartners of our loss
Lye thus astonisht on the oblivion pool.
(J. Milton Paradise Lost II, 264-66)
The synonyms used are ‘friends’, ‘associates’ and ‘copartners’ and these show the
close bonds of friendship and co-operations amongst the followers of Satan in Hell.
Antonyms refer to contrasts in word meaning, particularly in adjectives though also
in nouns and verbs, E.gs. hot-cold, young-old, male-female, alive-dead, buy-sell.
These are mainly used to attract attention to a sense of contrast as in the lines below:
Therefore pardon me,
And not impute this yielding to light love,
which in the dark night hath so discovered.
(W. Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet II, ii)
Here the word ‘light’ means ‘frivolous’ and we are also aware of it as an antonym to
dark.
3.2 HOMONYMS: WORDS HAVING THE SAME
SOUNDS AND SPELLINGS
Look at the word mint in the following sentences:
1 We grow mint in our kitchen garden. (a plant whose leaves are used
for chutney and for flavouring)
2 These coins have just come from the mint. (place where coins are made
under government authority)
Would you say that mint in sentence 1 and mint in sentence 2 were two different
words pronounced and spelt alike? Or would you say the same word had two
different meanings?
In this section we shall deal with words of this type.
3.2.1 Homonyms as the Same Part of Speech
The words we are going to discuss in this section have three things in common.
i) They have the same pronunciation.
ii) They have the same spellings.
iii) They are used as the same part of speech.
But the meanings of the words are different.
Example:
mole’: The mole on her left cheek makes her look more beautiful. (permanent
small dark spot on a person’s skin)
mole2
: The fur of a mole is sometimes used for making garments. (a small,
fur-covered animal with tiny eyes. It makes tunnels in the ground to live in.)
Both the words are used as nouns in the sentences above.
Multiple Meanings
38
Check Your Progress 1
1. Say what parts of speech the italicized words belong to in these
sentences. Also give their meanings in a few words.
i) a) ‘The interior rooms of Bhupati’s house faced a plot of land that it would be
exaggeration to call a garden.’
(Rabindranath Tagore: Broken Nest)
b) ‘Here lies the chief clue to the Shakuntala image, even above the pathos
and erotic sentiment implied in the plot or story.’
(Henry W. Wells: Shakuntala’s Watering Pot)
ii) a) ‘O how long to travel back,
And tread again that ancient track!
That I once more right reach that plain,
Where first I left my glorious train;
From whence the enlighten’d spirit
sees That shady City of Palm-trees!’ (From H. Vaughan: The Retreats)b) Your fate is not written on the palm, but in your work.
iii) a) ‘On such occasions Margayya charged a fee for the blank form itself, and
then another for tilling in the relevant details.’
(R.K. Narayan: The Financial Experts)
b) The atmosphere at the party was charged with excitement.
iv) a) A lock of hair hangs on her beautiful forehead.
b) The key to the lock was missing.
v) a) Don’t lie on the sand.
b) Don’t lie to me.
2. The words in the following pairs of sentences are used in two different
contexts and have entirely different meanings. Can you say what the context
may be in each case? (Choose from the list given below.) Give the meaning
39 of each word. Check your answers.
Understanding Vocabulary
months, classroom, hotel, soft drink, parade, Diwali cleaning, on a
farm, lending library.
i) a) Write with a blue pen.
b) The tiger got into the pen and carried off an animal.
ii) a) Lime is used for white-washing walls and ceilings.
b) Would you like to have some lime juice?
iii) a) March is generally pleasant in the hills.
b) He fainted during the march.
iv) a) There are several pages missing in this magazine.
b) The page will carry your luggage to the taxi.
3 Look at the diagram for the word flight
below. flight
the act of flying a set of stairs
between through the air floors
natural wings
aero Iders birds insects
The diagram above explains how the different meanings of the word ‘flight’ are
related to each other and where they branch off or differ from each other. It also
gives details of the different uses.
Make simple diagrams for the following words to bring out the different meanings
with examples. Use your dictionary.
game, table, trunk.
Multiple Meanings
40
3.2.2. Homonyms as Different Parts of Speech
In this section, we shall deal with homonyms which belong to different parts of speech. For
example, the two words in the following pair are pronounced and spelt alike but have
different meanings and are used as different parts of speech.
Example:
loaf. a) Some young people prefer to loaf about rather than work hard for the
examinations.
(verb: to spend time idly)
b) Please give me a loaf of bread.
(noun: a mass of bread cooked as a separate quantity)
Check Your Progress 2
1 Say which parts of speech the italicized words in ”each pair of sentences
belong to. Give the meanings in a few words.
i) a) He put the money away in a safe.
b) It’s not quite safe to go out in the dark here.
ii) a) When you train children to use their imagination they start creating
beautiful
b) ‘The lama, not so well used to trains as he had pretended, started as the 3.25
a.m. south-bound ’roared in.’
(Rudyard Kipling: Kim)
iii) a) Robinson Crusoe was marooned on an island.
b) He usually wears a maroon pullover.
iv) a) The poor woman sat on a straw mat.
b) The book had a cover with a mat finish.
v) a) He covered himself with a quilt padded with down.
2
Understanding Vocabulary
41
ng
b) I am going down to get some wood. 3
vi) a) That book is mine.
b) There is a gold mine at Kolar.
2. Each of the following is in fact two words with different meanings, that
is, homonyms:
ball, customs, last, seal, start, state.
Activity 2
Using the clues given, fill in the crossword puzzle below.
(Use your dictionary, if necessary.)
1. When you enter a country, you have to pass through and
and get your belongings
checked.
2. Please throw the to me.
3. The President made a speech on the
of the nation.
Clues Down
1. A large fish-eating animal.
2. We have to early to get there on time.
3. Let’sMultiple Meanings
42
3.2.3 Homonyms Used for Puns
Writers use words with two or more
meanings to say witty things which
are clever and amusing.
E.g. ‘How is life?’
‘Depends on the liver’. The word ‘liver’ above can be either of two words, both of
which would fit the context above. The sentence could
mean: ‘Life depends on how good your liver (the organ n the
body which produces bile and cleans the blood) is.’ Or it could mean:
‘Life depends on the person who lives it.’ This play on the word
‘Liver’ is called a pun.
Check Your Progress 3
Explain the ‘puns’ in the following puzzles. Use your dictionary if necessary:
i) Why can’t your nose be twelve inches long? Because then it would be a foot.
ii) Why didn’t the skeleton cross the road? It didn’t have the guts.
iii) What did the traffic light say to the car? Don’t look now. I’m changing.
3.3 HOMOPHONES: WORDS HAVING THE SAME
SOUNDS BUT DIFFERENT SPELLINGS
In the previous sections of this unit we have already discussed homonyms, which
have the same sounds and spelling but have different meanings. Now we shall
discuss words which are spelt differently but pronounced alike. These are called
homophones.
43
Understanding Vocabulary
3.3.1 Homophones as the Same Part of Speech
Take these words
doe (noun) A doe played about on the grass.
(a female deer)
dough (noun) The woman made dough for the bread.
(paste of wheat flour)
The sounds of the two words above are the same. They are both nouns. But they are
spelt differently and their meanings are entirely different, too. We must avoid
mixing up such words in our writing.
Check Your Progress 4
Say to what parts of speech the pairs of italicized words used in the following
sentences belong and give their meanings in a few words.
i) a) I met Yamuna at the school/eye yesterday.
b) People blame/ate for all their failures.
ii) a) He lost a lot of money gambling at cards.
b) The children can gambol on the lawn here.
iii) a) The teacher gave the students an oral exercise.
b) The student must try to develop his aural comprehension by listening to
spoken English.
Multiple Meanings
44
3.3.2 Homophones as Different Parts of Speech
The pairs of words used above belonged to the same part of speech. But there are
pairs of words pronounced alike but spelt differently, and used as different parts
of speech. They have different meanings too.
E.g. braid (noun) The girl wore her hair in braids.
(strands of hair woven together)
brayed (verb ) The donkey brayed aloud.
(made a sound like that of a trumpet )
Check Your Progress 5
1 Match the words in columns A and B having the same sounds.
A B
Beer Carrot
ceiling scent
cellar serial
corps boil
Cent seller
carat bid
bowl
Core
Bier
Cereal
Dam sealing
Course
2. Make sentences bringing out the difference in meaning in these pairs of
words. Use your dictionary,
45
Understanding Vocabulary
i) fare
fair
ii) hew
hue
iii) illicit
elicit
v) hare
vi) gait
vii) tire/ Tyre
3 Say whether the words italicized in the sentences below are used
properly or not.
Say what the correct word is.
i) He ring the bell to indicate the alarm.
ii) Would you like to have red beet for salad?
iii) Did they bury the dead man?
iv) The urgent up Mount Everest was difficult.
v) Some poor people have to live on alms.
vi) Thank you for the complement!
Multiple Meanings
46
vii) There is no electric current in the wire.
4 Where is the play on words or ‘pun’ in the following?
i) ‘How is bread made?’
‘I know that!’ Alice cried eagerly. You take some flour …..
‘Where do you pick the dower?’ the White Queen asked, ‘In a garden or in
the hedges?’
‘Well, it isn’t picked at all’, Alice explained: it’s ground …….. ……………
How many acres of ground said the White Queen.
(Lewis Carroll’s: Alice Through the looking Glass)
ii) ‘Mine is a long and sad tale!’ said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing ‘It
is a long tail certainly,’ said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse’s
tail, ‘but why do you call it sad?
(Lewis Carroll: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
iv) ‘Not on thy sole but on thy soul, harsh
Jew Thou mak’st thy knife keen.’
(William Shakespeare: Merchant of Venice)
3.4 WORDS HAVING THE SAME SPELLINGS BUT
DIFFERENT SOUNDS
Look at these sentences:
1 A row of books stood on the shelf.
2 There was a big row outside my house.
In 1 row means ‘a number of things in a line*, pronounced/ruu/.
In 2 row means ‘a noisy disturbance”, pronounced / rau /.
We should be careful not to confuse such words.
47
Understanding Vocabulary
Check Your Progress 6 Multiple Meanings
Consult your dictionary and write down two pronunciations of these words and give their
different meanings.
bow
entrance
live
3.5 WORDS WITH SOME SIMILARITY IN SOUNDS
AND SPELLINGS
Till now we have discussed words pronounced or spelt alike. Here are some words which
have only slight differences in pronunciation and spelling; this causes confusion.
Examples.
1) access (noun) right of approaching; way to a place.
excess (noun) the fact of being more than what is proper .
There is no access to the house through this part of the forest.
lxi excess of rich fried food is bad for anyone.
2) career (noun) progress through life; profession.
carrier ( noun) a person or company that carries goods or
people for payment.
48
A career in journalism is quite exciting.
India has a number of aircraft carriers.
Check Your Progress 7
1 Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with suitable words from the list
given here:
alternate symmetry carrots artist
alternative cemetery carat grave
art
artiste
i) You should eat if you want to improve your
eyesight.
We bought butter and milk from the
You must come for a check-up every day.
The soldier was buried in this
Yamini Krishnamurti is a renowned
This building lacks in design.
Our plan has failed. We must look for an
solution.
Shyam bought a 24 gold watch.
It is convenient to make a note of all one’s appointments in a
The painted the portrait in a hurry.
2 Read the following passage and answer the questions given below. Check
your answers,
Before actually entering the university for my B.A., I had a whole year’s reprieve
by failing in the university entrance examination held in the high school. I had
expected to fare ill in physics and chemistry, both of which had defied my
understanding. I never understood what I was expected to do with the “data”
provided with the so-called problems the relevance of “atmospheric pressure” or
“atomic weight,” or what to do with logarithm tables, or the why or how of a
“normal” solution. These points never became clear to me either through my own
efforts or through our teacher’s explanations. I had been certain of failure in these
two subject, but, as if by a miracle, I had somehow passed in them, though not
with flying colours. On the contrary, I had failed where I was most confident —
English. I failed so miserably and completely that everyone wondered if I was
literate at all. My father, in spite of his strict attitudes in school matters, had one
very pleasant quality — he never bothered about the examination results. He
always displayed sympathy for a fallen candidate; he had no faith in the
examination system at all. But even he was forced to exclaim in surprise, “Stupid
fellow, you have failed in English! Why?” Proficiency in English being a social
hallmark, I remained silent without offering any explanation, though I knew
why. One of our English texts was a grey-bound book of chilling dullness called
Explorations and Discoveries, pages full of Mungo Park’s expeditions and so
forth. In my whole career I have not come across any book to match its
unreadability. I had found it impossible, and totally abolished it from my
universe, deciding to depend upon other questions in the examination from
Oliver Twist or Poetical Selections. But I found in the examination hall that four
out of six questions were based on Explorations – that horrible man the questionsetter seemed to have been an abnormal, explorationist. I gave up, left the
examination hall in half an hour, and sat in contemplation on one of the brick
monuments beside the lily pond.
(From R.K. Narayan: My Days, Orient Paperbacks)
49
Understanding Vocabulary
Glossary
reprieve
defied
‘data
‘atmospheric ‘pressure:
atomic weight
’logarithm
‘miracle
with ‘flying’coIours
on the ‘contrary
‘literate
proficiency
‘hallmark
‘chilling’
Expedition
Unreadability
abolished
universe
abnormal
explorationist
Contemplation
Monument
Questions
postponement; delay
offered difficulties that could not be overcome
facts
pressure due to the weight of the column of air
above a point; about 6.6 kg. per square inch at sea
level weight of an atom of an element expressed
on a scale in which an atom of oxygen is 16
one of a series of numbers which make it possible
to work out problems in multiplication and
division by adding and subtracting.
Example: 2 3 = 8 therefore, 3 is the logarithm of 8
to base 2, or 3 = log 2 8. remarkable and
surprising event with great success
a phrase used to make a contradiction more
emphatic able to read and write
skill; being an expert
distinguishing characteristic (of
excellence) making cold
a journey for a definite purpose
the quality of not being easy or pleasant to
read do away with
Everything that exists
different from what is normal
one who makes a special study of explorations
deep thought
a building, column, or statue serving to keep
alive the memory of a person or event
Multiple Meanings
i) In what subjects did the author pass even though he didn’t expect to?
ii) What subject did he fail in?
iii) Choose the best answer:
The author’s father was not disturbed by his son’s examination results because
a) he was a man of wide sympathies.
b) he did not think the examination system was fair and reliable.
c) he knew that his son was stupid.
iv) Why was it necessary to learn English well in those days?
v) ‘abolished it from my universe’ means that he paid no attention to that
book. Therefore, abolished and universe here are examples of
a) multiple meanings.
b) extended meanings.
Which?
Give homophones for ‘whole’ and ‘fare’
50
vii) Say yes or no.
a) entrance in this passage refers to the examination which had to
be passed in order to enter the university for higher studies.
b) tables here mean pieces of furniture with the tops and legs.
c) subjects here mean members of a State ruled over by a king.
d) faith here means religion.
e) bound here means fastened and covered with cardboard.
f) career is a support for luggage, etc. fixed to a bicycle, motor-car, etc.
3.6 LET US SUM UP
In this unit you have learnt
• to distinguish words having the same pronunciation and spelling,
but different meanings,
• to distinguish words pronounced alike but spelt differently,
• to distinguish words which are spelt alike but pronounced differently, and
• to use such words correctly in your own writing to make it more effective.
3.7 KEY WORDS
‘homonym: a word that is the same in form and sound as another but different
in meaning
e.g. about
about
=
=
a little more or less than
(about three kilometers)
here and there
(they were running about)
‘homophone: a word pronounced like another but different in meaning, spelling or
e.g. son, sun.
pun: humorous use of different words which sound the same or of two meanings
of the same word.
3.8 SUGGESTED READING
1. Lewis Carroll: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
2 R.K. Narayan: My Days.
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1 i) a) noun: a piece of ground, usually small.
b) noun: plan of the events in a story.
ii) a) noun: a tree growing in warm climates with no branches and a mass oflarge leaves at the top.
b) noun: inner surface of the hand between the wrist and the fingers.
iii) a) verb: asked as a price.
51 b) verb: filled.
Understanding Vocabulary
iv) a) noun: portion of hair that naturally hangs together. Multiple Meanings
b) noun: appliance or mechanism by which a door, lid, etc. may be
fastened with a bolt.
v) a) verb: put oneself flat on a horizontal surface.
b) verb: make a statement that one knows to be untrue.
2 i) a) classroom; an instrument used for writing.
b) on a farm; an enclosure for cattle.
ii) a) Diwali cleaning; white substance got by burning limestone.
b) soft drink; a round, juicy fruit like a lemon but more acid.
iii) a) months; the third month of the year.
b) parade; the act of walking with a regular step.
iv) a) lending library; one side of a sheet of paper in a book, etc.
b) hotel; a boy servant in a hotel, club, etc.
3
game
tennis cricket football cards
table
a piece of furniture
consisting of a flat top
With legs
dining table kitchen billiard
table table
list of facts, information
etc. arranged in columns
table of multiplication railway
contents tables time
table
main part of any structure A large box with a hinged lid
main stem of a tree body without trunk line for carrying boot of
(contrasted with the head, arms or – main line clothes, etc. a car
branches) legs of a railway while (American)
travelling
52
53
Check Your Progress 2
1 i) a) noun: a fireproof and burglarproof box in which money and other
valuable are kept.
b) adjective: free from danger.
ii) a)verb: teach and give practice to someone.
b) noun: train = a number of railway coaches, wagons, etc. joined
together.
iii) a)verb: put on a desert island, uninhabited coast, etc. and abandoned there.
b) adjective: of brownish-red colour.
iv) a)noun: a piece of material, woven or plaited, of straw, fibre, etc. used
as a floor covering or for sleeping on.
b) adjective: dull, not shiny.
v) a) noun: soft under-feathers of birds.
b) adverb: from a higher to a lower place.
vi) a) (possessive) pronoun: belonging to me.
b) noun: excavation in the earth from which minerals are extracted.
2 Across: 1 customs 4 ball 6 state
Down: 2 seal 3 start 5 last
Check Your Progress 3
i) ‘a foot’ can mean both ‘twelve inches’ and ‘the lower end of the leg, beginning
at the ankle’.
ii) ‘guts’ can mean both ‘intestines’ and ‘courage’.
iii) ‘changing’ here can mean both ‘changing the colour’, e.g., green to red, or
‘changing clothes’.
Check Your Progress 4
i) a) noun: a festival or entertainment, usually outdoor.
b) noun: destiny, the power looked upon as controlling all events.
ii) a)verb: playing grates of chance for money.
b) verb: make playful, jumping or skipping movements.
iii) a)adjective: using the spoken word.
b) adjective: related to hearing.
Check Your Progress 5
A B
Beer Bier
Ceiling Sealing
Cellar Seller
Corps Core
Cent Scent
Carat Carrot
Bowl Boll
Cereal Serial
Dam Damn
Course Coarse
2 i) What is the bus/are to the station?
I met an old friend at the trade
fair.
ii) Let’s New down this branch, as it keeps striking the electric
wires. Look at the beautiful hues of the rainbow.
Understanding Vocabulary
iii) Some people have been arrested for illicit sale of opium. Multiple Meanings I tried my best to elicit the truth from him
iv) He applied grease to the rusty parts of the
machine. Athens is the capital of Greece.
v) A hare was eating grass on our
lawn. His hair is falling fast.
vi) I can recognize a person by his gait.
We have to buy the tickets at the gate before entering the exhibition grounds.
vii) The front tyre of our scooter was
punctured. A long walk will tire the child.
3 i) No. It should be bell.
ii) Yes.
iii) No. It should be buried.
iv) No. It should be ascent.
v) Yes.
vi) No. It should be compliment.
vii) No. It should be current.
4 i) The words flour and flower are homophones, that is, they have the same sounds,
but different spellings and meanings. They are mixed up here by the White
Queen. Again ‘ground’ is two words which are homonyms. In the first use, it
means the past participle form of ‘grind’ that is, reduced to powder by
crushing between millstones. In the second use, it means ‘the surface of the
ii) ‘Tale’ and ‘tail’ are homophones. The Mouse and Alice mix up the two words.
iii) The Jew is shown as sharpening his knife on the under surface or the
sole of his shoe. The speaker means that the Jew’s ‘soul’ will suffer.
‘Sole’ and ‘5oui’ are homophones.
Check Your Progress 6
bow (n. ) a piece of wood curved by a tight string used for shooting arrows. bow!
Bow (v.) to bend the head or body.
entrance (n.) opening by which one enters.
entrance (v.) to fill with emotion and delight.
live (v.) to be alive.
live (adj .) having life e.g. live fish.
Check Your Progress 7
1 i) carrots, ii) dairy, iii) alternate, iv) cemetery, v) artiste, vi) symmetry,
vii) alternative, viii) carat, ix) diary, x) artist.
2 i) In physics and chemistry
ii) In English
iii) b)
iv) It was a hallmark of social status.
v) b) extended meanings
vi) whole — hole
fare — fair
vii) a) Yes, b) No, c) No, d) No, e) Yes, f) No.
54
UNIT 4 STUDY OF LITERARY TEXTS
Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 M.K. Gandhi: Playing the English Gentleman
4.3 Gerard Manley Hopkins: Spring
4.4 Let Us Sum Up
4.5 Suggested Reading
Answers
4.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this Unit, you will be able to
• understand the ideas contained in a simple prose passage or a poem,
• use a dictionary to find out the particular meaning of a word that will fit
the context in which it appears in a passage,
• understand the meanings of words used in extended senses in a passage,
• rewrite a given text in a different style.
4.1 INTRODUCTION
In Units 9-10, you are going to study some prose passages and simple poems. To
understand them in depth, you will need to understand the meanings of the
content words used in them. In this way, you will reinforce your understanding
of Units 1-6, where content words and their meanings were discussed. In doing
the exercises related to the passages and poems in units 9- 10, you’ll need to use
your dictionary a lot. We have not glossed many of the words in the passages or
poems, as we would like you to use your dictionary as much as possible. .
4.2 M.K. GANDHI: PLAYING THE
ENGLISH GENTLEMAN
Read the following passage from Gandhiji’s autobiography, The Story of My
Experiments with Truth. The original was written in Gujarati and Mahadev
Desai translated it into English.
In this passage, Gandhiji has written about his life as a student in England.
After you have read the passage, try to do the exercises given here. After completing
each exercise, check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit
Playing the English Gentleman
M.K. Gandhi
1. My faith in vegetarianism grew on me from day to day. Salt’s book whetted my
appetite for dietetic studies. I went in for all books available on vegetarianism
and read them. One of these, Howard Williams’ Jute Ethics of Diet, was a
55
Understanding Vocabulary
‘biographical history of the literature of humane dietetics from the earliest period
to the present day’. It tried to make out that all philosophers and prophets from
Pythagoras and Jesus down to those of the present age were vegetarians. Dr.
Anna Kingsford’s The Perfect Way in Diet was also an attractive book. Dr.
Allinson’s writings on health and hygiene were likewise very helpful. He
advocated a curative system based on regulation of the diet. Himself a
vegetarian, he prescribed for his patients also a strictly vegetarian diet. The result
of reading all this literature was that dietetic experiments came to take an
important place in my life. Health was the principal consideration of these
experiments to begin with. But later on religion became the supreme motive.
2. Meanwhile my friend had not ceased to worry about me. His love for me led him
to think that, if I persisted in my objections to meat eating, I should not only
develop a weak constitution, but should remain a duffer, because I should never
feel at home in English society. When he came to know that I had begun to
interest myself in books on vegetarianism, he was afraid lest these studies should
muddle my head; that I should fritter my life away in experiments, forgetting my
own work, and become a crank. He therefore made one last effort to reform me.
He one day invited me to go to the theatre. Before the play we were to dine
together at the Holborn Restaurant, to me a palatial place and the first big
restaurant I had been to since leaving the Victoria Hotel. The stay at that hotel
had scarcely been a helpful experience for I had not lived there with my wits
about me. The friend had planned to take me to this restaurant evidently
imagining that modesty would forbid any questions. And it was a very big
company of diners in the midst of which my friend and I sat sharing a table
between us. The first course was soup. I wondered what it might be made of, but
dared not ask the friend about it. I therefore summoned the waiter. My friend saw
the movement and sternly asked across the table what was the matter. With
considerable hesitation I told him that 1 wanted to inquire if the soup was a
vegetable soup. ‘You are too clumsy for decent society’, he passionately
exclaimed. ‘If you cannot behave yourself, you had better go. Feed in some other
restaurant and await me outside.’ This delighted me. Out I went. There was a
vegetarian restaurant close by, but it was closed. So I went without food that
night. 1 accompanied my friend to the theatre, but he never said a word about the
scene 1 had created. On my part of course there was nothing to say.
3. That was the last friendly tussle we had. It did not affect our relations in the least.
I could see and appreciate the love by which all my friend’s efforts were actuated,
and my respect for him was all the greater on account of our differences in
thought and action.
4. But I decided that I should put him at ease, that I should assure him that I would
be clumsy no more, but try to become polished and make up for my
vegetarianism by cultivating other accomplishments which fitted one for polite
society. And for this purpose I undertook the all too impossible task of becoming
an English gentleman.
5. The clothes after the Bombay cut that I was wearing were, I thought, unsuitable
for English society, and I got new ones at the Army and Navy Stores. I also went
in for a chimney-pot hat costing nineteen shillings-an excessive price in those
days. Not content with this, I wasted ten pounds on an evening suit made in Bond
Street, the centre of fashionable life in London; and got my good and noblehearted brother to send me a double watch-chain of gold. It was not correct to
wear a ready-made tie and I learnt the art of tying one for myself. While in India,
the mirror had been a luxury permitted on the days when the family barber gave
me a shave. Here I wasted ten minutes every day before a huge mirror, watching
myself arranging my tie and parting my hair in the correct fashion. My, hair was
by no means soft, and every day it meant a regular struggle with the brush to
keep it in position. Each time the hat was put on and off, the hand would
automatically move towards the head to adjust the hair, not to mention the other
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civilized habit of the hand every now and then operating for the same
purpose when sitting in polished society.
6. As if all this were not enough to make me look the thing, I directed my attention
to other details that were supposed to go towards the making of an English
gentleman. I was told it was necessary for me to take lessons in dancing, French
and elocution. French was not only the language of neighbouring France, but it
was the lingua franca of the Continent over which I had a desire to travel. I
decided to take dancing lessons at a class and paid down £3 as fees for a term. I
must have taken about six lessons in three weeks. But it was beyond me to
achieve anything like rhythmic motion. I could not follow the piano and hence
found it impossible to keep time. What then was I to do? The recluse in the fable
kept a cat to keep off the rats, and then a cow to feed the cat with milk, and a
man to keep the cow and so on. My ambitions also grew like the family of the
recluse. I thought I should learn to play the violin in order to cultivate an ear for
Western music. So I invested £3 in a violin and something more in fees. I sought
a third teacher to give me lessons in elocution and paid him a preliminary fee of.
a guinea. He recommended Bell’s Standard Elocutionist as the text book, which I
purchased. And I began with a speech of Pitt’s.
7. But Mr. Bell rang the bell of alarm in my ear and I awoke.
8. I had not to spend a lifetime in England, I said to myself. What then was the use
of learning elocution? And how could dancing make a gentleman of me? The
violin I could learn even in India. I was a student and ought to go on with my
studies. I should qualify myself to join the Inns of Court. If my character made a
gentleman of me, so much the better. Otherwise I should forego the ambition.
9. These and similar thoughts possessed me, and I expressed them in a letter which
I addressed to the elocution teacher, requesting him to excuse me from further
lessons. I had taken only two or three. I wrote a similar letter to the dancing
teacher, and went personally to the violin teacher with a request to dispose of the
violin for any price it might fetch. She was rather friendly to me, so I told her
how I had discovered that I was pursuing a false ideal. She encouraged me in the
determination to make a complete change.
10. This infatuation must have lasted about three months. The punctiliousness in
dress persisted for years. But henceforward I became a student.
(from An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Navjivan Trust)
Check Your Progress 1
a) i) How did Gandhi become interested in experiments in diet?
ii) How did his friend try to ‘reform’ him and take him away
from vegetarianism?
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Understanding Vocabulary
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iii) How did Gandhi try to make up for his vegetarianism?
iv) What changes did Gandhi introduce in his style of living in order to become
polished?
v) What things did Gandhi decide to learn in order to become an English
gentleman?
vi) What else did he have to learn to cultivate an ear for Western music?
vii) How did Gandhi realize his mistake?
viii) What was the main purpose of Gandhi’s stay in London?
b) Now look at Paragraph 1 of the passage again and answer these questions:
i) Gandhiji says: Salt’s book whetted my appetite for dietetic studies.” To whet
something (like a knife) is to sharpen it by rubbing it on a hard surface.
Appetite is desire for food. What is the meaning of the phrase Gandhiji uses
here?
ii) Howard Williams’ book was about ‘humane dietetics. In what way is the
word ‘humane’ different from ‘human’? And how are the two words related?
58
iii) Differentiate between philosophers and prophets.
iv) Choose the correct answer. The book The Ethics of Diet tried to prove
a) that vegetarians naturally became philosophers,
b) that all philosophers were vegetarians.
v) Dr. Allinson’s writings advocated that a regulated vegetarian diet could remove
illness and disease. What word suggests this?
vi) ‘advocated’ means
a) fought in court for
b) supported
c) advised
d) Which?
vii) Distinguish between ‘advocated’ and ‘prescribed’ as used in Paragraph 1.
c) Now read Paragraph 2 carefully and answer these questions:
i) The word ‘persisted’ has been used twice in the passage-once in Paragraph 2
and again in Paragraph 10. There is a slight difference in the meanings it has
at the two places. What is it?
ii) Why did Gandhi’s friend worry about his (Gandhi’s) vegetarianism? Give
two reasons.
iii) The words ‘constitution’, ‘crank’, and ‘course’ have a number of different
meanings. Give two meanings of each word, including the one which fits in
59 the context of the passage and say which meaning it has in the passage.
Understanding Vocabulary
iv) Differentiate between a restaurant and a hotel.
v) Why did Gandhi call the waiter at the Holborn Restaurant?
vi) Substitute one of the following words for ‘summoned’, keeping in mind
the sense it has in the passage:
a. asked to appear
b. ordered
c. called
vii) What does the word ‘theatre’ mean in the passage here?
d) Now study Paragraphs 3,4 & 5 in detail. Then answer these questions:
i) Why did Gandhi’s respect for his friend become greater despite
their disagreement over the matter of vegetarianism?
ii) Give the various meanings of the word ‘polished’ and say which meaning
is intended in the passage.
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iii) What is meant by polite society in Paragraph 4? How does it differ from
polished society, referred to in Paragraph 5?
iv) What does the word ‘accomplishments’ mean here?
v) What did Gandhi do to become an English gentleman?
vi) Look at the word ‘operating’ in Paragraph S. Does it mean (a) moving,
(b) working, (c) cutting?
vii) In Paragraph 3, you have the word ‘tussle’. Which word in Paragraph 5
means almost the same as ‘tussle’?
viii) Look at the phrasal verb ‘make up for’ in Paragraph 4. How does it differ
from ‘make out’, used in Paragraph 1?
ix) Look at the use of the word ‘luxury’ in Paragraph 5. In what sense is it
used here?
x) What does the word ‘civilized’ mean in Paragraph 5?
e) Read Paragraphs 6 & 7 and answer the following questions:
i) Look at the expression ‘to make me look the thing’. What does it refer to?
ii) Why did Gandhi wish to learn French?
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Understanding Vocabulary
iii) Explain the phrases ‘keep time’ and ‘keep off’.
iv) Give two meanings of ‘cultivate’. What is meant by ‘cultivate an ear for’?
v) What is the ‘pun’ in Paragraph 7?
f) Read Paragraphs 8,9 & 10 carefully. Then answer these questions.
i) What profession did Gandhi wish to join after his studies? What words in the
passage indicate this?
ii) What did Gandhi finally realize would make a gentleman of him?
iii) Gandhi realized he had been following ‘a false ideal’. What was it?
iv) What was the ‘infatuation’ Gandhi says lasted about three months?
v) In Paragraph 5, Gandhi talks about the great care he took to improve his
dress and looks. Which word in Paragraph 10 refers to this?
4.3 GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS: ‘SPRING’
In this section, you are going to study the poem ‘Spring’ written by Gerard Manley
Hopkins. Read it carefully and then answer the questions about the ideas contained
in the poem. To answer these questions, you must understand the meanings of the
words used. Hopkins (1844-1889) coined new words to describe his feelings and
used some words which had remained unused in English for a long time. Many of his
poems are about his feelings about nature and God.
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The poem ‘Spring’ is a sonnet, that is, a poem of 14 lines. The first stanza of eight
lines is called an ‘octave’, and the second stanza of six lines a ‘sestet’. In the octave,
he describes the lushness or richness of Spring, and in the sestet, he relates Spring to
the childhood of man in Eden. He begs Christ to save children from sin.
Spring
Nothing is so beautiful as Spring—
When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;
Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing:
The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.
What is all this juice and all this joy?
A strain of the earth’s sweet being in the beginning
In Eden garden-Have, get, before it cloy,
Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning,
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,
Most, O maid’s child, thy choice and worthy the winning.
Glossary
Eden: According to Christian belief, a place of perfect beauty and delight in the
beginning of Creation.
Mayday: the first of May, celebrated as a Spring festival.
maid’s child: Christ, son of the Virgin Mary.
In general, extensions of meaning occur more often in poetry than in prose, because
a poet tries to convey his special experience to the reader through word-pictures.
Let’s study the extended meanings in the poem ‘Spring’. Use your dictionary
wherever necessary.
Check Your Progress 2
a) Read stanza I, and answer these questions:
i) What does the word ‘wheels’ in line 2 indicate?
ii) Which two words indicate the beauty of the weeds?
iii) Look at the word-picture ‘Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens’. Why does
the poet describe the eggs as ‘little low heavens’?
iv) Which two words suggest that the thrush’s song purifies or cleans
the listeners? How?
Understanding Vocabulary
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y) Which words tell us that the thrush’s song is sharp and clear?
vi) In what sense are peartree leaves ‘glassy’?
vii) Which four words in the first stanza show that there is a movement and
excitement in this season?
viii) Which word indicates that the sky appears to be coming down?
b) Read stanza 2 and answer these questions:
i) What does ‘juice’ mean here? Is there a word in stanza 1 that has a
similar meaning? How are they related?
ii) Why is Spring compared to the beginning of Creation when man lived
in Eden?
iii) Which three verbs indicate that the joy of Spring will lose its freshness
and vitality as a result of the sins committed by man?
iv) What period of man’s life does ‘Mayday’ refer to?
c) Each of these spellings represent at least two words that are homonyms. Form
sentences to illustrate two meanings of each:
i) fair
ii) leave
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iii) spring
iv) strain
v) strike
4.4 LET US SUM UP
In this Unit, we have given you practice in the study of
• passages of prose and poetry,
• the special meanings conveyed by words when used in their extended senses,
• the word pictures created by the writer,
• the different meanings words have in different contexts, and
• the difference between homonyms.
4.5 SUGGESTED READING
Dictionaries
Paul Proctor, Chief Editor, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
Hornby, A.S. (2003) Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English,
Sixth Edition, E.L.B.S. and Oxford University Press.
Autobiographies
M.K. Gandhi: An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth
Jawaharlal Nehru: An Autobiography
R.K. Narayan: My Days
Poems
G.M. Hopkins: ‘God’s Grandeur’
G.M. Hopkins: ‘Pied Beauty’
John Keats: ‘To Autumn’
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
a) i) He read a number of books on vegetarianism. Salt’s book first aroused his
interest in the subject. Then he read some books by other authors.
ii) His friend invited him to go to the theatre. Before that they were to dine
together. The friend thought that Gandhi would eat whatever was served to
him because he would be too shy to enquire what was being served.
Understanding Vocabulary
iii) He decided to cultivate accomplishments that would make him fit for
polite society
He made changes in his clothes and hair-style.
He decided to learn dancing, French, and
elocution. He had to team to play the violin.
He realized that he did not have to spend a lifetime in England and
elocution and dancing would not be of much use to him.
He had come to London to study and qualify for the Inns of Court, i.e.
to become a barrister.
b) i)It means that the book by Salt increased his interest in dietetic studies.
‘Humane’ means ‘based on considerations of human kindness’. Humane
dietetics thus means the study of a diet system which does not include
animal flesh as food because it involves the slaughter of animals.
‘Human’ has the general sense: ‘concerning man’. The relationship of
the two words is clear. They both refer to the feelings which human
beings are supposed to have.
iii) ‘Philosophers’ study the nature and meaning of human life and the path
to goodness. A ‘prophet’, according to the Christian, Jewish and Muslim
religions, is one who believes he has been directed by God to explain
His (God’s) will. Pythagoras was a philosopher and Jesus was
considered a prophet.
(b)
curative
(b)
‘advocated’ means ‘spoke in favour of; supported’. ‘Prescribed’ means
‘ordered or gave something as a medicine or treatment for a sick person’ .
i) In Paragraph 2, it means ‘continued firmly in spite of opposition’. In
Paragraph 10, it means ‘continued to exist’.
ii) First, he thought Gandhi would develop a weak constitution. Second,
he thought Gandhi would never feel at home in English society.
iii) Constitution
I the body of laws and principles according to which a country
is governed.
2 the general condition of a person’s body or mind.
3 In the passage, the word has the second
meaning. Crank
1. an apparatus for changing movement in a straight line into circular
movement.
2 a person with very strange, odd or peculiar ideas.
3 In the passage, the word has the second
meaning. Course
1 a complete body of studies in a college, university, etc.
2 any of the several parts of a meal.
3 In the passage the word has the second meaning.
iv) A restaurant is a place where food is sold and eaten. A hotel is a
building where one can stay by paying a certain amount of money per
day. In India, ‘hotel’ is often used to mean ‘restaurant’ also.
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He wanted to enquire if the soup served to him was a vegetable soup.
(c)
It means a place where plays are staged.
d) i)Because Gandhi realized that his friends attempt to take him away from
vegetarianism arose out of his love for him.
ii) ‘Polished’ means: ‘made smooth and shiny by continual rubbing; made less
rough and more graceful’. The second meaning is intended in the passage.
iii) ‘Polite society’ refers to a society in which people have or show oneness of
feeling, interest in the arts, and refined manners. ‘Polished society’ is one in
which people speak and behave in a graceful manner.
iv) It means things successfully completed.
v) He bought new clothes at Army and Navy Stores, an expensive hat, and an
evening suit made in Bond street. He learnt the art of putting on a tie and
spent ten minutes in front of a mirror every. day to arrange his tie and part
his hair in the correct fashion.
(b)
struggle
‘make up for’ means ‘to compensate for’, ‘make out’ in Paragraph 1
means ‘to prove by arguments’.
ix) ‘luxury’ here means ‘something that is not considered necessary but
provides great comfort’.
‘civilized’ in the passage means ‘related to a developed society with a
higher level of education and manners’.
e) i) It refers to Gandhi’s attempts to become an English gentleman.
ii) Because it was the language used all over Europe and it would be
necessary for him to know the language in order to travel on the Continent.
iii) ‘keep time’ means ‘to follow the correct time in music and dancing’, ‘keep
off means ‘to prevent from coming’.
iv) ‘cultivate’ means (a) to grow crops, (b) to develop by training. ‘To cultivate
an ear for music’ means ‘to train oneself to appreciate music’.
v) There is a pun on the word ‘bell’. The first ‘Bell’ refers to the author who
wrote the book on elocution. The second ‘bell’ comes in the phrase ‘the bell
of alarm’ and means ‘something that gives a warning’.
f) i) He wanted to become a barrister. ‘The Inns of Court’ mentioned in the passage
mean ‘the law societies in London to one of which an English barrister
must belong’.
His character.
That he should become an English gentleman by wearing English clothes
and learning dancing, elocution and French.
iv) His fondness for English ways of dress and behaviour.
v) ‘punctilious’.
Check Your Progress 2
a) i)The weeds growing in circles.
ii) ‘lovely’ and ’lush’.
Understanding Vocabulary
iii) The eggs are greyish blue in colour and have a curved surface like the sky,
but they are small and low, compared to the sky, which is vast and high.
iv) ‘rinse’ and ‘wring’.
These are the actions we perform when we wash and clean our clothes.
v) ‘it strikes like lightnings.’
vi) They are transparent and shining.
vii) ‘brush’, ‘rush’, ‘racing’ and ‘fling’.
viii) ‘descending’.
b) i) It means vitality and freshness. The word ‘richness’ in stanza 1 has a similar
meaning. When trees and plants put forth new leaves and flowers, they are
filled with juice, that is, they are rich in sap.
ii) Because in Eden everything was as fresh as the plants, the birds, and the
animals in Spring.
iii) ‘cloy’, ‘cloud’, ‘sour’.
iv) To his youth.
c) i) fair — The girls of Kashmir are/air and lovely.
I bought sarees and baskets of fruit at the/air.
ii) leave -The train leaves Delhi at 6 p.m.
I have applied for a day’s leave.
The springs of our car need to be replaced.
iv) strain –
There are hot water springs in Rajgir.
He strained himself by overwork.
v) strike –
You must strain the tea before adding milk.
The workers have gone on strike to press their demand for
higher wages.
Strike the ball hard so that it goes to the boundary.
Block
2
LITERARY DEVICES
Block Introduction
UNIT 5
Sound Patterns
UNIT 6
Figures of Speech-1
UNIT 7
Figures of Speech-2
UNIT 8
Figures of Speech-3
2
Indira Gandhi
National Open University
School of Humanities
Course Introduction
Language through Literature (BEGLA 137)
(CHOICE BASED CREDIT SYSTEM)
Credit weightage: 6 credits
Language Through Literature which has been adapted from BEGE-101 is aimed at providing
a lucid account of how even the most common elements of language are used dexterously and
aesthetically in literature/oratory to please, entertain, persuade, gratify and create aesthetic
appeal. As a matter of fact, literature is nothing but a creative and imaginative use of
language. This course will enable you to not only understand the various and dynamic ways
in which writers/orators use language but also comprehend and appreciate literary/rhetorical
pieces better and derive greater pleasure from them. This course will primarily deal with
literal versus metaphorical meaning, literary and rhetorical devices and an understanding of
the development of discourse.
