The Stylistic Potential of the Transferred Epithet

Abstract

This article deals with the transferred epithet which is defined as a figure of speech where the at¬tribute is transferred from the noun it logically belongs to, to another one which it fits grammatically but not logically. In the fictional discourse the transferred epithet shows considerable stylistic potential as it is based on an unconventional co-occurrence of the modifier and the modified noun and the resulting semantic discord which causes the effect of unexpectedness. The ambivalent, amorphous and complex nature of the transferred epithet generates new implicit meanings which enrich and complicate the original meaning. It allows the author to express something that is difficult to convey with standard structures. Such characteristics of transferred epithets as their referential diffusion, the ability to convey emotional and evaluative connotations and their se¬mantic capacity allow using them to create polyphony. The mapping of different mental spaces causes a logical contradiction which leads to a comic effect. The latter is especially vivid when the mental spaces of the body parts or artifacts overlap with mental spaces of human emotional states.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sal.0.25.8398