Стилистический анализ произведения

Стилистический анализ

Кельбиева Екатерина

1.   George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) is one of the greatest satirical dramatists. He revolutionized English drama in content and form. In his plays he raised the most urgent problems of his time. George Bernard Shaw's artistic method is scathing satire, and his favorite device is paradox which is a statement or a situation that at first sight seems absurd and contrary to accepted ideas. He is a brilliant master of dialogue and monologue, and we can see it in his play "Heartbreak House" that is one of his best plays.

 

2.   The passage under analysis presents the conversation between Ellie and Mrs. Hushabye. They are talking about Marcus Darnley Ellie is in love with. Their love is full of romance but Mrs. Hushabye is rather sceptical about it.  Suddenly their talk is interrupted by Ellie's sweetheart who later turns out to be Hector Hushabye. A young girl is in a great distress and she is damning herself for being such a fool.

 

3.   We can divide our passage into 2 main parts. I called them:

• A talk about perfect

• A huge shock

 

4.   Now examine these parts particularly.

• In the first part of the passage Ellie talked with Mrs. Hushabye. A young girl explained that she was not foolish and did not fall in love with people. Mrs. Hushabye she fell into a dream and said that people should think about something that gives some interest and pleasure to life.

• The story is tinged with irony, humour and sadness and the author employs a number of stylistic devices that produce these effects.
• [Drawingher back to her seat]

The words in square brackets are stage directions. B. Shaw's stage directions may contain detailed descriptions of the setting and of the characters appearances. They enable the playwright to comment on the behavior or the inner state of his characters and hint on his own point of view.

• "I am not so foolish. I do not fall…I am not so silly…"

It is excessive use of pronouns "I". Especially when the repetition is compulsion, it causes an adverse association. It suggests the immodesty of the speaker, about his wish to emphasize his importance

• "No tedious…no more wishing…no desire", "how delightful…how much better…", "to be alone..to be alone.."

We can see a lot of kinds of reiteration that. as always when a repetition of phrases takes place it results in a parallel arrangement of sentences and a definite rhythmical pattern of the sentence.

The fact that these phrases are repeated several times makes these details still more expressive.

• "You are a witch- you are the most sympathetic woman", "I envy you-I pity you".

These phrases B. Shaw uses with irony showing deceitfulness of these people. He uncovers their essence through these words. They are unsteady and do not know what to do with their life.

• "pettikins"

May be it is a kind of uneducated dialected speech, that shows us all the nature of Mrs. Hushabye.

• The second part of the passage begins with the description of Hector Hushabye who was the lover of Ellie, but she knew him as Marcus Darnley. As Ellie described him, Darnley entered and proved to be Hesione’s philandering husband, Hector. Ellie said that her heart was broken.
• The story is written in a tragic and at the same time in a humorous and elevated tone. The author enhances the desired effect with the help of stylistic devices.
• [A very handsome man of fifty…]

The words in square brackets are stage directions. B. Shaw's stage directions may contain detailed descriptions of the setting and of the characters appearances. They enable the playwright to comment on the behavior or the inner state of his characters and hint on his own point of view.

• A very handsome man of fifty, with mousquetaire moustaches….

This sentence is rich in epithets. They daze the emotional force they carry. Grammatically epithets commonly appear as attributes. They disclose the emotionally coloured individual attitude of the writer towards the person or thing qualified.

• "I leave you…I never use it…I have been away near for nearly a month…I…"

It is excessive use of pronouns "I". Especially when the repetition is compulsion, it causes an adverse association. It suggests the immodesty of the speaker, about his wish to emphasize his importance.

• "Please, may I speak to papa?"

The word "Papa" is a borrowed from French language. The author uses it to show that Ellie, in spite of her inexperience, credulity and the fact that she could not do anything by herself, was a well educated person.

• "If you think it better-"

It is a kind of ellipsis. It is the intentional omission of parts of the proposal, which can easily be understood from the context or situation.

• "pettikins"

May be it is a kind of uneducated dialected speech, that shows us all the nature of Mrs. Hushabye.

• "What a relief! I thought you were going to be broken-hearted."

I think that this sentence was pronounced ironically and through these words B. Shaw pointed out the contradiction of Ellie's soul. He ridiculed her and her behavior.

 

5.   So, we see characters' attitude toward the world and how they are revealed in this situation. We must remember that it is a world of contradictions and the author skillfully shows it. After analyzing the main points, we can conclude that Ellie, a person who herself does not know what she wants from life, tossed from side to side. First, she said that she did not feel deep feelings to anyone, but after opening the true face of Hushabye, she lost her dreams and her ideas crumble. She is worked up and at the end she is down-to-earth.

        Mrs. Hushabye, sharp and sincere, as we see her at the beginning of the conversation, causes a distrust of herself because we feel some hypocrisy in her words. Everything is contradictory in this person. She is surprised to learn the truth about her husband, but she helps Ellie to come round. This paradox is evident throughout Bernard Shaw. Mr. Hushabye, confident and smug person, perceives the situation as natural and trifling.

        The irony is in every line. Heroes are pathetic and ridiculous in their actions and words. Here the author bursts with emotions. He is unable to conceal his feelings towards his own creation and pours on him the full measure of his disgust.

 

6. As for me, I should say that I liked Shaw's manner of writing, his work is excellent.

This passage shows us the whole attitude of the writer towards this world; we feel his presence in the story. This extract is closely connected with our life. We can face everywhere with such problems as deception, despair and dissimulation and we would not know what to do, like Ellie, but for some people, like Mr. Hushabye, it would not be matter.