This course seeks to equip you with awareness of some of the important aspects of English
usage through the study of representative samples of literary works produced in English. The
course is divided into 4 blocks of about 4 units each. Block 1 deals with extension of
meaning, multiple meanings and overlap of meaning in the context of language acquisition
process through four units/chapters. Block 2 has four units that deal with confusion of
semantic and structural criteria and escaping wrong analogies including studying literary
texts. Block 3 introduces and takes you to an understanding of structure words and acquaints
you with all its facets and dimensions including auxiliaries and structure words in discourse
with a purpose to make you aware of the role of conjunctions and linking adverbials in combining ideas/events together.
Block 4 aims to clarify certain areas of confusion relating to rhetorical devices with an
emphasis on structure and style including use of repetition and questions. The course does
not include much linguistic theory and deals with the structure of English in a practical way.
The aim is to help the undergraduate student acquire a better understanding of how
language operates and attain a reasonable level of accuracy in the use of the language, both
in speech and in writing.
Follow all the units and enjoy your Course
Block 2 Introduction
In this block 2 of the Course BEGLA 137 (Language through Literature),
the first Unit will focus on illustrating how poets use language
resourcefully to produce special sound effects. After completing this unit,
you should be able to appreciate literary devices such as
• rhythm,
• rhyme,
• alliteration,
• assonance, and
• onomatopoeia
In unit 6, we will study some major figures of speech that characterize literary texts. Common,
everyday language also presents instances of the use of these figures of speech, but literature
(being a creative manipulation of language) is marked by such uses for producing greater effect
and providing aesthetic pleasure. Some of these figures of speech that are used as literary
devices are:
• simile,
• metaphor,
• synecdoche,
• metonymy, and
• personification.
In Unit 7, we will get to study some other literary devices as we have done in
the previous unit. After completing the unit, you should be able to understand
the following literary devices:
• Irony,
• Satire,
• Paradox, and
• Antithesis.
In Unit 8, we will discuss some other types of figurative use of
language, that is, language used not in the literal sense but in an
imaginative way and often having a deeper meaning. By the time you
complete the study of this unit, you will have become familiar with:
• Allegory,
• Symbol, and
• Imagery.
4
UNIT 5 SOUND PATTERNS
Structure
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Rhythm
5.3 Rhyme
5.4 Alliteration
5.5 Assonance
5.6 Onomatopoeia
5.7 Let Us Sum Up
5.8 Key Words
5.9 Suggested Reading
Dictionaries Suggested for Reference
Cassette Recording
Answers
5.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit, we shall illustrate how poets use language resourcefully to produce
special sound effects. After completing this unit, you should be able to appreciate
literary devices such as
• rhythm,
• rhyme,
• alliteration,
• assonance, and
• onomatopoeia
5.1 INTRODUCTION
Literature represents the best and finest expression of human thoughts, feelings,
emotions, and aspirations. It also represents the most effective use of language. More
often, writers make the most ordinary, day-to-day things and events appear striking,
beautiful or mysterious. This is done by the artistic use of language. In prose or
poetry (more so in poetry), creative writers use literary devices which, though they
are based on patterns and usages that exist in the language, are more typical of
literature than of common, everyday speech or writing. It is not as if such devices are
not used in everyday speech or common writing. As a matter of fact, they are used in
conversations, personal letters, journalistic writing etc., but their use is less frequent
than in literary works. It is this greater frequency of their use and the sustained
manner in which creative writers use these literary devices that constitute the
difference between common, everyday language and ‘literary language’. The choice
of particular literary devices, as well as the frequency of their use also marks what we
call the ‘style’ of a writer. It must be remembered that when a person speaks/writes in
day-to-day context we refer to it as ‘manner of speaking’ or ‘manner of writing’, but
when a writer does it in a sustained manner, we refer to it as his/her ‘style’. We also
must remember that no writer uses one literary device or the other all the time.
Writers choose devices that would produce the maximum ‘effect’ and are best suited
to the subject/theme/situation. These devices are intended to produce certain artistic
effects in a literary work.
5
Literary Devices In this Unit, we shall discuss some of the devices that create special sound effects
and add to the impact of the literary work. These include rhythm, rhyme, alliteration,
assonance and onomatopoeia.
5.2 RHYTHM
The term ‘rhythm’ refers to a movement that recurs at regular intervals of time.
English has what we call a stress-timed rhythm, which means that the stressed
syllables come at approximately equal intervals of time, regardless of the number of
the intervening unstressed syllables. Take a sentence likeA ’change of ‘air would ‘do you ‘good.
The stressed syllables are marked with the sign’ placed before them. Here we have 8
syllables, of which 4 are stressed, and they come at equal intervals of time. So, we
have a rhythmic pattern consisting of unstressed syllables and stressed syllables
coming alternately.
A change of air would do you good.
(U represents an unstressed syllable; I represent a stressed syllable.)
This kind of rhythm is quite common in poetry and is called iambic metre. ‘Metre’ is
the term used to indicate the number of stressed syllables that form the beats (or feet)
and the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line of a poem. So,
we say the line given above, if it happens to be a line of poetry, has four beats or
four feet. If we have a pattern in which one weak (or unstressed) syllable is followed
by one strong (or stressed) syllable, we call it ‘iambic metre’. Most English poetry is
written in this metre, and one has to understand and appreciate the metrical patterns
in order to appreciate and enjoy poetry. A good deal of the special sound effects
aimed at by writers (especially poets) depends on such patterns of a rhythm.
Example 1
Notice the iambic metre in the following lines from Coleridge’s famous poem The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
The ‘Bridegroom’s doors are ‘opened ‘wide,
And ‘I am ‘next of’ kin;
The ‘guests are ‘met, the ‘feast is ‘set;
May’st ‘hear the ‘merry ‘din.
Glossary
‘next of’ kin: nearest relation. The phrase is archaic, that is, it has an association with
earlier times. It is now used only in formal situations.
May’st: can (old singular form: thou may’st) (The subject ‘thou’ has been omitted in
this line. The speaker, who has come to a wedding, is in a hurry to go in.)
din: a loud, continuous, confused, and unpleasant noise. (Generally used in a
derogatory sense, but with the addition of the word ‘merry’, the cheerful aspect of
the noise of the wedding feast is brought out.)
6
Check Your Progress 1
1 What is the metrical pattern in the stanza given above?
Sound patterns
2 Describe the metrical pattern in the following lines from Thomas Hardy’s
poem The Darkling Thrush.
I leaned upon a coppice gate
When frost was spectre-gray, And
Winter’s dregs made desolate The
weakening eye of day.
Glossary
‘darkling: in the dark
thrush: a type of singing bird with a brownish back and spotted breast
‘coppice: a wood of small trees or bushes
‘spectre-‘gray: grey like the ghost (‘grey’ is also spelt ’gray’)
dregs: what are left at the bottom; worthless bits
‘eye of ‘day: the sun
There are other metrical patterns used by poets and it is necessary to appreciate
them to enjoy the music produced by the rhythm.
Example 2
Here are some lines from Keats’s Ode on the Poets:
‘Bards of ‘Passion ‘and of ‘Mirth,
‘Ye have ‘left your ‘souls on ‘earth! 7
Literary Devices ‘Have ye ‘souls in ‘heaven ‘too, ‘Double-
‘lived in ‘regions ‘new ?
Bards: poets (The word ‘bard’ is used only in literary writings.)
Passion: strong feeling
Mirth: merriment and gaiety
Ye: you {Ye is the old plural form used as the subject of a sentence.)
‘souls on ‘earth: the books which are the expressions of their spirits
Notice that each line has four beats, but we now have a stressed syllable followed by
an unstressed syllable, except that the last syllable in the line is stressed and there is
no syllable after it. This kind of rhythmic pattern is called ‘trochaic’ metre.
There are other rhythmic patterns as well, and very often a poet weaves the
different patterns into a complex design to create variety and musicality.
Example 3
Here is a stanza from Shelley’s poem To Night.
‘Swiftly ‘walk o’er the ‘western ‘wave,
‘Spirit of ‘Night!
‘Out of the ‘misty ‘eastern ‘cave,
Where ‘all the ‘long and ‘lone day’light,
Thou ‘wovest ‘dreams of joy and ‘fear,
Which ‘make thee ‘terrible and ‘dear,
‘Swift be thy ‘flight!
Glossary
‘misty ‘eastern ‘cave: a dark cave in the east, where the poet imagines Night lives.
Thou ‘wovest’. old form of ‘you wove’
thee: object form of ‘thou’, the old form of ‘you’
thy: possessive form of ‘thou’, the old form of’ you’.
Notice the variety of metrical patterns here.
Line 1 : 8 syllables; 4 beats;
strong weak strong weak weak strong weak strong
(trochaic + trochaic + iambic+ iambic)
Line 2 : 4 syllables; 2 beats;
IUUI
(trochaic + iambic)
Line 3 : 8 syllables; 4 beats;
8
(trochaic + iambic + iambic + iambic)
Line 4 : 8 syllables
UIUIUIU1
(iambic throughout)
‘daylight’ is usually stressed on the first syllable. Here, to keep the rhythm, we
have stressed it on the second syllable.
Line 5 : 8 syllables; 4 beats
UIUIUIUI
(iambic throughout)
Line 6 : 8 syllables; 3 treats
U1UIUUU1
(prevailing metre iambic; one beat missing, as the last syllable of ‘terrible’ cannot be
stressed).
Line 7 : 4 syllables; 2 beats
IUUI
(trochaic + iambic)
5.3 RHYME
‘Rhyme’ is the term used for the similarity of sounds in the final syllable (or
syllables) of two or more lines of verse. For two lines to rhyme, the last stressed
vowel sound, and all the sounds after it, must be the same.
Rhyme is frequently used at the ends of lines of poetry for particular effects.
i) The recurrence of the same sequence of sounds has a pleasing-effect,
because it fulfills the reader’s expectancy.
ii) It also marks the end of the line.
iii) By adopting a particular rhyme scheme in a stanza, the poet can bind
the lines together and thus achieve unity.
Nursery rhymes appeal to us and are so easy to remember because they all have
‘rhyme’. Children memorize them easily and love to recite them. Most lyrics,
songs and ballads use rhyme.
Example 4
He holds him with his glittering eye —
The Wedding-Guest stood still,
And listens like a three years’ child:
The Mariner hath his will.
(Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
Glossary
hath: has (‘hath’ is an old form)
his will: what he wished
Notice that lines 2 and 4 rhyme, by which we mean that the sounds at the end of these
lines are the same. Still and will have the same vowel /I/ and the same consonant /l/
9 after it.
Literary Devices (We shall use phonetic symbols to represent sounds and put them between oblique
bars to distinguish them from the letters of the alphabet. The symbols used by us are
those in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary of Current English (revised edition).
Rhyme may be used by poets to form different patterns. Such a pattern is called
rhyme-scheme. In the example given above, line 2 and line 4 rhyme, but lines 1 and 3don’t. However, in the example that follows lines 1 and 4 rhyme, as do lines 2 and 3.
In order to describe the rhyme-scheme in the example that follows, we would say thatit has the rhyme scheme abba. Similarly, the lines given in Example 2 on page 7 have
the rhyme-scheme aabb.
Check Your Progress 2
Describe the rhyme scheme in the following stanza from Yeats’s poem When
You are Old.
When you are old and gray and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
5.4 ALLITERATION
The term alliteration refers to the appearance of the same consonant sound or sounds
at the beginning of two or more words that are next to or close to each other.
Example 5
The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free;
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.
(from Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
Notice that
i) the sound /f/ occurs at the beginning of fair, foam, flew, furrow, followed,
free and first,
ii) the sound /b/ occurs at the beginning of breeze, blew, and burst,
iii) the sound /w/ occurs at the beginning of white, we, and were,
10 iv) the sound /s/ occurs at the beginning of silent and sea.
Read the stanza aloud to appreciate the effect of alliteration.
Check Your Progress 3
Point out the alliteration in the following passages of poetry:
i) When the white feet of the baby beat across the
grass, The little white feet nod like white flowers
in a wind, They poise and run like puffs of wind
that pass, Over water where the weeds are thinned.
(D.H. Lawrence: Baby Running Barefoot)
ii) Nothing is so beautiful as Spring
When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and
lush; Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and
thrush Through the echoing timber does so rinse and
wring The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him
sing; The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they
brush The descending blue, that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.
(Gerard Manley Hopkins: Spring)
Glossary
in ‘wheels: in circles
look ‘little ‘heavens: probably because of their sky-blue colour
‘echoing ‘timber: the growing trees which send back the sound of the thrush’s song.
(There may also be a reference to the echoing quality of the thrush’s song).
rinse/rins/: Wash in clean water so as to take away soap, dirt, etc. (the song fills
the / ear completely)
wring/ri: twist and squeeze (something) tightly; force out (water) by doing this
‘strikes like ‘lightnings: hits suddenly (the song hits the ear)
brush (v.): touch lightly against (The leaves and flowers of the peartree touch the
sky, which comes down to meet them.)
‘all in a’rush: in a hurry
‘fair their ‘fling: their fair fling, that is, their fair share of dancing and jumping
with joy
Sound Patterns
11
Literary Devices
12
5.5 ASSONANCE
The term ‘assonance’ refers to similarity in the way words sound, especially the
vowel sounds in them. For example,
born/bx:n/ and warm/wx:m/
Example:
And the May month flaps its glad green leaves like wings.
(Hardy: Afterwards)
Notice the sound / ae / in flaps and glad, and the sound /i:/ in green and leaves.
5.6 ONOMATOPOEIA
Language has an imitative or suggestive aspect when we form words that are like
natural sounds. This is called ‘onomatopoeia’. For example, the word cuckoo is
used to name the bird that makes that sound. Notice the use of onomatopoeia in
the following passage.
It should be remembered, however, that there is no fixed, one-to-one correspondence
between natural sounds and the words that a language uses for them. As a matter of
fact, different languages (i.e. speakers of different languages) hear natural sounds
differently and represent them through words differently. While for a speaker of
English birds ‘chirp’, another language might represent the sound made by birds
differently. (It might be useful to think of how your own language has words
suggestive of sounds made by animals and birds, in contrast to those in English)
Example:
I never realized till a morning or two ago how much certain sounds mean to me.
It happened when I woke only to find it still dark outside. I was about to reach
for the timepiece by my bed when I heard the birds twittering and chirping
outside. It was then that I realized that winter was slowly coming on and the days
were shortening, but it was waking time nevertheless. After all, those bird sounds
are my daily cue for hopping out of bed.
The other sound that means so much to me in the mornings is the “swisshh” sound of
the newspapers being shoved under the door. The day it happens late, or doesn’t
happen at all, finds me in a foul mood.
Then there are a host of other sounds that comprise the “mirch masala” of my life –
the sound of the engine tooting on the railway line near my place followed by the
nimble of a passing train; of the rustle of leaves during a high wind; of a marriage
band; of temple bells ringing; of laughter, anywhere, any kind, anytime; of music,
anywhere, any kind, any time.
Talking of music, there are some sounds that are definitely music in my household
though may not count as such to others. My wife tells me that the sound that pleases
her most is that of me clacking away at my typewriter, for that means that all is well
with me and that I am ticking away merrily. Which is precisely what I feel about her
when I hear the “tumtumming” of utensils and the “clip clop” of cups and saucers
(including an occasional craaassh!) coming from the kitchen when she’s there. And
for both of us it is the sounds of our little boys playing, and fighting as all little boys
do when thrown together, that make us the happiest.
There are, however, some sounds that I don’t much care for and would rather do
without. One is the ring of the direct internal line that connects me with my boss.
Though he’s a thoroughly nice chap, that ring somehow keys me up, for you never
know what’s coming your way. Another is the half gurgling sound my car gives
when it refuses to start — a sound that immediately brings visions of a DTC journey
to office that day. And, of course, the sound of mosquitoes buzzing close to your ear;
of people quarrelling; and the noise of heavy traffic.
I live in a multi-storeyed complex with nearly 900 flats closely knitted together and
by virtue of this fact I have come across two specific sounds that never fail to thrill
me. One is when suddenly the electricity is restored after a longish power cut,
especially at night; a big, combined whoop of joy originating from every flat in
unison rends the air. The other one is the combined laughter from every flat
whenever something funny takes place on a television programme. It is in moments
such as these that one comprehends the power of television — and of laughter.
(Guddu Chopra: Sound Effects, The Times of India, 7 November 1987)
The passage has a number of words which sound like the actual sounds they
represent, here are some.
twittering: making a number of short rapid sounds
chirping: making short sharp sounds
(These two words are associated with the sounds made by birds.)
“swisshh” (normal spelling: swish):
1 a sharp whistling noise made when something cuts through the air;
for example, the cow’s tail swishing,
2 a soft sound made in movement; for example, the sound of
clothes. tooting: making a short warning sound on a horn, whistle, etc.
rumble: a deep continuous rolling sound, like the sound of thunder.
rustle: slight sounds made when paper, dry leaves, silk, etc. are moved or
rubbed together.
13
Check Your Progress 4
Find other examples from the passage of words that sound like the sounds
they represent. Try to describe the sounds these words stand for.
2 Read the following stanza from John Masefield’s poem Laugh and Be Merry
and answer the questions given below.
Laugh and be merry: remember, better the world with a song,
Better the world with a blow in the teeth of a wrong. Laugh, for
the time is brief, a thread the length of a span. Laugh, and be
proud to belong to the old proud pageant of man.
i) Give number of syllables in each line. Is there a pattern?
ii) Give the number of beats (stressed syllables) in each line, and mark the
stressed syllables.
14
Literary Devices
iii) What is the pattern of rhyme in the stanza?
iv) Give examples of the use of alliteration in the stanza.
v) Give examples of the use of assonance in the stanza.
Read the stanza aloud to appreciate the sound effects.
5.7 LET US SUM UP
In this unit we have discussed the various sound patterns used by poets and other
writers for particular effects. The devices we have discussed are rhythm (or
metre), rhyme, alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia.
5.8 KEY WORDS
al’lite’ration: the appearance of the same sound (or sounds) at the beginning of
two or more words that are next to or close to each other, e.g., the furrow
followed free
‘assonance: the sounding alike of words, especially the vowels of words; e.g. in
born and form.
‘couplet: two lines of poetry, one following the other, that are usually of equal
length and end in the same sound.
i’ambic: having the metre in which one unstressed syllable is followed by one
stressed syllable, e.g., in the word a’way.
‘metre: the arrangement of words in poetry on the basis of stressed and
unstressed syllables.
‘onomato’poeia: the formation of words that are like natural sounds e.g., cuckoo:
the bird that makes that sound.
Sound Patterns
15
Literary Devices ‘rhyme: the use of words that end with the same sounds, including the last vowel and
the consonants after it. e.g., bold and cold.
’rhythm: the quality of happening at regular periods of time; for example, stressed
syllables in English come at approximately equal intervals of time.
’stanza: a group of lines, usually in a repeating pattern, forming a division of a poem.’syllable: a word or part of a word which contains a vowel sound (or a consonant
acting as a vowel); e.g. better has two syllables.
trochaic: having the metre in which one stressed syllable is followed by one
unstressed syllable e.g. in the word ’metre.
5.9 SUGGESTED READING
S.T. Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Dictionaries Suggested for Reference
1 Procter, P. (2004) Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Third
Edition, Longman.
2 Hornby, A.S. (2003) Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current
English, Sixth Edition, E.L.B.S. and Oxford University Press.
Cassette Recording
An audio-cassette recording based on this unit is available at the study centres of the
university.
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress I
1 Lines I & 3:8 syllables; 4 stresses; one unstressed syllable followed by
one stressed syllable; iambic metre.
Lines 2 & 4: 6 syllables; 3 stresses; iambic metre.
2 I ‘leaned u’pon a ‘coppice ‘gate
When ‘Frost was ‘spectre-‘gray
And ‘Winter’s ‘dregs made ‘desolate,
The ‘weakening ‘eye of ‘day.
Line 1: 8 syllables; 4 beats; iambic metre
Line 2: 6 syllables; 3 beats; iambic metre
Line 3: 8 syllables; 3 beats; the fourth beat suppressed, as the last syllable of
’desolate’ cannot be stressed. The prevailing metre is iambic.
Line 4: 7 syllables; 3 beats; the prevailing metre is iambic; the middle
syllable in ‘weakening’ can be elided to keep the rhythm; otherwise
we have an extra syllable there.
Check Your Progress 2
Lines I & 4 rhyme: /sli:p/and / di:p/ di:p/
Lines 2 & 3 also rhyme: /buk/ and /luk
The rhyme scheme can be described as abba. It binds the four lines together and
gives unity to the stanza.
16
Check Your Progress 3 Sound Patterns
i) /w/ in when, white, wind, water, where, and weeds
/f/ in/feet and flowers
/b/ in baby and beat
/l/ in little and like
/p/ in poise, puffs, and pass
ii) /w/ in when, weeds and wheels
/l/ in long, lovely, lush, look, little, and low
/’r/ in thrush and through
/r/ in rinse and wring
/l/ in like and lightnings
/r/ in rush, richness, and racing
/f/ in fair and/fling
Check Your Progress 4
1 ‘clanking: making one or more sudden quick sounds
‘ticking: making a regularly repeated short sudden sound, like that of a clock
or watch
‘turn-tumming’: making sounds like /’th m’thm/
‘clip clop’: sounds like /’klip’klop/
‘craaassh’: (normal spelling ‘crash’) a sudden loud noise, as made by
breaking crockery
‘gurgling: making a sound like water flowing unevenly in the throat
‘buzzing: making a low hum, as bees do
whoop: a loud shout of joy
2 i) Line I : 15 syllables
Line 2 : 13 syllables
Line 3 : 13 syllables
Line 4 : 15 syllables
Lines 1 & 4 have 15 syllables each;
Lines 2 & 3 have 13 syllables each.
ii) ‘Laugh and be ‘merry: re’member, ‘better the ‘world with a ‘song,
‘Better the ’world with a ‘blow in the ‘teeth of a’ wrong.
‘Laugh, for the ‘time is ‘brief, a thread the ’length of a ‘span.
‘Laugh, and be ‘proud to be’long to the ‘old proud ‘pageant of ‘man.
Line I : 6 beats
Line 2 : 5 beats
Line 3 : 6 beats
Line 4 : 6 beats
iii) a a b b
Lines l & 2 rhyme
Lines 3 & 4 also rhyme.
So we nave rhyming couplets.
iv) /m/ in merry and remember (stressed syllables)
/b/ in better, blow, and brief
/1/ in laugh, length, and belong (stressed syllable)
/p/ in proud and pageant
v) /e/ in merry, remember and better (stressed syllables)
/e/ in thread and length
/m/ in pageant and man’.
17
UNIT 6 FIGURES OF SPEECH-I
Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Simile
6.3 Metaphor
6.3.1 Extended Metaphor
6.3.2 Mixed Metaphor
6.4 Synecdoche
6.5 Metonymy
6.6 Personification
6.7 Passage for Study: from Mulk Raj Anand: The Lost Child
6.8 Let Us Sum Up
6.9 Key Words
Answers
6.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit, we shall discuss some major figures of speech that characterize literary
texts. Common, everyday language also presents instances of the use of these figures of
speech, but literature (being a creative manipulation of language) is marked by such uses
for producing greater effect and providing aesthetic pleasure. Some of these figures of
speech that are used as literary devices are:
• simile,
• metaphor,
• synecdoche,
• metonymy, and
• personification.
6.1 INTRODUCTION
A figure of speech is an expression that is generally not a part of common, ordinary
language, but a marked feature of literary prices. Figures of speech represent the use of
words in ways different from their ordinary, literal use, and are employed by creative
writers to produce figurative meaning, thus lending verve, vivacity and force to their
writings. In this unit we shall discuss some of the more frequently used figures of
speech.
6.2 SIMILE
A simile is an expression in which we make a comparison between two things to
present an effective word-picture, and use such words as like and as.
Example
18 When the white feet of the baby beat across the grass,
The little white feet nod like white flowers in a wind,
They poise and run like puffs of wind that pass
Over water where the weeds are thinned.
(From D.H. Lawrence: Baby Running Barefoot)
Glossary
beat (verb): hit (the grass)
nod: bend forward and down
poise: keep steady
puff. a short quick movement of air
weeds: wild plants growing where they are not wanted
In the above example, the baby’s feet are compared to flowers bending forward and
to puffs of wind blowing over water.
Check Your Progress 1
Read the whole of the poem Baby Running Barefoot by D.H. Lawrence given
below and try to answer the questions given at the end.
When the white feet of the baby beat across the grass
The little white feet nod like white flowers in a wind,
They poise and run like puffs of wind that pass
Over water where the weeds are thinned.
And the sight of their white playing in the grass
Is winsome as a robin’s song, so fluttering;
Or like two butterflies that settle on a glass
Cup for a moment, soft little wing-beats uttering.
And 1 wish that the baby would tack across here to me
Like a wind-shadow running on a pond, so she could
stand With two little bare white feet upon my knee
And 1 could feel her feet in either hand.
Cool as syringa buds in morning hours,
Or firm and silken as young peony flowers.
Glossary
‘winsome: attractive in appearance
‘fluttering: moving in a quick, Irregular way
tack: change its course
sy’ringa: lilac, a shrub with fragrant pale pinkish-violet, or white flowers
‘peony: a plant with red, pink or white flowers
1 What is the picture that comes to your mind when you read the poem?
Figures of Speech-1
19
Literary Devices 2 Make a list of the similes used by the poet.
3 How do the similes make the description more vivid to us?
A simile usually contains an image, that is, a word picture that we can perceive. In
the line “my words swirled around his head like summer flies” by E.B. White,
‘words’ are being described with the help of the image of ‘summer flies‟. ‘Swirling
around his head’ is a visual image, but we can hear the flies as well as see them.
20 Although similes are generally brief, they may be expanded.
Example
…his mind was like a vast sea cave, filled with the murmur of dark waters at flow
and the stirring of nature’s great forces, lit here and there by streaks of glorious
sunshine bursting in through crevices hewn at random in its rugged sides.
(From Ashley Montague: The Oxford Guide to Writing. A Rhetoric Handbook for
College Students)
In the above passage, ‘his mind’ is compared to ‘a vast sea cave’. The sea cave is
further described as ‘filled with the murmur of dark waters at flow’ and ‘lit here and
there by streaks of sunshine bursting in through crevices.
Check Your Progress 2
l Read the passage again. Look up the meanings of the following words in the
dictionary:
stirring: ………………………………………………………………………….
streaks: ……………………………………………………………………………..
rugged: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2 What is the picture that comes to your mind when you read about the cave?
3 In what way was ‘his mind’ is like the cave?
21
6.3 METAPHOR
We have already discussed metaphor in Block 1, Units 1-2. It is a figure of speech in
which we use a name or a descriptive term or phrase for an object or action to which
it is not literally applicable. Whereas in a simile there is a direct comparison, a
metaphor suggests a comparison between two things not usually thought of as
similar. We can say about a person that her absence was like a long winter. This
would be a simile, but if we say that his greeting was ‘lacking in warmth’, or that ‟it
was a wintry greeting’ this would be a metaphor.
Other examples of metaphor:
i) The river snakes its way through the mountains.
ii) The ripe pumpkins were golden idols among the corn stalks.
iii) On their shining tracks the waiting diesel engines purred softly.
In the above examples, one thing is described as if it were something else. The river
winds through the mountains as if it were a snake, the pumpkins were golden idols,
and the diesel engines purred as if they were kittens.
6.3.1 Extended Metaphor
Once you can recognize metaphors, you will be able to appreciate their effectiveness
in language. Sometimes a writer continues a metaphor over an entire poem or any
other piece of writing. This is called an extended metaphor. Extended metaphors are
often easier to recognize because they continue over a longer stretch of writing.
Example
I remember once, as a kid, lying on my back watching clouds. Row upon row of
factory-perfect models drifted along the assembly line. There went a schooner, flag
flying — and look, a snapping toy poodle with the most absurd cut! Next came chilly
Greenland, with Labrador much too close for comfort. But the banana split was the
best one of all.
(Reprinted from The Language Arts Handbook, Alberta Correspondence School.)
Glossary
‘schooner: a fast sailing ship with at least two masts
‘poodle: a kind of pet dog, with thick curly hair which is often clipped into a pattern
‘labrador: a dog with a broad head and chest
ba’nana ‘split: a sweet dish of split banana, ice cream, etc.
In the example quoted above, the writer uses a series of metaphors to form word
pictures of various shapes of clouds floating overhead. The words may differ in
range and meaning, but they all describe clouds. We find that with the help of word
pictures the writer makes the scene vivid for us.
Check Your Progress 3
1 List the objects with which the clouds are compared in the passage given
above.
22
2 i) Read the following sentence and say whether it is an example of
extended metaphor.
“His face was webbed: in fact, the wrinkles were so dense that it
seemed all expression was caught in a net.”
(From Sharon R. Curtin: The Oxford Guide to Writing. A Rhetoric
Handbook for College-Students)
ii) ‘Webbed’ here is used in the sense of being like a spider’s web of
woven threads and not in the sense of the webbed feet of a duck.
What does ‘webbed face’ mean?
6.3.2 Mixed Metaphor
Occasionally a writer combines two metaphors which do not normally go together. This
is called a mixed metaphor.
Example
Most of those at the gathering were friends and co-workers who had toiled in the
constituency vineyards trying to harvest votes in campaigns of yesteryears. To them,
Dalton Camp was a comrade in the trenches, sharing in victory, commiserating in
defeat, and ready when called on.
Glossary
constituency: a town or area which elects someone to represent it in parliament
‘trenches: long narrow channels dug in the ground for defensive purposes
In the example quoted above, the political friends trying to gather votes are first
described as harvesters collecting grapes and then as soldiers fighting in the trenches,
though harvesters and soldiers have nothing in common. Compare this example with
the one under „extended metaphor‟ in Exercise 2(1) under Check Your Progress 3,
where an old man’s face was described as a spider’s web, and wrinkles as part of that
net. There the words web and net had related meanings.
You can find another example of mixed metaphor in the following:
When 1 graduate, I hope to become a well-oiled cog in the beehive of industry.
Here a “well-oiled cog”, which is associated with machinery, does not go with ‘beehive’.
A very good example of mixed metaphor is to be found in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
where the hero wonders:
“To be, or not to be — that is the question;
whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
23
Literary Devices Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them”
Here the speaker begins by referring to the ‟slings and arrows’ of fortune (using the
metaphor of bows and arrows) and ends by talking of “a sea of troubles” (the
metaphor of waves of the sea) — both within the same interrogative sentence,
signifying his dilemma.
Check Your Progress 4
Point out the similes and metaphors in the following passages:
i) Never seek to tell thy love
Love that never told can be;
For the gentle wind does move silently, invisibly,
(Blake: Never Seek to Tell Thy Love)
ii) As a huge stone is sometimes seen to lie
Couched on the bald top of an eminence;
Wonder to all who do the same espy,
By what means it could thither come, and whence;
So that it seems a thing endued with sense
Like a sea-beast Growled forth, that on a shelf
Of rock or sand reposeth, there to sun itself; (W.
Wordsworth: Resolution and Independence)
Glossary
couched: reclining as if on a couch (used only in literary writing)
e’spy: happen to see,
‘thither: to that place (old use)
en’dued: provided (with)
re’poseth: rests (used in formal writing)
iii) The peasants came like swarms of flies and buzzed the name of God
a hundred times.
(Nissim Ezekiel: Night of the Scorpion)
iv) The battle was like the grinding of an immense and terrible machine to him.
(Stephen Crane: The Red Badge of Courage)
v) He feels like a “pestered animal”, a well-meaning cow worried
by dogs. (Stephen Crane: The Red Badge of Courage)
24
6.4 SYNECDOCHE Figures of Speech-1
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of an object refers to the whole, or the
whole to a part.
Examples
Has Mike got wheels? (meaning a car, a motorcycle or a bicycle)
Look at that skirt! (meaning a woman)
Can you spare your wallet? (meaning some money from your wallet)
He is skilled at twisting another person’s arm. (coercing him by moral pressure)
Check Your Progress 5
1. Read the following poem and answer the questions given below:
Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? 4
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire? 8
And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? And what dread feet? 12
What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp? 16
When the stars threw down their spears,
And water’d heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee? 20
Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
(William Blake: ‘Tiger’) 24
i) What does the phrase ‘immortal hand or eye’ refer to?
ii) In what lines is God shown as almost wrestling with the Tiger while shaping it?
25
Literary Devices 2 Read the following passage and answer the question given below:
Oh, when this my dust surrenders
Hand, foot, lip, to dust again,
May these loved and loving faces
Please other men!
(Walter de la Mare: Farewell)
What do ‘hand’, ‘foot‟ and ‘lip’ stand for?
6.5 METONYMY
Metonymy is a figure of speech in which the name of an attribute or adjunct
is substituted for that of the thing meant.
Examples
I enjoy reading Shakespeare. (his plays)
A minister of the Crown. (the King)
Please clean the brass. (things made of brass)
My friend plays Beethoven beautifully. (his music)
The Oval Room was the source of the Watergate. (Office of the President of
U.S.A., which is oval in shape).
Check Your Progress 6
l Read the following passage and answer the question given below:
For tho‟ from out our bourne of Time and
Place The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
(Tennyson: Crossing the Bar)
What does ‘My Pilot’ refer to?
2 Read the following lines from Robert Graves’ poem ‘The Naked And The
Nude’ and identify metonymy.
Lovers without reproach will gaze on bodies naked and ablaze;
The Hippocratic eye will see in nakedness, anatomy.
Glossary
‘hippo’cratic ’eye: the eye of a doctor
a’natomy: the structure of animal and human bodies.
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6.6 PERSONIFICATION
Personification is giving the human characteristics, powers or feelings to inanimate (nonliving) objects or abstract qualities. In personification, as in metaphor, a comparison is
implied. The purpose of personification, like that of metaphor, is to make the description
vivid.
Example
Busy old fool, unruly sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains call on us?
Must to thy motion lovers’ seasons run?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late schoolboys and sour prentices,
Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices,
Love, all alike, no season knows, nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
(John Donne: The Sun Rising)
Glossary
motion: movement
saucy: rude, disrespectful
pe’dantic: showing too much insistence on formal rules
wretch: a rogue (in playful expressions)
chide: scold
’prentices: apprentices, persons under an agreement to serve somebody for low wages
in order to learn that person’s skill.
In The Sun Rising, the sun is talked of as an old fool who gets up early to sneak
through windows to wake up lovers, who obviously do not like to be disturbed. He is
asked to chide other people like the schoolboys who will get late for school. The
picture we get is that of an elderly person in the family asking everybody to rush to
work. The sun might as well wake up the ants (here means peasants) in the fields so
that they may resume their work of gathering harvest, and the huntsmen to get ready
to go for a hunt with the king. The poet says that love, which is constant, is not
affected by change of season or climate, or by months, days or hours, which are
merely small bits of time.
Check Your Progress 7
What expressions does the poem use to rebuke the sun?
Figures of Speech-1
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Literary Devices 6.7 PASSAGE FOR STUDY
Read this passage from the story The Lost Child by Mulk Raj Anand and answer the
questions given at the end.
The Lost Child
It was the festival of Spring. From the wintry shades of narrow lanes and alleys
emerged a gaily clad humanity, thick as a crowd of bright-coloured rabbits issuing
from a warren, and entering the flooded sea of sparkling silver sunshine outside the
city gates, sped towards the fair. Some walked, some rode on horses, others sat,
being carried in bamboo and bullock-carts. One little boy ran between his parent’s
legs, brimming over with life and laughter, as the joyous, smiling morning, with its
open greetings and unashamed invitations to come away into the fields, full of
flowers and songs.
“Come, child, come,” called his parents, as he lagged behind, arrested by the toys in
the shops that lined the way.
He hurried towards his parents, his feet obedient to their call, his eyes still lingering
on the receding toys. As he came to where they had stopped to wait for him, he could
not suppress the desire of his heart, even though he well knew the old, cold stare of
refusal in their eyes.
“I want that toy,” he pleaded.
His father looked at him red-eyed in his familiar tyrant’s way. His mother, melted by
the free spirit of the day, was tender, and giving him her finger to catch, said;
“Look, child, what is before you.”
The faint disgust of the child’s unfulfilled desire had hardly been quelled in the heavy,
pouting sob of a breath, “M—o—th—e-r”, when the pleasure of what was before him
filled him eager eyes. They had left the dusty road on which they had walked so far to
wend its weary way circuitously to the north, and had entered a footpath in a field.
It was a flowering mustard-field, pale, pale, like melting gold, as it swept across
miles and miles of even land, a river of yellow light, ebbing and falling with each
fresh eddy of wild wind, and straying at places into broad, rich tributary streams, yet
running in a constant sunny sweep towards the distant mirage of an ocean of silver
light. Where it ended, on a side stood a dense group of low, mudwalled houses put
into relief both by the lower forms of a denser crowd of yellow-robed men and
women and by high-pitched sequence of whistling, creaking, squeaking, roaring,
humming noises that rose from it, across the groves, to the blue-throated sky like the
weird, strange sound of Siva’s mad laughter.
Check Your Progress 8
l What words and phrases in the opening paragraph suggest the festive mood
of the crowd?
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Figures of Speech-1
2 In the first paragraph, what is the crowd of people compared to? What figure
of speech is it?
3 Give the meanings of the following expressions:
i) a gaily clad humanity
ii) lagged behind
iii) receding toys
iv) red-eyed
v) circuitously
vi) put into relief
4 The mustard field is compared to a river of yellow light. Write the
comparison in your own words.
5 The „whistling, creaking, squeaking, roaring, humming noises’ are likened to
‘Siva’s mad laughter‟. What does this comparison suggest?
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6 What literary device has the writer adopted in the use of words such
as ‘whistling‟, ‘creaking’, ‘squeaking‟, ‘roaring’ and ‘humming’?
6.8 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we have discussed how figures of speech help to make one’s writing
more effective than literal or direct statements. They can add colour to language and
make it more vivid. We have seen how comparisons embodied in similes, metaphors
or personifications provide us with images or word pictures that help us to understand
the meaning better.
6.9 KEY WORDS
’figure of ‘speech: an expression, e.g., a simile or metaphor, that gives variety or
force, that uses words differently from the way they are used literally.
‘metaphor: the use of words to indicate something different from the literal
meaning, as in ‘I’II make him eat his words.’
me’tonymy: the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the
thing meant. (e.g., crown for king)
per’sonifi’cation: representing something as a person
‘simile: comparison of one thing to another e.g. ‘He is as brave as a lion’.
sy’nechdoche: a figure of speech in which part is named, but the whole is
understood, (e.g., 200 extra hands for 200 extra workmen), or the whole is named but
a part is understood (e.g. India beats England at cricket.)
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1 A baby running on the grass and the movements of its feet.
2 i) ‘The little white feet nod like white flowers in a wind.’
ii) ‘They poise and run like puffs of wind that pass over water where the
weeds are thinned.’
iii) ‘The sight of their white playing in the grass is winsome as a
robin’s song, so fluttering.’
iv) ‘…. like two butterflies that settle on a glass cup for a moment, soft
little wing-beats uttering.’
v) ‘1 wish that the baby would tack across here to me like a
wind-shadow running on a pond.’
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vi) ‘…. her feet. …… cool as syringa buds in morning hours.’
vii) ‘. …. firm and silken as young peony flowers.’
3 a) The movements of the baby’s feet are like
i) flowers waving in the wind, and
ii) puffs of wind passing over water.
We can almost see the movement of flowers and the waves on the
surface of water.
b) They are attractive like
i) the fluttering of a singing robin, and
ii) the beating of the butterflies’ soft little wings.
We can almost hear the sounds made by the robin and the butterflies.
c) The touch of the baby’s feet on the poet’s hands is
i) cool like syringa flowers in the morning, and
ii) firm and soft like young peony flowers.
We can almost feel the touch of flowers.
Check Your Progress 2
1 murmur: a soft low sound, continuous and indistinct
flow: the rise of the tide
stirring: movement
streaks: thin lines
crevices: narrow openings or cracks in rocks, etc.
rugged: rough
2 It is a vast cave. When the water rises, it fills the cave and makes a soft low
sound as it comes in. It appears as if the mighty forces of nature were moving in
the dark cave to bring about a change. At some places bright sunlight enters the
cave through the narrow openings in its sides.
3 The cave is filled with the sound of water coming in and the forces of nature
appear to be working in it. At places, sunlight enters the cave through the
crevices. In the same way, ‘his mind’ was full of ideas and appeared to be
working on them. Sometimes he was able to see the light in the midst of the
prevailing confusion.
Check Your Progress 3
1 A schooner, a toy poodle, Greenland, a Labrador, and a banana split.
2 i) Yes
ii) The wrinkled face of an old man.
Check Your Progress 4
i) metaphor; love is described as a gentle wind.
ii) simile; the huge rock is compared to a sea-beast.
iii) simile; the peasants repeating the name of God are compared to swarms of
flies.
iv) simile; the fighting in the battle is compared to the grinding done by
an „immense’ machine.
v) metaphor; the man is described as a ‘pestered animal.’
Check Your Progress 5
1 i)God, who designed the tiger’s body.
ii) In lines 15 and 16.
Figures of Speech-1
31
Literary Devices What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp†
God is shown as a blacksmith using his tools — the hammer and the anvil, and
shaping the tiger’s brain.
2 The body.
Check Your Progress 6
l God
2 ‘the Hippocratic eye’, referring to the medical people.
Check Your Progress 7
Old fool, unruly, saucy, pedantic wretch.
Check Your Progress 8
1 festival of Spring; a gaily clad humanity; bright-coloured rabbits; flooded
sea of sparkling silver sunshine; brimming over with life and laughter;
joyous, smiling; flowers and songs.
2 The crowd of ‘gaily-clad‟ people coming out of ‘narrow lanes and alleys’
is compared to ‘bright-coloured rabbits’ coming out of a warren. A simile.
3 i)people wearing bright-coloured clothes
ii) fell behind
iii) the toys left behind and getting farther off
iv) in anger
v) going round
vi) made vivid by their distinct outline in the background and
the contrast with the crowd of people.
4 The mustard field of yellow flowers is like a shining yellow river. The
movement of the plants is like the rise and fall of water under the
influence of a strong wind. At places the plants have formed separate
clusters as if the river had turned into side streams. The long stretch of
continuous plants gives the impression of a river flowing into a distant
sea of silver light, which is in fact an illusion.
5 People talking and shouting merrily in an unrestrained, almost wild, manner.
6 Onomatopoeia.
32
UNIT 7 FIGURES OF SPEECH-2
Structure
7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Irony
7.2.1 The Irony of Situation
7.2.2 Ironic Contrast
7.2.3 Irony in Satire
7.3 Paradox
7.4 Antithesis
7.5 Let Us Sum Up
7.6 Key Words
7.7 Suggested Reading
Answers
7.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit, we are going to study some other literary devices as we have done in the
previous unit. After completing the unit, you should be able to understand the following
literary devices:
• Irony,
• Satire,
• Paradox, and
• Antithesis.
7.1 INTRODUCTION
In the last unit, we discussed some figures of speech like simile, metaphor, etc., used as
literary devices. We shall now take up some other devices like
i) irony, in which the intended meaning is the opposite of, or at least in sharp
contrast to, the literal meaning,
ii) satire, which ridicules vice or folly, or attacks an individual with some kind of
non-literal use of language,
iii) paradox, which makes use of contradictory or incompatible elements, and
iv) antithesis, which uses a contrast of ideas.
7.2 IRONY
Irony consists in using words which are opposite to one’s meaning. For example, if you
say ‘What a good friend you are!’ when you mean just the opposite, you are using the
device of irony. This is the most commonly used kind of irony.
Example 1
“Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing
me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves.”
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“You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old
friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at
least.”
” Ah! You do not know what I suffer. ”
(From Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice,
chapter I)
In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet form an odd couple owing to their
different temperaments. Mr. Bennet is serious and objective and has a mature
understanding. Mrs. Bennet is uninformed, ‘of mean understanding’, and ‘nervous
when discontented.’ Her main concern in life is to get her daughters married. She asksher husband to invite Mr. Bingley, a rich young bachelor who has settled down in
their neighborhood. Mr. Bennet remarks that he does not consider any of their
daughters, except Lizzy, worthy of being recommended to that gentleman. At this
remark Mrs. Bennet flares up saying that he ‘abuses‟ his own children and takes
pleasure in annoying her, and that he does not care for her nerves and how they will
be affected by his remarks. Mr. Bennet replies that he has been trying to be patient
with her for the last twenty years. Mrs. Bennet, however, knows that Mr. Bennet’s
attitude is in fact just the opposite of what he has said. This is an example of verbal
irony.
The following passage is another example of irony where the reader knows what was
meant, but the character does not.
Example 2
“Permit me to say, Madam, that as I never yet have had the pleasure of seeing Miss
Languish, my principal inducement in this affair at present is the honor of being
allied to Mrs. Malaprop, of whose intellectual accomplishments, elegant manners,
and unaffected learning no tongue is silent.”
(From Sheridan: The Rivals, Act III, Scene III)
Note that Captain Absolute has been meeting Lydia Languish, of which the reader of
the book is aware, and that he is playing to the vanity of Mrs. Malaprop, who wants
to be admired for her fine vocabulary. In reality he is fooling her. The irony is that thereader understands the situation but Mrs. Malaprop does not.
7.2.1 The Irony of Situation
Another type of irony is that of situation, in which the true meaning of a set of
circumstances is not revealed until the outcome of the circumstances is seen; then a
contradiction in the outcome is the result. The situation may seem to be developing toits logical conclusion, yet almost at the end it takes an opposite turn. This unexpected,or unintended, development is an example of irony of situation.
In the short story given below, The Gift, by O. Henry, Della sells her beautiful long
hair in order to buy her husband, Jim a chain for his watch. Meanwhile Jim pawns
his cherished watch in order to buy Della a present of hair combs. This ironic twist offate produces a conclusion which is unexpected by both the characters and readers.
Check Your Progress 1
Read the following story and answer the questions given at the end.
34
Literary Devices
The Gift of the Magi
O. Henry
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all she had saved. Three times Della
counted it. Only one dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be
Christmas.
There was clearly nothing left to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and
weep. So, Della did. You see, life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles — but
mainly of sniffles.
When Della had finished crying, she patted her cheeks with the powder rag. She
stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking along a grey fence in
a grey backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with
which to buy Jim, her husband, a present. She had been saving every cent she could
for months; but twenty dollars a week — which was the total of their income –
doesn’t leave much for saving. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated.
They always are. And now she had only $ 1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Many happy
hours she had spent planning something nice for him. Something fine and rare —
something worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.
There was a mirror between the windows of the room. Suddenly she whirled from
the window and stood before the glass. Her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face
had lost its colour within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it
fall to its full length.
Now, there were two possessions of Della and Jim in which they both took a very
great pride. One was Jim’s gold watch, which had been his father’s and his
grandfather’s. The other was Della’s hair. It fell about her, rippling and shining like a
cascade of brown water. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment
for her.
She did it up again nervously and quickly. She hesitated for a minute and stood still
while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.
On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and
with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she ran out of the door and down the stairs
to the street.
Where she stopped the sign read: ‘Madame Sofronie. We Buy Hair Goods of All
Kinds.‟ One flight up Della ran, and paused for a moment, panting. She opened the
door.
‘Will you buy my hair?’ asked Della.
‘Yes, I buy hair’ said Madame. ‘Take your hat off and let’s have a look at it.’
Down rippled the brown cascade.
‘Twenty dollars’, said Madame, lifting the mass of hair with a practiced hand.
‘Give it to me quickly,’ said Della.
The next two hours went by as if they had wings. She was searching the shops for Jim’s
present.
35
Literary Devices She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. There was no
other like it in any of the shops, and she had turned all of them inside out. It was a
gold watch chain, simple in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone
and not by ornamentation- as all good things should do. As soon as she saw it, she
knew that it must be Jim’s. It was just right for him. Twenty-one dollars they took
from her for it, and she hurried home with the remaining eighty-seven cents. Grand
as Jim’s watch was, he sometimes looked at it with shame on account of the old
leather strap that he used instead of a chain.
When Della reached home her excitement gave way a little to prudence and reason.
She looked at what was left of her poor hair — and started to work at it with nimble
fingers.
Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her
look wonderful, like a naughty schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror
for long- carefully, and critically.
At seven o’clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan on the back of the stove was
hot and ready to cook the supper.
Jim was never late. Della held the newly bought chain in her hand and sat in the
corner of the table near the door that he always entered. Then she heard his steps on
the stairway and she turned pale for just a moment. She had a habit of saying little
silent prayers about the simplest everyday things, and she whispered: ‘Please God,
make him think I am still pretty.’
The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed the door. He looked thin and very
serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two and had a family to care of! He needed
a new overcoat and his shoes were old and worn.
Jim stepped inside the door. Then he stood still. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and
there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not
anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she
had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression
on his face.
Della wriggled off the table and went to him.
‘Jim!’ she cried, ‘don’t look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold it because I
couldn’t have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It’ll grow again —
you won’t mind, do you? I just had to do it. My hair grows very fast, you know. Say
“Merry Christmas!” Jim, and let’s be happy. You don’t know what a nice — what a
beautiful, nice gift I’ve got for you’.
‘You’ve cut off your hair?’ asked Jim, slowly, as if he had not yet arrived at that
obvious fact even after the hardest mental labour.
‘I’ve cut it off and sold it’, said Dell. ‘Don’t you like me just as well, anyhow? My hair is
gone, but I’m just the same.’
Jim looked about the room curiously.
‘You say your hair is gone?’ he said with an air almost of idiocy.
‘You needn’t look for it’, said Della. „It’s sold, I tell you — sold and gone, too. It’s
Christmas Eve, Jim. Be good to me, for it went for you. ‘
36
Jim seemed quickly to wake out of his trance. He drew a package from his overcoat
pocket and threw it upon the table.
‘Don’t make any mistake about me, Della’, he said, ‟I don’t think there’s anything
about a haircut that could make me like my dear wife any less. But if you’ll unwrap
that package you will see why I was upset for a while at first.‟
White and nimble fingers tore at the string and paper. And then an excited scream of
joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails.
For there lay the combs — the set of combs that Della had worshipped for many
months ever since she saw them in a shop window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise
shell, with jeweled rims — just the colour to wear in her beautiful vanished hair.
They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had longed for them without
the least hope of possession. And now they were hers, but with her hair gone there
could be no use for them.
But she hugged them to her chest, and at last she was able to lookup with tearful
eyes and a smile and say: „My hair grows so fast, Jim!’
Then Della remembered something else and cried, ‘Oh, oh!’
Jim had not yet seen his beautiful gift. She held it out to him eagerly in her open
hand. The precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent
spirit.
‘Isn’t it lovely, Jim? I hunted all over the town to find it. You’ll have to look at the
time a hundred times a day now. Give me you watch. I want to see how it looks on
it.’
Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch, put his hands under the back of
his head, and smiled.
‘Della,’ said he, ‘let’s put our Christmas gifts away and keep them a while. They’re
too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs.
‘And now, let us have our supper. ‘
1 What do the following words and phrases mean?
i) flop down
ii) whirled
iii) cascade
iv) garment
v) panting
vi) proclaiming
vii) ornamentation
viii) prudence
ix) mental labour
x) trance
xi) hysterical
xii) wail
2 Can you find words in the story that have the following meanings?
i) a waterfall
ii) a coat worn outside another or over indoor clothes for warmth in
cold weather
iii) the state of being poor
Figures of Speech-2
37
Literary Devices 3 Why did Della change to hysterical tears and wails?
4 What image has been used to describe Della’s hair?
7.2.2 Ironic Contrast
Ironic contrast is achieved by showing the imaginary and the actual situation at the
same time. In the following passage William Saroyan describes suicide in a way that
is so different from what one would expect in real life.
Example 3
Poor Tom. He is sinking to his knees, and somehow, even though it is happening
swiftly, it seems that this little action, being the last one of a great man, will go on
forever, this sinking to the knees. The room is dim, the music eloquent. There is no
blood, no disorder. Tom is sinking to his knees, dying nobly. I myself hear two ladies
weeping. They know it’s a movie, they know it must be fake, still, they are weeping.
Tom is man. He is life. It makes them weep to see life sinking to its knees. The movie
will be over in a minute and they will get up and go home, and get down to the
regular business of their lives, but now, in the pious darkness of the theatre, they are
weeping.
All I know is this: that a suicide is not an orderly occurrence with symphonic music.
There was a man once who lived in the house next door to my house when I was a
boy of nine or ten. One afternoon he committed suicide, but it took him over an hour
to do it. He shot himself through the chest, missed his heart, then shot himself
through the stomach. I heard both shots. There was an interval of about forty seconds
between the shots. 1 thought afterwards that during the interval he was probably
trying to decide if he ought to go on wanting to be dead or if he ought to try to get
well.
Then he started to holler. The whole thing was a mess, materially and spiritually, this
man hollering, people running, shouting, wanting to do something and not knowing
what to do. He hollered so loud half the town heard him.
This is all I know about regular suicides…the way this man hollered wouldn’t please
anyone in a movie. It wouldn’t make anyone weep with joy.
38
I think it comes to this: we’ve got to stop committing suicide in the movies.
(From William Saroyan: ‘Love, Death, Sacrifice, and So Forth’ in The Daring
Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, Copyright 1989, by William Saroyan
foundation).
Figures of Speech-2
Glossary
‘holler: shout or yell
Check Your Progress 2
1 Restatement is a common device used to emphasize a particular point. Do
you find the writer using this technique in the above passage? Where?
2 Bring out the irony in the passage.
7.2.3 Irony in Satire
Satire is a literary weapon directed against persons or institutions that the author
believes should be corrected. The writer often describes a completely different
situation, but makes indirect parallels and reference to the things we know, so
that we realize what it is that the writer is criticizing.
Satire may be humorous and witty. Humour is the sugar coating which makes the
criticism easier to take. A writer of satire uses laughter against a situation, a
particular person, or a type of person with the aim of correcting an undesirable
situation or human folly, or saving people from committing follies.
Example 4
“Yes, Caroline of Brunswick was innocent; and Madam Laffarge never poisoned
her husband; and Mary of Scotland never blew up hers; and poor Sophia
Dorothea was never unfaithful; and Eve never took the apple — it was a
cowardly fabrication of the serpent’s.”
(Thackeray: King George II of England)
39
Literary Devices In the example quoted above Thackeray is evoking moral indignation at some of the
famous names in history. By saying the opposite of what he means, he is emphasizingthe true facts about Caroline, Madam Laffarge, Mary of Scotland, Sophia Dorothea,
and Eve, and their unfaithfulness to their husbands.
Here is an excerpt from a powerful satire, perhaps the most powerful of all, aimed at
improving the status of the Irish people. Ireland was subjected to many commercial
and economic Restrictions under the British regime at the time Swift was writing. It
had become a question of survival for the Irish people.
Example 5
I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be
liable to the least objection.
I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that
a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and
wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled, and I make no doubt that
it will serve in a fricassee.
(Jonathan Swift: Modest Proposal)
Glossary
‘fricassee a dish made of pieces of bird or other meat cooked and served in thick
sauce.
Check Your Progress 3
1 Do you find the use of extended metaphor in the above passage?
2 Is the aim of the author to hurt, to improve, or to prevent a situation?
3 What is the irony in the passage?
7.3 PARADOX
As a figure of speech, a paradox is an apparently self-contradictory statement which is
nevertheless found to be true. A paradoxical situation contains contradictory elements
40
that put together make sense. For example, the celebration of a fifth birthday
anniversary by a twenty-year-old man is paradoxical, but makes sense if the man was
born on February 29.
Example 6
Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind,
That from the nunnery
Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind
to war and arms I fly.
True a new mistress now I chase,
The first foe in the field;
And with a stronger faith embrace
A sword, a horse, a shield.
Yet this inconstancy is such
As you too shall adore;
I could not love thee, Dear, so much
Loved I not honour more.
(Richard Lovelace: To Lucasta, Going to the Wars)
The poem is about a soldier who must leave his beloved to fight in a war. He calls the
foe in the battle-field his new mistress. The paradox is that he asks his beloved to
adore his inconstancy. The fickleness in his affection for his beloved is due to his
sense of duty as a soldier. The statement is paradoxical, but can be understood in the
total context of the poem.
7.4 ANTITHESIS
Antithesis refers to the putting together of contrasting ideas or words so as to produce
an effect of balance.
Examples
1 My words fly up, my thoughts remain below.
2 The prodigal robs his heir; the miser robs himself. . 3 Excess of ceremony shows want of breeding.
Check Your Progress 4
1 The following poem is divided into two stanzas. In what way does this
formal division correspond to the organization of ideas?
At twenty, stooping round about,
I thought the world a miserable
place, Truth a trick, faith in doubt,
Little beauty, less grace.
Now at sixty what I see,
Although the world is worse by far,
Stops my heart in ecstasy,
God, the wonders that there are.
(Archibald Macleish: ‘With Age wisdom’, from The Human Season.
Copyright 1972 by Archibald Macleish, Reprinted by Permission of
Houghton Mifflin Company)
Figures of Speech-2
41
Literary Devices
2 Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:
May she be granted beauty and yet not
Beauty to make a stranger’s eye distraught,
Or hers before a looking-glass, for such,
Being made beautiful overmuch, Consider
beauty a sufficient end,
Lose natural kindness and maybe
The heart-revealing intimacy
That chooses right, and never find a friend. (William
Butler Yeats: ‘A Prayer for My Daughter’)
Glossary
distraught: very anxious or troubled; agitated
i) What kind of beauty does the poet want his daughter to have?
ii) What are the hazards of „being made beautiful overmuch’? How does
the poet illustrate his point?
7.5 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we have studied incongruities or discrepancies involved in the use of
language, as in Irony, and the use of contradictory or incompatible elements as in a
Paradox and Antithesis, which help convey the meaning more effectively.
7.6 KEY WORDS
Antithesis: the putting together of two opposite ideas (e.g., ‘We want deeds, not
42 words.‟)
Irony: use of words which are clearly opposite to one’s meaning, usually with an
amusing purpose (e.g., saying What a nice weather! when the weather is bad).
Paradox: a statement which seems to be contradictory, but which has some truth in
it. (e.g., „More haste, less speed.‟)
Satire: a literary word or speech intended to show the foolishness or evil of
some establishment or practice in an amusing way.
7.7 SUGGESTED READING
Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice.
Answers
Check Your Progress 1
I i) fall suddenly
ii) turned round quickly
iii) waterfall
iv) article of dress
v) gasping for breath
vi) making known
vii) adornment
viii) carefulness to avoid undesired consequences
ix) an effort of the mind
x) sleeplike state; half-conscious state
xi) uncontrolled; arising from nervous excitement
xii) long, loud, high pitched cries
2 i) cascade
ii) overcoat
iii) poverty
3 Jim bought Della a Christmas gift of combs made of tortoise shell studded
with jewels on the edges, which Della had longed to buy all these months but
had found too expensive to afford. Della bought a gift for Jim by selling her
long beautiful hair, her most prized possession. The realization that she did
not now need the combs as she had sold her hair made her cry in an
uncontrolled hysterical manner.
4 Della’s hair is compared to a brown-coloured waterfall. The hair was wavy
and shining and looked like a waterfall. It reached below her knee, and
almost covered her body like a garment.
Check Your Progress 2
I Paragraph I : repetition of
i) sinking to his knees
ii) weeping
Paragraph 2 : repetition of shot
Paragraph 3 : repetition of holler
2 Death and suicide are serious matters, which the author has treated in a nonserious way while giving an account of the two incidents. We, therefore, find
an ironic contrast between the author’s account and the world of reality.
Figures of Speech-2
43
Literary Devices Check Your Progress 3
1 Yes. A young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious,
nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled,
and I make no doubt that it will serve in a fricassee.
2 To prevent a situation.
3 The irony consists in treating children as animals cooked for food.
Check Your Progress 4
1 In the first stanza of the poem, the poet makes a statement that the world is a
miserable place. In the second stanza he says that the world is a wonderful
place. The two stanzas together balance his views.
2 i)He wants his daughter to be moderately beautiful.
ii) A very beautiful woman distracts the attention of other people. It also
makes her vain; she loses her natural kindness and can never have
good friends.
44
UNIT 8 FIGURES OF SPEECH-3
Structure
8.0 Objectives
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Allegory
8.2.1 Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s Progress
8.2.2 Melvin B. Tolson: The Sea Turtle and the Shark
8.3 Symbol
8.3.1 John Boyle O’ Reilly: A White Rose
8.3.2 William Blake: My Pretty Rose Tree
8.3.3 Robert Frost: The Road Not Taken
8.4 Imagery
8.4.1 T.S. Eliot: The Hollow Men
8.4.2 Keats: Ode to Autumn
8.4.3 Passage from N. Scott Momaday: House Made of Dawn
8.5 Let Us Sum Up
8.6 Key Words
8.7 Suggested Reading
Answers
8.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit, we shall discuss some other types of figurative use of language, that
is, language used not in the literal sense but in an imaginative way and often
having a deeper meaning. By the time you complete the study of this unit, you
will have become familiar with
• Allegory,
• Symbol, and
• Imagery.
8.1 INTRODUCTION
In previous Units , we discussed the use of figurative language to convey meanings
which could not be expressed through a literal use of language. In this unit, we shall
discuss how certain devices like allegory and symbol convey deeper and richer
meaning than ordinary words do. We shall also discuss how imagery effectively calls
up vivid sensory experiences and helps convey ideas and emotions which cannot be
expressed by literal statements.
8.2 ALLEGORY
An Allegory is a form of writing — usually a story or a description — in which the
persons, the places, the objects and the events have meanings and implications
beyond the literal meanings. If it is a story, it often implies a penetrating commentary
on life and society. The characters in the story often represent ideas or qualities such
as patience, purity, truth, falsehood, anger, jealousy, lust, greediness, etc. Allegory
has been sometimes defined as an extended or sustained metaphor because the theme
is developed by a series of metaphors, which continue throughout the story. Some 45
Literary Devices
46
famous examples of allegory are: Spenser’s Faerie Queen, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress
and Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.
8.2.1 Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s Progress
Given below is the story of Bunyan’s book The Pilgrim’s Progress, originally
published in 1678. You should read the story given here in order to understand the
discussion that follows.
One day, Bunyan had laid down in a den to sleep, and in his sleep, he dreamt that a
man was standing in a field and crying in pain and sorrow because he, his whole
family as well as the town in which they lived were to be destroyed. Christian, the
protagonist, knew of this catastrophe because he had read about it in the book he held
in his hands, the Bible. Evangelist, the preacher of Christianity, soon came up to
Christian and presented him with a roll of paper on which it was written that he should
flee from the wrath of God and make his way from the City of destruction to the City
of Zion. Running home with this hope of salvation, Christian tried to get his
neighbours and family to go away with him, but they would not listen and thought he
was either sick or mad. Finally, shutting his ears to his family’s entreaties to stay with
them, he ran off toward the light in the distance. Under the light he knew he would
find the wicket gate which opened into Heaven.
On his way he met Pliable and Obstinate, who distracted Christian that he fell in a
bog called the „Slough of Despond‟. He could not get out because of the bundle of
sins on his back. Finally help came and aided Christian out of the sticky mire. Going
on his way, he soon fell in with Mr. Worldly Wiseman, who tried to convince
Christian he would lead a happier life if he gave up his trip towards the light and
settled down to the comforts of a burdenless town life. Fearing that Christian was
about to be led astray, Evangelist came up to the two men and quickly showed the
errors in Mr. Worldly Wiseman’s arguments.
Soon Christian arrived at a closed gate where he met Good-Will, who told him that
if he knocked the gate would be opened to him. Christian did so. Invited into the
gatekeeper’s house by the Interpreter, he learned from him the meaning of many of
the Christian mysteries. He was shown pictures of Christ, Passion and Patience;
Despair in a cage of iron bars; and finally, a vision of the Day of Judgment, when
evil men will be sent to the bottomless pit and good men will be carried up to
Heaven. Having seen these things, Christian was filled with both hope arid fear.
Continuing on his journey, he came to for through from out our bourne of Time and
Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have
crost the bar. (Tennyson: Crossing the Bar) There his burden of sins fell off, and he
was able to take to the road with renewed vigor.
Soon he met Sloth, Simple, Presumption, Formalism, and Hypocrisy, but he kept to
his way and they kept to theirs. Later Christian lay down to sleep for a while. When
he went on again, he forgot to pick up the roll of paper Evangelist had given him.
Remembering it later, he ran back to find it. Running to make up the time lost, he
suddenly found himself confronted by two lions. He was afraid to pass by them until
the porter of the house by the side of the road told him that the lions were chained,
and that he had nothing to fear. The porter then asked Christian to come into the
house. There he was well-treated and shown some of the relics of Biblical antiquity
by four virgins; Discretion, Prudence, Piety, and Charity. They gave him good
advice and sent him on his journey armed with the sword and shield of Christian
faith.
In the Valley of Humiliation, Christian was forced to fight the giant devil, Apollyon,
whose body was covered with the shiny scales of pride. In this battle Christian was
wounded, but after he had chased away the devil, he healed his wounds with leaves
from the Tree of Life which grew nearby. After the Valley of Humiliation came the
Valley of the Shadow of Death in which Christian had to pass one of the gates to
Hell. In order to save himself from the devils who issued out of that terrible hole, he
recited some of the verses from the Psalms.
Having passed through this danger, he had to go by the caves of the old giants,
Pope and Pagan, and when he had done so he caught up with a fellow traveller,
Faithful. As the two companions went along, they met Evangelist, who warned
them of the dangers in the town of Vanity Fair.
Vanity Fair was a town of ancient foundation which since the beginning of time had
tried to lure men away from the path to Heaven. Here all the vanities of the world
were sold, and the people who dwelt there were cruel and stupid and had no love for
travellers such as Christian and Faithful. Having learned these things, the two
companions promised to be careful and went on down into the town. There they were
arrested and tried because they would buy none of the town’s goods. Faithful was
sentenced to be burned alive and Christian was put in prison. When Faithful died in
the fire, a chariot came down from Heaven and took him up to God. Christian
escaped from the prison. Accompanied by a young man named Hopeful, who had
been impressed by Faithful’s reward, he set off once more.
They passed through the Valley of Ease, where they were tempted to dig in a
silver mine free to all. As they left the valley, they saw the pillar of salt which
had once been Lot’s wife. Becoming lost, they were captured by a giant, Despair,
who lived in Doubting Castle, and were locked in the vaults beneath the castle
walls. There they lay until Christian remembered he had a key called Promise in
his pocket, and with this they escaped from the prison.
They met the four shepherds; Knowledge, Experience, Watchful, and Sincere,
who showed them the Celestial Gate and warned them of the paths to Hell. Then
the two pilgrims passed by the Valley of Conceit, where they were met by
ignorance and other men who had not kept to the straight and narrow path. They
passed on to the country of Beulah. Far off they saw the gates of the city of
Heaven glistening with pearls and precious stones. Thinking that all their
troubles were behind them, they laid down to rest.
When they went on towards the city, they came to the River of Death. They
entered the river and began to wade through the water. Soon Christian became
afraid, and the more afraid he became the deeper the waters rolled.
Hopeful shouted to him to have hope and faith. Cheered by these words,
Christian became less afraid, the water became less deep, and finally they both
got across safely. They ran up the hill towards Heaven. Shining angels led them
through the gates.
(From Masterplots, Vol. 8, Salem Press Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey)
Discussion
The Pilgrim’s Progress is an account of the journey of a boy, named Christian,
who moves from the city of Destruction to the city of Zion. As such, it can be
read as a narrative, a picaresque romance, that is, a story dealing with the
adventures of a traveller, or a realistic novel which shows life as it is. In fact, it is
an allegory giving an account of man’s progress through life to heaven or hell.
Christian represents man, the journey he makes is human life, and the city he
reaches is heaven. The story thus relates marls spiritual adventures, the
temptations and dangers he has to face in life before he attains salvation. It is a
Christian document that preaches that man should free himself from evils like
sloth, presumption, hypocrisy, and vanity, and try to find salvation through piety,
hope, and faith in Christ. Seen in this light, the characters and situations become
significant as metaphors that build the theme of the allegory.
Pliable, Obstinate, Worldly Wiseman, Sloth, Presumption, Formalism, and
Hypocrisy are not just characters our hero meets during his journey; they
represent the evils that are obstacles in one’s attainment of salvation. Similarly,
characters like Evangelist,
Figures of Speech-3
47
Literary Devices Good-Will, Discretion, Prudence, Piety, Charity, Faithful and Hopeful, in fact,
represent the qualities that help man in his pursuit of salvation. Some of these
befriend Christian and accompany him on his journey.
8.2.2 Melvin B. Tolson: The Sea Turtle and the Shark
Read this poem by Melvin B. Tolson.
Strange but true is the story of the sea-turtle and the shark —
The instinctive drive of the weak to survive in the oceanic dark.
Driven
Riven
By hunger
Front abyss to shoal,
Sometimes the shark swallows the sea-turtle whole.
The sly reptilian marine withdraws,
Into the shell
Of his undersea craft,
His leathery head and the rapacious claws that can rip
A rhinoceros hide
Or strip
A crocodile to fare-thee-well,
Now
Inside the shark,
The sea-turtle begins the churning seesaws
Of his descent into pelagic hell;
Then… then,
With ravenous jaws
That can cut sheet steel scrap,
The sea-turtle gnaws… and
Gnaws… and gnaws…
His way in a way that appa’1s —
His way to freedom,
Beyond the vomiting dark,
Beyond the stomach walls
Of the shark.
‘turtle: a sea-animal with a soft body protected by a hard shell like that of a tortoise
shark: a sea-fish; some kinds are large and dangerous
ab’yss: a hole so deep that it appears bottomless
shoal: a shallow place in the sea
sly: doing things secretly
ma’rine: found in the sea or relating to the sea
ra’pacious: greedy
‘churning: stirring or moving about with a lot of force, as when milk is churned to
produce butter
‘seesaws: up-and-down or to-and-fro movements
48
pe’lagic: relating to the open sea Figures of Speech-3
gnaws: bites steadily to tear away something
’palls: fills with fear; dismays
Since the poem is taken from the book Harlem Gallery, where it is given as the work
of a black poet, it is suggested that the sea-turtle and the shark represent the
American negro and the White American respectively. At the literal level the story is
that of the sea-turtle who is able to find its way out of the shark’s stomach. At
another level the story of the sea-turtle and the shark can be interpreted as an
allegory, describing the effort of the weak or the poor to survive in their struggle
against the mighty or the rich. A more specific meaning, howsoever, relates to the
American negroes’ struggle against oppression by the white people. It depicts the
history of the negro’s survival in the cruel atmosphere in America symbolized by the
sea and the shark. Just as the turtle cuts its way out of the shark’s stomach, the negro
attempts to be free of the oppression of the white.
Check Your Progress 1
In what ways is a turtle gifted? Your answer should be based on the poem by Melvin
B. Tolson you have just read.
8.3 SYMBOL
A symbol can be a sign, a mark, a word or an object looked upon as representing
something. For example, we have mathematical symbols like +, —, x, and phonetic
symbols for the various sounds. ‘Red’ is usually a symbol danger and is therefore
used as a traffic signal to indicate ‟stop’. A leaf, a branch, or a wreath of the olive
tree, is a symbol of peace. A flag is used as the distinctive symbol of a country. Here
are some more examples:
8.3.1 John Boyle O’ Reilly: A White Rose
Sometimes a poet identifies the symbols he uses, as in the following poem: A White
Rose by John Boyle O’ Reilly.
49
The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
Oh, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.
But I send you a cream-white rosebud,
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.
Glossary
‘passion: strong feeling of love
‘falcon: a small bird of prey trained to haunt and kill other birds and small animals
dove: a kind of pigeon
flush: red colour
In the above poem, the poet makes the white rose a symbol of love and the red rose a
symbol of passion. The cream-white rosebud symbolizes the newly sprung innocent love
and the flush on the petal tips suggests innocent desire.
8.3.2 William Blake: My Pretty Rose Tree
A flower was offered to me,
Such a flower as May never bore;
But I said ‘I’ve a pretty Rose-tree‟
And I passed the sweet flower o’er.
Then I went to my pretty Rose-tree,
To tend her by day and by night,
But my rose turned away with jealousy
And her thorns were my only delight.
The poem is metaphorical as also rich in symbols. The reader can see the contrasts
between the rose that is offered to the man and the rose that the man is cultivating in
his own garden. The beauty of the rose that is offered to him is appreciated by him; it
stands for the love offered to him by a woman. The man, who does appreciate the
loneliness of the rose, does not accept the offer, though. He has his own rose-tree in
his garden which he is cultivating day and night. This rose symbolizes his wife.
The garden rose turns away from him in jealousy, having seen the offer of another
rose made to him. The man is faithful to his wife, though he is struck by the beauty
of the other woman. His wife is jealous and turns away from him. Now her thorns
(jealous attitude) are his only delight!
8.3.3 Robert Frost: The Road Not Taken
More often the symbol is so general in its meaning that it can suggest a great variety
of more specific meanings, as in the following poem by Robert Frost.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
50 And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Figures of Speech-3
Glossary
di’verged: branched away from a point
wood: land covered with growing trees (not so extensive as a forest).
‘grassy: covered with grass
wear(o.): damage from use
In The Road Not Taken, Frost talks about the dilemma of a person who is at the crossroads and has to choose one of the two roads diverging into the wood. He would like to
explore both the roads but is aware of his inability to do so. The choice of the road
symbolically refers to the difficult choices one has to make in life. It may be the choice
of a profession, a place of residence, a wife, or anything else. The possibilities of
experiencing life get limited by the choice one makes.
Check Your Progress 2
1 In the poem The Road Not Taken, the poet says “I shall be telling this with a
sigh”. Is it because he thinks he has made a wrong choice? If not, why does
he regret his choice?
2 Do you find an overstatement in the poem? Where?
51
Literary Devices
52
8.4 IMAGERY
Imagery may be defined as the representation of sense experience through language.
The word ‘image’ often suggests a mental picture, and visual imagery is the most
frequent kind of imagery in literary writings. But an image may also represent a
sound, a smell, a taste, a tactile experience such as hardness, cold, etc., or an internal
sensation such as hunger or thirst. The writer creates images by using vivid sensory
details as in the following examples:
sight: a sparkling diamond
hearing: a shrieking siren
taste: salty, buttered popcorn
smell: rotten eggs
touch: a slimy creature
It is easy to see that imagery uses colourful words with specific meanings to create a
picture in the reader’s mind. The sentence, ‘The dog made a noise’, does not give the
reader a very clear picture, but the sentence, ‘The panting, struggling German
Shepherd whimpered in his agony’, is a more effective image. You not only see and
hear the dog, but also get the impression of his suffering. Here are two statements
which say almost the same thing.
Try to do great things.
Hitch your wagon to a star.
Although both statements say almost the same thing, one of them is somehow more
interesting than the other. The first one makes a straightforward statement without
appealing to our imagination. It uses literal language. The second example, on the
other hand, makes the reader use his imagination to perceive a special image.
8.4.1 T.S. Eliot: The Hollow Men
T.S. Eliot, through the use of clear and precise images suggested the spiritual
aridity and inertia of modern industrial society in ‘The Hollow Men‟.
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Head piece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar.
In this poem, Eliot articulates in a collective voice a sort of choric chant of hollow
men lamenting their own hollowness or emptiness. They are spiritually empty, and
devoid of all faith. When they try to pray, only dry, meaningless whispers come out
of their lips. ‘Dried voices’, ‘wind in dry grass’, ‘rats‟ feet over broken glass’, ‘dry
cellar’, are images symbolic of spiritual sterility and decay. They are people with
blurred shapes and gestures which mean nothing. They are as if paralyzed both
physically and spiritually. They are inactive and as such read a sterile, meaningless
existence. Their heads are filled with straw, rather than anything meaningful or
worthwhile.
8.4.2 Keats: Ode to Autumn
Read this poem by Keats.
Ode to Autumn
Figures of Speech-3
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days, will never cease,
For summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swathe and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too, —
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue:
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grow’n lambs loud bleat from hilly boum;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies,
Glossary
‘mellow: soft and sweet in taste
‘thatch: roof covering of dried straw, reeds, etc.
eaves: overhanging edges of a roof
moss’d: covered with moss (kind of small green plant growing in thick masses on wet
surfaces)
plump (verb): make rounded
53
Literary Devices
54
‘kernel: softer, inner (usually edible) part of a nut or fruit-Stone
‘clammy: sticky
‘winnowing ‘wind: a stream of air used to separate the dry outer covering from grain
‘furrow: a long narrow trench made in the ground by a plough
hook: a curved tool for cutting grain, etc.
swathe (noun): a ridge of grass, corn, etc.
‘gleaner: a person who collects grain left in a harvest field by the workers
‘oozing: apple juice falling slowly from the cider-press
barred: marked with stripes
‘stubble: ends of grain plants left in the ground after harvest
’wailful: crying or complaining in a loud and shrill voice
gnat: a small two-winged fly that stings
bleat (verb): the word refers to the cry of sheep, goats, etc.
bourne: boundary
‘treble: high-pitched
sallow: willow tree, of low-growing kind
‘crickets: small, brown jumping insects
croft: a small enclosed field
‘swallows: kinds of small, swift-frying insect-eating birds, with forked tails
In the first stanza, the poet describes the fruits of autumn. It is the time of the
ripening of grapes, apples, gourds, hazelnuts, etc. During this time the bees suck the
juice from flowers to make honey.
In the second stanza, autumn is seen in the person of a winnower, a reaper, a glen.
and a person extracting cider-juice. These are operations associated with the harvest.
At first, autumn is shown as a harvester sitting carelessly in the field during
winnowing time, then as a gleaner walking homewards with a load on the head;
thereafter as one watching the flow of apple juice from the cider-press.
The third stanza describes the various sounds heard during autumn. If spring has its
songs, autumn too has distinct sounds and songs. A choral sound can be heard in the
sounds produced by the gnats. There are other sounds: the bleating of lambs, the
chirping of hedge-crickets, the robin’s high notes, and the swallows twittering in the
sky.
Check Your Progress 3
1 Keats describes the Autumn (the season personified) in three steps: the work,
the sights, and the sounds. In stanza 1, he speaks of the effect of Autumn on
fruits and nuts and the collection of honey by bees. In stanza 2, he gives
us a picture of Autumn as a woman in four different occupations. First, as
a woman resting on the granary floor. Second, as a woman sleeping on a
furrow with her cutting tool beside her. What are the other two pictures
of Autumn?
2 In stanzas 1 and 2, the imagery is predominantly visual, but in the last stanza
the emphasis is on auditory imagery. List the five sounds of the season
which the poet describes here.
3 The poem is primarily descriptive but there is an element of sadness in some
of these descriptions. What words give us that impression?
8.4.3 Passage from N. Scott Momaday: House Made of Dawn
Read this passage from N. Scott Momaday’s ‘House Made of Dawn’.
The hardest weather in the world is there. Winter brings blizzards, hot tornadic
winds arise in the spring, and in summer the prairie is an anvil’s edge. The grass
turns brittle and brown, and it cracks beneath your feet. There are green belts
along the rivers and creeks, linear groves of hickory and pecan, willow and
witch hazel. At a distance in July or August the steaming foliage seems almost to
writhe in fire. Great green and yellow grasshoppers are everywhere in the tall
grass, popping up like com to sting the flesh, and tortoises crawl about on the red
earth, going nowhere in plenty of time.
Glossary
‘blizzard: strong cold wind accompanied by widespread heavy snowfall
tor’nadic: like a violent storm with winds whirling around a low-pressure area
‘anvil: a heavy block of iron on which heated metals are hammered into shape
‘brittle: hard but easily broken.
‘hickory: a tree which grows in North America and has edible nuts
pe’can: a kind of hickory tree growing in Southern U.S.A.
’willow: a kind of tree with long thin branches
‘witch hazel: a kind of tree
writhe: twist in pain
Figures of Speech-3
55
Literary Devices Check Your Progress 4
The passage above gains its power from the images. Show how Momaday
enables us to see and feel and hear what living on Rainy Mountain is like.
8.5 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we have studied how the use of allegory and symbols enables the
writer to convey a lot more than is possible through the use of literal language.
Though allegory and symbols seem to overlap, the meaning conveyed in an
allegory is more precise and definite than in a symbol, which sometimes suggests
a variety of meanings. We have seen how images can be incorporated in
symbols, allegory and metaphor to convey sensory experiences, and ideas and
emotions, beyond the literal statements.
8.6 KEY WORDS
‘allegory: a story or description in which the characters are in fact symbols of
abstract ideas or qualities
’imagery: the use of images or figures of speech in writing to present mental
pictures; the representation of sense experience through language which brings
pictures to the mind.
‘symbol: a sign, object, etc., looked upon as representing something
8.7 SUGGESTED READING
John Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s Progress
56
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
The turtle has a head covered with hard leather and claws strong enough to tear the
thick skin of a rhinoceros or a crocodile. It has jaws that can cut a steel sheet into pieces.
Check Your Progress 2
1 The poet is not sorry for the choice he has made, but regrets the fact that
each choice limits the possibilities of other experiences in life.
2 Yes. ‘I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence.’
Check Your Progress 3
I as a gleaner, and as a watcher of the cider-press.
2 the gnats mourn in a wailful choir, the lambs bleat, the hedge-crickets sing,
the red-breast whistles, and the swallows twitter.
3 in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn.
Check Your Progress 4
See:
i) in summer the grass turns brittle and brown;
ii) green belts along the rivers and creeks, linear groves of hickory and pecan,
willow and witch hazel;
iii) great green and yellow grasshoppers;
iv) tall grass;
v) popping tip like com;
vi) tortoises crawl about on the red earth.
See and feel:
i) winter brings blizzards;
ii) hot tornadic winds in the spring;
iii) in summer the prairie is an anvil’s edge;
iv) in July and August steaming foliage seems almost to writhe in fire.
feel: ‘to sting the flesh’
hear: ‘it cracks beneath your feet’
Block
3
Structure words
Block Introduction
UNIT 9
Structure Words-1
UNIT 10
Structure Words-2 Auxiliaries
UNIT 11
Structure Words in Discourse-1
UNIT 12
Structure Words in Discourse-2
Course Introduction
Language through Literature (BEGLA 137)
(CHOICE BASED CREDIT SYSTEM)
Credit weightage: 6 credits
Language Through Literature which has been adapted from BEGE-101 is aimed at providing
a lucid account of how even the most common elements of language are used dexterously and
aesthetically in literature/oratory to please, entertain, persuade, gratify and create aesthetic
appeal. As a matter of fact, literature is nothing but a creative and imaginative use of
language. This course will enable you to not only understand the various and dynamic ways
in which writers/orators use language but also comprehend and appreciate literary/rhetorical
pieces better and derive greater pleasure from them. This course will primarily deal with
literal versus metaphorical meaning, literary and rhetorical devices and an understanding of
the development of discourse.
This course seeks to equip you with awareness of some of the important aspects of English
usage through the study of representative samples of literary works produced in English. The
course is divided into 4 blocks of about 4 units each. Block 1 deals with extension of
meaning, multiple meanings and overlap of meaning in the context of language acquisition
process through four units/chapters. Block 2 has four units that deal with confusion of
semantic and structural criteria and escaping wrong analogies including studying literary
texts. Block 3 introduces and takes you to an understanding of structure words and acquaints
you to all its facets and dimensions including auxiliaries and structure words in discourse
with a purpose to make you aware of the role of conjunctions and linking adverbials in combining ideas/events together.
Block 4 aims to clarify certain areas of confusion relating to rhetorical devices with an
emphasis on structure and style including use of repetition and questions. The course does
not include much linguistic theory and deals with the structure of English in a practical way.
The aim is to help the undergraduate student acquire a better understanding of how
language operates and attain a reasonable level of accuracy in the use of the language, both
in speech and in writing.
Follow all the units and enjoy your Course.
Block 3 Introduction
In continuity with the previous blocks, this block will enable you to not only understand the
various and dynamic ways in which writers/orators use language but also comprehend and
appreciate literary/rhetorical pieces better and derive greater pleasure from them. This block
will primarily deal with literal versus metaphorical meaning, literary and rhetorical devices
and an understanding of the development of discourse.
In the first Unit of this block, the discussion would make you distinguish structure words
from content words (also called lexical words) and describe the special characteristics of
structure words, and distinguish the respective roles of structure words and lexical words in
English.
In Unit 10, you should be able to distinguish between auxiliaries and main verbs and then
primary and modal auxiliaries. After going through the unit, you will be able to distinguish
the various meanings and uses of the different auxiliaries, and also construct complex Verb
phrases using permissible combinations of auxiliaries and main verbs.
In Unit 11 and 12, the aim is to make you aware of the function of some of the structure
words in meaningful discourse. We shall deal mainly with personal, possessive, and
demonstrative pronouns, determiners (including the definite article), and coordinating
conjunctions. We shall also take up some adverbial expressions used for demonstrative
reference or as linking devices.
UNIT 9 STRUCTURE WORDS-1
Structure
9.0 Objectives
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Passage for Reading
University Days by James Thurber
9.3 Recognizing Structure Words
9.3.1 Structure Words and Content Words
9.3.2 Lexical Meaning and Structural Meaning
9.3.3 Why Do We Need Structure Words?
9.4 Characteristics of Structure Words in Use
9.4.1 Frequency of Occurrence
9.4.2 Closed Class Membership
9.4.3 Structure Words as Structural Markers
9.4.4 Structure Words Provide the Grammatical Framework of a Sentence
9.5 A Note on ‘Some Other Words’: Determiners
9.6 Let Us Sum Up
9.7 Key Words
Answers
9.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to
• distinguish structure words from content words (also called lexical words),
• describe the special characteristics of structure words, and
• distinguish the respective roles of structure words and lexical words in English.
9.1 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we shall discuss the structure words of English. In this unit, we shall
define structure words and distinguish them from content words. In the
subsequent units, we shall discuss three important types of structure words of
English: articles, auxiliaries and prepositions.
9.2 PASSAGE FOR READING
Read the following passage carefully. In this passage, James Thurber describes
his ‘University Days’:
University Days
James Thurber
l) I passed all the other courses that I took at my university, but I could never
pass botany. This was because all botany students had to spend several hours a
week in a laboratory looking through a microscope at plant cells, and I could
never see through a microscope. I never once saw a cell through a microscope.
This used to enrage my instructor. He would wander around the laboratory
pleased with the progress all the students were making in drawing the involved
and, so I am told, interesting structure of flower cells, until he came to me. I 5
would just be standing there. “I can’t see anything,” I would say. He would begin
patiently enough, explaining how anybody can see through a microscope, but he
would always end up in a fury, claiming that I could see through a microscope
but just pretended that I couldn’t. “It takes away from the beauty of flowers
anyway,” I used to tell him. “We are not concerned with beauty in this course,”
he would say. “We are concerned solely with what I may call the mechanics of
flars'”. “Well,” I’d say, “I can’t see anything.” “Try it just once again,” he’d say,
and I would put my eye to the microscope and see nothing at all, except now
and again, a nebulous milky substance — a phenomenon of maladjustment. You
were supposed to see vivid, restless clockwork of sharply defined plant cells. “I
see what looks like a lot of milk,” I would tell him. This, he claimed, was the
result of my not having adjusted the microscope properly; so, he would readjust
it for me, or rather, for he, and I would look again andsee milk.
2) I finally took a deferred pass, as they called it, and waited a year and tried
again. (You had to pass one of the biological sciences or you couldn’t
graduate.) The professor had come back from vacation brown as a berry,
bright-eyed, and eager to explain cell-structure again to his classes. “Well,”
he said to me, cheerily, when we met in the first laboratory hour of the
semester, “we’re going to see cells this time, aren’t we?” “Yes, sir,” I said.
Students to right of me and to left of me and in front of me were seeing cells;
what’s more, they were quietly drawing pictures of them in their note-books.
Of course, I didn’t see anything.
3) “We’ll try it,” the professor said to me, grimly, “with every adjustment of the
microscope known to man. As God is my witness, I’ll arrange this glass so
that you see cells through it or I’ll give up teaching. In twenty-two years of
botany, I….” He cut off abruptly for he was beginning to quiver all over, like
Lionel Barry more, and he genuinely fished to hold onto his temper; his
scenes with me had taken a great deal out of him.
4) So we tried it with every adjustment of the microscope known to man. With only
one of them did I see anything but blackness or the familiar lacteal opacity, and
that time I saw, to my pleasure and amazement, a variegated constellation of
flecks, specks, and dots. These I hastily drew. The instructor, noting my activity,
came back from an adjoining desk, a smile on his lips and his eyebrows high in
hope. He looked at my cell drawing. “What’s that?” he demanded, with a hint of
squeal in his voice. “That’s what I saw,” I said. “You didn’t, you didn’t, you
didn’t,” he screamed, losing control of his temper instantly, and he bent over and
squinted into the microscope. His head snapped up. “That’s your eye!” he
shouted. “You’ve fixed the lens so that it reflects! You’ve drawn your eye!”
(Copyright c1933, 1961 James Thurber. From My Life and Hard Times,
published by Harper & Row)
9.3 RECOGNIZING STRUCTURE WORDS
We have printed some words in the first paragraph of the passage in bold type. If you
examine these words carefully you will find that these words are rather small as
compared to the other words that occur in the passage. For example, in the first two
sentences, the words in bold type are: I, all, the, that, at, my, but, could,
this,because, had, to, a, in, through, at, and. All of them, except one, are onesyllablewords. Some other words are also small but we have not printed them in bold
type.
6 Flars/f1a:z/flowers. The writer is trying to imitate the instructor’s pronunciation.
Let us divide the words in bold type in the first paragraph into different parts of
speech. We see that they can be divided into these categories:
Articles: the, a
Pronouns: I, that, my, this, he, me, anything, anybody, it, him, we, what, nothing,
you, himself
Prepositions: at, in, through, around, with, of, to, from, except, like, for
Conjunctions: but, because, and, until, how, that, so, or
Auxiliaries: could, had to, used to, would, were, am, be, can, are, may
Some other words: all, this (when not a pronoun)
Words belonging to these parts of speech are called structure words.
9.3.1 Structure Words and Content Words
You will notice that our list does not contain the names of the more important parts
of speech like noun, verb, adjective, and adverb. These four are the major parts of
speech. Words belonging to these categories are not structure words: they are called
content words or lexical words.
The difference between content words and structure words lies partly in the nature
of their meaning and partly in the characteristics of their use. We shall discuss the
differences in the nature of their meanings first.
9.3.2 Lexical Meaning and Structural Meaning
Let us look at some content words occurring in our passage:
Nouns: university, microscope, structure, fury, phenomenon, etc.
Verbs: pass, enrage, pretend, claim, adjust, etc.
Adjectives: nebulous, milky, vivid, restless, brown, etc.
Adverbs: patiently, always, sharply, cheerily, quietly, etc.
How do the meanings of these content words differ from the meanings of the
structure words which were listed earlier? Look up both kinds of words in a
dictionary. What do you find?
Dictionaries are of various types but you will find that content words are entered in
all dictionaries. The dictionary gives you a description of the meaning in simple
words. For example, one meaning of the noun structure is given as ‘the way in which
parts are formed into a whole’. The meanings of some other nouns (e.g., microscope)
may include a picture. Meanings of verbs, adjectives and adverbs are generally given
in the form of simple word-equivalents and definitions. Thus, nebulous is defined as
‘not clear’, ‘cloudy’, etc., enrage as ‘to make very angry’, and so on. This shows that
content words have meanings which can be described, represented by a picture,
carried by synonyms, etc. Such meanings arc called lexical meanings. Nouns, verbs,
adjectives, and adverbs have lexical meanings. Respectively, their meanings refer to
objects or things, actions, qualities of objects, and modes and manners of action.
Whenever we want to say something, we use names of objects (nouns), words for
actions (verbs), qualities (adjectives), modes and manners (adverbs), etc. These
words carry the main items of meaning in a sentence. Without them we would not be
Structure Words-1
7
able to say anything about any person, thing, action, quality, etc. In other words,
we would not be able to use language at all.
As for structure words, dictionaries do not really give you their meanings; what
they do is to tell you how these words are used,for example, here is what the
OxfordAdvance Learner’s Dictionary of Current English has to say about some
of thestructure words from our list:
used by a speaker or writer to refer to himself. Cf. me, object form,
and we, us, plural forms.
the 1. used as a less specific form of this, these, that, those applied to
person(s), thing(s), event(s), etc. already referred to or being discussed
……2. used when who or what is referred to is quite obvious. 3. used with
a noun when it stands for something unique… 4…, etc. (Lists 14 uses)
at 1. (place and direction) (a) indicating the place in or near which
something or somebody was, is or will be …(b) towards; in the direction
of…….(c) indicating an attempt to get or reach something, (d)
indicating distance ….. (e) 2. (time and order) (a) indicating a point
of time…… (b)…… ,and so on.
and …1. connecting words, clauses, sentences….
can …1. indicating ability or capacity to do something. 2. is used with verbs
of perception in place of the simple tenses, which are less usual?
Nothing is added to the meaning… 3. is used, colloquial style, to
indicate permission… (4) etc. (lists 9 uses).
Why do dictionaries give ‘meanings’ for lexical words and ‘uses’ for structure
words? The reason obviously is that lexical words have ‘content’, some substance
of meaning which can also be represented in other ways, by other words or by
pictures. Structure words do not have much content; as a result, they cannot
generally be represented by other words. We can use the words ‘cloudy’ or ‘not
clear’ for nebulous but we cannot use a forthe or at for in, or it for him. This is
because each of these small words, or structure words, has a definite use, or uses,
which cannot be performed by another word. The function of a cannot be
performed by the, the function of could cannot be performed by may, and so on.
9.3.3 Why Do We Need Structure Words?
Why does a language need structure words? Can it not do with content words only?
We can find the answer to this question if we take a normal sentence and remove
all the structure words from it. Let us take these two sentences:
I could never see through a microscope.
I will never see a microscope.
If we remove the structure words from these sentences, we get
never see microscope
from both sentences. In fact, we can think of a number of sentences such that, by
removing the structure words, we will get ‘never see microscope’. For example:
You may never see the microscope.
8
She will never see through my microscope. etc.
It is obvious that these sentences all carry different meanings though the content
words are the same in all of them. We can, therefore, say that the meaning of a
sentence does not come from lexical words only: some meaning is also contributed
by structure words. It is true that the meaning of lexical words is important in all the
above sentences: they all talk about microscopes, for example. But the presence of
structure words is also important. For example, it is the presence of the preposition
through which tells us that in one sentence we are talking about seeing through a
microscope, while in another sentence we are talking about seeing a microscope.
Similarly, the presence of could in one sentence and of will in another shows that in
one sentence we are talking about the past, in another about the future. The presence
of the in one sentence and of a in another also makes a difference in meaning
{themicroscope vs. a microscope) as we shall see in the next unit.
The kinds of meanings that structure words convey are clearly different from the
meanings of lexical words. Lexical words denote objects, actions, qualities, etc.;
structure words produce meanings like the time of action, relationships between
objects, definite or indefinite object, etc. However, more important than the kinds of
meaning is the way in which these meanings are conveyed. Lexical words convey
their meanings by themselves, i.e., each lexical word contains its own meaning. (the
meaning of chair, the object, comes from the word chair, the meaning of running, the
action, comes from the word run, and so on.) The meaning of a structure word, on the
other hand, comes from the association of the word with another word, or set of
words. The meanings of the articles a and the, for example, are conveyed to us only
when the article is attached to a noun; the meaning of a pronoun comes to us only
when we know the noun it stands for; the meaning of a preposition comes to us only
when we know the two entities which it relates, and so on. We would not be very
wrong if we said that structure words have no meaning of their own: their meaning
emerges only when they occur in combination with other words, i.e. in a sentence.
This is the reason why some dictionaries do not list structure words, and also the
reason why those dictionaries that do list them describe their uses rather than give
their meanings.
We have thus identified two kinds of meaning: the meaning of lexical words and the
meaning of structure words. We call the former ‘lexical meaning’ and the latter
‘structural meaning’. The meaning of a sentence is a combination of these two kinds
of meaning.
Check Your Progress 1
1) We have identified all the structure words in the first paragraph of James
Thurber’s passage. You do the same for the remaining paragraphs. List the
structure words under these heads: Articles, Pronouns, Auxiliaries, Conjunctions,
Prepositions, others. List each structure word only once.
2) Make five good sentences using all the content words given below in each
sentence. To do so, you will have to use a number of structure words. Use
different structure words for different sentences. You can change the form of the
content words but use each content word only once:
9
go stand ’street window
watch man people
9.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF STRUCTURE WORDS IN
USE
We have shown how structure words can be distinguished from lexical words on the
basis of meaning. We shall now describe some characteristics of the use of structure
words which also help us to distinguish them from lexical words.
9.4.1 Frequency of Occurrence
If you count the structure words that we have underlined in the first paragraph of
James Thurber’s passage, you will find that they constitute nearly half of the total
number of words in the passage. Some of the structure words occur again and again.
For example, the article a occurs 13 times and the 10 times. Similarly, other structure
words like all, this, he, it, etc. also occur repeatedly. If you continue counting these
words in the rest of the passage, you will find that the total occurrences of each
structurewords add up to quite a few. No lexical word occurs in the passage as many
times, though some words like microscope, look, etc. do occur again and again. The
higher frequency of structure words becomes more apparent as you increase the size
of the passage. It has been calculated that, on an average, one-third or more of the
words occurring in a text are structure words.
Another characteristic of structure word is that they occur with equal frequency in all
kinds of styles and varieties of English. This characteristic is not found in the use of
content words. The kind of content words that will occur in a particular passage is
determined by various factors, e.g., the subject matter, the choice of style, the level of
education of the person addressed, and so on. Content words that occur in a
discussion on politics are unlikely to occur in a discussion on physics; the content
words that one uses when talking informally to one’s friends are different from the
content words that one uses when delivering a formal lecture (even if their meanings
are similar). Structure words, on the other hand, always remain the same. There are
no substitutes for articles. Pronouns, prepositions, auxiliaries, etc. in English. Hence
their frequency is the same in every style and every use except perhaps in such
specialised cases as the language of telegrams where structure words are often
dropped to save on cost.
9.4.2 Closed Class Membership
As we stated earlier, structure words belong to different parts of speech: some are
articles, some pronouns, some prepositions, some auxiliaries, some conjunctions, and
so on. It is to be noted that each of these categories contains only a few words. There
10
are two articles, 25-30 pronouns, 60-70 prepositions, 35-40 conjunctions 15-16
auxiliaries and a few other words. The total number of structure words in English
is not more than 200-250. This number is very small when compared to
thousands and thousands of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Why is this
so? Why are there only a few structure words but thousands upon thousands of
lexical words? The answer is very simple. Lexical words denote objects, actions,
qualities, etc. and there are thousands upon thousands of these in the world;
structure words denote relations between these and there are only a few of these
relations. The situation is somewhat similar to arithmetic: there are thousands and
thousands of numbers but only a few relations (or operations, like addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division) that exist between them.
It is this which leads to the open class membership of lexical words and closed class
membership of structure words. New words are added to the class of nouns, verbs,
etc. all the time because new objects are discovered, new kinds of actions, or
combinations of actions, are seen or imagined; new qualities, or combinations of
qualities, are experienced, and so on. However, no new words are added to the class
of pronouns, articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, etc. because the functions these
classes of words perform (e.g., the relations that prepositions show between objects
denoted by nouns) always remain the same or vary only over long periods of time.
We thus notice that the class of structure words consists of a small number of
words which occur very frequently. The class of lexical words, on the other
hand, consists of a very large number of words which occur very infrequently.
9.4.3 Structure Words as Structural Markers
A characteristic of the use of structure words is that they always occur with
content words belonging to the major parts of speech (nouns, verbs, etc.). Just as
content words by themselves cannot form a sentence (remember ‘Never see
microscope’!), function words also cannot form a sentence by themselves (can
you imagine a sentence like ‘I all the that I my I could’?) Structure words have to
be combined with lexical words to make good sentences. There are certain
definite ways (‘rules’) in which structure words combine with lexical words. For
example, articles combine only with nouns, auxiliaries combine only with verbs,
prepositions always precede nouns or noun phrases, conjunctions always join
elements of the same type, etc. Because of these definite rules of combination,
we can always use a structure word to tell the part of speech of its accompanying
word. For example, wherever an article occurs we can be sure that the
accompanying word will be a noun, since articles always occur with nouns, never
with verbs, adverbs, etc. Similarly wherever an auxiliary occurs we can be sure
that the accompanying word will be a verb, since auxiliaries occur only with
verbs. In other words, articles are markers of, nouns and auxiliaries are markers
of verbs. All structure words function as markers of some grammatical category
or the other. In this capacity, they are called ‘structural markers’.
What is the use of structural markers? How are structure words useful as
structural markers?
A simple example will answer these questions. Look at the following message
received by wire:
Ship sails today
This message contains only lexical words. In telegrams we save money by
omitting the structure words, but this sometimes leads to problems, as in this
case. What does the message mean? It may either mean ‘The ship is sailing
today’ or it may be a command asking the addressee to ship the sails (send sails
by ship) immediately. If the telegram is received by the addressee, who has the
necessary background information, he will have no problem, but if it is received
by a friend or a member of the family who doesn’t know the background, he will
not know how to interpret the telegram.
Structure Words-1
11
Now suppose we supply the structure words. The telegram will then be read either as
The ship sails today
Ship the sails today
The meaning becomes quite clear in either case. What makes this possible? The
structure word the. Whichever word it precedes is marked as the noun {ship or
sails), the rest follows easily.
9.4.4 Structure Words Provide the Grammatical Framework of a
Sentence
Structure words and inflections (endings on words like the present tense ending -s,
the plural -s or -es, the past tense ending -ed, etc.) function as structural markersthey tell us the grammatical category of the word with which they occur. When we
know the grammatical categories of all the words in a sentence we know its
grammatical structure to a great extent. The grammatical structure of a sentence
contains a number of positions in which content words occur, e.g., the subject
position, the object position, the verb, etc. When the content words are filled in, we
get the full meaning of the sentence. For example, look at the structure.
The is
Verb Object
If we fill in the blanks with content words, we get the sentences
The man is watching a word.
The country is fighting a war etc.
Structure words therefore provide the basic structure, or the grammatical framework
of a sentence. This framework, as we saw earlier, contributes its own meaning,
which is called structural meaning. If we remove the structure words, the structural
meaning is lost. We are only left with some items of lexical meaning with no
structure and no relationship between them. On the other hand, if we remove the
content words, we have only an empty framework, a structure without any substance.
9.5 A NOTE ON ‘SOME OTHER WORDS’.
DETERMINERS
In our list of the parts of speech of structure words, we have listed some words
under the title ‘some other words’. What words are these?
In James Thurber’s passage some words (like all,this, that) occur again and again.
These words do not belong to a single part of speech. Depending on how we use
them they are either pronouns or adjectives. They are pronouns when they stand for
nouns (e.g., this in ‘This used to enrage my instructor.’), and adjectives when they
stand before a noun (e.g., this in ‘We are not concerned with beauty in this course’.).
Modem grammar tells us that when words like all, this, that, these, those, one, etc.
stand before nouns (i.e. when they function as adjectives), they are markers of nouns.
Hence they are like the articles a, an, the, which are also markers of nouns. Some
pronouns (the possessive pronouns like my, your, his, etc.) also stand before nouns
12
and should also be called noun-markers. Modern grammar puts all noun-markers in
a single category. The name given to this category is Determiner. Determiners
are the class of structure words which include articles, possessive pronouns,
demonstrative adjectives, numerals, etc., all of which function as noun-markers.
In our next unit we shall discuss one type of determiner words: the articles.
9.6 LET US SUM UP
Let us now sum up our discussion. We have seen that
i) Structure words are words belonging to the categories of articles,
auxiliaries, conjunctions, prepositions and pronouns. Words belonging to
the categories of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are content words.
ii) Content words have lexical meaning, or meaning which can be represented
by other words, pictures, etc.; structure words have uses or functions which
may be described but cannot be performed by other words.
iii) Structure words have a high frequency of occurrence in all styles and
varieties of English; the frequency of content words is much less and
varies according to style, subject matter, etc.
iv) Structure words form classes whose membership is closed. No new
structure words are added to the language.
v) Structure words function as structural markers. Structural markers help us
to recognize the part of speech to which a word in a sentence belongs.
This, in turn, helps us to understand the sentence correctly.
Vi) Structure words provide the grammatical structure of a sentence and
contribute structural meaning; content words fill the structural positions and
contribute lexical meaning.
9.7 KEY WORDS
Structure words: Words belonging to closed classes with a high frequency
ofoccurrence.
Content words: Words belonging to open classes with a comparatively
lowerfrequency of occurrence.
Closed class: A class of words that does not admit new members (e.g.
articles,pronouns, prepositions, etc.).
Open class: A class of words that admits new members (e.g., nouns,
adjectives,verbs, etc.).
Structural meaning: The meaning contributed by structure words,
Lexical meaning: The meaning contributed by content (or lexical) words.
Structural marker: A word is said to function as a structural marker when it
helpsus identify the grammatical category of another word with which it occurs.
Inflections also function as structural markers.
Structure Words-1
13
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress
l) Articles: a, the, an
Pronouns: I, it, you, one, his, he, me, we, why they, them, their,
anything, him, my, these, that
Auxiliaries: had to, could, had, are, going to, were, did, ‘II (shall/will),
Conjunctions: as, and, or, when, so that, for, so
Prepositions: of, from, as, to, in, through, like, onto, with, out of,
but (=except), at
Others: first, this, every, that
2) The five sentences given below are examples. You can construct other
good sentences;
i) The man went to the window and watched the people standing in
the street.
ii) The man stood at the window and watched the people going in the
street.
iii) The people stood and watched the man going out of the window
into the street.
iv) The man went into the street and the people stood and watched
him through the window.
v) The man stood and watched the people going out of the window
into the street.
14
Structure Words
UNIT 10 STRUCTURE WORDS- 2 AUXILIARIES
Structure
10.0 Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Passage for Reading
10.3 Auxiliaries and Main Verbs
10.4 Primary Auxiliaries: be, have, do
10.5 Modal Auxiliaries and their Meanings
10.6 Types of Complex Verb Phrase
10.7 Auxiliaries as Operators
10.8 Let Us Sum Up
10.9 Key Words
Answers
10.0 OBJECTIVES
After you have studied this unit you should be able to
• distinguish between auxiliaries and main verbs,
• distinguish between primary and modal auxiliaries,
• distinguish the various meanings and uses of the different auxiliaries, and
• construct complex Verb phrases using permissible combinations of auxiliaries and main verbs.
10.1 INTRODUCTION
In the previous Unit, we introduced you to structure words. We stated there that ‘structure words’ are those
which have little lexical meaning but which are essential to the meaning of the sentences, since
the meanings of content words and establish relationships between them. We also stated
characteristics of the structure words. We saw that they
i) occur very frequently in all styles and varieties of English,
ii) form small and closed classes of words,
iii) function as structural markers, and
iv) provide the grammatical framework of a sentence and contribute structural
meaning.
We also discussed one type of structure words called the articles. We mentioned that articles the class of
structure wordscalled determiners. Determiners were described as noun-markers; ‘determiners’ is actually a
shortened expression for ‘determiners of nouns’.
In this unit, we shall discuss a class of words which can be called ‘determiners of verbs’ or ‘verb’. Common
term for such words is auxiliaries.It is fortunate that this commonly understood term is available to us, since
now we can use the word ‘determiners’ for noun-determinersand the word ’auxiliary’ for verb-determiners.
Auxiliaries are markers of verbs in the same sense in which determiners are markers
of nouns. Whenever an auxiliary occurs, a main verb is sure to follow. Sometimes the
main verb may not actually be said, but it is always understood from context. The
Structure Words
15
wordwill in the sentence ‘He will leave tomorrow,’ is an auxiliary; it is followed by
the main verb leave. If I ask someone ‘Will you come tomorrow?’ and he answers ‘I
will,’ there is no main verb in the answer, but we know there is a main verb and it is
come. We know this from the question. We can therefore say that an auxiliary
isalways accompanied by a verb just as a determiner is always accompanied by a
noun, and just as we can identify a word as a noun, if a determiner accompanies it,
we can identify a word as a verb if an auxiliary accompanies it. In this sense
determiners are noun-markers and auxiliaries are verb-markers.
Further, just as a structure consisting of one or more than one determiner and a noun
(with or without an adjective in between) is called a noun phrase, a structure
consisting of one or more than one auxiliary and a verb (with or without an adverb in
between) is called a verb phrase. A man and a tall man are noun phrases, is singing
and is always singing are verb phrases.
The words that occur as auxiliaries in English are the following. We place them in
two groups. The reason for putting them in these two groups will become clear later.
Group I BE, HAVE, DO
Group II can, could, may, might, will, would, must, shall, should,
dare, need, ought (to), used (to)
We have put the auxiliaries of Group I in capital letters and those of Group II in
small letters in order to show the following difference between them: the auxiliaries
of Group II are used in the form in which they are given; the auxiliaries of Group I
have a number of different forms. BE has the forms is, am, are, was, were, be, being,
been, HAVE has the forms has, have, had, – DO has the forms do, does, did.
10.2 PASSAGE FOR READING
Before we start a discussion on the auxiliaries, we give you a passage to read in
which some of the auxiliaries to be discussed have been used. As you read
thepassage, underline the auxiliaries. You can later check whether you have
underlinedthe correct words when you come to Check your Progress I. The
passage has been taken from Robert Lynd’s essay ‘On Being Measured for a Suit
of Clothes.’
From On Being Measured for a Suit of Clothes
Robert Lynd
“YOU ought to have some new clothes. You are getting shabby.” Gradually the tone
of command creeps in: “You must have new clothes. Do ask E. V. the name of his
tailor.” A week later italics make their appearance: “You must get a new suit.” Italics
quickly give way to small capitals: “You MUST get a new suit. Will you go and get
measured this afternoon?” “No, no,” I protest, “today is Friday. Nothing would
persuade me to be measured for a new suit on Friday.” “Well, then, on Monday.”
Luckily, Monday is usually the thirteenth or something equally impossible, and I
have another good argument for postponement. A few days later there is an appeal to
my better nature in the form of an outrageous falsehood: “You know you promised.”
This fails, as it deserves to fail, but at last there comes a morning when I find
myselfin a comer… “Will you go and get measured today, or shall I call for you in
town andtake you” It is tyranny, but I know that I am beaten. “All right, but he’s sure
to want a deposit, and I haven’t any money.” “Give him a cheque.” “If I’m so shabby
as you say I am, he’d probably refuse it.” “Well, call in at the butcher’s and get him to
cash a cheque on your way into town.” “I don’t know the butcher.” “That doesn’t
matter. He probably knows you. He must often have seen you passing.” “If I’m so
shabby as you say I am, he would probably take me for a tramp.” “Now you see what
comes of
Structure Words-2
Auxiliaries
16
Structure Words dressing so badly. You’re frightened of your own butcher.” “No, I’m not. I’m
‘frightened of bringing disgrace on all of you by being arrested in a butcher’s shop fortrying to get money by false presences.” “Oh, well, I’ll come with you as far as thebutcher’s.” “Don’t know when I’ll have time to go to the tailors. I promised to lunchwith Jones today.” “I’ll ring up Mr. Jones and explain.” “Oh, don’t trouble. Besides,I’m not sure that he didn’t say yesterday that he wouldn’t be able to come,” …”Goodbye,” I say sullenly, as I put on my coat, for I hate having my day ruined like this;
“What did you say the tailor’s name was?” “I think it was Turtle, or Tompkinson, orTarbutt, or some name like that. Anyhow, you’ll be able to find him quite easily. He’sAlan’s tailor.” “What’s his number?” I ask gloomily, for I know at least the name ofthe street. “I don’t know his number, but Alan said his shop was at the wrong end ofthe street.” “Which is the wrong end of the street?” “I don’t know. Go and look at itand see.” “But in what way is it the wrong end? Is it wrong morallyor architecturallyor socially? Does he mean that it’s the end or the cheap end?” “Oh, the cheap, I’m
sure.” “Honestly, I think I ought to put off going till we’ve seen Alan again and gotsome information about his tailor.”
(From Robert Lynd: The Money Box; published by Methuen & Co.)
In this passage the writer is being told by his wife that he should get a new suit of
clothes. The writer is reluctant and makes many excuses. The dialogue between themcontains a number of auxiliaries. Let us note a few of them:
….. ought to have ….. (I) will come…
…. must have ….. (written ‘I’ll come’)
Do ask … ….. do (not) know …..
….. must get ….. (written ‘don’t know’)
Will (you) go. …………………………………………………. (you) will be (able)
….. would persuade ….. (written ‘….. you’ll be’)
…. shall (I) call . …
….. am beaten …..
….. must (often) have seen…..
….. would (probably) take…..
We have quoted the whole verb phrases in which the auxiliaries occur. The
auxiliaries are in bold type. The accompanying words, which are not in bold type
and are not in brackets, are the main verbs.
Check Your Progress 1
1 Go over Robert Lynd’s passage once again and check if you have
underlined all (and only) the auxiliaries; then check your answers with
the answers given at the end of the unit.
2 Distinguish Group I and Group II auxiliaries in your answer to Exercise I
above.
17
10.3 AUXILIARIES AND MAIN VERBS
How do you distinguish between an auxiliary and a main verb? First, you may note
that a main verb can occur by itself in some other sentence where no auxiliary occurs
with it. For example, in the first verb phrase we have quoted, ought to have, have is
the main verb, ought (to) the auxiliary. Have can occur as a main verb without an
auxiliary, as in I haven’t any money. Similarly, the main verb of the verb phrase
would persuade occurs by itself in the sentence He persuaded me to come.
Thisshows that a main verb can occur without an auxiliary; an auxiliary, on the other
hand, cannot occur without a main verb (either present or understood). Secondly,
whenever a verb phrase contains more than one verb (remember that auxiliaries am
also verbs), the last verb in the phrase is the main verb; all other verbs are auxiliaries.
Thus, in the verb phrase must (often) have seen the last verb seen is the main verb;
must and have are auxiliary verbs; open is not a verb and therefore does not count.
Why do auxiliaries occur with main verbs sometimes and not at other times? The
answer to this question is as follows:
a) Some auxiliaries occur with main verbs because certain constrictions are not
possible without them. For example, the negative and interrogative forms of
sentences with simple verb phrases always require the use of the auxiliary
Do. The negative form of the sentence She dances well is
Shedoesn’tdancewell’, the interrogative form is Does she dance well?
b) Most auxiliaries occur with main verbs when we wish to express certain
kinds of meanings. Different auxiliaries express different kinds of meanings.
As we shall see in the next section when we do not wish to express these
meanings, we use the simple form of the verb. For example, I have some
new clothes means what it says (that I actually am the owner of some new
clothes); I oughtto have some new clothes, on the other hand, means that I
do not actuallyhave new clothes and it is desirable that I should have some.
Check Your Progress 2
State if the verbs in bold type in each of the following sentences are used as
auxiliaries or as main verbs:
i) Do you have many friends in college?
ii) My sister likes to read poetry.
iii) God helps those who help themselves.
iv) You ought to know your religion well.
v) When did India become a Republic?
vi) A snake-bitten patient should not sleep.
vii) I noticed the difference.
Structure Words-2
18
viii) It is not correct to say that the poor are getting poorer, though the rich may be
getting richer.
ix) Have you heard about the Ramakrishna Mission?
x) This Mission has its branches in many cities and towns in India and abroad.
10.4 PRIMARY AUXILIARIES: BE, HAVE, DO
In Robert Lynd’s passage, you must have noticed that some verbs occur very
frequently both as auxiliaries and as main verbs. These verbs are our Group I verbs:
be, have, do. Note the following examples:
Have as a main verb
Have as an auxiliary
Be as a main verb
Be as an auxiliary
Do as a main verb
Do as an auxiliary
: You ought to have some new clothes.
: He must have seen you passing.
: I am shabby.
: I am beaten.
: Do as you are told! (Not from the passage)
: Do ask EV the name of his tailor.
Be, Have and do are called Primary Verbs. When they occur as Auxiliaries, they are
called Primary Auxiliaries.
Used as a main verb, be does not have any specific meaning: it is used in such
constructions as She is a teacher, She is sad, etc. to relate a noun or adjective occurring in
the predicate with the noun or pronoun in the subject. The main verb has the meaning ‘to
own’, ‘to experience’, etc. (as in I have two cars, I have aheadache) -, the main verb do
has the meaning ‘behave,’ ‘carry out,’ etc. However,when used as auxiliaries, these verbs
do not have any specific meaning of their own; they only help us to form certain types of
verb phrases. Each type of verb phrase as a whole conveys a certain kind of meaning. For
example, the auxiliary be is used with the present participle form of the main verb in the
present or past tense (eg., She is Iwas singing) to form a verb phrase which carries the
meaning that the action denotedby the main verb is in progress and not yet finished. The
auxiliary be is also used with the past participle form of the verb (as in: He was defeated)
to form the passive verb phrase which is used when we wish to give greater importance to
the action or event (of defeat) than to the performer of the action (namely, the person who
defeated him). The auxiliary occurs with the past participle form of the main verb in the
present or past tense (e.g., She has/had left) to form a verb phrase which carries the
meaning that the action denoted by the main verb has (or had) been completed. The
auxiliary do, as we have already seen, is used in questions and negative sentences and,
like be and have, occurs in several forms (do, does, did) which carry the tense, number,
person etc. of the verb. It also occurs when we wish to emphasize a request, as in Do ask
E. V, the name of his tailor.
We thus see that primary auxiliaries are structure words which have little meaning of
their own but are grammatically very important. Their use is essential for certain
grammatical constructions and for conveying grammatical distinctions of tense,
completion or non-completion of action, number, person, etc.
Check, Your Progress 3
Distinguish the uses of be, have and do as main verbs and auxiliaries in the following
sentences:
19
That building is a hotel.
Suchitra is learning French.
He’s so shabby.
He is going to the tailor’s to get a new suit made.
He hasn’t any new clothes.
His old clothes are worn-out.
He has decided to have a new suit.
When do you do your homework?
Did he do you any harm?
Have you had Lunch?
His wife has just had a baby.
The house was being painted.
I’m going now.
Do come again.
What are you doing?
10.5 MODAL AUXILIARIES AND THEIR MEANINGS
The auxiliaries of Group II, on the other hand, do not show distinctions of tense,
number, person, etc. Their forms always remain the same. But each auxiliary in
Group II helps to add some shade or the other of meaning to the sentence. The pairs
can-could, may-might, will-would and shall-should are sometimes said to be presentpast pairs but this is not correct: all it really means is that when the verb in the
principal clause is in the past tense, could, might, would and should are used as the
past tense forms of can, may, would and shall in the subordinate clauses according to
the principle of Sequence of Tenses. But could, might, would and should are used in
many other places without referring to the past at all. They carry certain meanings
which make them different from other auxiliaries.
The meanings of these auxiliaries are of a different type from the meanings of other
words like nouns and verbs. While nouns denote objects, adjectives denote qualities,
verbs denote actions, and so on, these auxiliaries generally show the attitudes or
judgements of the speaker. For example, if the speaker says It may rain tomorrow,
his use of may shows an attitude (or judgement) of possibility, since the sentence
means that ‘I think it is possible that it will rain tomorrow.’ If he had instead said ‘It
will rain tomorrow’ the meaning would have been, ‘I am certain (or I predict) that it
will rain tomorrow.’ The use of will in this sentence shows an attitude of certainty, or
prediction. All the auxiliaries of Group II show such attitudes on the part of the
speaker. These attitudes affect the meaning of the sentence. The sentence does not
say that something is true but only that it may be true, or it must be true, etc. Such
changes in the meaning of the sentences are called modal changes; accordingly, the
auxiliaries which cause these changes are called modal auxiliaries.
Let us now give you some of the meanings of the modal auxiliaries:
Can and Could
Can is used when you wish to say that someone is free and able to do something,e.g.,
He can lift 200 lbs. Can is used to express this ability in the present; could is used
when we wish to express this ability in the past, e.g., When I was young I couldrun a
mile in six minutes. But could expresses only general ability in the past. Toexpress
‘particular ability’ in the past (i.e. ability to do something on a particular occasion) we
use be able to, e.g., I was able to score a century in the last match. In this sentence
could cannot be used. Ability in the future is also expressed with beable to.
Secondly, can is used to express permission in the present and could to express
permission in the past. E.g., You can go now. When I was a child I could sleep lateon
Sunday mornings.
Structure Words-2
Auxiliaries
20
Structure Words May and might
May and might also express possibility and permission,but they are different from
can and could. Can expresses theoretical possibility, i.e. its use only tells us
thatsomething can happen, it does not say whether it will actually happen. May
expresses the possibility that it may actually happen. Observe the difference between
I canleave tomorrow (if I want to), and I may leave tomorrow. The second
sentenceimplies that I may actually not be here tomorrow; the first one doesn’t.
May is used for seeking or granting permission in the formal style. May I leave
tomorrow?andYou may leave tomorrow are formal substitutes for Can I leave
tomorrow? and You can leave tomorrow.
Might expresses a lesser degree of probability than may. We might win shows a
lesserdegree of confidence in our winning than We may win.
Might is used for seeking permission but not for granting it. You can ask ‘Might I
come in? showing a greater degree of hesitation and doubt than you would if you
said May I come in?, but the other person cannot say Yes you might-, he must say
Yes, you may.
There is another difference between may and can: may is more common when the
permission is given by the speaker; can, when the permission comes from some rule
or authority. Compare:
You may attend my lectures. ( = I permit you).
You can attend the lectures but can’t write the exam. (=Rules permit the
former but not the latter.)
Will and Would, Shall and Should
Statements about the future cannot be true in the same sense as statements about the
past and the present. We can say It is true that he lied or It’s true that he is lying, but
we can’t say it’s true that he will lie. Since the event is in the future, we can’t be
absolutely sure if it will happen or not. Hence, we prefer to say It is likely or
Itis possible or It is certain that he will lie.Hence, our statements about the future
arecoloured by our attitudes to a greater degree than our statements about the past or
the present. Will and shall, which are often used when speaking of the future, carry
many modal senses, e.g., prediction, willingness, intention, insistence, order, etc.
Here are some examples:
I will (or shall) come with you as far as the butcher’s. (willingness)
I will cash a cheque in town. (intention)
You will find him quite easily. (prediction)
Shall is used only with the first person subjects (I, we) to express determination
andintention, or to make a prediction. Its use with second and third person subjects
expresses a decision or determination on the part of the speaker with regard to the
future of someone else:
You shall have whatever you want.
The enemy shall not pass.
Will and shall, are also used for making requests,offers, and commands. E.g., 21
Will you go and get measured this afternoon? (request)
Shall I call for you in town and take you? (offer)
You shall go today. (order)
Would and should are used as the past forms of will and shall in reported speech,
butthey also carry some modal meanings. E.g.,
He said that one day I would regret my actions. (prediction)
He wouldn’t tell me the secret. (willingness)
He said he would come again after lunch. (intention)
He would have his own way. (insistence)
He should write to his mother more often. (duty or obligation)
He should be here today. (likelihood)
Would is also used for making polite requests:
Would you please sign here?
Must
Must expresses necessity, obligation, compulsion etc.:
You must have new clothes. (necessity)
I must write to him. (obligation)
You must repay the loan within a year. (obligation or compulsion)
Must is used when necessity or obligation is imposed by the speaker; when
theobligation: is imposed by an outside authority or rule, we use have to:
We have to leave tomorrow. (Such are the orders.)
When mustimposes necessity, its opposite is expressed by needn’t:
You must leave tomorrow —> You needn’t leave tomorrow.
Ought
Ought (to) also expresses necessity and obligation but the degree of necessity
andobligation is much less than expressed by must and almost the same as expressed
by should. In the passage from Robert Lynd, the writer is first told that he ought to
havesome new clothes: this is merely a suggestion expressed with some emphasis on
desirability. When the writer ignores it, he is told ‘You must have new clothes,’
which, as Lynd says, has ‘the tone of command.’ The speaker uses must when he
(orshe) is prepared to exert enough force to bring about the desired effect; he uses
ought to when he has no such intention.
Must and ought are also used to express a conclusion, or inference, from
experience,evidence, etch E.g.,
She ought to be there now.
You must be Mr. Yadagiri.
Dare, Need, Used (to)
The meanings of these auxiliaries do not fall strictly in the modal type except, to
some extent, the meaning of need. We shall note below that the four auxiliaries
ought, dare, need and used do not share the other features of modal auxiliaries andare
therefore sometimes said to be marginal (i.e. not central or proper) auxiliaries.
Dare means‘to be brave, or rude, enough to’as in I dare not go there/He daren’t
come. Need means‘to have to’ as in. We needn’t go yet, it’s too far, Need you
try?Both these auxiliaries occur only in negative and interrogative sentences.
Structure Words-2
Auxiliaries
22
Used (to) denotes a habit or a state that existed in the past, e.g., I used to visit him
on Saturdays/ I used to be interested in birds. Would is also sometimes used
inthis sense. This sense of used must be distinguished from in sense in the
sentence am not used to boiled food, where used is an adjective
meaning’accustomed.’
Check Your Progress 4
Insert appropriate modal auxiliaries in the blanks. The required meanings are
given in brackets:
I write as soon as I can. (intention)
You ….. do as you are told. (strong obligation: tone of command)
We. ….. go to Nainital next summer. (possibility that the event may
actually happen)
Children….. be very noisy. (theoretical possibility)
As a child,I. ….. recite the whole of Gita. (general ability in the past)
We …… know the result in about a week. (prediction)
He ….. be very annoyed with me to write a letter like that. (a necessaryconclusion from evidence)
He wasso weak he …… n’teven raise his hand. (general ability in the past)….. youhelp me?(willingness)
You ….. consult a specialist if you want to. (permission)
Children …….obey their parents. (duty and desirability)
He …… come tomorrow. (weak possibility)
She said she …… write to me again. (intention)
He ……smoke heavily. (habit in the past)
He …… n’t come personally. (lack of necessity)
How…… you talk to me like that! (to have courage)
He said that he …… be late. (weak possibility)
‘Might I come in? ‘ . ‘Yes, you …… ‘ (granting permission)
‘. …..I order a coffee for you? ‘ (offer)
‘. ….. you mind opening the door?’ (polite request)
10.6 TYPES OF COMPLEX VERBPHRASE
We stated above that auxiliaries are used with main verbs and in most cases add
some element of meaning to the sentence. We also stated that more than one auxiliary
may be combined with a main verb to produce a complex verb phrase. The
combination of auxiliaries with main verbs follows certain rules, and you must know
these rules so that you do not produce combinations which are ungrammatical.
We can introduce you to these rules by looking at the different types of verb phrases
that are possible. We shall not be concerned here with simple verb phrases, which
consist of only a main verb, e.g., He probably knows you. There are four basic types
of complex verb phrases. The meanings these types convey are as follows:
Type A:modal + (to) infinitive form: the meaning depends on the modal
auxiliary used.
l. I will ring up.
2. He may come tomorrow.
23
1. I have eaten.
2. He has resigned.
Type C: be + present participle: refers to action in progress, i.e., begun but not
completed.
1. Arun is watching TV.
Type D: be + past participle: produces the passive voice. May be used in the
present or the past tense. The passive voice is used when we wish to give greater
prominence to the action than to the performer of the action.
l. He was placed first.
More complex verb phrase types are produced by combining these four basic types.
For example, we may combine Type A (e.g. will go) with Type B (e.g. Slave + gone)
to produce Type AB (drill have gone). Type AB can be combined with Type C (be
+going) to produce Type ABC (will have been going). Note that in will have been
going, will have is Type A, have been is Type B, and be (en) going is Type C. We
can similarly produce Types BC (has been going), BD (has been told), CD (is
beingtold) and so on. In producing these complex phrases, you must remember to put
TypeA before Type B. Type B, before Type C, and Type C before Type D. We
cannot have a Type CB {is having gone), or a Type DC (is been watching) or similar
other types which violate the A—•B—•C—•D order. Also remember that no type
can occur twice, e.g., Type BB (has had been) is not possible.
If you have followed the complex verb phrase types closely you will now
understand that
a) the verb occurs in the infinitive form after the modals (in Type A) except
with ought and redwhich take to + infinitive,
b) the verb occurs only in the past participle form after have (in Type B),
c) the verb occurs either in the present participle form (Type C) or in the past participle
form (Type D) after be. Type D is the passive voice; hence the past participle
form occurs only if its active object has already occurred as subject. In all other
cases it is the present participle form which occurs after be.
Check Your Progress 5
1 Identify the type of the complex verb phrase in each of the following
sentences:
You ought to have some new clothes.______________________
He, must have seen you passing.__________________________
I may be arrested for trying to get money by false pretences._____
He has been arrested by the police.
You are getting shabby.
You should be working hard.
He is being called.
He should have been asked to work harder.
He should have been working harder.
2 Put the bracketed verb in the correct form in the following sentences and
identify the verb phrase type:
i) He is (sing). ____________________________________________
ii) Arun may be (expel). _____________________________________
TypeB: Verb + present participle: the meaning depends on the modal auxiliary
used.
24
Structure Words -2
Auxiliaries
iii) He has (accept) his mistake. ________________________________
iv) You ought (accept) your mistake. ____________________________
v) Arun has been (watch) the game for two hours.
vi) This song has already been (sing) twice.
vii) As a young man, I used (walk) seven miles a day.
viii) He should have been (punish) for his carelessness.
ix) I was (lead) to believe that the matter had (be) settled.
x) This programme is (be) watched by millions of people all over thecountry.
10.7 AUXILIARIES AS OPERATORS
You have now seen the way auxiliaries combine in a complex verb phrase and
also their meanings. Let us now look at a special feature of auxiliaries which
distinguishes them from main verbs:
The first auxiliary of a complex verb phrase enjoys a special status. This is
seen in the following:
i) In questions of Yes-No type, it is moved in front of the subject of the
sentence.
E.g.
You will go Will you go?
I shall call for you Shall I call for you?
ii) In negative sentences, the negative element not is attached to the first
auxiliary in the abbreviated form n’t, e.g., You shouldn’t have been
working so hard.
iii) Adverbs are always placed after the first auxiliary, e.g., He must often
have seen you passing.
iv)The first auxiliary can stand for the whole predicate in certain cases, e.g.,
Q: Must you leave today? A: Yes, I must (leave today). You ought to be more
careful and so ought your driver (to be more careful).
The special status of the first auxiliary in a complex verb phrase is denoted by
calling it the ‘operator’. Be, have and do frequently function as operators; be and
have also occur as non-operators (i.e. as second, third and fourth auxiliaries) in a
verb phrase. Modals, on the other hand, always occur as operators (i.e. as the first
auxiliary).
Main verbs never function as operators. E.g., we cannot put them in front of
the subject to form a question: we cannot say Goes he today? To form Yes-No
questions from simple verb phrases, we need to use the auxiliary do. Thus, we
say Does hego today? Similarly, we cannot attach not in the abbreviated form
to simple verbphrases. We cannot say He goesn’t today, instead, we again use
the auxiliary do and say He doesn’t go today, and so on.
Structure Words
25
This characteristic of auxiliaries is so important that we can use it to distinguish
auxiliaries from main verb. The best examples of this are the verbs dare and need.
They sometimes occur as main verbs and sometimes as auxiliaries. How do we
distinguish the two occurrences! We use the criteria stated above. For example:
‘need’ as main verb
Positive: This needs to be recorded.
Negative: This does not need to be recorded.
Questions: Does it need to be recorded?
‘need’ as auxiliary
Structure Words -2
Auxiliaries
26
Positive: (Does not occur) Negative:
This needn’t be recorded. Question:
Need it be recorded?
‘dare’ as main verb
Positive: He dared to disagree with me.
Negative: He did not dare to disagree with me.
Question. Did he dare to disagree with me?
‘dare’ as auxiliary
Positive: (Does not occur)
Negative: He daren’t disagree with me.
Question: Dare he disagree with me?
Apart from dare and need, two other modal auxiliaries, used and ought also sometimes
share the features of main verbs. For example, it is more common now to say ‘He didn’t
use to come regularly’ and ‘Did he use to come regularly?than to say, ‘He didn’t come
regularly’ and ‘Used he to come regularly?’ The forms ‘You didn’t ought to have done
that’ and ‘Did we ought to have done it?’ are not yet common and therefore should not be
used, but they are beginning to be heard. This was the reason why we said above that
dare, need, ought and used are considered to be marginal auxiliaries. In contrast, the
other modal auxiliaries are said to be full auxiliaries and cannot function as main verbs.
Check Your Progress 6
Give the negative and question forms of the following sentences:
i) You called me.
ii) I can borrow his scooter.
iii) He will agree.
iv) You had a good breakfast.
v) You used to be frightened of him.
vi) You ought to have accepted the offer
vii) He might like it.
Structure Words-2
27
viii) Yon wanted me to come.
ix) He is talking sense.
x) Your uncle is waiting to see you.
xi) 1 have kept you waiting.
xii) I foresaw this problem.
xiii) You really think you can treat me as a boy.
xiv) You thought I’d be interested in it.
xv) It could have happened to anyone.
xvi) You must decide now.
10.8 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we have told you the following main things:
i) A complex verb phrase consists of one or more auxiliaries and a main verb.
ii) Auxiliaries are of two types: primary and modal.
iii) The verbs (be, have and do) which occur as primary auxiliaries also occur as
main verbs and it is important to be able to distinguish these uses.
iv) Primary auxiliaries have different forms according to tense, number, person. etc.
v) Modal auxiliaries never change their forms for number and person. Some
modals have forms which are used as past tense equivalents in reported
speech.
vi) Modal auxiliaries convey a special kind of meaning which reflects the
speakers attitudes towards the action described. These attitudes can be of
various kinds e.g..determination, necessity, possibility, desirability, etc.
vii) There are four basic types of the complex verb phrase. These four types can be
combined into more complex verb-phrase types according to some fixed
rules to convey different kinds of meanings.
28
viii) The first auxiliary of a complex verb phrase functions as operator and has a
special status.
ix) Primary auxiliaries occur both as operators and non-operators (except do
which occurs only as an operator): modals only occur as operators. Main
verbs do not occur as operators.
x) Some modal auxiliaries (need, dare, used, ought) also function as main
verbs. When they are main verbs, they cannot function as operators.
10.9 KEY WORDS
Verb-determiner/Verb-marker: Verb-determiners or verb-markers are words
which help us identify verbs. They are commonly known as Auxiliaries.
Auxiliary verbs: A small and closed class of verbs that are used before a main
verb to show tense, voice, mood, etc.
Main verbs: A large and open class of words denoting actions, states, events, etc.
Primary auxiliaries: Be, Have and Do when they occur as auxiliary verbs.
Modal auxiliaries: Can, could, may, might, will, would, must, shall, should, dare,
need, ought (to), used (to. They are used with the main verb to express some special
meanings like possibility, intention, necessity, etc.
Model meaning: The meanings expressed by modal auxiliaries. They generally
reflect the attitude of the speaker towards the action, state, etc. described by the main
verb.
Verb phrase: A phrase consisting or either simply a main verb or one or more than
one auxiliary and a main verb.
Simple verb phrase: A verb phrase which consists only of a main verb.
Complex Verb phrase: A verb phrase consisting of one or more than one auxiliary
and a main verb.
Operator: The first auxiliary of a complex verb phrase.
Marginal auxiliaries: Dare, need, used, and ought are called marginal auxiliaries
since they also share some features of main verb.
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
l ought (to); are (getting); must: Do; must; MUST; will; would; be; will; shall;
am; (he) would; do (n’t know); does (n’t); must (often) have; would: being;
(I) will; Do (n’t); (I) will; (I) will; do (n’t); did (n’t); would (n’t): did;
(you); will; do (n’t); do (n’t); Does; ought (to); (we) have
2 Group I auxiliaries are printed in bold type in the answers to Exercise I.
The rest are Group II.
Check Your Progress 2
i) do: (Auxiliary); have: MV (Main verb) ii) likes: MV iii) helps: MV; help: MV
iv) ought to: Aux; know: MV v) did: Aux; become: MV vi) should: Aux; sleep: MV
Structure Words-2
Auxiliaries
29
Structure Words vii) noticed: MV viii) is: MV; are: Aux; getting: MV; may: Aux; be: Aux; getting:
MV ix) Have: Aux; heard: MV x) has: MV
Check Your Progress 3
i) is: MV ii) is: Aux iii) is: MV iv) is: Aux v) has: MV vi) are: MV vii) has: Aux
have: MV viii) do’: Aux; do2
: MV ix) Did: Aux; do: MV x) Have: Aux; had: MV
xi) has: Aux: had; MV xii) was: Aux; being: Aux xiii) am: Aux xiv) Do: Aux
(xv) are: Aux; doing: MV
Check Your Progress 4
i) will/shall ii) must iii) may iv) can v) could vi) will/shall vii) must viii) could
ix) will x) can/may xi) ought to/should xii) may/might xiii) would xiv) used to
(xv) need xvi) dare xvii) might xviii) may xix) shall xx) Would
Check Your Progress 5
I i) Type A ii) Type AB iii) Type AD iv) Type BD v) Type CD vi) Type AC
vii) Type CD viii) Type ABD ix) Type ABC.
2 i) is singing: Type C ii) may be expelled: Type AD iii) has accepted: Type B
iv) ought to accept: Type A v) has’ been watching: Type BC vi) has been
sung: Type BD vii) used to walk: Type A viii) should have been punished:
Type ABD ix) was led: Type D; had been settled: Type BD x) is being
watched: Type CD
Check Your Progress 6
i) You didn’t call me. Did you call me?
ii) I can’t borrow his scooter. Can I borrow his scooter?
iii) He won’t (will not) agree. Will he agree?
iv) You didn’t have (or hadn’t) a good breakfast. Did you have a good breakfast?
v) You didn’t use to be frightened of him. Did you use to be frightened of him?
vi) You ought not to have (or oughtn’t to have) accepted the offer. Ought you
to have accepted the offer?
vii) He might not (or mightn’t) like it. Might he like it?
viii) You didn’t want me to come. Did you want me to come?
ix) He isn’t talking sense. Is he talking sense?
x) Your uncle isn’t waiting to see you. Is your uncle waiting to see you?
xi) I haven’t kept you waiting. Have I kept you waiting?
xii) I didn’t foresee this problem. Did I foresee this problem?
xiii) You don’t really think … Do you really think…?
xiv) You didn’t think …. Did you think …?
xv) It couldn’t have happened to anyone. Could it have happened to anyone?
xvi) You needn’t decide now. Must you decide now?
30
UNIT 11
Structure
11.0 Objectives
11.1 Introduction
11.2 What is Cohesion?
11.3 Definite Reference
11.3.1
11.3.2
11.4 Let Us Sum Up
11.5 Key Words
11.6 Suggested Reading
Answers
11.0 OBJECTIVES
The aim of this unit and the next is to make you
structure words in meaningful discourse. We shall deal mainly with personal,
possessive, and demonstrative pronouns, determiners (including the definite article),
and coordinating conjunctions. We shall also take up so
used for demonstrative reference or as linking devices.
11.1 INTRODUCTION
In Units 11
you are aware that we do not communicate in isolated sentences.
we speak or write are meaningfully linked to each other. This meaningful unit is
called a discourse
length, which forms a unified whole. Its form can be that of prose o
dialogue or a monologue.
It is obvious that
creating a meaningful discourse. But there are some words that play a crucial role in
connecting sentences together. These words
have read about in the previous units. This linking of sentences is known as
this unit and the next, we shall study some of the devices that bring about cohesion
and the structure words that are require
devices that we are going to discuss and the structure words that operate in them.
i) Definite Reference:
a.
b
ii) Linkage
a.
b
31
Structure Words UNIT 11 STRUCTURE WORDS IN DISCOURSE
Structure
Objectives
Introduction
What is Cohesion?
Definite Reference
11.3.1 Personal Reference
11.3.2 Demonstrative Reference
Let Us Sum Up
Key Words
Suggested Reading
Answers
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this unit and the next is to make you aware of the function of some of the
structure words in meaningful discourse. We shall deal mainly with personal,
possessive, and demonstrative pronouns, determiners (including the definite article),
and coordinating conjunctions. We shall also take up some adverbial expressions
used for demonstrative reference or as linking devices.
INTRODUCTION
In Units 11-14, you looked at structure words and their function in a sentence. But
you are aware that we do not communicate in isolated sentences.
we speak or write are meaningfully linked to each other. This meaningful unit is
called a discourse. Discourse refers to anything that is spoken or written, of whatever
length, which forms a unified whole. Its form can be that of prose o
dialogue or a monologue.
It is obvious that all the words and structures used in a particular text play a role in
creating a meaningful discourse. But there are some words that play a crucial role in
connecting sentences together. These words are some of the structure words that you
have read about in the previous units. This linking of sentences is known as
this unit and the next, we shall study some of the devices that bring about cohesion
and the structure words that are required for it. Given below is a list of cohesive
devices that we are going to discuss and the structure words that operate in them.
Definite Reference:
. Personal reference:
personal pronouns (I, we, you, he, she, it, they), possessive pronouns
(mine, yours, etc.) and the determiners (my, your, etc.)
b. Demonstrative reference: this/that, these/those, used either as
pronouns or as determiners, the article the, and the adverbs here and
there.
Linkage :
. Coordinating conjunctions: and, or, but, neither …………..nor, etc.
b. Linking adverbials: for, so, yet, however, meanwhile, for example,
etc.
STRUCTURE WORDS IN DISCOURSE-1
aware of the function of some of the
structure words in meaningful discourse. We shall deal mainly with personal,
possessive, and demonstrative pronouns, determiners (including the definite article),
me adverbial expressions
14, you looked at structure words and their function in a sentence. But
you are aware that we do not communicate in isolated sentences. The sentences that
we speak or write are meaningfully linked to each other. This meaningful unit is
Discourse refers to anything that is spoken or written, of whatever
length, which forms a unified whole. Its form can be that of prose or poetry, a
the words and structures used in a particular text play a role in
creating a meaningful discourse. But there are some words that play a crucial role in
are some of the structure words that you
have read about in the previous units. This linking of sentences is known as cohesion. In
this unit and the next, we shall study some of the devices that bring about cohesion
d for it. Given below is a list of cohesive
devices that we are going to discuss and the structure words that operate in them.
pronouns (I, we, you, he, she, it, they), possessive pronouns
(mine, yours, etc.) and the determiners (my, your, etc.)
Demonstrative reference: this/that, these/those, used either as
pronouns or as determiners, the article the, and the adverbs here and
Coordinating conjunctions: and, or, but, neither …………..nor, etc.
Linking adverbials: for, so, yet, however, meanwhile, for example,
11.2 WHAT IS COHESION?
Before we consider some of the devices of cohesion, let’s think about what cohesion
is. Look at the example below:
I know he said it.
This sentence, you will agree, is grammatically perfect. It is also perfectly intelligible
in that you can understand what it means. But you know that the sentence is
somehow incomplete and you cannot interpret it because you do not know who he is,
and what he’s supposed to have said. However, you are aware that he and it are
meant to be linked with some other statement which has occurred before and which
will indicate to you the identity of he and what was said, i.e. it. In other words, we
have to recover their interpretation elsewhere from the text.
Now look at another example, which is part of an instruction for a recipe.
Boil the potatoes. After that peel them.
It is clear that them in the second sentence refers back to the potatoes in the first
sentence. This cross-reference gives cohesion to the two sentences, so that we can
interpret them as part of a discourse. The main thing to notice is that the two items
themand the potatoes refer to the same thing, i.e. they are ‘co-referential’.
11.3 DEFINITE REFERENCE
There are certain items in every language which have the property of reference, i.e.
instead of having a meaning of their own, they make a reference to something else for
their interpretation. This ‘something else’ can be within or outside the text. Look at the
example below:
Upon my arrival on the island, I did all I could to win the friendship of
Taratonga, its unofficial chief. I explained to her the reasons that had brought
me to her little Pacific island…
(From Romain Gary; ‘A Craving for Innocence’ in Romain Gary’s Hissing Tales)
Who does my and her refer to? Obviously they refer to the author, who is not
identified in the text. However, her refers to Taratonga, who is mentioned within the
text. Cohesion lies in continuity of reference within a text, and it is with this that we
are concerned.
We have so far given you examples of reference which go back to the preceding text
for their interpretation. There may be reference items which require the following
text for their interpretation.
Example
The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps
alight—hers and the one by the empty chair opposite. Mary Maloney was
waiting for her husband to come home from work.
(From Lamb to the Slaughter by Robert Dahl.Reader’s Digest Collection).
Here you will notice that hers refers to Mary Maloney, which occurs afterwards.
Structure Words in
Discourse-1
32
Reference can, therefore, be seen in terms of the following tree diagram :
In this unit, we are mainly concerned with reference within the text. In English, the
structure words that refer to something else in a text are usually personal and
possessive pronouns, and certain determiners. This is sometimes known as
personal reference. Demonstrative reference is conveyed by demonstrative
pronouns, certain determiners including the definite article, and certain adverbs.
11.3.1 Personal Reference
Personal reference involves the use of personal pronouns (I, we, you, he, she, it,
they), possessive pronouns (mine, yours, etc.) and certain determiners (my, your,
etc.). We give you a list of these items:
Number Third
First Second Person
Person Person Specific GeneralizedHuman Non- Human Human
1, me, you
He, him, it, its
his, yours mine, my she, one, your her, hers one’s
Plural we, us you they, them,
yours theirs, their
ours, our your
There are certain points we need to remember about the use of structure words and
their role in connecting sentences together.
There is a distinction to be made in the interpretation of the first and the second
persons and the third person. The first and the second person forms do not normally
refer to a referent in the text at all. They are generally interpreted by reference to the
context of the situation. However, in direct speech, these items can be interpreted
textually, by referring back to the preceding text or forward to the following text. The
examples given below will make this clear:
‘I’m not quite sure where I am’, she said to Mrs. Wilkieson, as she lay in bed.
‘Do you mind explaining†’
Mrs. Wilkieson explained tactfully.
‘Oh yes!’ said the Princess. ‘I remember. And I had an accident in the
mountains, didn’t I? Didn’t we meet a man who had gone mad, and who shot
my horse from under me?’
‘Yes, you met a man who had gone out of his mind.’
(From ‘The Princess’ by D. H. Lawrence in The Princess and Other Stories,
Penguin Books)
33
In the first sentence, by referring to the later part of the text it can be inferred that I’m and
I refer to the Princess. Similarly, in the sentence ‘Do you mind explaining?’,you refers to
Mrs. Wilkieson. In the last sentence, ‘Yes, you met a man…’ yourefers to thePrincess.
While in the example given above, the first and the second person pronouns are
interpreted by reference to items contained in the text, in the next two examples, these
pronouns can be interpreted only by reference to the situation and not the text
itself.
Rosemary Fell was not exactly beautiful. No you couldn’t call her beautiful.
Pretty? Well, if you took her to pieces…. But why be so cruel as to take anyone
to pieces …………………….. ‘
(From Katherine Mansfield: A Cup of Tea)
The ghost that got into our house on the night of November 17, 1915, raised
such a hullabaloo of misunderstandings that I am sorry I didn’t just let it keep on
walking, and go to bed …….
(From ‘The Night the Ghost Got in’ by James Thurber, from Vintage
Thurber.Hamish Hamilton; London.)
Who do you think, “you,” refer to in the two extracts given above? “You” evidently refer
to the general reader. “Z” refers to the author or the person in whose words the story is
narrated. In either case, there is no reference within the text, but we can gather the
information about the identity of “you” and “Z” from the situation. You will discover in
your reading that in general, the absence of any reference in the text for the first person
and the second person pronouns does not lead to any sense of incompleteness. On the
other hand, when the third person is used, it implies the presence of a referent somewhere
in the text. In the absence of such a referent the text would appear incomplete. These are
of course exceptions. For example, even the third person can refer to a person in the
context of the situation. Consider the following conversation:
Question: Oh, he’s come, has he?
Answer: Yes, he’s waiting inside.
The nature of the reply shows that the identity of he is clear to the person addressed.
In the case of the first person plural we, the identity of the referents may be found in the
text, i.e., it is a cohesive device, or it may be understood from the situation.
He turned to his companions with a cruel smile. ‘We have got him,’ he said, ‘We
have got the rhino.’
(From The Kaziranga Trail by Arup Das. Children’s Book Trust, Delhi)
In the example above, we refers to he and his companions in the preceding text.
However, consider a text like the following:
It is an extract from Anne Frank’s Diary.
Since Saturday we’ve changed over, and have lunch at half-past eleven in the
mornings, so we have to last out with one cupful of porridge; this saves us a
meal. Vegetables are still very difficult to obtain: “we had rotten boiled lettuce
this afternoon. Ordinary lettuce, spinach and boiled lettuce, there’s nothing else.
With these we eat rotten potatoes, so it’s a delicious combination”.
(From The Diary of Anne Frank, translated from the Dutch by B. M.Mooyaert)
Structure Words in
Discourse-1
34
There is nothing in the text that will tell you the identity of “we”. However, you can
interpret the identity of “we”from the context of the situation. Who do you think
werefers to? You must have guessed by now that werefers to Anne Frank and her
family or her companions.
The third person pronoun it differs from all other personal pronouns in that it may
refer not only to a particular person, animal or object, but also to a portion of the
text. Consider the example given below:
‟The Dormouse slowly opened its eyes.’ ‘I wasn’t asleep’ he said in a hoarse,
feeble voice, ‘I heard every word you fellows were saying.’
‘Tell us a story!’ said the March Hare. ‘Yes, please do!’ pleaded Alice. ‘And be
quick about if added the Hatter, ‟or you’ll be asleep again before it’s done.’
(From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Collier
Macmillan Publishers)
The first occurrences of its and if refer to the Dormouse in the preceding part of the
text. But the next occurrence of it refers neither to an animal nor to an object, but to
‘telling a story’. This use of it is known as extended reference.
The details given by us about personal pronouns apply equally well to the other two
kinds of personal reference, namely the use of certain determiners (my, your, etc.)
and possessive pronouns (mine, yours, etc.).
Check Your Progress 1
1) Given below is an extract from a short story by R. K. Narayan. Pick out the
structure words used for personal reference and indicate the grammatical
category of each—personal pronoun or determined. Also indicate what each
word refers to. We have analysed part of the extract for you. Analyse the rest
of it in the same way.
One day the good journal announced a special offer of eight thousand rupees.
It excited Rama Rao’s vision of a future tenfold. He studied the puzzle. There
were only four doubtful corners in it, and he might have to send in at least
four entries. A large outlay was indicated. ‟You must give me five rupees
this time,’ he said to his wife, at which that good lady became speechless. He
had become rather insensitive to such things these days, but even he could
not help feeling the atrocious nature of his demand.
(From ‘Out of Business’ by R. K. Narayan, in An Astrologer’s Day and
OtherStories, Indian Thought Publications).
Glossary
‘outlay :expenditure: investment
in’sensitive: unfeeling
atrocious: very bad
Structure Word Grammatical Refers to
used for Reference category
1) It (line I) Personal pronoun a special offer2) He (line 2) Personal pronoun Rama Rao
3) it (line 3) Personal pronoun the puzzle
4) he (1ine3) _
35
Structure Words in
Discourse-1
2) Read the passage given below carefully. Analyse the words printed in bold
type in the same way as was done in the previous exercise.
Animals talk to each other, of course, there can be no question about that;
but I suppose there are very few people who can understand them. I never
knew but one man who could. I knew he could, however, because he told me
so himself. He was a middle-aged, simple-hearted miner who had lived in a
lonely comer of California among the woods and mountains a good many
years, and had studied the ways of his only neighbors, the beasts and the
birds, until he believed he could accurately translate any remark which they
made. This was Jim Baker. According to Jim Baker, some animals have only
a limited education and use only very simple words and scarcely ever a
comparison or a flowery figure; whereas certain other animals have a large
vocabulary, a fine command of language, and a ready and fluent delivery;
consequently, these latter talk a great deal, they like it, they are conscious of
their talent, and they enjoy ‘showing off. (from Mark Twain: ‘A Tramp
Abroad’.)
36
11.3.2 Demonstrative Reference
We often point to things in our environment by using gestures. But we can also point
by using words. Demonstrative reference is essentially a form of verbal pointing. It
involves the use of demonstrative pronouns this/that, these/those, the determiners
this/that, these/those, the, and the adverbs here and there.
Like personal reference, demonstrative reference can be to something within the text,
or to the context of the situation. For example, read the extract given in Exercise 2
(under Check Your Progress I) again. Look at the last sentence carefully. What does
these (a determiner) refer to in ‘these latter talk a great deal…’? Obviously, it points to
‘certain other animals who have a large vocabulary, a fine command of language,
and a ready and fluent delivery, that is, to something within the text.
Now, look at this short dialogue:
A Put these in the box.
B I will, in a minute.
Here the reference made by the word these (a pronoun) is situational, and relates to
the shared experience of A and B.
There are certain points that you need to remember about the items relating to
demonstrative reference and their role in cohesion. These points are merely
generalizations. In your reading, you are likely to come across other functions of
these items. It may be a good idea to note them down.
In general, this, these and here imply proximity or closeness to the
speaker; that, these and there imply distance from the speaker. In a
dialogue there is a tendency for the speaker to use this to refer to
something he himself has said, and that to what someone else has said.
This distinction is clearly related to that of ‘near the speaker’ versus ‘not
near’. What is said by the speaker is, textually speaking, near him;
whereas what is said by someone else is not.
Examples
i) A: Conditions are fairly good here. But there’s been a great deal
of discontent.
B: This is what I can’t understand.
ii) A: The working conditions are fairly good here. But there’s a great deal of
discontent.
B: Yes, that’s what I can’t understand.
‟Closeness’ or ‘proximity’ can also be interpreted in terms of time reference:
that tends to be associated with past time reference and this with timereference in the present and the future.
Examples
We went to the movies yesterday evening.
That was our first outing after several months. (reference to the past)
We are going to the movies this evening.
This’ll be our first outing after several months. (reference to the future)
You know that this and that go with or refer to countable singular or
uncountable nouns; these and those go with or refer to countable
plural nouns.
37
Example
“I suppose they are the jurors.” She said this last word two or three times over
to herself ………
(From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)
What does the determiner this go with? It goes with the countable singular noun
word.
Now look at the next example:
The first witness was the Hatter. He came in with a teacup in one hand and a
piece of bread-and-butter in the other hand. “I beg pardon, your Majesty,” he
began, “for bringing these in; but I hadn’t quite finished my tea when I was
sent for.”
(From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)
The pronoun these in the example above refers to a teacup and a piece of bread-andbutter.
• The determiners this/that, these/those (e.g. this pen; these boys) may refer to any
class of nouns without any restriction. However, demonstrative pronouns (e.g.,
Where are you taking it away? That’s my pen), while they can refer to nonhuman objects without any restriction, are highly restrictive in their reference to
human nouns. They can occur in sentences like the following:
Example 1
‘Would you like to meet the artist who made these beautiful portraits? Come
with me. Let me introduce you to him.‟ …….
‘This is Mr. Hussain.’
Example 2
Who are these smart-looking people on horse-back’?
Oh, those are the President’s guards.
• Demonstrative pronouns, like the personal pronoun it, can refer to an extended
text. As mentioned earlier, an extended reference does not refer merely to
persons or objects in a text, but to identifiable portions of a text. This applies
only to the singular forms this and that.
Example
‟…… “I wish they’d get the trial done,” she thought, “and hand round the
refreshments!” But there seemed to be no chance of this, so she began
looking at everything about her to pass away the time.’
As you must have noticed, this here refers not to a particular object, but to the whole
process of completing the trial and handing around the refreshments.
• Demonstrative adverbs here and there, as reference items, behave like this and
that, respectively. Here indicates ‘closeness’ or proximity to the speaker, while
there indicates distance.
Examples:
There’s room next to me. Why don’t you sit here? (close to the speaker)
Structure Words in
Discourse-1
38
Structure Words There’s no room next to me. But there’s an empty seat at the next table. Why don’t
you sit there? (farther away from the speaker)
• Both here and there can also refer to an extended text. The reference in this case,however, is not to a place but means: ‘in this matter’ /’in that matter’/ ‘in saying
so’.
Example
‘Of course it would be all the better,’ said Alice:
‘but it wouldn’t be all the better his being punished.’
‘You’re wrong there, at any rate’, said the Queen.
• One of the functions of the definite article the is to signal identity of reference
with something that has gone before. There are a number of similarities and alsosome differences between the definite article and the other determiners. The otherdeterminers contain within themselves some aspect of what they refer to. In thecase of personal reference it is a person, and in the case demonstratives, it is
nearness or distance from the speaker. The definite article the, on the other
hand, has no content. The examples below will make it clear.
Singh was in his middle twenties.
We know that his is singular and masculine; hence in the passage above, it can onlyrefer to Singh.
Now consider an example of the.
Boil and peel six potatoes. Then cut the potatoes.
The, here, has no content. Its cohesive function is that of signifying that the potatoesthat are to be cut are the six potatoes referred to in the previous sentence.
Sometimes the lexical, item is not repeated, but another word is used instead, which obviously refers to the same thing.
A dingo is a fine-looking animal. The head is blocky and the jaws powerful…….The almond eyes are keen.
The headobviously refers to the dingo’s head, so do the jawsand the almond eyes. Like it, this and that, the also often refers to an extended text.
Example
Udai: Where are we likely to spend our winter vacation?
Mother: Well, we thought we’d go to Nainital. There we can go for walks,
take part in winter sports, go rowing on the lake and you can even buy thosefurry caps you wanted.
Udai agreed at once. In fact, the prospect seemed quite pleasing.
In the passage above the prospect not only refers to the winter vacation they will
spend in Nainital, but also to all the activities they will have there.
• It is generally believed that the signifies an item in the text that has occurredbefore. However, you will find that most instances of the in a text are
contained in the context of the situation, or even refer to a later item in the
text.
39
Example:
It was easy to see just how jar the buses went. Up to the dirt lane the road
was smooth, its centre black and dully shining.
(From A House for Mr. Biswas, by V. S. Naipaul)
As you must have noticed, the buses, the dirt lane and the road do not refer to
anything that occurs before in the text. They refer to the situation in the outside
world.
Check Your Progress 2
1) What do the words printed in bold type refer to in the passage given
below? Which are the words that refer back to an extended text?
‘One of the jurors had a pencil that squeaked. This, of course, Alice could
not stand, and she went round the court and got behind him, and very
soon found an opportunity of taking it away. She did it so quickly that the
poor little juror (it was Bill, the Lizard) could not make out at all what
had become of it; so, after hunting all about for it, he was obliged to write
with one finger for the rest of the day; and this was of very little use, as it
left no mark on the slate.’
(From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)
2) Given below is an extract from a popular story, with some words missing.
Read it through and try to get the gist of it. Answer the questions given
after the extract. Then try to fil1 in the blanks with words indicating
personal reference and demonstrative reference.
“My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel,” said a self-possessed young
lady of 15. In the meantime ……. (i) ……. must put up with ……. (ii) …….
FramtonNuttelendeavoured to say the correct something to flatter ……… (iii)
… . niece without unduly discounting ……. (iv) ……. aunt. Privately
…….. (v) …….. doubted whether ….. (vi) ……..formal visits on total
strangers would help . … (vii) ……. nerve cure which ……. (viii) …….
was supposed to be undergoing in (ix) …… rural retreat.
” . . . (x) …….. ’11 give ……. (xi) ……. letters to everyone ……. (xii) . … ..
know …. . (xiii)…… , “…….. (xiv) …… sister had said, “or else …….. (xv)
………’11 bury yourself and not speak to a soul, and ……. (xvi)……… nerves
will be worse than ever from moping.”
“Do .. .. (xvii) … know many people around . .. . (xviii) ?” asked
. (xix) …… niece when …….. (xx) …… judged …… (xxi) ….. had had
sufficient silent communion.
“Hardly a soul,” said Framton “…… (xxii) …… sister visited ………. (xxiii)
…. . four years ago, and … . (xxiv) …… gave …… (xxv) …..letters of
introduction.” “Then …… (xxvi) …. know practically nothing about ……. (xxvii) …….
aunt?” pursued ……. (xxviii) …….. young lady.
“Only ……(xxix)……… name and address.”
[Extract taken from ‘The Open Window’ by Saki (H. H. Munro)]
Structure Words
in Discourse-1
40
Structure Words Read the above extract carefully and answer the following questions. After
you have checked your answers, fill in the blanks in the passage.
1) Who do you think are the speakers?
2) Why has FramtonNuttel come to this rural retreat?
3) Why has FrantonNuttel’s sister given him letters of introduction7
11.4 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we have discussed the function of structure words in discourse. The
structure words that we have discussed belong to the following grammatical
categories: personal, possessive and demonstrative pronouns, certain determiners,
including the definite articles and demonstrative adverbs. We have tried to show you
the role of such words in cohesion, with an emphasis on personal and demonstrative
reference.
11.5 KEY WORDS
cohesion: sticking together
discourse: anything spoken or written
that forms a meaningful, unified whole.
monologue: a speech by one person
precede: come before
proximity: nearness
11.6 SUGGESTED READING
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1. Structure word used for Grammatical Refers to
Reference Category
4) he (1. 3) personal pronoun Rama Rao
5) you (l. 14) personal pronoun Rama Rao’s wife
6) me (1. 4) personal pronoun Rama Rao
7) he (1. 4) personal pronoun Rama Rao
8) his (1. 4) determiner Rama Rao’s
9) he: (1. 5) personal pronoun Rama Rao
10) he (l. 6) personal pronoun Rama Rao
11) his (1. 6) determiner Rama Rao’s
41
2. Structure word used for Grammatical Refers to
Reference Category
1) I (1.1) personal pronoun the author
(reference
outside the text)
2) them (1. 2) personal pronoun animals
3) he (1. 3) personal pronoun The man
(a particular
person, Jim Baker)
4) he (1. 3) personal pronoun -do –
5) me (1.3) personal pronoun the author
6) his (1. 6) determiner one man ‘s
(Jim Baker’s)
7) they (1. 7) personal pronoun the beasts and
the birds
8) they (l . 11) personal pronoun these latter
(the animals
with a large
vocabulary,
a fine command of
language and a
ready and fluent
delivery)
9) it (1. 11) personal pronoun talking a great deal
10) they (1. 11) personal pronoun The animals with a
large vocabulary, a
fine command of
language, and a
ready and
fluent delivery.
1 l) their (1. 12) determiner -do –
12) they (1. 12) personal pronoun -do –
Check Your Progress 2
Reference Word Refers to
1) l This (1. 1) the squeaking of extended
a pencil reference
2 it (1.3) the pencil
3 it (1.3) taking the pencil extended
away reference
4 it (1. 4) the pencil
5 it (1.5 ) the pencil
Structure Words
in Discourse-1
42
Structure Words 6 this (1. 6) writing with one extended
finger reference
7 it (1. 6) the writing extended
reference2) 1) a young lady of fifteen and FramtonNuttel.
2) for a nerve cure
3) because otherwise he would not speak to anyone, and his nerves
would be worse than ever from moping.
i) you, ii) me, iii) the, iv) the, v) he, vi) these, vii) the, viii) he, ix) this, x) I,
xi) you, xii) I, xiii) there, xiv) his, xv) you, xvi) your, xvii) you, xviii) here,
xix) the, xx) she, xxi) they, xxii) my, xxiii) here, xxiv) she, xxv) me, xxvi) you,
xxvii) my, xxviii) the, xxix) her.
43
UNIT 12 STRUCTURE WORDS IN DISCOURSE-2
Structure
1 2.0 Objectives
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Difference between Reference and Linkage as Cohesive Devices
12.3 Additive Relation
12.4 Adversative Relation
12.5 Causal Relation
12.6 Temporal Relation
12.7 Let Us Sum Up
12.8 Key Words
Answers
12.0 OBJECTIVES
The aim of this unit is to make you aware of the role of conjunctions and linking
adverbials in combining ideas/events together into a text.
After you complete this unit, you should be able to
recognize the functions of these connectives (conjunctions and linking adverbials) in a text, and
use them in your own writing.
12.1 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit, we discussed the function of structure words such as personal,
possessive, and demonstrative pronouns, certain determiners, and demonstrative adverbs
in bringing about cohesion in a text. The cohesive device we studied was crossreference—personal and demonstrative reference.
In this unit we shall look at the role of linking words (also known as Linkages and
Conjunctives) in binding sentences together meaningfully into a text. The connectives
that we shall study are:
I) Coordinating conjunctions: and, or, but
2) Subordinating conjunctions: because, unless, while, though, although, if,
etc.
3) Linking adverbs: yet, moreover, meanwhile, however, furthermore, etc.
12.2 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REFERENCE
AND LINKAGE AS COHESIVE DEVICES
Before we discuss the role of linkage as a cohesive device, let’s try to differentiate
between Reference and Linkage.
Reference, as you already know, is a device which indicates that‘the same person or
object’ is being referred to in different parts of a text, i.e. in the preceding or the 44
Structure Words following text. Reference basically involves either a repeated reference to a person or object, or a repetition of a meaning (extended reference).
Linkage, on the other hand, is not a device to identify items in the preceding or thefollowing text. It is primarily a way of signaling how one idea leads on to another.The words and phrases which have this connecting function are like signposts on ajourney. They generally come at the beginning of a sentence.
We shall consider four types of cohesive relations in which the various connectivesplay a role. These include the additive, adversative, causal and temporal relations.There are other possible categories, but we shall consider only these. Before we
discuss all of them in detail, let’s have a quick look at what these terms imply.
Ravi was working very hard as he had to finish his project report.
And he was staying up late in the night every day. (additive)
Yet he never appeared tired (adversative). He, therefore, managed to
complete his project on time (causal).
After he had handed in his project report, he had a good night’s sleep.
(temporal).
We are not very concerned if you cannot remember these terms. But, we would likeyou to be able to use the various connectives.
Check Your Progress 1
Write another little story of 5 lines, using connectives for all the four cohesive
relations mentioned by us.
12.3 ADDITIVE RELATION
The additive items in English include the following coordinating conjunctions:
and, and also, nor, and …. not, or…either.
They also include linking adverbials such as furthermore, moreover, additionally,
besides, in addition, alternatively, incidentally, similarly, on the other hand, in other
words, for example, etc.
An additive relation gives cohesion to a text, or rather, it creates additional text
by giving more information related to the preceding text. It includes devices such
as adding of information, giving alternatives, showing contrast, exemplification,
apposition, etc.
Some of these devices may overlap with other cohesive relations. We shall,
however, not go into the finer details. As we’ve mentioned earlier, we want you
to concentrate on correct usage.
45
In the examples given below we discuss some of the ways in which cohesion has an
additive relation.
There is a total, or almost total, shift from one sentence to the next, and
yet the two sentences are definitely part of a text.
Example:
‘But she fled upstairs nevertheless, with Sid and Mary at her heels. And her
face grew white, too, and her lips trembled.’ (From Mark Twain:
TomSawyer)
As you must have noticed, the first sentence refers to the activity of going up the
stairs. The second is an emotional response. Yet, the two sentences are linked to each
other by the conjunction and.
• In narrative fiction such a shift often occurs at the boundary of dialogue and
narration. In fact, a conjunction like and serves to link a dialogue/ monologue
with narration. For example :
‘Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon began talking
again. “Dinah’ll miss me very much to-night, I should think!”(Dinah was the cat.) “I
hope they’ll remember her saucer of milk at tea-time. Dinah, my dear! I wish you
were down here with me! There are no mice in the air, I’m afraid, but you might
catch a bat, and that’s very like a mouse, you know. But do cats eat bats, I wonder?”
And here Alice began to get rather sleepy ‘
• When and is used alone as a cohesive item as distinct from and then, etc., it often has
the sense of ‘there is something more to be said’. Look at the example below:
‘Till at last it hung there in the sky over the world, blazing down, the size of the
moon, a deep gloomy red. And now there could be only one explanation. The
star was getting bigger because it was getting nearer. And nearer and NEARER
and NEARER’.
(From: Ted Hughes: The Iron man)
• A slightly different use, and one in which the cohesive and comes closest to its
coordinating function in sentence structure, is that which links the ‘sentences in a
series’. We shall give you examples of the use of and within a sentence and in
discourse. Try to notice the difference.
Use of and in sentences:
‘In the kitchen they had grits and grease and side meat and coffee for
breakfast.’
(From: Carson Mc Cullers: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter)
GLOSSARY:
grits: coarsely ground grains of corn which are eaten as a dish in Southern United
States; coarse oatmeal.
In the distance the houses were the houses in a Victorian print, small and
precisely drawn and quiet; only one child a long way off.
Structure Words in
Discourse-2
(From: Graham Green: The End of
46
Both these examples show the repetition of a conjunction in connecting items in a set.
In the first example and links nouns, while in the second example it links adjectives.
As a ‘cohesive device’ and often links a series of questions. In Alice’sAdventures
inWonderland, there is an excellent example of this, when Alice questions
HumptyDumpty about the meaning of Jabberwocky. Given below is an extract
from the conversation.
“I see it now,” Alice remarked thoughtfully: “and what are ‘toves’?”
“Well, ‘toves’are something like badgers—they’re something
likelizards—and they’re something like corkscrews.”
“They must be very curious-looking creatures.”
“They are that,” said Humpty Dumpty”: “also they make their nests under sun
– dials—also they live on cheese.”
“And what’s to ‘gyre’ and to ‘gimble’?
“To ‘gyre’ is to go round and round like a gyroscope. To ‘gimble’ is to
make holes like a gimlet.”
“And ‘the wabe’ is the grass-plot round a sun-dial, I suppose?.said Alice,
surprised at her own ingenuity.’
(From Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking-glass)
Badger:a wild animal which has grey fur and a white head. Badgers
liveunderground and usually come to feed at night.
‘corkscrew:a device used for pulling corks out of bottles.
‘curious-looking: unusual to look at.
‘run-dial: a device which uses the sun to show you what time it is.
‘gyroscope:a device that contains a disc rotating on an axis that can turn freely in
anydirection.
‘gimlet: a small sharp tool used for making small holes in wood.
• The negative form of the additive relation is expressed simply as nor.
Example:
A: I can’t go to the movies tonight.
I have a project report to finish.
B: Nor can I.
Besides nor, there is another expression and . . . not …either.
Example:
‘I couldn’t send all the horses, you know, because two of them are wanted in the
game. And I haven’t sent the two messengers either. They’re both gone to the
47
town…’ (From Lewis Carroll: Through the looking Glass).
• A number of conjunctive expressions such as further, also,besides
semantically link sentences together. The meaning they generally have is:
‘there is yet another point to be taken in conjunction with the previous one’.
Look at the following, sentences :
My husband says he does not know that girl Further, he denies ever having
seen her or spoken to her.
The food is very good and it’s probably something that people won’t prepare
at home. Also, it’s easy to digest and pleasing to the eye.
I didn’t invite your friend Rajiv to the party. Besides, he wouldn’t have come.
The basic relationship between sentences linked by or is to express an alternative.
This relationship is largely confined to questions, requests, permissions and
predictions.
‘Shall we try another figure of the Lobster Quadrille?”, the Gryphon went on.
‘Or would you like the Mock Turtle to sing you a song?’
(From Lewis Carroll :Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
If or is associated with statements, it often has the sense of ‘an alternative suggestion’,
‘another possible opinion, explanation, etc., in place of the one just given.’
Examples :
‘I might stay late at the office tonight, and catch up on my work. Or I might
decide to relax for a change, and go to the movies. ‘
‘Perhaps she missed her flight. Or else she’s changed her mind and isn’t
coming.’
The form alternatively is perhaps a more emphatic way of expressing the ‘or’
relation. For instance, in the example given below, there are: two questions,
and then the alternative — which makes the (text more forceful).
‘Are the Finance Minister’s proposals adequate? Is the economy going to
improve? Alternatively, are we heading for another crisis?’
• Under the heading, ADDITIVE we may include a related pattern, that of
semantic similarity. Here the source of cohesion is the comparison of whatis
being said with what has gone before. Forms such as similarly, likewise,
inthe same way are used by the speaker to assert that a point is being
reinforcedor a new one added to the same effect.
‘Treating children as responsible citizens brings out the best in them; they
behave as such. In the same way if you treat them as delinquents they will
soon begin to act as delinquents.’
Glossary
de’linquent: a young person repeatedly committing minor crimes.
• Corresponding to the similarity relation is the negative comparison where the
meaning is dissimilarity. This is often expressed by the following phrases:
Structure Words
in Discourse-2
on the other hand, by contrast, as opposed to this.
48
Examples:
‘In order to buy the flat, I may draw on my savings. On the other hand, I
might approach my parents for a loan.’
‘Even the largest of whales, the Blue Whale, with a maximum length of
about 100 feet and a weight of up to 130 tons, can attain 20 knots for
about 10 minutes. By contrast, the common dolphin can keep up a speed
of 20-22 knots for hours.’
• There are other types of relation which can be thought of as subcategories of the additive. We give you examples of each:
Afterthought: incidentally, by the way.
Example:
‘The airlines charge half-price for students. Incidentally, I’ll be flying to
Bombay this time, instead of going by train.’
Appositive relation:that is, I mean, in other words, to put it another way,
forinstance, for example.
‘Imagine now that we have two identical twins and put them in different
environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the
other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find
differences in intelligence developing …’
Check Your Progress 2
Given below are extracts from various texts. Fill in the gaps using the following
words: Furthermore, For example, Nor, Or, And.
Extract 1
‘Some scientists maintain that the anguish of animals is a regrettable but
necessary price to pay for knowledge which has brought enormous benefits to
mankind ‘ the discovery of insulin — estimated to have saved the lives of more
than 50 million diabetics — stemmed from animal experiment…..
(From ‘Animal Experiments: How Cruel, How Necessary’? Reader’s Digest.
January 1981).
Glossary
anguish: great pain and suffering
insulin a substance that most people produce naturally in their body and which
controls the level of sugar in their blood. People with diabetes cannot produce insulin
and have to take regular doses of it. .
Extract 2
Centralized sewage facilities are non-existent in most West African cities. If any
centralized sewage system is to be installed, it will require massive demolition and
replanning of the city as a whole. This could prove politically explosive……, the
financing of waste disposal is not attractive to politicians. A sports stadium is
visible and politically, therefore, more satisfactory.
49
Extract 3
‘Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle!’ ….she began thinking over all
the children she knew that were of the same age as herself, to see if she could
have been changed for any of them.
(From Alice in Wonderland)
Extract 4
Perhaps she missed her train ………… she’s changed her mind and isn’t coming.
Extracts 5
He never forgave his parents for their neglect of him when he was a young child.
There were frequent fits of rage and nightmares, ….could he wholly rid himself of
feelings of guilt for his dreams of revenge on them.
12.4 ADVERSATIVE RELATION
The basic meaning of the adversative relation is ‘contrary to expectation’. The
expectation may arise from the content of what has already been said.
For example,
All the steps in the solution are correct. I’ve rechecked them. Yet the answer
is incorrect.
There may also be contrary expectations in a communicative situation.
Example :
A : Why aren’t you ready’? Aren’t we going to the concert this evening’?
B : But I thought that was tomorrow.
The structural items that are frequently used in an adversative relation are the
following.
yet, but, however, although, nevertheless, still, in spite of this, only, etc.
We have listed some points below about the adversative relationship which we
would like you to be aware of:
• The conjunctive items but, however, though, yet, only, still, nevertheless
are some of the items which signal the unexpected nature of what is
being said in view of what was said before that.
An example with but:
Gabriel tried to cover his agitation by taking part in the dance with great
energy. He avoided her eyes, for he had seen a sour expression on her
face. But when they met in the long chain he was surprised to feel his
hand firmlypressed.
(From: ‘The Dead’ in James Joyce: The Dubliners)
Structure Words
in Discourse-2
50
Structure Words A point of difference that you will notice between but and yet is that but contains the
element ‘and’ as one of its meaning components, whereas yet does not. For this
reason, you will regularly find sentences beginning and yet, but never and but.
Look at the example of a text with and yet.
‘The food was objectionable—yet Alvina got fat on it. The air was filthy—
and yet never had her colour been so warm and fresh, her skin so soft.’
(From D. H. Lawrence: The Lost Girl)
An example with however:
“I’ll whisper it,” said the Messenger, putting his hands to his mouth in the
shape of a trumpet and stooping so as to get close to the King’s ear. Alice wassorry for this, as she wanted to hear the news too. However, instead of
whispering, he simply shouted, at the top of his voice, “They’re at it again!”
(From Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking Glass)
An example with though:
“I like the Walrus best,” said Alice: “because, you see, he was a little sorry
for the poor oysters.”
‘He ate more than the Carpenter though,’ said Tweedledee.
The word only occurs frequently in the adversative sense in spoken English, always
in the initial position.
Example:
“I wish I could manage to be glad” the Queen said. “Only I never can
remember the rule. You must be very happy, living in this wood, and being
glad whenever you like!”
“Only it is so very lonely here!” Alice said in a melancholy voice; and, at the
thought of her loneliness, two large tears came rolling down her cheeks.
(From Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking Glass)
• Words like but and however also occur in a related though somewhat
different sense, which we might call contrastive.
She’s not good-looking. But she’s got brains.
Rita has failed. However, she tried her best.
• Expressions such as instead, rather, on the contrary, at least also indicate
contrast. Here again, the adversative relation comes very close to the
negative comparison discussed in the additive type of relation.
On the contrary emphasizes that the opposite is true.
Example:
’We didn’t ask her to leave. On the contrary, we tried to persuade her to stay.’
Instead not only involves a contrast, it also indicates a replacement.
51
‘He doesn’t work at all. Instead, he sits and day-dreams’. (contrast)
‘Rohit wanted a tennis-racket for his birthday. His mother bought him a
book instead.’ (replacement)
In the sentence above, instead not only has a connective function, but also specifies
the part of the sentence that has been replaced. For example, instead here can be
expandedto instead of a tennis-racket.
You may have noticed that sentences which are linked with on the contrary and
instead show a contrast between two alternative phenomena. However, at least
mayshow a relationship between two different formulations of the same
phenomenon:
For example :
“What a beautiful belt you’ve got on.” Alice suddenly.remarked …………”At
least,” she corrected herself on second thoughts, “a beautiful cravat, I should
have said—no, a belt, I mean—I beg your pardon!”
(From Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking Glass)
• Expressions such as in fact, as a matter of fact, actually, to tell Jon) the truth are
often used in a contrastive relationship. The meaning is something like ‘as
against what the current state of the communication process would lead us to
expect the fact of the matter is …………….. ’
For example,
“I wasn’t called up by the army. Actually, I volunteered.’
‘The old belief that the universe never changes is quite wrong. Even before the
invention of the telescope, astronomers noticed that bright stars suddenly appear
in the sky, and then later disappear. These stars were called ’novae’ because they
were thought to be new. In fact, we now know that they are really old stars
which are slowly dying.
Check Your Progress 3
Decide which of the conjunctions and sentence connectives you have studied so far
would be most appropriate in each blank space in the sentences below:
1) Students are very keen to take part in political discussions and participate in
the country’s development. …… in many countries they have become the
most vocal section of society.
2) Society now accepts the social responsibility of the university. ………….. some
people still think that students should stand aside from the rest of society.
3) Earlier, a university education led to an overall development of the
individual. ……. now-a-days it is highly specialised.
4) The most common type of ghost is the poltergeist. This is a ghost which does
not in fact appear. .. … . . it makes noises and throws objects around ……
despite this violent activity, the poltergeists in fact never hurt anyone.
12.5 CAUSAL RELATION
The causal relationship is used to describe the relationship between two or more
events, when one event causes another event to happen. The causal relation is
expressed by words such as so, thus, hence, therefore, consequently, accordingly;
and a number of phrases like as a result (of that), in consequence (of that), because
ofthat, etc. All these expressions can regularly combine with And.
Structure Words in
Discourse-2
52
Structure Words It would be a good idea to be aware of certain points regarding the causal
relationship.
• Under the heading of causal relations may be included the specific ones of
result, reason and purpose. The Examples given below illustrate these
specific instances of causal relation.
‘They refused to pay a higher rent though the court ordered it. As a result
they were evicted from their flat.’ (Result)
‘She was a good student, but in her last year at boarding school, as a result of
criticizing her teachers during a debate, she had incurred their wrath.
Consequently, she’d been denied several academic honours she was entitled
to and had been harassed. ‘ (Result)
(From ‘I’ll Never Forget your Kindness’ in Reader’s Digest, March, 1988).
Glossary
incurred: brought upon herself
harassed: troubled
‘In the last century, for example, English visitors were amazed at the
beautiful fall colors of poison ivy and took some home. Because it is called
“ivy”, they planted it. Soon thereafter a British medical journal reported a
new disease contracted only by women, who did the gardening (Reason)
(From Noel Vietmeyer: Taking the Itch out of Poison Ivy in Span; April,-
1988).
Glossary
fall: American word for autumn.
poison’ivy: Shrub or vine grown in parts of United States of America, which
causespainful spots if brought into contact with a person’s skin.
We were planning to go to Ooty for our vacation. But our daughter was not
keeping well. (Reason)
Many people have been enquiring about Indira Gandhi National Open
University. For this purpose, the University has opened an information
centre. (Purpose)
Let us list some of the expressions which serve as linkages for these specific types of
causal relation.
Result: as a result (of this), in consequences (of this), arising out of this.
Reason: for this reason, on account of this, because of this, it follows (from this), on
this basis.
Purpose: for this purpose, with this in mind/view, with this intention, to this end.
You will, perhaps, notice in your reading that while the phrases can be generally
grouped rather distinctly under these three heads, the simpler conjunctives are not so
clearly distinguished.
53
Examples :
A : Mr. Katyal spends a lot of money buying crayons and colouring-books for his
B: Oh I know why! So he could grow up into an artist too.
(Reason) A : The Head sends a report every month to the Director .
B : So, that’s how he knows what’s happening in the Department. (Result.)
• Another type of conjunctive relation which is considered under the general
heading of ‘causal’ is the conditional type. The difference between the two is;
causal means: ‘a, therefore b’.
conditional means: ‘possibly a, if so, then b’.
A simple form of expression for the conditional relation is the word then.
“And what does it live on?”
“Weak tea with cream in it.”
A new difficulty came into A lice’s head.
“Supposing it couldn’t find any?” she suggested
“Then it would die, of course. ”
Other items are in that cases, that being flue cases, in such an event, if so,
The negative form of the conditional is expressed cohesively by otherwise;
I was not informed. Otherwise I would have taken some action.
The meaning of the sentence above is: ‘If I had been informed, I would have taken some
action. Since I wasn’t, I didn’t.’
12.6 TEMPORAL RELATION
In section l6.3 you noticed how two sentences were linked sequentially, where the
second sentence added to the information contained in the first sentence. The linking
word(s) which connected the two sentences entered into an additive relationship.
In this section, we shall again show you the relation between two successive sentences.
But here the relation is in terms of sequence of time. This is known as a temporal relation.
Let’s look at some of the ways in which the temporal relation is expressed.
• You probably know that three major divisions of time relationship may be set
up.What are these? And what are the adverbials that signal the relationships?
i) temporal ordering previous to given time-reference: Some of the forms that can
be used to indicate a ‘previous’ time reference are :
We now live in Defence Colony. Previously, we used to live in PaharGanj.
The weather cleared just as the party approached the summit. Until then they
could barely sec anything because of the thick fog around them.
Structure Words
in Discourse-2
54
Structure Words
55
ii) temporal ordering simultaneous with given time-reference.
In the sense of ‘simultaneous’ we have just then, at the same
time,simultaneously, meanwhile, off this time, at this point/ moment, by this
time.
Several of the conspirators have hem arrested, but their leader is yet to be
Identified. Meanwhile, the police are continuing their investigations.
“… Oh, dear, what nonsense I’m talking!” Just at this moment her head struck
against the roof of the hall, in fact she was now rather more than nine feet
high, and she at once took up the little golden key and hurried off to the
garden door.
(From Lewis Carroll: Alice in Wonderland)
iii) temporal ordering subsequent to given time-reference
Some of the forms that you can use are: {and) then, next, afterwards,
afterthat, subsequently.
Examples:
i) (Alice) began by taking the little golden key, and unlocking the door that led
into the garden. Then she set to work nibbling at the mushroom till she was
about a foot high: then she walked down the little passage: and then—she
found herself at last in the beautiful garden.
ii) In Europe, bread is usually made in five stages. The first is to make what is
called ‘dough’. The yeast is mixed with sugar and water, and after about
fifteen minutes it begins to ‘eat’ the sugar. Flour, fat and salt are then put
together and the yeast mixture is added. All these ingredients are then pressed
(or ‘kneaded’) with the hands for about ten minutes until they form a large
ball of dough. After the dough has been made in this way, it is left to ‘rise’.
As the yeast continues to eat the sugar it makes the dough increase in size. At
the third stage the risen dough is kneaded again and pushed into the shape the
bread is to be. The dough must then be allowed to rise again, this time for
about one hour. Finally, we come to the stage or baking, which takes about
forty-five minutes in a hot oven.
(Adapted from Keith Johnson: Communicate in Writing)
Glossary
dough/ dau/: a fairly firm mixture of flour, water, and sometimes sugar andfat, which
can be cooked, to make things such as pastry, bread, or
biscuits.
yeast/jr:st/: substance used in brewing beer, and in the making of bread.
You are already aware that there are five stages in the making of bread. What are the
words / phrases in the passage above which link these five stages? These are Thefirst,
After…, At the third stage, then, Finally.
Some of the other conjunctive expressions which mark a series of events / points are
:to begin with, first(ly), second(ly), third(ly), etc. mark particular positions in a
series.Next, then, after this cannot occur initially in a series. Last, lastly, finally, to
conclude can only occur in the final position.
• There are also other expressions which are used to summarize the argument
that the writer may have used. These often come at the end of the text, and
may be used to conclude the argument. Expressions such as to sum up may
conclude a text. However, in short, in a “word, to put it briefly, in all, may
not necessarily come at the end of a text although they often do.
Example
One solution to the dangers of radiation is to protect the spaceship by putting
some kind of shield around it. This was in fact done on the Apollo
spaceships which landed on the moon. But this solution is not possible for
longer journeys—to Mars for example—because the shield would need to be
very large, and could not be carried. Another solution, not in fact possible at
present, would be to surround the spaceship with a magnetic field to deflect
the radiation. In all, we have to conclude that there is at present no complete
solution to the problem of radiation.
(From: Keith Johnson: Communicate in Writing)
Glossary
radi’ation: the sending out of energy, heat, etc., in the form of rays.
shield: protective cover
mag’netic field: an area which functions as a kind of magnet, and has the power to
pull things towards it.
de’flect: turn aside
Check Your Progress 4
Given below are extracts from various texts. Fill in the gaps with the most
appropriate linking words indicating a causal or a temporal relation. The linking
words/phrases are given below. The same word/phrase may be used more than once.
so after secondly
because thirdly otherwise
firstly then just then
Extract 1
“Don’t think, old man,” he said aloud. “Sail on this course and take it when it
comes.” But I must think, he thought, it is all I have left.
(From Ernest Hemingway :The Old man and the Sea)
Extract 2
‘There was hardly any space for me next to my son. …I decided to lean back against
the window and sit through the night.’
(From I’II Never Forget Your Kindness, Reader’s Digest, March, 1988)
Extract 3
Now almost all societies have marriage, but there are wide variations in marriage
systems. I will give three of the important areas of variation, and some details of each
area. The three areas I shall deal with are: … the number of mates each marriage partner
may have;…..the locality of the marriage (that is, where do the newly
married partners set up home?); and …., what arrangements there are for the transfer
of wealth after the marriage. Let me deal with each of these in turn.
(Adaptedfrom J. E. Goldthorpe: An Introduction to Sociology, Cambridge University
Press, 2nd ed. 1974)
Structure Words in
Discourse-2
56
Structure Words Extract 4
…. permanent dieting is hardly fun, many people prefer a crash diet. This can be notonly harmful to health but also self-defeating: . . just a day or two on a crash diet, thebody decides that famine has struck and defends itself by lowering basal metabolism— precisely what you don’t want.
(From Jeanie Wilson: ‘How to Stay Thin After 25, Reader’sDigest, April, 1988)Extract 5
Don’t skip breakfast (but make it a healthful, low cholesterol one)…..‘ you’re morelikely to overeat later in the day; and you’ll have less energy.
(From Jeanie Wilson: ‘How to Stay Thin After 25, Reader’sDigest, April, 1988)Extract 6
“Have some wine,” the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.
Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. “I don’t see anywine,” she remarked,
“There isn’t any,” said the March Hare.
“…it wasn’t very civil of you to offer it,” said Alice angrily.
(From Lewis Carroll: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
Extract 7
“That will be a queer thing, to be sure! However, everything is queer today.” …sheheard something splashing about in the pool a little way off.
(From Lewis Carroll: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
12.7 LET US SUM UP
In this unit we have made you aware of the role of conjunctions and linking
adverbials in a connected text. The role that these words play is seen in terms
of 4 types of cohesive relations:
• additive
• adversative
• causal
• temporal
You can now
• recognize the functions of these words and the role they play in
binding a text together.
• use them correctly in your own writing.
12.8 KEY WORDS
‘additive relation: giving additional information about the preceding text.
ad’versativeappo’sition: contrary to expectation
addition of a word or group of words to another as an explanation
57
causalrelationship: relationship between cause and effect
con’junction: a word, or a group of words, that joins other words, clause, etc.
con’trastive: showing a clear difference between two or more things when
you compare them.
co’ordinatingcon’junctions: conjunctions such as and, but, yet, or, nor, etc. which
join parts of sentences, phrases, etc. which are of equal rank.
se’mantic : relating to the meaning of words and sentences
sub’ordinating conjunctions: conjunctions such as though, unless, because, etc.
which join a subordinate clause to the main clause, e.g. Though he tried his best, he
couldn’t pass the examination.
‘subsequent: later, following
‘temporal : related to time
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 2
Extract 1 For example
Extract 2 Furthermore
Extract 3 And
Extract 4 Or
Extract S Nor
Check Your Progress 3
1) And/In fact
2) However
3) But
4) Instead, Yet
Check Your Progress 4
Extract 1 because
Extract 2 So
Extract 3 firstly, secondly, thirdly
Extract 4 Because, After
Extract S Otherwise
Extract 6 Then ,
Extract 7 Just then
Structure Words in
Discourse-2
58
SUGGESTED READING
Dictionaries
Hornby, A.S. (2003) Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of CurrentEnglish, Sixth
Edition, E.L.B.S. and Oxford University Press.
Procter, P. (2004) Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Third
Edition, Longman.
Sinclair, J. (1987) Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary, Collins and
the University of Birmingham.
Greenbaum, S 1996 The Oxford Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Leech, G. and J. Svartvik (2000) A Communicative Grammar of English, E.L.B.S.
and Longman Group.
Murphy, Raymond (1994) Intermediate English Grammar, Fourth Edition.
Cambridge University Press.
Thomson, A. J. and A. V. Martinet (1997) A Practical English Grammar
andExercises {in three volumes). Third Edition, Oxford University Press.
Hewings, Martin (2004) Advanced English Grammar, Cambridge University Press.
Usage
Swan, M. (1980) Practical English Usage, E.L.B.S. and Oxford University Press.
Hornby, A,S. (1997) The Teaching of structural Words and Sentence Pattern:
Stages 1 & 2, E.L.B.S. and OUP, 8‘ impression.
Block
4
Rhetorical Devices
Block Introduction
UNIT 13
An Introduction to Rhetoric
UNIT 14
Structure and Style
UNIT 15
Use of Repetition
UNIT 16
Use of Questions
UNIT 17
Doing Things with Language: Politeness
Indira Gandhi
National Open University
School of Humanities
BEGLA-137
LANGUAGE THROUGH
LITERATURE
3
Course Introduction
Language through Literature (BEGLA 137)
(CHOICE BASED CREDIT SYSTEM)
Credit weightage: 6 credits
Language Through Literature which has been adapted from BEGE-101 is aimed at providing
a lucid account of how even the most common elements of language are used dexterously and
aesthetically in literature/oratory to please, to entertain, to persuade, to gratify and to create
aesthetic appeal. As a matter of fact, literature is nothing but a creative and imaginative use of
language. This course will enable you to not only understand the various and dynamic ways
in which writers/orators use language but also comprehend and appreciate literary/rhetorical
pieces better and derive greater pleasure from them. This course will primarily deal with
literal versus metaphorical meaning, literary and rhetorical devices and an understanding of
the development of discourse.
This course seeks to equip you with some of the important aspects of English usage through
the study of representative samples of literary works produced in English. The course is
divided into 4 blocks of about 4 units each. Block 1 deals with the extension of meaning,
multiple meanings and overlap of meaning in the context of language acquisition process
through four units/chapters. Block 2 has four units that deal with confusion of semantic and
structural criteria and escaping wrong analogies including studying literary texts. Block 3
introduces and takes you to an understanding of structure words and acquaints you with all its
facets and dimensions including auxiliaries and structure words in discourse with a purpose
to make you aware of the role of conjunctions and linking adverbials in combining ideas/events together.
Block 4 aims to clarify certain areas of confusion relating to rhetorical devices with an
emphasis on structure and style including use of repetition and questions. The course does
not include much linguistic theory and deals with the structure of English in a practical way.
The aim is to help the undergraduate student acquire a better understanding of how
language operates and attain a reasonable level of accuracy in the use of the language, both
in speech and in writing.
Follow all the units and enjoy your Course.
4
Block 4 Introduction
In the first unit of the block, which is entitled An introduction to
Rhetoric, Our aim is to introduce you to ‘rhetoric’ and to show with the
help of a number of examples show how rhetorical speeches differ from
ordinary prose. We shall follow this with a discussion of some of the
characteristic features of rhetorical speech/writing.
In unit 14, we shall help you examine the structure and the style of
rhetorical speeches and writings so that you can achieve more fluency in
the use of language.
In Unit 15, we shall discuss the rhetorical device of repetition and the
various ways in which words, syntactic structures and expressions are
repeated for rhetorical effects. This unit is designed to familiarize you
with a common rhetorical device repetition and the effects that this
devise can produce.
In Unit 16, we will deal with questions in rhetorical discourse. The
various types of questions are discussed and you are supposed to read
those carefully and try to take note of the different types of questions that
are used in the speeches that you happen to read or listen to. Also, we
will discuss the use and importance of questions in rhetoric and the ways
in which they make oratorical communication effective. We shall also
help you take note of the rhetorical devices used by Sarojini Naidu in one
of the famous speeches delivered by her.
In Unit 17, you will learn about the use of polite forms of English
language and also their use in communicative situations and in the due
course you will be able to admire and appreciate more ways to use
language effectively.
5
UNIT 13 AN INTRODUCTION TO RHETORIC
Structure
13.0 Objectives
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Examples of Rhetoric
13.3 An Appeal to Emotions
13.4 Elevation of Style
13.5 Organization
13.6 Let Us Sum Up
13.7 Key Words
Answers
13.0 OBJECTIVES
Our aim in this unit is to introduce you to ‘rhetoric’ and present examples of rhetorical
speeches to show how they differ from ordinary prose. We shall follow this with a
discussion of some of the characteristic features of rhetorical speech/writing.
13.1 INTRODUCTION
Rhetoric is derived from the Greek word rhetor, which means an orator or a public
speaker. The term generally refers to persuasive or impressive speech or writing, that
is, the use of language which is designed to persuade or sway or move people. It may
sometimes be mere eloquence or exaggeration lacking substance and sincerity. When
used with such implications, it is a derogatory term.
The term ‘rhetoric’ means different things to different people. For example, Wayne
Booth in his book The Rhetoric of Fiction discusses the different ways in which a
novelist gains control over his reader’s imagination. Grierson Wrote a book called
Rhetoric and English Composition, using the two terms as being closely related.
Rhetoric is often used to refer to discourse of a particular kind built up for or against a
person, idea or ideology. For instance, we often hear about ‘anti- reservation’ rhetoric or
‘anti Sardar Sarovar Dam’ rhetoric or ’WMD’ (Weapons for Mass Destruction) rhetoric
where facts and figures are selectively used by a person, a group or a party or a nation
to persuade or impress or sway people.
13.2 EXAMPLES OF RHETORIC
Here is the opening section of Pandit Nehru’s speech on the death of Mahatma
Gandhi. It was broadcast from All India Radio on 30th January, 1948, the day
Gandhiji was shot dead.
Friends and Comrades, the light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness
everywhere. I do not know what to tell you and how to say it. Our beloved
6
leader, Bapu as we called him, the Father of the Nation, is no more. Perhaps I am
wrong to say that. Nevertheless, we will not see him again as we have seen him
for these many years. We will not run to him for advice and seek solace from him,
and that is a terrible blow not to me only but to millions and millions in this
country. And it is a little difficult to soften the blow by any other advice that I or
anyone else can give you. The light has gone out, I said, and yet I was wrong. For
the light that shone in this country was no ordinary light. The light that has
illumined this country for these many many years will illumine this country for
many more years, and a thousand years later that light will still be seen in this
country, and the world will see it, and it will give solace to innumerable hearts.
For that light represented something more than the immediate present; it
represented the living, the eternal truths, reminding us of the right path, drawing
us from error, taking this ancient country to freedom.
(From Jawaharlal Nehru’s Speeches, Vol. I, Page 42, Publications Division,
Government of India, New Delhi)
Now what has Pandit Nehru said in this part of the speech? Perhaps we can rewrite it like this:
My countrymen, Mahatma Gandhi is dead and there is darkness everywhere. We
shall not be able to go to him for advice any more, but in fact he will continue to
guide us for many more years, because he represented the eternal truth, showed us
the right path, and led us to freedom.
This version, even though it says the same things, does not perform the function
that Pandit Nehru’s speech does. It fails to move us in the way Nehru’s speech
does. Nor does it give an idea of Gandhiji’s greatness. Now, what do you think
brings about this difference? It is the difference in the two styles. Nehru’s speech
is a piece of rhetoric; the version we have produced is ordinary prose.
Check Your Progress
Example 1
Read the two passages given below and identify which of them is a piece of
rhetoric and which one is not. Give reasons in support of your choice.
a) A few years ago, seven swallows were caught near their nests at Bremen in
Germany. They were marked with a red dye on some of their white feathers, so
that they could easily be seen. Then they were taken by aeroplane to Croydon, near
London: this is a distance of 400 miles.
(Munro Fox)
b) We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us
many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy?
I will say: it is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with. all our might and with all
the strength that God can give us: to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never
surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.
Rhetorical Devices
7
That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim! I can answer in one word: Victory
— Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and
hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. Let that be
realized; no survival for the British Empire; no survival for the urge and
impulse of the ages that mankind will move forward towards its goal. But I
take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be
suffered to fail among men. At this time, I feel entitled to claim the aid of all,
and I say, ‘Come, then let us go forward together with our united strength’.
(Winston Churchill, 1940)
or’deal: a severe test
‘grievous: causing grief or suffering ‘monstrous:
causing horror and disgust ‘tyranny: cruel or unjust use
of power ‘lamentable: regrettable
‘catalogue: a list of names, etc. in a special order
‘buoyancy: lightness of spirits
‘suffered: allowed
Exercise 2
State in about 80 words the main points of the extract from Churchill’s speech given
above.
An Introduction to Rhetoric
8
Now that you have converted a piece of rhetoric into ordinary prose, you should
be able to see how words are used in rhetorical speech and writing.
Let us go back to the passage from Nehru ‘s speech on Gandhiji that you read
earlier. Notice some of the expressions in the first paragraph that move us and
thus contribute to the rhetorical effects:
‘the light has gone out of our lives, and there is Darkness everywhere’.
‘Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the Father of the Nation, is no
more’.
The whole of the second paragraph is charged with emotion and is thus
rhetorical. Now can you point out some of the rhetorical words and expressions
in the passage from Churchill’s speech?
Did you list expressions like the following?
‘an ordeal of the most grievous kind’.
‘many, many long months of struggle’.
‘…to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark,
‘lamentable catalogue of human crime.’
‘Victory — Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however
long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival. ‘
‘the urge and impulse of the ages’.
‘I take up my task with buoyancy and
hope’ ‘Our cause will not be
suffered to fail’.
Rhetorical Devices
9
‘I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, ‘Come, then let us go forward
together with our united strength.’
13.3 AN APPEAL TO EMOTIONS
You have studied-two examples of rhetoric in the previous section. You
must have noticed some features of rhetoric which may be described as
follows:
i) You will notice that, along with reasoning, or argument, there is
usually an appeal to the emotions. Can you find examples of this in Nehru’s
speech ?
Let’s read Nehru’s speech again. You will agree that the following expressions
must have had an emotional appeal for the Indian listeners:
‘Friends and comrades’,
‘the light has gone out of our lives’,
‘Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the Father of the Nation’, ‘a
thousand years later that light will still be seen’, ‘it represented the living, the
eternal truths’.
For example, Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar begins his
speech as follows:
‘Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.’
Nehru began his presidential address at the 50th session of the Indian National
Congress at Faizpur in December 1930 as follows:
‘Comrades, eight and a half months ago I addressed you from this tribune and
now, at your bidding, I am here again’.
Such are the tactics of a direct opening. If, however, the orator feels he has to
overcome any resistance from his audience or the nature of his case puts him
at a disadvantage, he may take recourse to an indirect opening. That is, he
may begin with an anecdote, a fable, or a jest. He may also pick a remark of
An Introduction to Rhetoric
10
his adversary and turn it to ridicule. Nehru in his speech at Hyderabad in
1953, however, adopted no such strategy.
He agreed with the contention of his adversaries and said so, and thus made a
better impression on his audience than he would have made otherwise. He
began:
I am here at your bidding. I need hardly tell you how very greatly I appreciate
this honour and the confidence and affection that accompanied it. And yet, I
feel a little unhappy that I should have been chosen once again as Congress
President. I agree entirely with those friends and comrades of ours who have
objected to the high offices of Prime Minister and Congress President being
held by one and the same person. I tried hard that this should not occur and
pleaded with my comrades in the Congress to make some other choice, but
their insistence and the circumstances were against me in this matter. I felt
that for me to go on saying “No”, in spite of the advice of so many of my
valued colleagues, would not be proper.
(Jawaharlal Nehru: India’s Independence and Social Revolution, Vikas, 1984,
p.86)
A lot depends on the ingenuity and personality of the speaker. It is, however,
important that the speaker creates a favourable impression about himself and
arouses interest.
Narration of Facts
The narration of facts is generally more important in judicial discourses like
those delivered in a court of law. It may not, however, be ruled out even in
other fields like physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, or commerce.
The narrative, however, must always be brief, clear, and convincing.
Proposition or Exposition
The issue under discussion, the problem, or the major concern of the speech
must be stated briefly and clearly.
Div
The topic has to be divided into the major concerns of the oration. is
generally agreed that there should not be more than three major concerns or
issues for discussion in one discourse.
The greater the number of issues, the greater will be the chances of
confusion.
The divisions will help the listener or reader to keep track of the speaker’s or
writer’s progress in the course of this discourse.
Rhetorical Devices
11
Proof or Confirmation
This is the core of the speech. The orator marshals all the facts in his/her
favour — evidence of witnesses, indirect evidence, arguments on the basis of
probability etc.
Classical rhetoricians advocated that these be arranged in a military formation,
strong ones coming test, the weak ones sheltered in the middle, and the most
powerful ones defending the rear. Hugh Blair, an eighteenth-century English
rhetorician, suggested that arguments should advance towards a climax.
Refutation
Here the orator answers the arguments made or likely to be made against him.
He may also refute the arguments of his adversary by exposing the latter’s
intentions and/or his character, or the verdict of others against him.
Conclusion
In the last part of his discourse the writer or speaker generally does three
things:
a) He sums up by enumerating the main points.
b) He impressively affirms or emphatically states his position or findings.
c) In a judicial ovation he appeals to the tender feelings of the judge and the
audience by arousing pity or indignation in them. He laments his ill luck
and goes on to show that he will be brave and patient in his adversity.
Cicero (106-43 B.C.), the Roman Consul, orator and writer, pointed out
that a good orator would not linger over this, portion of his speech because
‘a tear is quickly dried, especially when shed for the misfortunes of other’.
Check Your Progress 1
Now go back and notice how Pandit Nehru organizes his material in his speech
on the occasion of Gandhiji’s death. Attempt a similar analysis of the
organization in the extract from Churchill’s speech.
An Introduction to Rhetoric
12
Let’s now try to compare the styles of the two passages given in Exercise 1.
— one by Munro Fox and the other by Winston Churchill.
Fox’s passage is a matter-of-fact narrative, giving an account of an experiment
performed with birds. The three steps in the experiment are described in the
sequence in which they occurred. The past tense and the passive voice are
used throughout except in the last statement. This is typical of scientific
reporting. The passage is a clear exposition of the procedure adopted in the
experiment, and no ornamental devices have been adopted. The style is
appropriate for the subject of the discourse. Churchill’s speech is in a different
style altogether. The aim is obviously not to give information but to appeal to
the emotions of his countrymen.
Its rhetorical effect is to a large extent due to the following devices:
i) The use of words and expressions that have the effect of what we called
‘elevation of style’ in the previous unit.
For example
Ordeal; grievous; monstrous tyranny:
dark lamentable catalogue of human crime; the urge and impulse of the ages;
our cause will not be suffered to fail.
ii) The repetition f words, and parts of sentences, e.g., We have before us. ..
We have before us….
many, many……..
with all our might and with all the strength…..
you ask, what is our policy?
….you ask. what is our aim?
Victory — Victor….., Victory
Victory….; for without victory……..
there is no survival…….
no survival for the British
Empire; no survival for the ……..
iii) A direct style using pronouns of the first person and the second person
Which establish close relationship between the speaker and the audience, e.g.,
Rhetorical Devices
13
We have ……… We have …….
You ask what is our policy?
I will say all our might…the strength that God can give us.
You ask, what is
our aim?
I can answer
……
I take up my
task ……..
I feel sure … our cause …….
I feel entitled….
I say…. let us go forward ……..
our united strength
Check Your Progress 2
Compare the styles of the speeches of Pandit Nehru and Winston
Churchill given in the Unit.
13.4 ELEVATION OF STYLE
Another feature you will notice in rhetorical speeches, or oratory, and in
rhetorical writings is what we may call an ‘elevation of style’. Now,
what does that mean? It means that the style has a kind of grandeur or
dignity about it that raises it above the level of ordinary speech or
writing. It was this that enabled you to distinguish between the passages
from the speeches
An Introduction to Rhetoric
14
of Nehru and Churchill and the passage from Fox. Go back to Churchill’s
speech and give examples of this ‘elevated’ style.
You probably included the following expressions in your list:
‘an ordeal of the most grievous kind’,
‘many long months of struggle and suffering’,
‘with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us,’ ‘a
monstrous tyranny’,
‘the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime’, ‘the urge
and impulse of the ages’,
‘our cause will not be suffered to fail’.
13.5 ORGANIZATION
Another feature you would have noticed in rhetorical speeches is the way
they are organized. There is usually an introductory part, and at the end
there is a summing up or conclusion. You will notice it even in the extracts
we have given in Section 26.2 from two famous speeches.
Take Nehru’s speech. It begins with a statement about the occasion of the
speech. The sad news is communicated to the nation and the loss is
emphasized. There is, however, the consolation that Gandhiji will continue
to guide humanity even after his death because he represented eternal truths.
The last sentence of the second paragraph sums up the lasting contribution
Gandhiji made to human thought, ethics, and moral conduct.
Rhetorical Devices
15
13.6 LET US SUM UP
Rhetoric refers to persuasive or impressive speech or writing. We
have given examples of rhetoric in two famous speeches and shown
how they differ from ordinary prose. Some of the features we have
noticed in these speeches are:
an appeal to emotions,
elevation of style, and
effective organization.
13.7 KEY WORDS
eIe’vation: grandeur
e’motions: feelings
organi’zation: systematic arrangement
‘rhetoric: the art of using words impressively in speech and writing
style: manner of writing or speaking
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress Exercise 1
The first passage is not rhetorical, while the second is. In the first passage,
Fox merely states the facts:
Seven swallows were caught in Germany, marked with a dye, and taken by
air to Croydon near London.
In the second passage Churchill is trying to persuade his British listeners
during the Second World War (1939-1945) to fight the dictators in Europe
unitedly. In order to do so, he uses language in a special way, just as Pandit
Nehru did on a very different occasion.
Exercise 2
An Introduction to Rhetoric
16
UNIT 14 STRUCTURE AND STYLE
Structure
14.0 Objectives
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Structure
14.2.1 Introduction
14.2.2 Narration of Facts
14.2.3 Proposition or Exposition
14.2.4 Division of the Topic
14.2.5 Proof or Confirmation
14.2.6 Refutation
14.2.7 Conclusion
14.3 Style
Purity; clarity; decorum; ornament
14.4 Strategies for Communication
14.5 Signals of communication – Some Examples of Exceptions
14.6 Let Us Sum Up
14.7 Key Words
Answers
14.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit, we shall help you examine
• the structure, and
• the style
of rhetorical speeches and writings.
14.1 INTRODUCTION
In the last unit, we introduced you to the subject of rhetoric. In this unit,
we shall discuss two things: the organization of a rhetorical text in a
proper sequence and the language of this kind of discourse. We shall make
a passing reference to ‘gestures’ and ‘body language’ as well. That is
mainly because an orator conveys his message not only through his words
but also through gestures and postures. Gestures and postures are thus a
part of the style of the speaker. We cannot, however, discuss this subject
in any great detail because that would distract us from a discussion of the
language which is going to be the focus of our discussion.
14.2 STRUCTURE
Any good speech, or a piece of writing, has to be properly organized; that is,
it must have a structure. You know from your past experience that lack of
organization leads to confusion, and the speech or writing fails to make an
impression on the listeners or the readers. A simple plan can be as follows:
i) Introduction
ii) Statement of the case
iii) Proof, in support of the case
iv) Conclusion
17
Rhetorical Devices Now let us look at a slightly expanded version of the above plan.
i) Introduction
ii) Narration
iii) Proposition or exposition
iv) Division of the topic
v) Proof or Confirmation
vi) Refutation
vii) Conclusion
Let’s see what these sections mean.
14.2.1 Introduction
Here, the speaker or writer draws the attention and arouses the interest of
his audience with a promise of important things to follow. He addresses
the listeners or the readers directly, drawing them into a personal
relationship with him:
For example, Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar begins
his speech as follows:
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears”
Nehru began his presidential address at the 50th session of the Indian
National Congress at Faizpur in December 1930 as follows:
‘Comrades, eight and a half months ago I addressed you from this
tribune and now, at your bidding, I am here again’.
Such are the tactics of a direct opening. If, however, the orator feels he/s
has to overcome any resistance from his audience or the nature of his
case puts him/her at a disadvantage, he/s may take recourse to an indirect
opening. That is, he/s may begin with an anecdote, a fable, or a jest. He/s
may also pick a remark of his adversary and turn it to ridicule. Nehru in
his speech at Hyderabad in 1953, however, adopted no such strategy. He
agreed with the contention of his adversaries and said so, and thus made
a better impression on his audience than he would have made otherwise.
He began:
I am here at your bidding. I need hardly tell you how very greatly I
appreciate this honour and the confidence and affection that
accompanied it. And yet, I feel a little unhappy that I should have been
chosen once again as Congress President. I agree entirely with those
friends and comrades of ours who have objected to the high offices of
Prime Minister and Congress President being held by one and the same
person. I tried hard that this should not occur and pleaded with my
comrades in the Congress to make some other choice, but their insistence
and the circumstances were against me in this matter. I felt that for me to
go on saying “No”, in spite of the advice of so many of my valued
colleagues, would not be proper.
(Jawaharlal Nehru: India’s Independence and Social Revolution, Vikas,
1984, p.86)
18
Structure and Style
A lot depends on the ingenuity and personality of the speaker. It is, however,
important that the speaker creates a favourable impression about himself and
arouses interest.
14.2.2 Narration of Facts
The narration of facts is generally more important in judicial discourses like
those delivered in a court of law. It may not, however, be ruled out even in
other fields like physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, or commerce.
The narrative, however, must always be brief, clear, and convincing.
14.2.3 Proposition or Exposition
The issue under discussion, the problem, or the major concern of the speech
must be stated briefly and clearly.
14.2.4 Division of the Topic
The topic has to be divided into the major concerns of the oration. It is
generally agreed that there should not be more than three major concerns or
issues for discussion in one discourse. The greater the number of issues, the
greater will be the chances of confusion.
The divisions will help the listener or reader to keep track of speaker’s or
writer’s progress in the course of the discourse.
14.2.5 Proof or Confirmation
This is the core of the speech. The orator marshals all the facts in his favour
— evidence of witnesses, indirect evidence, arguments on the basis of
probability etc.
Classical rhetoricians advocated that these be arranged in a military formation,
strong ones coming test, the weak ones sheltered in the middle, and the most
powerful ones defending the rear. Hugh Blair, an eighteenth-century English
rhetorician, suggested that arguments should advance towards a climax.
14.2.6 Refutation
Here the orator answers the arguments made or likely to be made against him.
He may also refute the arguments of his adversary by exposing the latter’s
intentions and/or his character, or the verdict of others against him.
14.2.7 Conclusion
In the last part of his discourse the writer or speaker generally does three
things:
a. He sums up by enumerating the main points.
b. He impressively affirms or emphatically states his position or findings.
c. In a judicial ovation he appeals to the tender feelings of the judge and the
19
audience by arousing pity or indignation in them. He laments his ill luck and
goes on to show that he will be brave and patient in his adversity. Cicero (106-
43 B.C.), the Roman Consul, orator and writer, pointed out that a good orator
would not linger over this, portion of his speech because ‘a tear is quickly
dried, especially when shed for the misfortunes of other‟.
Check Your Progress 1
Read the section and organise again. Notice how Pandit Nehru organizes his
material in his speech on the occasion of Gandhiji’s death. Attempt a similar
analysis of the organization in the extract from Churchill’s speech.
14.3 STYLE
In the previous section, we discussed the structure of a discourse. You will
appreciate that although the structure contributes to clear and effective
presentation, it is not sufficient in itself. The style in which the matter is
presented is also important.
Style may be simply defined the manner in which things are said/written. The
choices that a speaker/writer makes as far as elements of language are
concerned – words, phrases, clauses, sentence-types, etc. — constitute the
person’s style or manner of expression. There has always been a debate
between those who believe that style and content (‘manner and matter’ or
‘expression and content’) are inseparable and others who believe the two to be
not only separable, but also separately describable. However, now more and
more scholars tend to agree that language performs several functions and that,
depending on the particular function (use/effect) one has in mind, one
manipulates the elements of language. This manipulation of language by a
speaker/orator/writer constitutes his/her style.
Rhetorical Devices
20
There is an ancient Indian saying according to which those who know how
to speak have no quarrels, just as those who know how to eat have no
illness. Ancient Indian grammarians thought that a knowledge of grammar
gave a person mastery over words or padasiddhi, which led to arthavichara
or enquiry into meaning, which produced philosophical knowledge or
tatvajnana, which culminated in mokshasadhana or self-realization. A
letter (of the alphabet) was called akshar –indestructible. Bhartrihari, in his
Vakyapadiya talks about akshara lakshmi, the letter that is the veritable
goddess of peace, plenty and prosperity.
In the western tradition, scholars have always put a great deal of emphasis
on decorum (propriety or appropriateness) as the chief element of style.
The other important elements that, directly or indirectly, contribute to
decorum, are purity, clarity and ornament. These elements of style may be
represented as follows:
Decorum
Purity
Let’s discuss them briefly.
Decorum refers to the quality of appropriateness. In daily life we always
change our tone of voice, our gestures, not to speak of the words, to fit an
occasion and the person we are talking to. So, we do not make jokes at a
solemn occasion or make a serious speech in our sitting room at home.
The universal rule, said Cicero, ‘in oratory as in life, is to consider
propriety’.
In the west, there is a long tradition of the study of oral delivery. Francis
Bacon (1561-1626), the English philosopher, statesman and essayist,
suggested a scientific approach to the study of gestures. The tradition has
not died to this day. The American linguist Edward T. Hall studies
physical, non-verbal expressions of ideas, which he calls silent language.
Clarity helps intelligibility. Any confusion in expression leads to
vagueness and ambiguity and a speaker or writer must avoid this at all
costs.
Purity refers to the language. The language of discourse should be correct.
It should not have errors of grammar or usage.
Ornament provides decoration. It may sometimes give us an impression of
superficiality, but neither in life nor in discourse need it always be so. The figures
Structure and Style
21
of speech, that is, the use of words in ways other than their ordinary meanings
to make word pictures, or comparisons, discussed already in Units, are in a
way counterpart of postures in ‘silent language’. Meaning is created and
communication made possible, not only because words have well-defined
meanings like the traffic- signs, but also because words have varying shades
of meanings that they express only in a discourse in combination with other
words. When words are used in discourse, they are at times used in a different
way and thus arise figures of speech, like metaphor, simile, personification,
and hyperbole, which give force and variety to one’s expression.
Such figures of speech constitute ornament or adornment.
Let’s now try to compare the styles of the two passages— one by Munro Fox
and the other by Winston Churchill.
Fox’s passage is a matter-of-fact narrative, giving an account of an experiment
performed with birds. The three steps in the experiment are described in the
sequence in which they occurred. The past tense and the passive voice are used
throughout except in the last statement. This is typical of scientific reporting. The
passage is a clear exposition of the procedure adopted in the experiment, and no
ornamental devices have been adopted. The style is appropriate for the subject of
the discourse. Churchill’s speech is in a different style altogether. The aim is
obviously not to give information but to appeal to the emotions of his
countrymen.
Its rhetorical effect is, to a large extent, due to the following devices:
i) The use of words and expressions that have the effect of what we
called ‘elevation of style’ in the previous unit. For example,
ordeal; grievous; monstrous tyranny:
dark lamentable catalogue of human crime; the urge
and impulse of the ages;
our cause will not be suffered to fail.
ii) The repetition of words, and parts of sentences, e.g., We
have before us. …
We have before us. …
many, many…………
with all our might and with all the strength. . ..
you ask, what is our policy?
. …you ask, what is our aim
Victory — Victor, Victory
Victory….; for without victory……..
there is no survival…….
no survival for the British Empire; no survival for the ……..
iii) A direct style using pronouns of the first person and the second person,
which establish close relationship between the speaker and the audience, e.g.,
We have ……… We have …….
You ask what is our policy?
Rhetorical Devices
22
I will say all our might…the strength that God can give us.
You ask, what is our aim?
I can answer ……
I take up my task ……..
I feel sure … our cause …….
I feel entitled….
I say…. let us go forward ……..
our united strength
Check Your Progress 2
Compare the styles of the speeches of Pandit Nehru and Winston Churchill.
14.4STRATEGIES FOR COMMUNICATION
In the above example, you have seen how tentative and indirect the man was
while making a request. This was especially so because he was addressing a
total stranger. However, one can be spontaneous without being impolite when
we meet our close friends and acquaintances. Consider the following
examples:
a. Read the following conversation between two acquaintances, who are
meeting after a long time. Notice how the language is used to express the
informal relationship between the two men:
“Why, Newman—I’ll be blowed! Where in the world—I declare—who would have
thought? You know you have changed.”
Structure and Style
23
“You haven’t,” said
Newman.
“Not for the better, no doubt. When did you get here?”
“Three days ago.”
“Why didn’t you let me know?” “I had no idea you were here.”
“I have been here these six years.”
“It must be eight or nine since we met.”
“Something of that sort when we were very young.”
“It was in St. Louis, during the war. You were in the army.” “Oh no,
not I. But you were.”
“I believe I was.”
“You came out all right?”
“I came out with my legs and arms—and with satisfaction. All that
seems very far away.”
“And how long have you been in Europe?”
“Seventeen days.”
“First time?”
“Yes, very much so.”
(Henry James: The American)
Notice the use of markers, like „I’ll be blowed‟, „I declare‟, „I believe I
was‟, „very much so‟, etc. We use such phrases to add more colour,
emphasis and variety to the language. Try removing these expressions and
reconstruct the dialogue without them. You will realize, we are sure, that
the conversation sounds very dull and mechanical.
Thus, we need discourse markers to make our communication appear
more stylish and lively.
Check Your Progress 3
Can you make a list of a few discourse markers? Use them in a short
dialogue with your friend.
a. Read the following piece of short exchange between a boy and a
girl:
“Have to go,” she jumped up. “Shall we walk back?” “Yeah. Separately,
though right?” I was catching on fast.
Rhetorical Devices
24
“Yes, sorry please,” she said in a mock-baby tone that girls lapse into at the
slightest provocation.
(Chetan Bhagat: Five Point Someone. What Not to do at IIT)
Did you notice the use of the expression „sorry please’ here? Of course, it is
an example of very Indian English. A native speaker of English would never
combine the two: sorry and please. However, Indian variety of English is fast
catching up, and is quite intelligible to the rest of the world.
In this section, you should focus on some of the strategies of communication
where you can be informal without sounding rude. You have also seen how
discourse markers can add to the flavour of language. So, remember that there
are always different degrees of politeness.
_____________________________________________________________
14.5SIGNALS OF COMMUNICATION—SOME
EXAMPLES OF EXCEPTIONS
__________________________________________________________________________
So far, you have been reading about grammatical, accurate language, where
devices, such as discourse markers, signals of politeness and question tags
help in adding colour to your speech. When you add the right amount of
accuracy and appropriateness to it, then you can conclude that your
communication is polite and intelligent enough. However, there are examples,
where in spite of all these features conversation remains strange and
unintelligible. Read the following dialogue and notice how peculiar it sounds:
a. ESTRAGON: Could I be of any help?
POZZO: If you asked me perhaps. ESTRAGON: What?
POZZO: If you asked me to sit down. ESTRAGON: Would that be a help?
POZZO: I fancy so.
ESTRAGON: Here we go. Be seated sir, I beg of you.
POZZO: No, no, I wouldn’t think of it! {Pause. Aside.) Ask me again.
ESTRAGON: Come, come, take a seat, I beseech you, you’ll get
pneumonia. (Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot)
The conversation as you might have noticed does not make much sense.
There is no logical sequence of thought-process here. Such dialogue is called
non-sequitor, or something which does not follow. One of the major rules of
communication, therefore, which you must follow is that your speech should
be logically linked and coherent.
Structure and Style
25
Activity 2
Can you imagine and rewrite the entire situation given above in a more
logical order? Do not hesitate to use your own words. Try to be as creative as
possible.
a. Read the dialogue between an army doctor and an army captain.
Notice how in spite of all the conventions of communication, the
conversation appears so unconventional. The entire idea, of course, is to
satirize the system in army:
‘Of course, they’re crazy, ‘ Doc Daneeka replied. ‟l just told you they’re
crazy, didn’t I? And you can’t let crazy people decide whether you’re
crazy or not, can you? ‘
Yossarian looked at him soberly and tried another approach. ‘Is Orr
Crazy”?
‘‘He sure is”, Doc Daneeka said.
‘Can you ground him? ‘
‘I sure can. But first he has to ask me to. That’s part of the rule. ‘
‘Then why doesn’t he ask you to? ‘
‘Because he’s crazy,’ Doc Daneeka said, ‘He has to be crazy to keep
flying combat missions after all the close calls he’s had. Sure, I can
ground Orr. But first he has to ask me to. ‘
‟That’s all he has to do to be grounded?’
‘That’s all. Let him ask me.’
‘And then you can ground him?’ Yossarian asked him.
‘No. Then I can’t ground him.‟
‘You mean there’s a catch? ‘
‘Sure, there’s a catch,’ Doc Daneeka replied. ‘Catch-22’. Anyone who
wants to get out of combat duty isn’t really crazy.’
Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this
clause of Catch- 22 and let out a respectful whistle.
‘That’s some catch, that Catch-22,’ he observed.
‘It’s the best there is,’ Doc Daneeka agreed.
(Joseph Heller: Catch-22)
Rhetorical Devices
26
Check Your Progress 4
What are the conventional elements of communication in this dialogue? Is
the conversation polite enough.
14.6 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we have discussed two aspects of rhetorical speeches and writings
— structure and style.
14.7 KEY WORDS
’akshara: literally, that which does not decrease or get destroyed, the letter of
the alphabet syllable.
‘Akshar’1akshmi: literally, the wealth of letters; the letter is the veritable
goddess of peace, plenty and prosperity
‘artha’vichara: consideration/speculation about meaning
confir’mation: making firmer or stronger
de’corum: right and proper behaviour
’discourse (noun): a speech, a lecture or a treatise, on a subject
,expo’sition: explaining or making clear
‘moksha’sadbana: self-realization; attainment of salvation
nar’ration: telling of a story; giving an orderly account of events
‘ornament: that which is added for decoration
’pada’siddhi: mastery over words
,propo’sition: a statement or an assertion
refu’tation: proving somebody’s statements or opinions to be wrong or mistaken
‘structure: the way in which something is put together and organized
style: manner of writing or speaking
‘tatva’ jnana: literally, knowledge of the matter, philosophical
knowledge, fundamental understanding.
Structure and Style
27
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
Churchill begins by introducing the subject of his speech — the future
course of the war, which is going to be a severe test for his countrymen,
and the hardship and suffering it is going to cause. He then divides his
topic into two sections — (i) the policy and (ii) the aim, and presents his
arguments in support of the stated objectives. He concludes by expressing
his confidence and hope and making an appeal to his countrymen to fight
the war against the enemy with their united strength.
Check Your Progress 2
Pandit Nehru addresses the nation on an occasion of national
bereavement. His aim was to express the nation’s sorrow but also to point
out that Gandhiji would continue to guide us in the years to come because
he represented the eternal truths. The mood in the beginning is that of
sadness, but in the second paragraph it turns to hope because the light that
was Gandhiji will continue to illumine this country and the rest of the
world.
Churchill addresses the British people on an occasion of national
importance, but of a different type altogether. There was the threat of the
invasion of Britain by the Germans. So, he asks his people to rise in arms
against the enemy and gain victory over him. The mood in the beginning
is that of anxiety but soon changes to one of determination and
confidence.
The style of each of these speeches is appropriate to the occasion on
which it was made.
Rhetorical Devices
28
UNIT 15 USE OF REPETITION
Structure
15.0 Objectives
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Repetition as a Rhetorical Device
15.3 Various Patterns of Repetition
15.4 Abraham Lincoln: The Gettysberg Address
15.5 Definition of Requests, Offers and Invitations
15.5.1 Requests
15.5.2 Offers
15.5.3 Invitations
15.6 Alternative Forms for Requests, Offers and Invitations
15.6.1 Variant Forms with Modals
15.6.2 Tentative Equivalents of shall, may, can, will
15.7 Let Us Sum Up
15.8 Key Words
Answers
15.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit is designed to familiarize you with a common rhetorical device —
repetition – and the effects that this device can produce.
15.1 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we shall discuss the rhetorical device of repetition and the various
ways in which words, syntactic structures and expressions are repeated for
rhetorical effects.
15.2 REPETITION AS A RHETORICAL DEVICE
You may have noticed that even in ordinary everyday communication we say
certain things again and again when we wish to lay emphasis on them. For
instance, a mother may say to her child:
Kitty, you must get out of bed early. You must go to the toilet, wash your face,
and brush your teeth. You must come to the breakfast table on time. And, you
must be ready for your school bus at 8.
Notice the repetition of the grammatical structure ‘You must. . ..’ used by the
mother to emphasize certain things the daughter has to do. An important part of
one’s communication is through gestures and the quality, the loudness, and the
pitch of one’s voice, but the language patterns in the example given above also
convey the absolute necessity of doing certain things in time.
Apart from emphasis, we also repeat certain words, expressions or even
sentences to produce a pleasing effect. For instance, let us read these lines from a
nursery rhyme:
‘Polly, ‘put the, ‘kettle ‘on.
‘Polly, ‘put the ‘kettle ‘on,
‘Polly, ‘put the ‘kettle ‘on.
We’ll ‘all has ‘tea.
One of the functions of repetition here is the repetition of the rhythmic pattern, which
is a common feature in nursery rhymes.
Rhetorical Devices
29
In the case of a long speech, the listener usually finds it difficult to understand the Use of Repetition
main points if the speaker does not repeat the things which he considers more
important than the rest. In his speech on Mahatma Gandhi’s death, Pandit Nehru
repeated the word ’light’ seven times. ‘Light’ there almost stands for
Gandhi: ‘The light bas gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere.’
Darkness is the result of Gandhi’s death because the light has gone out. This use of
metaphor is part of the rhetorical devices in Nehru’s speech.
Now read the following passage from the speech made in the British Parliament by
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1731-1816), British dramatist and parliamentarian, on the
impeachment of Warren Hastings, the first British Governor-General of India.
In looking round for an object fit to beheld out to an oppressed people, and to the world
as example of national justice, we are forced to fix our eyes on Mr. Hastings. It is he, my
Lords, who has degraded our fame, and blasted our fortunes in the East. It is he who has
tyrannised with relentless severity over the, devoted natives of those regions. It is he who
must atone, as a victim, for the multiplied calamities he has produced.
Check Your Progress I
1 Which expression has been repeated a number of times by Sheridan?
2 What does Sheridan achieve by this repetition?
15.3 VARIOUS PATERNS OF REPETITION
As you read oratorical writings, you discover that orators use repetition in a variety of
ways. So do literary artists. Let us look at some of the examples given below:
Example I
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time.
(Shakespeare: Macbeth)
Example 2
It is the glory of the constitution under which we live, that no man can be punished
without guilt, and this guilt must be publicly demonstrated by a series of clear, legal,
30
manifest evidence, so that nothing dark, nothing oblique, nothing authoritative,
nothing insidious, shall work to the detriment of the subject.
(from R.B. Sheridan: ‘Summing up the Evidence on the Second Charge Against
Warren Hastings’).
In the two examples above, you will notice that the words ‘tomorrow’ and ‘and’
in Example I and the word ‘nothing’ in Example 2 have been repeated according
to a pattern, the word being repeated occurring alternately with some other word.
Example 3
And my poor fool is hang’d! No, no, no, life!
Never, never, never, never, never.
(Shakespeare: King Lear)
Example 4
My love is like a red rose.
(Burns)
Example 5
If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed
in my country, 1 never would lay down my never—never—never!
(William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (1708-1778) ‘On a Motion for an Address to the
Throne’, Nov. 18, 1777)
In the three examples given above, certain words — ‘never’ and ‘red’ — have
been repeated consecutively.
iii) You saw above that in a nursery rhyme whole lines could be repeated.
Such repetitions are in fact quite common in serious poetry as well,
especially religious poetry. T.S. Eliot’s’ ‘Ash Wednesday’ begins thus:
Example 6
Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Desiring this man’s gift and that man’s scope
I no longer strive to strive towards such things
Why should the aged eagle stretch its wings?
The repetition of almost a whole line three times makes it very effective and
emphasizes the poet’s resolve not to turn Amin towards worldly possessions and
power.
iv) At times you find that an author repeats the whole sentence but in an
inverse order. For instance,
I love my country. My country I love.
31
v) One may begin and end a sentence with the same word. In the sentence, ‘For
the light that shone…was no ordinary light’ (see section 36.2). Nehru has
used the word ‘light’ almost at the beginning and the end of the sentence.
vi) At times one may begin a sentence with a word with which a previous sentence
ends.
For instance;
Ramcharitmanas I greatly love. Love I also the novels of Lawrence.
Here by the repetition of words in the way it has been done, the differences between the
two literary works are also emphasized.
vii) There is an interesting type of repetition that generally goes unnoticed in
discourse and perhaps for that reason has greater effect. In Example 2
above, notice the use of the word ‘guilt’ twice. It has been repeated after
only two words. At times a clause may separate such words instead of just a
few words. In this particular example, the speaker wishes to emphasize the
point that he would recommend punishment for Hastings only if he was
found guilty on the basis of clear evidence.
Example 7
In Mahesh Dattani’s ‘Tara’, Dan says at the end of the play:
Someday, after I die, a stranger will find
this recording and play it. the voice is all
that will remain. No writing.
No masterpiece.
Only a voice — that once belonged to an object.
An object like other objects in a cosmos. . .
Note, how effectively the words “voice” and “objects” are recreated.
15.4 ABRAHAM LINCOLN: ‘THE GETTYSBERG
ADDRESS’
In U.S.A., there was a Civil War during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln (1861-
1865). One of the battles was fought at Gettysberg, where more than 40,000 people
were killed. Some of them were buried there and Lincoln came to speak.
(Nov. 19, 1863) at the dedication of the national cemetery to the memory of the
martyrs, the Gettysberg Address, as it is called, is given below.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new
nation conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created
equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether the nation, or any nation so
conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of
that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for
those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and
proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate we cannot consecrate we cannot hallow—
this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have
Use of Repetition
32
Rhetorical Devices consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note,
nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is
for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who
fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before that from these honoured dead we take increased
devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion hat we
here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vat hat this nation, under
God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
(From Tile Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln in 9 volumes, Rutgers University
Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1955, Vol. VII, p, 23)
Check Your Progress 2
1 Point out instances of repetition in the address given above and comment briefly
on them.
2 Comment in not more than 400 words on the structure and style of the address.
33
Use of Repetition
15.5 DEFINITION OF REQUESTS, OFFERS AND INVITATIONS
It may be in order to consider briefly what we mean by requests, offers and invitations.
15.5.1 Requests
Generally speaking, a request means one of two things:
i)
to ask people to do something (for example to wait, to stop making a
noise, to help, to run an errand for you, to pay attention, to repeat)
(1) Can you wait for a few minutes, please?
(2) Do you think you could stop making that noise?
(3) I wonder if you could help her.
(4) Remember to write, won’t you?
(5) Put your books back on the shelf.
(6) I want you to be a little more attentive.
(7) Give me a hand with this heavy typewriter.
(8) Sorry, can you say it again? (request for repetition)
(9) If you will just wait a moment.
(10) Would you mind being quiet?
(ii) to ask for something (objects, advice, instructions, information, permission)
(11) Can I have a glass of water?
(12) ‘Could I have the book back?
(13) May I have your attention, please?
(14) What shall I do? (request for advice)
(15) Where should I hang the picture? (request for instructions)
(16) Shall I send you a cheque? (request for instructions)
(17) May I ask how much it cost you? (request for information)
(18) Excuse me. Could you tell me the way to the station? (request for information)
(19) Could 1 use your telephone? (request for permission)
(20) Do you mind if I leave my books in your room? (request for permission)
(21) Would you mind if I left my books in your room? (request for permission)
(22) Is it all right if I open the window? (request for permission)
(23) Might I borrow your bicycle? (request for permission)
34
Rhetorical Devices
15.5.2 Offers
An ‘offer’ means:
i) to offer something to someone or to offer to do something
24. Would you like some tea?
25. I’ve finished the paper. Do you want to read it?
26. Would you like to work for us?
27. I’ve got lots of envelopes, if you’re short.
28. Would you like to telephone now?
29. I could write to him tomorrow.
30. Can I help you?
cf. Can you help me? (request)
31. May I help you?
32. Shall I help you?
33. I can meet him in the afternoon if you like.
34. I’ll buy you 2 more tickets.
35. Leave the seating arrangement to me.
36. Give me that heavy case.
37. Shall I carry it for you?
38. Can I get you a cup of coffee†
39. Would you like me to help you?
(ii) to offer to let someone do something:
40. You can drive if you like.
41. You could meet them if you wanted to.
42. Stay away if you like.
43. You needn’t do it if you are not interested.
15.5.3 Invitations
An invitation is to ask people
(i) to take part in something (to give a talk, to attend a meeting, to pay a visit).
(An invitation then is a type of request.)
44. If you are free on the 15th, shall we go to Jaipur?
45. Would you like a trip to Jaipur on the l5th?
46. How about going to Jaipur on the l5th?
47. We’re thinking of visiting Jaipur on the 15th.
48. Have you been to Jaipur? If you haven’t, you could come with us on the 15th.
49. How about coming to the play tonight?
50. Come and see us next time you’re in Delhi.
51. Do come in!
52. How would you like to spend the weekend with us?
(ii) to come to a party, meal etc., or to have something to eat and drink.
53. We were wondering if you’d like to come to the reception.
54. Why don’t you come and eat with us?
55. Would you like some tea and eats?
56. Have a samosa.
57. Try some of this pudding.
58. Will you have another cup of tea?
59. Won’t you have another cup of tea?
60. Do have another mango!
35
Although the examples of requests, offers and invitations in 15.5.1, 15.5.2
and 15.5.3, each cited in isolation, are given under separate headings, there
may be many occasions of use when the function has to be inferred from the
context. Consider the following example:
61. Would you like a cup of coffee?
Is 61 an invitation or an offer? If you return to 24, which is given under the
heading ‘offer’, you may see that 61 is an offer. The point to note is that,
depending on the context in which it is said, it can be either an invitation or an
offer.
62. You might type this for me, please.
Is 62 a command or a request? You will be able to answer the question if you
are given the necessary information about the context in which it is said. A
command or an order implies that the person giving the command has a right
to be obeyed because he is in a position of authority. If the speaker of 62 has
such a right, then 62 is a command; if he has no such right, then it is a
request. It is useful to remind yourself that a function is not always expressed
in a unique form.
The definitions of requests, offers and invitations given above are only intended
to help you understand these concepts. For example, the illustrative sentences
would suggest that in an offer there is a strong accent on ‘giving’ while in an
invitation it is on ‘participating’. Whether a particular occurrence of language is
doing the work of offering or inviting has to be determined from the context if
the language used does not reflect the function directly.
The examples in 15.5.1, 15.5.2 and 15.5.3 also point to the fact that requests,
offers and invitations can be made in a number of alternative forms. In the
section that follows we shall discuss the ways in which these forms are
produced.
15.6 ALTERNATIVE FORMS FOR REQUESTS,
OFFERS AND INVITATIONS
In doing such things with language as making a request, an offer and an
invitation, speakers use a number of different forms. For example, requests can
be made with ‘shall’, ‘may’, ‘can’, ‘will’ or with ‘should’, ‘might’, ‘could’ and
‘would’. They can be made without modals too. They can also vary from
statements to imperatives to interrogatives.
15.6.1 Variant Forms with Modals
Let us look at the variation in form with modals. We begin with ‘shall’. When the
speaker uses ‘shall’ with he in questions, and the result may be polite offers,
requests for advice, suggestions, he is motivated to consult his hearer; he lets the
hearer as it were impose the obligation on him (instead of the speaker imposing
the obligation on his hearer):
‘My God! Spencer, what shall we do?’ (request for advice) Shall we go out for a
walk?’ (suggestion)
Let’s go, shall we? (suggestion)
Shall I give you a hand with your shopping? (offer)
36
Rhetorical Devices
‘Shall’ in this sense cannot be replaced by ‘will’. It is also interesting to note that with
second and third person, it is the speaker who imposes the obligation and the result is
usually ‘orders’.
Nobody shall leave the room. (order)
You shall stay where you are. (order)
In other words, with I/We questions used as offers, suggestions and requests for
advice, only shall is possible. Furthermore, ‘shall’ in this sense of obligation is not to
be confused with ‘shall’ for the prediction of future:
A Shall we ever find the treasure?
or with ‘shall’ for a self-imposed obligation (threat or promise): B I/We shall
punish the guilty.
Don’t worry. I shall help.
‘Shall’ in A and B can be replaced by ‘will’.
Requests and offers can be made with may. May in one of its senses means
permission. In using the form with ‘may’, the speaker is asking as it were for his
hearer’s permission.
May I borrow your screwdriver? (request)
May I hold it for you? (offer)
In offers of help ‘can’ and ‘may’ are interchangeable: Can I hold it for you? (offer)
‘May’ can be replaced by ‘can’ in requests if the ‘request’ asks for the hearer’s
permission because ‘can’ in one of its senses also means ‘permission”.
Can I borrow your screwdriver? (request)
‘May’ however cannot replace ‘can’ in requests if the request with ’can’ is directed
at the ability of the hearer {can as ability vs can as permission):
Can you help me? (request)
*May you help me?
Requests and offers can also be made with ‘can’.
A Can I spend the night in your house? (request)
B Can I run down to the shop for you? (offer)
C Can you lend me some money? (request)
D I can write the letter next week if you like. (offer)
In A and B the request and the offer imply that the speaker is asking for the hearer’s
permission. As already noted, ‘can’ in this sense is interchangeable with ‘may’. In C,
the request is an appeal to the hearer’s ‘ability”, ‘may’ is not possible for ’can’ in this
sense. In D, the speaker making the offer takes recourse to ‘can’ meaning ‘opportunity’
but combines it with an appeal to the hearer’s pleasure (‘if you like’).
Requests and invitations in the question form with ‘will’ make use of the sense of
‘willingness’ in ‘will’, they are as it were enquiries about the hearer’s willingness:
Will you stick up the notice, please? (request)
Will you have another chance to shoot at the target? (invitation) Won’t you have
another chance to shoot at the target? (invitation) Remember to post the letter,
won’t you? (request)
Even orders can be dressed up with ‘will’ in this sense:
37
Will you mind your business! (angry order)
Hurry up, will you. (order)
An ‘offer’ does not lend itself to such an enquiry about the hearer’s willingness,
and so offers are not made with ‘will’ in the question form: Will can be used in
the statement form
I’ll go to the post office, if you like.
15.6.2 Tentative Equivalents of shall, may, can, will
Let us now consider ‘should’, ‘might’, ‘could’, ‘would’, which are tentative
equivalents of ‘shall’, ‘may’, ‘can’, ‘will’, in such functions as requests, offers
and invitations.
The tentative ‘should’ is not part of the structures for requests, offers and
invitations. Therefore
A Shall I lock up the bicycles? (offer)
has no tentative counterpart in B:
B *Should I lock up the bicycles?
The tentative ‘should’ can however be used with ‘like’ to express a
‘desire’ politely:
I should like them to help me.
It is commonly used when we are giving a slightly uncertain opinion or advice that
is when we are not completely confident of what we are saying:
I should say/think it’s unnecessary.
Why should anyone steal my umbrella?
I should say nothing.
If ‘should’ is not part of the structures for requests, offers and invitations,
‘might’ is infrequently used in requests and offers because it is very formal:
Might l borrow your screwdriver? (request) Might I hold it for you? (offer)
You might file them away, please. (request)
‘Could’ is used as a tentative equivalent of ‘can’ in requests both in questions and
statements, but in offers only in statements, to put them across more politely:
Could I spend the night in your house? Could you type this for me?
I could write the letter next week. You could type this for me.
Do you think you could stop throwing stones at the bird?
‘Would’ is a tentative alternative, usually politer, to ‘will’ in requests, offers
and invitations made in the question form:
Would you like a cup of tea?
Would you stick up the notice, please?
Would you have another chance to shoot at the target? Would you like me to buy
you the tickets?
Hurry up, would you.
Remember to post the letter, would you/wouldn’t you?
It is however not a politer alternative in statements of willingness, since it often
has conditional overtones:
38
Rhetorical Devices
I will help you.
1 would help you (if you asked for it).
I don’t suppose you could look after my house for a week, could you? If you would
wait for a minute.
I could telephone you tomorrow. I would telephone you tomorrow.
KEY WORDS
al’ternative: that may be used instead of another
e’quivalent (n.): that which has the same meaning
invi’tation: the act of asking somebody to take part in
something or to come to a party, a meal, etc.
‘modals: the verb forms can, could, may, might, shall, should,
will would, must ought to use to , need, and dare.
‘offer (n.): the act of holding out something to a person for acceptance or
refusal; an expression of willingness to do something or to let someone else
do something.
re’quest: a polite demand; asking people to do
something; asking for something
‘tentative: hesitant
‘variant: different
15.7 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we have discussed and illustrated the use of repetition as a device in
rhetoric.
15.8 KEY WORDS
’Civil ‘War: a war between two sides in the same country, e.g. in the U.S. 1861-65
’nursery rhyme: a poem or song for young children
’pattern: way in which something is arranged
,repe’tition: saying again
syn’tactic: related to the patterns of sentence building
39
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1. It is he…..
2. Sheridan is able to focus the attention of the audience on Warren Hastings,
who according to him was responsible for various oppressive acts against
the Indian people and should therefore be punished for the suffering he
had caused.
Check Your Progress 2
i. The repetition of ’we cannot…. …’ emphasizes the fact that the American
people could not do anything to make the ground sacred, as it had already
become a sacred place as a result of the sacrifice of the brave soldiers who
died there. Cannot is usually said as one word with the stress on the first
syllable. Lincoln says it as two separate words with the stress on not to
point out that it would be presumptuous on his part to declare the ground a
sacred place.
ii. The repetition of the word ‘here’ six times emphasizes the importance of
the ground on which they had met to honour the dead soldiers.
iii. ‘Of the people, by the people, for the people.’ The repetition in the last
sentence of the address emphasizes the important fact that their democratic
set-up placed all the power in the hands of the people and it would be used
for the welfare of the people.
Lincoln begins by referring to the establishment of the American republic 87
years ago and the two principles of liberty and equally on which it was based.
This introduction serves as the basis for whatever is said later. The Civil War was
fought to save the American nation from division on the issue of the abolition of
slavery and a number of soldiers gave their lives in the battle at Gettysberg.
The aim of the meeting at Gettysberg was to honour these martyrs and to declare
the place where they were buried a national memorial. But Lincoln goes on to
point out that the place had already become sacred as a result of the sacrifice of
these martyrs and there was nothing people could do to add to their glory. All
they could do was to dedicate themselves to the task for which the soldiers had
given their lives. They should therefore resolve to ensure that democracy based
on the will of the people and devoted to the service of the people would survive
in the world. This resolution is an effective conclusion to this powerful speech,
which is so short but has moved millions of people all over the world.
Style
A number of devices in this speech help to raise the style to the level of
rhetoric and make the speech powerful and effective.
Here are some:
i. The use of expressions like
‘four score and seven years ago’ for ’87 years ago’
‘Our fathers brought forth … . . .. a new nation’, conceived in liberty… a
new birth…’ (metaphor)
‘dedicate, consecrate, hallow’.
40
Rhetorical Devices
ii. Repetition
e.g.,
‘conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition…….
’any nation so conceived and dedicated….’
‘We have come to dedicate……..we cannot dedicate — we can not
consecrate — we cannot hallow it…….. The brave men……………haveconsecrated it…
‘It is for us……. to be dedicated…It is for us to
be. ……………………. dedicated’
‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’.
iii. Contrast
e.g.,
‘The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but
It all never forget what they did here’.
It is surprising how, even with the use of simple language the speaker is able to
make such a powerful impact on the listeners and the readers.
41
UNIT 16 USE OF QUESTIONS
Structure
16.0 Objectives
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Questions as a Rhetorical Device
16.3 Various Types of Questions
16.4 Sarojini Naidu: ‘The Battle of Freedom is Over’
16.5 Let Us Sum Up
16.6 Key Words
Answers
16.0 OBJECTIVES
In this unit we shall discuss the use and importance of questions in rhetoric and the
ways in which they make oratorical communication effective. We shall also help you
take note of the rhetorical devices used by Sarojini Naidu in a famous speech she
made.
16.1 INTRODUCTION
This unit deals with questions in rhetorical discourse.
Read it carefully and try to take note of the different
types of questions that are used in the speeches that you happen to read or listen to.
There is a passage for study at the end of this unit. The exercise on the passage is
based on a number of devices we have discussed in previous units. It is meant to be a
sort of revision exercise.
16.2 QUESTIONS AS A RHETORICAL DEVICE
An interrogative sentence can have a number of different functions and it may not
always ask for information. For example, if you say ‘Didn’t I tell you so?’, you may in
fact be making a statement: ‘I told you so’. Similarly, if someone says: ‘May I
congratulate you on your success in the B.A. examination?’, you will not say, ‘You
may’ in reply. You would rather say, ‘Thank you’, because the speaker in this case is
not asking for permission. He is in fact making a statement.
Now take another example. If your mother says to you, ‘Why don’t you listen to your
father?’, she is not asking for a reason. What she actually wants to say is that you
should pay attention to your father’s advice because it is in your own interest.
Art is often considered a reflection of life. So the way we speak in our daily life is
sure to be reflected in art. Do you recall W.H. Davies’s poem, Leisure? The opening
lines,
What is this life if full of care
We have no time to stand and stare
express, as it were the theme of the poem; the absence of leisure in modern life. The
poet makes it more powerful by asking a question at the outset, which is more
42
effective than a statement like, ’There is very little leisure in modern life and we
have no time to stand and stare at the world around us.’ In previous units, we
quoted the opening lines of Eliot’s poem, Ash Wednesday, a kind of religious and
confessional poem. The sixth line is a question:
Why should the aged eagle stretch its wings?
Here the poet compares himself to an aged eagle. An eagle stretches its wings in
order to fly when it wishes to hunt for its prey. It stretches its wings in order to
collect material for the nest in which it can lay its eggs. The whole image of the
aged eagle not wishing to stretch its wings, metaphorically speaking, refers to
the poet himself. It may also stand for all those who wish to turn away from the
strife of life towards God. In this sense the aged eagle is a symbol.
Here we are interested in another feature in this line: its interrogative form. The poet
could have conveyed his meaning even with a plain statement like ‘The aged eagle
need not stretch its wings’. The powerful effect that Eliot’s line would have been
lost in that case.
When you read oratorical writings, you often find that the speaker asks questions
rather freely. Let’s read the passage below from Pitt the Elder’s speech on the
American Revolution, in the British Parliament.
What makes ambition virtue? The sense of honour. But is the sense of honour
consistent with a spirit of plunder, or, the practice of murder? Can it flow
from mercenary motives, or can it prompt to cruel deeds? Besides these
murderers and plunderers, let me ask our ministers, ‘What other allies have
they acquired? What other powers have they associated to their cause? Have
they entered into alliance with the king of the gipsies?’ Nothing, my
Lords, is too low or too ludicrous to be consistent with their counsels.
(William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (1708-1778), On a Motion for an Address to
the Throne. Nov. 18, 1777)
You will notice the large number of questions asked by the speaker in a short section
of his speech, something that one does not ordinarily find in everyday discourse. The
speaker here levels a series of allegations against his countrymen — to be more precise,
against the government of the day that they allowed the British armed forces
to get corrupted in America by robbing, plundering and murdering the people there.
These charges gain much more force when put in the interrogative form.
A classic example of rhetorical questions is the impassioned speech of Shylock,
the Jew merchant in The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare. Notice how one
question follows fast on the heel of another till an overwhelming case is built by
Shylock.
“Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses,
affections, passions, fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject
to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same
summer and winter, as a Christian is? If you pick us, do we not bleed? If you
tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die…? ”
Check Your Progress 1
Give a short list of the various charges that Pitt brings against the British troops in
America.
43
16.3 VARIOUS TYPES OF QUESTIONS
1 Let us start with the questions in Churchill’s speech in the British
Parliament. There are two questions in only one paragraph. They are:
i) ‘You ask, what is our policy? I will say……’
ii) ‘You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory ……’
In both cases you find that Churchill asks a question and then goes on
to answer it.
2 There can be another situation in which the orator asks a question but
does not expect a reply. The reply, however, often audibly, is given by
the audience. Such questions are called rhetorical questions. Read the
passage below:
You will be surprised to hear that the floods have caused havoc
in Mokama and Barahiya. The dam and the canal promised long
ago have not been built to this day. The result is annual floods.
Animals die, men and women take shelter on the roads and are
there often bitten by snakes. Relief is slow to reach them. How
long, sirs, can people live without food? A month has now passed
since the emergency arose, and doctors are nowhere around. The
people of Mokama and Barahiya are left to the mercy of nature.
There is just one question in the passage above. The speaker is trying to
give a list of the problems of the people of Mokama and Barahiya, which
possibly are flood-prone areas. He complains that even after a month the
government hasn’t started any relief work in the area. Even food, without
which people cannot live long, has not been sent. This matter he presents
in the form of a question. It is obvious that this fact stands out as the most
important grievance. He does not supply an answer in this case but
certainly expects his listeners to participate in the discourse by
murmuring ‘not long’ or ‘what a shame!’ or some such utterance. You will
agree that such a device gives the speech the power that it will not have if
only a list of grievances is read out in the assembly.
3 Let us go back to Pitt’s speech that you read before. If you read it
carefully, you find that the first question, ‘What makes ambition virtue?’
is answered by the speaker himself and is an example of the first type of
question we have discussed above.
Use of Questions
44
After that follow four questions asked one after another. These are the
charges that Chatham brings against the British troops in America. He asks if
acts such as these can be considered honourable and virtuous. By putting the
list of charges in the form of a succession of questions the speaker brings
them into sharper focus than he could have done in any other way. This is a
third way of asking questions in a speech.
4 There is a fourth variety, which is rather uncommon. Questions can be asked
in a spirit of amazement or bewilderment. Here is the opening of Cicero’s
speech against Catilina in the Roman Senate.
In the name of heaven, Catilina, how long do you propose to exploit
our patience? Do you really suppose that your lunatic activities are
going to escape our retaliation for evermore? Are there no limits to
this audacious, uncontrollable swaggering?
(From Selected Political Speeches of Cicero translated by Michael
Grant, Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1986, p. 76.)
The questions here are a very powerful device but they have to be used with
discretion.
16.4 SAROJINI NAIDU: ‘THE BATTLE OF FREEDOM IS
OVER’
Let us now read this speech by Sarojini Naidu (1879-1945), broadcasted on All India
Radio on 15 August, 1947, i.e. on the occasion of our attainment of independence.
She was a leading poet and freedom fighter.
1 Oh, world of free nations, on this day of our freedom, we greet you. Oh,
world of nations not yet free, on the day of our freedom we pray for your
freedom in the future.
2 Ours has been an epic struggle, covering many years and costing many lives.
It has been a struggle, a dramatic struggle. It has been a struggle of heroes
chiefly anonymous in their millions. It has been a struggle of women
transformed into strength and power like the Kali, the goddess of strength
they worship. It has been a struggle of youth suddenly transfigured into
power itself, sacrifice and ideals. It has been a struggle of young men and
old men, of rich and poor, the literate, the illiterate, the stricken, the outcast,
the leper and the saint. It has been the only revolution in the whole history of
the world that has been without bloodshed; and for this we thank one man,
one tiny person, who on this day that he has brought to us, is somewhere
remote in a little far-off corner of India, wiping the tears of those who feel
themselves exiled from our midst. Mahatma Gandhi, our prophet of nonviolence, our general of victory, he taught us a new way of deliverance from
evil. He had no device of his banner except non-violence. He had no
weapons for his legions except self-sacrifice and suffering. We marched to
the tune of faith and hope and charity that forgives all sins of trespassers that
ruined our country through the ages. We have to thank him, our leader,
whose life is immutable, immortal, in the love of his countrymen, whose
days are imperishable, who has created a new civilization for the world to be
based, in the years to come, on his gospel of love, truth and non-violence.
3 But we wish to offer today our thanks to the men and women of all races who
have striven for India’s freedom, the scholars of Europe, who restored to us
our pride and ancient culture, to the antiquarian and the archaeologist who
45
has discovered for us our own ruined cities, to the missionaries of the
countries who chose the life of poverty in far-off villages and served the
poor and the needy and the desolate. To all we owe thanks.
4 Today I remember those abroad who were the pioneers of our dream of
freedom, men who are in exiles if they are alive, forgotten if they are dead,
who neither sought nor received recognition nor reward, only privation,
persecution and death. But all these today are immortal in our minds. We
thank the Englishmen who were our friends, though many Englishmen were
our enemies, not personal enemies but the victims themselves of a system of
iniquitous imperialism. But those Englishmen, who served us, became part
of our Indian history, part of our struggle for India’s independence. And it
seems somehow poetical, it seems somehow romantic, it seems somehow
logical that the great grandson of Queen Victoria, Louis Mountbatten,
should have, by grace and generosity, dissolved the empire that Disraeli
built for her. All of them we thank.
5 The battle of freedom is over. The struggle for peace begins. And my
country, my India, that has never excluded friend or foe from her hospitality,
my India that has taken knowledge from all over the world, that has offered
knowledge and wisdom to the world, once more will she stand in the
forefront of the world civilization, once more will she bring the message of
peace, once more will she carry her lamp into the darkness of strife and
struggle and hatred; and the nations of the world who are free, nations of the
world who are not free, we pledge you our comradeship, our fellowship, our
understanding, our love. Let us move together towards the great world
fellowship of which we dream. Let us work together for the peace that will
never be ended. Let us work for justice, for equity, for human rights but no
privileges, for human duties but no prerogatives, let us follow the citizens of
a great free world of which our ancestors dreamed and for which we have
striven. Men and women together, men and women of a common humanity,
let no religion, no community, no text, no tongues divide us, and for ours is a
common destiny. Ours is a common purpose. Ours is a common wish and
ambition to rebuild this broken world into the image of our heart’s desire.
And which country but India can take the lead in restoring the world to its
pristine glory! We who have been the dreamers of dreams, the seers of
visions, the creators of wisdom, the followers of renunciation, we, who have
given the heroes of the Independence struggle for India, we have run through
the whole gamut of the world’s adventures, of the world’s emotions. We are
the wise. We are reborn today of the crucible of our sufferings.
6 Nations of the world, I greet you in the name of India, my mother, my
mother whose home has a roof of snow, whose walls are of living seas,
whose doors are always open to you. Do you seek peace or wisdom, do you
seek love and understanding, come to us. Come to us in faith, come to us in
hope, come to us believing that is a gift of ours to give. Today, in the name
of India, I give for the whole world the freedom of this India that had never
died in the past that shall be indestructible in the future and shall lead the
world to ultimate peace.
Glossary: (The numbers refer to paragraphs in the speech.)
1.
transformed: changed completely in form, appearance or nature
transfigured: changed in outward form or appearance
stricken: showing the effect of trouble or anxiety
banner: 1. a flag, 2. a long piece of cloth on which a sign is painted, usually
carried between two poles.
legions: large number of soldiers
trespasser: 1. a person who goes on to privately-owned land
without permission, 2. a wrongdoer; a sinner.
Use of Questions
46
immutable: unchangeable
‘gospel: the set of principles that one acts upon or believes in
2. antiquarian: a person who studies, collects or sells objects that are very old
archaeologist: an expert in the study of ancient things, like buried remains of
ancient times
desolate: (of a person) lonely and sad
3. privation: a lack of the necessaries of life,
persecution: cruel treatment
iniquitous: very wicked or unjust
imperialism: the policy of extending a counts, empire and influence ‘Queen
Vic’toria: Queen of Britain from 1837 to 1901.
Louis Mountbatten: (1900 -1979) Viceroy of India from March to August
1947. After the partition of the country and transfer of power to India and
Pakistan he was the Governor General of India (August 1947-June 1948).
Disraeli: Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), novelist and twice Prime Minister
of Britain (l 868, 1874-80), who, in 1876 brought a bill in the House of
Commons, the British lower house of Parliament, conferring the title
‘Empress of India’ on Queen Victoria. It was passed in spite of much
opposition.
4. pledge (verb): give
equity: fairness
prerogative: special right or privilege
renunciation: the act of giving up one’s possessions
gamut: the whole range
crucible: a pot in which metals are melted; a severe test or trial.
Check Your Progress 2
What rhetorical devices do you notice in Sarojini Naidu’s speech’?
47
16.5 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, you have learnt about the use of questions as a rhetorical device. You have also
examined a famous speech by Sarojini Naidu and the devices that contribute to its powerful
effect.
16.6 KEY WORDS
discourse: a speech, lecture, etc.
House of Commons: the lower House of the British Parliament, elected directly by the
people.
rhetorical question: a question asked for the sake of effect. to impress people, no answer
being needed or expected.
ANSWERS
Check your Progress I
Pitt levels the following charges against the British troops in America:
a) They have acted in a dishonourable way.
b) Their motives were mercenary, that is, they wanted to make money.
Use of Questions
48
c) They have been cruel to the people in America.
d) They have plundered the land.
e) They have aligned themselves with native Indian chiefs.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Direct address:
Oh, world of free nations,
Oh, world of nations not yet free,
Nations of the world.
2) Repetition
i) an epic struggle ……. , a struggle, a dramatic struggle …… , a struggle of heroes. ……. , a struggle of women… …, a struggle of youth ………. ,
a struggle of young men and old men….
ii) my India, that has ……. , my India, that has ……
iii) once more will she stand. ……,
once more will she bring. ……. ,
once more will she carry ……
iv) the nations of the world who are free …….. ,
nations of the world who are not free. . . ….
v) Let us move together ……., Let us work together ……… ,
let us follow……..
vi) Men and women together,
men and women of a common humanity,
vii) let no religion, no community, no text, no tongue divide us.
viii) Ours is a common purpose,
Ours is a common wind and,
ix) We who have been the dreamers ………. ,
we, who have given the heroes. …….. ,
we have run through ……….. ,
We are the wise.
We are reborn…
x) my mother,
my mother whose home…
xi) Do you seek peace,
do you seek love,
xii) came to us.
Come to us in faith,
Come to us in hope,
Come to us…..
Rhetorical Devices
49
3) Use of metaphorical expressions like
an epic struggle
wiping the tears of those who. …
our general of victory
no device of his banner
no weapons for his legions
carry her lamp into the darkness of strife
reborn of the crucible of our sufferings.
4) contrast
e.g.,
The battle of freedom is over. The struggle for peace
begins for human rights but no privileges,
for human duties but no prerogatives, …
Use of Questions
50
UNIT 17 DOING THINGS WITH LANGUAGE:
POLITENESS
Structure
17.0 Objectives
17.1 Introduction
17.2 The Principle of Politeness
17.2.1 Don’t Impose on Your Hearer
17.2.2 Give Your Hearer Options
17.2.3 Make Your Hearer feel Good
17.3 Communicative Functions that Call for Politeness
17.4 Strategies for Politeness
17.4.1 Indirectness
17.4.2 Tentativeness
17.5 Signals of Politeness
17.6 Different Degrees of Politeness
17.7 Let Us Sum Up
17.8 Key Words
Answers
17.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will learn-
• Use of polite forms of English language
• and their use in communicative situations.
17.1 INTRODUCTION
If you take care of the grammar of a foreign/second language, you will learn to speak
and write the language correctly. In the previous units, we emphasized the fact that a
language also had to be used appropriately. Let us take a formal business situation to
illustrate our point. You wish to thank the manager of the bank who provided you
with necessary finance to help you buy a new machine for your factory. How should
you express your thanks? Will you begin your letter as follows:
(1) Thanks a lot. I don’t know what I’d have done without the loan from the
bank. or as follows:
(2) Many thanks for providing us with the loan for our new machine.
or as fol1ows:
(3) It was very good of you to provide us with a loan for our new machine.
Thank you indeed.
or as follows:
(4) I want to thank you very much for the loan you have provided us for our new
machine.
51
Rhetorical Devices or as follows:
(5) I write to thank you for giving us the loan for our new
machine. or as follows:
(6) We would like to thank you for providing us with the loan for our new
machine.
In examples 1 to 6 you have not faced any grammatical problem: the sentences are
all grammatically correct. You are faced with the question of appropriateness: which
of the six forms is the most appropriate for the expression of thanks in the given
situation? As you know that for using English appropriately we had to pay attention
to such considerations as formal and informal language and spoken and written
forms. If we look at sentences 1 to 6 from these considerations, we may say that 1 is
inappropriate because an expression like ‘thanks a lot’ is informal and does not
belong in a formal letter. But what about sentences 2 to 6? You can see that the
distinction between formal and informal English alone does not help you to
determine the most appropriate form in this communicative situation. Nor is the
distinction between spoken and written forms sufficiently helpful.
We need to pay attention to yet another aspect of language in use: politeness. When
we do such things in English as, for example, making requests, offers and
invitations, or thanking someone for something, we do them politely. It is socially
correct to be polite. Now, tentative modals such as ‘could’ and ‘would’ are markers of
politeness in many situations in English, if we return to sentences 2 to 6, we can say
that sentence 6 carries a politeness signal. It is also in order to print out that the
pronoun used in 6 is ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ because ‘we’ is a ‘formal’ version of ‘I’. If we
now return to the situation of the letter referred to above, the writer of it is expected
to say things formally and politely because the situation under consideration is
formal and the function such as giving thanks to someone calls for politeness.
Therefore sentence 6 is the most appropriate form in which you can express your
thanks in the situation of the letter under consideration.
The discussion above is not intended to suggest that there is only one form that is
sentence 6, in which we can express our thanks to the manager. What is emphasized
is this: language in a formal situation and for a function calling for politeness should
be both formal and polite. To be formal means to avoid informal expressions and to
be polite in this context means not to miss out linguistic signals of politeness
socially expected of you. So long as these considerations are observed, there can be
variations on 6 by varying the degrees of politeness and formality. Therefore,
instead of 6 you could also say:
(7) Please accept our grateful thanks for providing us with the loan for our new
machine.
(8) We would like to express our gratitude for providing us with the loan for
our new machine.
(9) The management would like to express its gratitude to you for providing it
with the loan for a new machine.
If you did not wish to sound very formal, you could use language that was less
formal but would still mark the function with politeness (for example by using the
word ‘grateful’):
(10) I am writing to say how grateful we are to you for giving us the loan for our
new machine.
52
In this unit we focus on politeness as an important requirement for using language
appropriately.
17.2 THE PRINCIPLE OF POLITENESS
It would seem that the principle of politeness revolves around three considerations:
(i) Don’t impose on your hearer.
(ii) Give your hearer options.
(iii) Make your hearer feel good (that is, be friendly).
We will discuss each briefly and illustrate it with examples.
17.2.1 Don’t Impose on Your Hearer
The first consideration has to do with minding one’s own business. So, we are not
expected to intrude on our hearer’s privacy. If we have to, we ask for his permission,
as it were, while doing so politeness is called for. In other words, requests for
information about one’s ‘private matters’ are signaled by the question form directed at
asking for the hearer’s permission:
(11) May I ask what this cricket bat cost you?
(12) What did you pay for it, if I may ask?
No politeness marking in this form is required if the information asked for relates to
matters that are not private to the hearer:
(13) May I ask where Mool Chand hospital is?
The intended request in 13 can however be put across politely in other ways. For
example:
(14) Can you tell me where Mool Chand Hospital is?
(15) Would you mind telling me where Mool Chand hospital is?
Money matters and family affairs, for example, are treated as private by members of
British society. If we do such a thing with language as asking someone for
information in these matters, we signal politeness by asking their permission:
(16) May I ask what your eldest son is doing now?
Similarly, ‘unmentionables’ (e.g. defecation) or ‘distressing facts’ (e.g. sudden death)
are put across politely. The strategy for politeness in these matters involves avoiding
using the ‘unmentionable’ or ‘unpleasant’ word; it is tactful to use some
technical/formal or euphemistic term:
(17) The patient was delirious and passed water on his mattress. (cf. urinated)
(I 8) The President was assassinated. (cf. murdered)
(19) His father passed away yesterday. (cf. died)
17.2.2 Give Your Hearer Options
The second consideration, that is giving options to your hearer, is closely related to
the first one of non-imposition. Giving options to the hearer involves making him
feel that you are not imposing 3 our will on him. The hearer is given the choice, as it
were, to make his own decisions. Compare, for example, 20 with 21:
Doing Things with
Languages: Politeness
53
Rhetorical Devices (20) Lend me your bicycle.
(21) Can I borrow your bicycle?
In 2l the hearer has been given a fairly obvious option to decide whether to lend the
bicycle or not. Not only is 21 polite but it is also appropriate; in doing such a thing as
making a request with English, it is socially appropriate to be polite. The need to give
options will also explain why such functions as making requests, offers, invitations
and giving advice are put across in the question form or in the conditional form or
with the help of non-committal words like ‘wonder’ and ’mind’. For example:
(22) Can you wait for a moment?
(23) If you will wait for a moment.
(24) I wonder if you could wait for a moment.
To express a particular function indirectly is also to give options to your hearer: You
let him, as it were, decide what inference to draw. And if you give options, you are
polite. Therefore, the speakers of English can also take recourse to indirect
expressions when they have to do things with language politely:
(25) I was wondering if you could lend me your bicycle.
Consider 26 in which the speaker is so indirect that he hardly seems to refer to the
intended communicative function:
(26) It is very hot in this room.
Instead of saying directly ‘Open the windows’ or somewhat indirectly “Can you open
the windows?”, the boss, on the face of it, has made an observation on the state of the
room in the example above in 26. The person in charge of cleaning and airing the
rooms draws the conclusion that the windows should be opened: it is his conclusion
as it were and not an order from the boss. In the context above, 26 is therefore, a very
polite form of asking the employee to do what he forgot to do although it was his job
to do it.
17.2.3 Make Your Hearer Feel Good
The third consideration involves establishing a proper relationship between the
speaker and the hearer. For example, if they are equals, the hearer will reflect this
relationship appropriately in doing things with language. If the speaker and the hearerare in a relationship of a superior to a subordinate, doing things appropriately with
language will call for the use of right signals to reflect the relationship. If the speaker
(Rakesh Verma), for example, is of a higher status to his hearer (Rohit Kumar), the
use of familiar forms of address on his part will put the hearer at ease. But if the
speaker’s status is lower than that of his hearer, he must not use familiar forms; he
will have to use forms which are deferential:
(27) Rakesh: Rohit, have you drawn up the building plans?
Rohit: They are nearly ready, Mr. Verma. I’ll place them before you within an hour.
To put forward the third consideration in being polite elaborately, we can say that
doing things appropriately with language calls for a careful consideration of the
relationship between the speaker and the hearer. How well does the speaker know the
person he is talking to (a friend, a workmate or a complete stranger)? Is he talking to a
person of an equal, superior or subordinate relationship? Is he talking to a person of a
similar age or of a similar social background? It is out of these considerations that
Rakesh uses the form of address ’Rohit’ while Rohit calls him ‘Mr. Verma’.
54
It is worth pointing out that this question of politeness is closely related to a
particular culture and society. If we return to examples 1l and 12, it is not an
imposition in Indian society to enquire about the cost of some item as it is in the
middle strata of British society. Therefore, an Indian will have a very strong
tendency to delete politeness forms from 11 and 12: he may opt for the following:
(28) What did this cricket bat cost you?
(29) What did you pay for it?
Again, an Indian parent, for example, may rind the following form odd or even
strange when a middle-class British parent naturally opts for a polite form in asking
her young child to do her a small favour:
(30) John, would you mind turning on the TV?
The next section in this unit therefore focuses on the following question: What are the
functions that call for politeness from British speakers of English?
17.3 COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTIONS THAT CALL FOR
POLITENESS
Speakers of English use polite forms in performing certain communicative functions.
We shall take a close look at some of the functions that call for politeness.
Let us consider some examples of politeness in many different communicative
situations. Consider the following extract from a conversation between father and
son:
(EI) Daddy pushed Wallace off and got up. They went downstairs and Wallace let
Wussy the cat in.
‘What do you want for breakfast, Wallace?’ Daddy asked.
‘Can I open Wussy’s tin?’ said Wallace.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘What do you want for breakfast?’
Wallace turned the handle of the tin-opener. ‘Coms,’ he said.
Daddy got him the Corn Flakes.
‘Do you like yoghurt?’ Daddy asked.
‘Yes,’ said Wallace.
‘Yes, please,’ said Daddy.
(Simon Watson: The New Red Bike & Other Stories)
Glossary
yoghurt (also spelt yogurt, yoghourt): It is made from milk by turning it thick. It is
slightly sour in taste and is generally eaten with a meal of vegetables or meat.
In the excerpt above, what did Wallace’s daddy do with the language? He wanted to
offer his son some yoghurt. What did Wallace do with the language? He expressed
interest in eating it; his language (bare ‘yes’) was however abrupt and therefore
Doing Things with
Language: Politeness
55
Rhetorical Devices lacked a certain politeness. His father pointed out to him the omission of ‘please’, a
minimum politeness signal. It is interesting to note that in short answers to ’yes-no’
questions (31 and 32) or to requests and offers made in the form of questions (33 and
34), and to statements (35), it is almost a matter of convention (except in
familiar/casual speech) not to use a bare Yes or No: the subject and auxiliary verb of
the question are often repeated, or words like please, thanks, certainly are added.
(31) Are you coming?
Yes, I am.
(32) Are you all right?
Yes, thanks.
(33) Will you pass the plate, please?
Yes, certainly.
. (34) Would you like some yoghurt?
Yes, please.
(35) He has left a message for
her. Yes, he has.
Do is used in answers to sentences with no auxiliary verb:
(36) He enjoys playing
tennis. Yes, he does.
If you go over the replies in 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 by omitting the words after the
Yes/No, you can hear their abruptness and therefore also the lack of politeness.
However, notice the replies to an echo question (E2) and to a tag question asking for
confirmation of the opinion given in the statement (E3):
(E2) Lamb: … Jackal is very kind, you know, Ox. He has a lot of shops to sell. But
this was his best one.
Ox: His best one?
Lamb: Yes.
(Ronald Mackin & Miles Lee: Ox and Lamb Go to Live in the Town)
(E Lamb: Listen, Ox. You must earn some money. You’re very strong. You can
pull carts.
Ox: Pull carts; I don’t want to pull carts.
Lamb: You want to eat, don’t you?
Ox: Yes.
(Ronald Mackin & Miles Lee: Ox and Lamb Go to Livein the Town)In these contexts, the bare form ‘Yes’ is appropriate although it was hardly
appropriate in 31 to 36.
When speakers of English make requests and offers, give suggestions, advice and
invitations, express desires, give uncertain opinions, make criticisms, accept or reject
offers, they perform these functions in polite language. We shall give here examples
relating to such functions as expressing desires and giving uncertain opinions.
A ‘desire’ is a strong feeling that you want to do something or to get something; implicit
in it is a strong sense of ‘self’. English-speaking people consider it impolite to make a
direct statement of desires like:
(37) I want you to help her.
or
(38) I prefer to mend it myself.
56
To be polite, they would modify the forms in 37 and 38 as follows:
(39) I should like you to help her.
(41) I would prefer to mend it myself.
The use of should/ would makes the statements sound less bold, more hesitant, and
therefore more polite. In other words, the ‘sense of self’ in the desire is toned down as
it were by should7would. It may be noted that in the first person should and would
are both possible (with no real difference of meaning); in the second and third person
would is used:
(41) I should/would like to invite them all.
(42) They would like to invite only a few.
We must remember that in casual, familiar speech features of politeness can be left
out. In contexts where politeness is required, I should/would like is however more
polite than I want. I should/would contracted to I’d is often more common in
informal speech:
(43) I’d like to meet your children.
(44) I’d like to have a little rest this afternoon.
(-45) I’d like you to meet my parents when you go to Calcutta.
(46) I’d like to see your garden.
(47) I’d like you to read my composition.
It may be worthwhile pointing out that ‘like’ in the context of a ‘desire’/’wish’ given
above (that is, to ask for something, or to be allowed to do something) is different
from ‘like’ meaning ‘to be fond of’:
(48) I like mangoes.
(49) I don’t like big cities.
Notice that ‘wish’ also means ‘want’ and can be used to express what one may ‘desire’,
but it is more formal than ‘want’. The three examples given below would again point
to the fact that for performing many different language functions language users
have to pay attention to the appropriateness of language forms:
(50) I wish to make a complaint. (formal)
(51) I want to make a complaint. (neutral)
(52) I’d like to make a complaint. (polite)
Now, let us consider such a function as giving slightly uncertain opinions, that is,
when the speaker is not completely confident of his ‘facts’ or his ’opinion’. In the
absence of facts or the inability to make up his mind, he should prefer, as it were, to
put across his opinion hesitantly. And to be hesitant in such contexts is to be polite.
The forms with conditional should/would are very common with the desire/opinion
verbs such as ‘like’, ‘think’, ‘say’, ‘argue’ for signalling politeness. Consider the
following:
(53) I think she is about 30 years of age.
(54) I should think she was about 30 years of age.
In 53, ‘I think she is’ would be much less uncertain than ‘I should think she was.’
Consider some more examples:
(55) I would say that the building will be ready by the end of the year.
(56) These examination results would seem to indicate a decline in standards.
Doing Things with
Language: Politeness
57
Similarly, in the following extracts notice why the speakers say ‘I should say net’, and
‘I should think’.
(E4) ‘I’ll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. Going to call
time on him sharp?’
‘I should say not!’ said the other. ‘I’ll give him half an hour at least. If Jimmy is alive
on earth he’ll be here by that time. So long, officer.’
(O. Henry: After Twenty Years)
Glossary
Going to call time on him sharp? : Will you only wait for him until the appointed
time?
So long: goodbye
(E5) Suddenly, he broke off his singing and returned her stare.
‘I take it, Madam,’ he said, ‘that you do not appreciate my singing.’
‘I should think it’s hardly the place,’ she said shortly. ‘That’s all,’ and turned her head
away.
(Elizabeth Taylor: The Fly-Paper)
Again, the need to be polite in performing such functions as ‘thanking somebody for help’
or ‘wishing somebody good luck’, would require that 57 and 58
(57) I want to thank everyone who helped us.
(58) We wish you good luck.
should be in the form of 59 and 60:
(59) I would like to thank everyone who helped us.
(60) We’d like to wish you good luck.
It may be in order to consider briefly some of the language functions that are not
expressed with particular markers of politeness. The point under consideration is that
a marker of politeness used in doing such functions would be misplaced. Take for
example the action of showing gratefulness on receiving a present. The marker of
politeness for expressing gratefulness (i.e. ‘grateful’) is misplaced in 61 because
English speakers do not expect a show of gratefulness for a present, but its
expression is in order in 62:
*(61) I’m really grateful for that lovely present.
(62) I’m really grateful for your help.
Similarly, while we use ‘please’ in making requests and, on many occasions, in giving
orders, we do not use it in giving permission. You can now see why 63 and 64 are in
order and why 65, 66 and 67 are not:
(63) Please stand away from the door. (order)
(64) Could you stand away from the door, please? (request)
*(65) You may stand near the door, please. (permission)
*(66) You may give it to her, please.
*(67) Students may stay out only until 10 p.m., please.
Rhetorical Devices
58
Similarly, while invitations require a tentative ‘would’, information about one’s
customs/habits is obtained without tentative modals:
(68) Would you like to meet a school friend of mine?
*(69) Would you like to have tea in bed every morning?
Therefore, 69 would become:
(70) Do you like to have tea in bed every morning?
Check Your Progress 1
1. Change sentences I to 6 given below into polite forms according to the
principle of politeness discussed in 34.2. There can be more than one polite
form for each sentence. The first sentence has been done for you.
1. How much did these socks cost you?
Ans. May I ask you how much these socks cost you?
or
Do you mind if I ask you how much these socks cost you?
2. A has a headache and asks for help (i.e. makes a
request): Give me an aspirin.
Ans.
3. A has a headache and B makes an offer of help (makes an
offer): I will give you an aspirin.
Ans.
4. A’s bicycle tyres have very little air. He wants to use B’s
bicycle pump (asks for permission):
Give me your bicycle pump.
Ans.
S. A is visiting B. B offers him some tea (makes an
offer): Have some tea.
Ans.
6. A has to put some additional chairs in his classroom. He wants
some from B’s room (request for permission):
I will take 4 chairs from your room.
Ans.
2. Put a cross against the sentence in which a marker of politeness, such as
‘please’, ‘grateful’, ‘would’, is misplaced:
1Would you like to have a bath every day?
2May I come in, please?
3Can you tell me his house number, please?
4I’d like to know his address, please.
5Will you please remember to post the letter?
6I am grateful to you for these lovely presents.
7I am grateful to you for what you have done for me.
8You may come in, please.
17.4 STRATEGIES FOR POLITENESS
There would seem to be two main strategies for being polite while doing things with
language: indirectness and tentativeness.
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59
Rhetorical Devices
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17.4.1 Indirectness
Indirectness, as the term implies, is a means of being less forceful and direct.
Consider the following:
(71) Your estimates of the repairs of the building are wrong.
(72) I wonder if your estimates of the repairs of the building are quite right.
The difference between 71 and 72 is one of tact: the criticism in 71 is direct and in
72 indirect. What is the motivation to be indirect? Speakers tend to be indirect when
there is a risk of causing offence or distress to someone. Therefore, in many
situations an indirect expression like 72 may be more appropriate than 71. Besides
trying to avoid offence, there may be many other reasons for being indirect. The
reasons for indirectness would differ from one set of language functions to another.
Now, an extract from a story to illustrate indirectness. A recently released convict
forces his entry into a bishop’s house. ’the bishop tries to make him feel comfortable.
He asks his old servant, Madame Magloire, to provide the guest with the necessary
things. Notice how the bishop uses direct expressions in E6 and E7 and an indirect
expression in E8 when he finally asks for more lights at the supper table:
(E6) ‘Can you give me something to eat, and a place to sleep? Have you a stable?’
‘Madame Magloire,’ said the bishop, ‘put some sheets on the bed in
the alcove.’
Glossary
alcove: a small partly enclosed space in a room.
They are about to sit down at supper. Madame Magloire brings in a plate and sets it
on the table:
(E7) ‘Madame Magloire’, said the bishop ‘put this plate as near the fire as you can.’
As she puts the plate on the table, the bishop feels that the lighting at the table is not
sufficient. Notice how indirectly, almost in the form of a suggestion (Zoe lamp gives
a very poor light), he asks his servant to supplement it; a direct order would have
caused her distress because the candlesticks were of silver and the ‘guest’ was a
recently released convict:
(E8) ‘The lamp,’ said the bishop, ‘gives a very poor light.’
Madame Magloire understood him, and going to his bed-chamber, took from the
mantel the two silver candlesticks, lighted the candles, and placed them on the table.
17.4.2 Tentativeness
A parallel strategy for politeness is that of tentativeness. Tentativeness implies
hesitation, a carefully planned effort to show some caution and, as it were, a lack of
confidence. What is the motivation to be tentative? Tentativeness for speakers of
English makes for politeness because it makes language do things in a less bold and
more cautious way. The modal verbs could, might, should/ would are tentative
counterparts of can, may, shall/will. Therefore 73, 74, 75 and 76 are more polite than
77, 78, 79 and 80
(73) Could you hold the bag for me?
(74) Might I write to her?
(75) Would you put the chair away?
(76) I should be perfectly happy if I had nothing to do.
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(77) Can you hold the bag for me?
(78) May I write to her?
(79) Will you put the chair away?
(80) I shall be perfectly happy if I had nothing to do.
Modals are not the only signals of tentativeness. Consider the following:
(81) Rakesh is not very clever, but he does try.
The speaker knows that Rakesh’s reputation is not very good, so he resorts to
cautious praise; ‘he does try’. If you should think up the question to which 81 is a
reply, you could see the tentativeness/caution in the praise given: ’What do you think
of Rakesh?’ ‘Well, he does try.’ In addition to modals certain words make for
tentativeness and therefore speakers often use them to be polite. Consider the use of
maybe when making a suggestion and of quite in negative sentences in expressing
disagreement:
(82) Maybe we should ask Ravi for his opinion.
(83) I didn’t quite understand what it was all about.
In doing certain things with language politely, speakers also take recourse to
formulate expressions. The fact is that a certain expression is so closely associated
with a function that over a period of time it becomes a formula. Take for example the
expression I’m afraid. It is often used as a polite phrase (a) when giving bad news or
unpleasant information; (b) when disagreeing with someone; and (c) when turning
down a request politely. It suggests an apologetic attitude. The construction with
so/not (I’m afraid so/I’m afraid not) is often used in answers:
(a)
(84) I’m afraid I forgot to post the letter.
(85) I’m afraid your son has failed the exams.
(86) Did she marry the man she
loved? I’m afraid not.
(87) Do I have to pay the fine?
I’m afraid so.
(b)
(88) I’m afraid I can’t accept your suggestions.
(89) I’m afraid you didn’t quite understand me.
(c)
(90) Can I borrow your bike?
I’m afraid I can’t lend it today.
(91) Can you help me?
I’m afraid not. I’m busy right now.
17.5 SIGNALS OF POLITENESS
In the many examples given in sections 34.3 and 34.4, speakers very often signalled
politeness by using modals (e.g., can, should, would) and certain words and
expressions (e.g., please, I’m afraid). Are these the only language resources for
signalling politeness? In this section we shall attempt an answer to this question.
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When they do things with language and they have to be polite, speakers of English draw
upon three types of language resources to signal politeness: intonation, grammar, and
vocabulary.
(i) Let us begin with intonation. In many communicative situations direct
commands are hardly polite, which are usually spoken on a falling tone:
(92) ‘Get out of the ‘building.
(93) ‘Keep a’way.
The imperative force of the command can be weakened, and to that extent it becomes
polite, by using a rising or a falling-rising tone:
(94) ‘Keep away children.
(95) ‘Don’t for’get to ‘post the letters.
(96) ‘Don’t make a noise.
(97) ‘Hurry up.
ii) Speakers of English put various aspect of grammar to good use, such as
changing the present tense into the past tense, using modals, and taking
recourse to the question form, to signal politeness when they do things with
language.
In the context of sequence of tenses ’would’ is the past tense of ‘will’, but in
signalling politeness it is a tentative equivalent of ‘will’. Although 98 is polite,
(98) Will you pass the paper, please?
99 is politer because ‘would’ makes it tentative:
(99) Would you pass the paper, please?
Similarly, compare 100 and 101:
(100) Are you the captain?
(101) Would you be the’ captain?
In a situation of uncertainty, the question in 101 more cautious and therefore polite.
The modals should, could, might, would as tentative equivalents of staff, can, may,
will are used to signal politeness in performing many functions. Compare 102 and
103:
(102) It may rain.
(103) It might rain.
The speaker of 103 is hesitant in the absence of any definite knowledge to commit
himself about the event and therefore talks about it tentatively and therefore sounds
polite. Notice the tentativeness in imposing oneself on someone’s time when asking for
advice:
(104) How slow would you like me to play?
(105) What do you think I should do?
The past simple tense is the one most often used to talk about the past, but with such
verbs as ‘wish’, ‘wonder’, ‘think’, ‘hope’ it expresses a tentative attitude, suggesting
politeness:
Rhetorical Devices
62
(106) Did you wish to read it now?
(107) I wondered if you could spare a few minutes for me.
(108) I thought you might like to go out for a walk.
(109) I was hoping we could travel together.
The past progressive with ‘hope’, ‘want’, ‘wonder’, ‘think’ can be used to make
a request or suggestion sound more polite, less definite:
(110) I was wondering if you’d like to spend the afternoon with me.
(111) Were you wanting to see the secretary?
(112) We are hoping you will do it.
When we make an invitation or an appeal, we can sound polite if we are persuasive.
(We have noted that a request, for example, would sound polite only if it was put
across tentatively, but an invitation because of the nature of the function involved
would also seem polite if made persuasively.) If we are less tentative, we are
persuasive; a negative construction is less tentative and therefore polite in the context
of 113 and 114:
(113) Won’t you come in and sit down?
(114) Couldn’t you write to him again?
The imperative force of a command can be toned down by using the tag question
will you/ won’t you:
(115) ‘Don’t ‘waste it, will you?
(116) ‘Look after him, won’t you?
(iii) On many occasions, speakers of English use certain vocabulary
items/expressions to signal politeness: maybe, perhaps, possibly, wonder,
quite frankly, honestly, think, feel, suppose, so to speak, sort of, kind of, in my
opinion. We may call them ‘softening’ words because they soften the effect of
what the speaker is putting across by making it less forceful and direct: they
enable the speaker to be polite. Consider the following examples:
(117) Perhaps you ought to discuss it with her.
(118) Could you possibly see me tomorrow?
(119) I wonder if we should go by bus.
(120) ‘What do you think of my book?’ ‘Frankly, it’s a disaster. ‘
(121) I think you ought to do it again.
If, for example, you now compare 117, 118 and 121 with 117a, 118a and 121a, you
would feel the absence of that extra ‘softening’ effect that perhaps, possibly and think
helped to bring about:
(117a) You ought to discuss it with her.
(118a) Could you see me tomorrow?
(121a) You ought to do it again.
You may also note that the language resources for politeness discussed above can be
used singly or in combination. Consider, For example, the following:
(122) Could you write to her?
The tentative modal ‘could’ signals politeness but 122 can be expressed more politely
by also using a ‘softening’ word:
(123) Could you possibly write to her?
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63
We can similarly use several softening words together to make a request, suggestion,disagreement, etc. even more tentative:
(124) Your proposal is interesting but I think maybe it is not quiet practicable.
17.6 DIFFERENT DEGREES OF POLITENESS
The discussion and examples above have pointed to the phenomenon of different degrees
of politeness in doing things with English. Consider the following examples:
(125) Will you help the child out of the pit?
(126) Would you help the child out of the pit?
126 is more polite than 125. Take a few more examples:
(127) I wonder whether you would help the child out of the pit.
(128) I was wondering if you would help the child out of the pit.
(129) Do you think you could possibly help the child out of the pit?
(130) I was wondering if you could possibly help the child out of the pit.
127, 128, 129 and 130 are more polite than 125 and 126. Of the six forms given
above, 130 is the most polite. The change in the degree of politeness is signalled by
either a change from a modal verb to a tentative modal verb (e.g., ‘will’ to ‘would’) or
from a less direct to a more indirect form (e.g., ‘would you’ to ‘I wonder whether you
would’/ ‘Do you think you could.’). The more indirect you are, the more polite you
would sound. But there is a need for caution in varying the degrees of politeness.
The change from one degree of politeness to another degree is relative to certain
factors in the situation in which polite forms are required. For example, if the
speaker feels that an offer will be to the advantage of the hearer, he would sound
polite by using a direct form:
(131) Have a cup of tea; it will comfort you.
If the speaker does not know whether an offer will be acceptable, he will tend to use
an indirect form:
(132) Would you like to have a cup of tea?
Furthermore, if the speaker and the hearer hardly know each other, he would use an
even more indirect form:
(133) I was wondering whether you would like a cup of tea.
If forms which seem to be ‘too polite’ are used regardless of taking note of such
factors in the situation they would sound pompous or impolite. The speaker can also
use them to express sarcasm or annoyance. For example (teacher to student):
(134) Rakesh, I wonder whether you would like to take down notes.
Check Your Progress 2
1. Of the sentences given below, some express a communicative function directly
and the others somewhat indirectly. Change the direct expressions into indirect
forms and the indirect expressions into more indirect forms. One
example has been done for you.
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64
1. Put all your books away.
Ans. (a) Will you put all your books away? Language: Politeness(b) Would you put all your books away?
(c) 1 was wondering whether you would put all your books away.
2. Have another mango.
3. Unlock the door.
4. Will you post all the letters?
5. I wonder whether you would write to him.
6. Would you leave it to him?
7. 1 thank you for the help.
8. I wish you success in life.
2. Help the speaker of the following to put across his uncertain opinions and
desires more tentatively than he has put them down in the given sentences.
One example has been done for you.
1. I think the letter will arrive next week.
I should think the letter will arrive next week.
2. I think she’s wrong.
3. It seems his ideas are half-baked.
4. I say he is mistaken.
5. ‘Do you think it will rain?’ ‘I say not.’
6. ‘What’s she going to do now†’ ‘I cannot say.’
17.7 LET US SUM UP
In this unit, we had a careful look at polite forms and their use in a number of
communicative functions. We considered in some detail the principles of politeness
that prompt speakers of English to use polite forms. The principle of not imposing on
your hearer prompts the speaker to ask for his hearer’s permission in order to enquire
about his personal affairs: May I ask you what salary they have offered you? The
principle of giving your hearer options enjoins the speaker to use the question form
for such a function as making a request: Could you lend me some money? The
principle of making your hearer feel good suggests to the speaker that he should use
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Rhetorical Devices language forms that reflect, for example, distance or familiarity that obtains between
them: Hi, how about going to the movies tonight? It is important to note that
politeness should not be missed out in functions such as requests, offers and
invitations that call for it. Conversely, it should not be indicated where it is not
required; the ‘please’ in the following is therefore misplaced: You can have it, please.
Two main strategies for constructing polite forms are ‘indirectness’ and
‘tentativeness’, for example: Shall I move this furniture into your office? Perhaps
you’d like to let me know when you leave. Speakers of English use intonation, some
aspects of grammar and rather a limited number of words and expressions to signal
politeness: ‘Post the “letter for me, won’t you; I was wondering whether you would
take another look at it; Perhaps you ought to write to her. Some situations ask for the
usual polite forms in performing such functions as making a request or an offer; some
other situations ask for more polite forms. The choice, for example, between you
would find this book easier and I wonder if you would find this book easier has to be
made with care. Sometimes speakers use several softening words together to make
the suggestion, request, etc., very polite: Z was wondering whether you could
possibly call on him tomorrow. Forms of language which are considered to be polite
in English can sometimes seem strange or odd to speakers of other languages. When
learning a language other than your mother tongue, it is often necessary to learn
which things to say politely and how.
17.8 KEYWORDS
Tentative Modals: When should/would are used with certain verbs such as ‘like’,
‘think’, ’say’, they make the statement sound less bold and more hesitant. Similarly,
when they are used to make offers, requests, and invitations, they imply on attitude
of non-imposition and help to signal politeness. It is therefore convenient to call them
tentative modals when they are used in this way.
They are commonly used for making a statement tentative when we are giving a
slightly uncertain opinion or asking a cautious question: Z would say the bridge will
be completed by the end of the year. Excuse me, would you be the father of the girl.
When making a request, only should/would is used with the verb ‘like’. Would you
like some apple juice? (*Will you like some apple juice?)
In the context of making requests, and some other functions, would and might are
tentative modals: Could you see me tomorrow?
Conditional should/would: The conditional should/would are used in conditional
sentences, most of which depend on the word ‘if: If I climbed up the stairs, I would
pant. (Note that in such constructions the past tense of the verb in the ‘if’ clause
refers to future time. And the past tense is used to imply ‘doubt’ in opposition to the
idea of a ‘distinct possibility’). The conditional tense is also used in implied
conditions, when we are imagining a possibility, rather than stating a fact. For
example, the implied condition in ‘This would be wrong’ is: ‘This would be wrong if
you said it’, or something similar.
ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1. Could you get me an aspirin?
2. Can you give me an aspirin?
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3 Would you like an aspirin?
Shall I get you an aspirin?
4 Do you mind if I use your bicycle pump?
Is it all right if I use your bicycle pump? Can
I use your bicycle pump?
Would it be all right if I used your bicycle pump?
5 Would you like some tea?
How about some tea?
6 Is it all right if I take 4 chairs from your room? Would
you mind if I took 4 chairs from your room?
2. I,6,8
Check Your Progress 2
1. 1. Would you like another mango?
Would you like to have/care for another mango?
2. Would you unlock the door?
Would you mind unlocking the door?
3. I was wondering if you would post all the letters!
I wonder if you will post all the letters.
4. 1 was wondering whether you could write to him.
I was wondering whether you could possibly write to him.
6 I wonder whether you would leave it to him.
I wondered whether you would leave it to him.
7 I would like to thank you for the help.
8 I would wish you success in life.
2. 1. I should/would think she’s wrong.
2. It would seem his ideas are half-baked.
3. I should say he is mistaken.
4. ‘Do you think it will rain?’ ‘I should say not.’
5. ‘What’s she going to do now?’ ‘I’d rather not say.’