Expressing the stylistic device periphrasis in literature

EXPRESSING THE STYLISTIC DEVICE PERIPHRASIS IN LITERATURE
Abdullayeva Zarina,
A Master’s degree student
At Chirchiq Pedagogical University
[phone]
Annotation: This article deals with expressing the stylistic device periphrasis as a in literatures. The article analyzes the use of periphrasis as a stylistic device with examples.
Key words: Periphrasis, renaming, stylistic device, figurative expression, phenomena, description, style of speech.
The term “periphrasis” comes from the Greek “periphrazein,” meaning “talking around”. It’s used when a writer, character, or even someone in everyday life, draws out their sentences in order to avoid getting to the point.[1] This might occur when someone doesn’t want to admit a mistake they’ve made, are worried about an outcome, or many other possibilities. It’s very common and therefore makes a creative addition to dialogue within literary works. It can be found most commonly in novels, short stories and plays, but there are also examples in verse and other literary works. 
Easily understandable periphrases are called traditional, dictionary or language periphrasis. Here are some examples of well-known dictionary periphrasis: A gentleman of the long robe (a lawyer); The fair sex (women); My better half (my wife). [2] Periphrasis involves using a longer phrase instead of the possible short and simple form of expression. It’s called a renaming traversal or an indirect method used to name a familiar object or event. Periphrasis deals with the renaming of an object and, therefore, can be considered in combination with general groups of words that directly replace the names of their meanings. Periphrasis is an indirect artistic description of an object easily recognizable by its characteristic features. Periphrasis is a semantically indivisible, figurative phrase that describes the content of other meanings or phrases. This connection figuratively describes certain phenomena, showing their specific properties, making it easier to identify the object of their description. The writer uses paraphrase, replacing the name of an object or event with a description of important, defining traits and characteristics that create a vivid picture of life in our minds.[3]
Periphrasis is considered methodical means of renaming an object using a phrase that gives rise to some specific feature. The device perceives the object completely individually that can only be resolved in context. Provided that the peripheral location is understood out of context, it can’t be a methodological tool, but simply a synonymous phrase. Such kind of easy-to-understand paraphrases are also called traditional, vocabulary, or linguistic.
Periphrasis refers to methodological device in replacing a direct noun with a descriptive expression that concerns the symptoms of something not directly named. Depending on the mechanism of replacement, the periphrasis includes the following types: figurative (metonymic and metaphorical) and logical. Periphrasis is a grammatical principle and style of speech that uses more words than is necessary for a particular meaning. Periphrasis is sometimes useful for specific reasons, although it is often considered unnecessary. Some examples of periphrasis are appropriate to avoid the prohibition, for example, in cases such as hidden statements and euphemisms, or for the poetic embellishment of a sentence.[3]
In daily communication people with aphasia or a language disorder sometimes have difficulty finding the right words and may use periphrasis to achieve a certain meaning. This is also true for majority learning a new language. For example, a person may not know or remember the word "balaclava" in another language and instead say "something black that covers the human head with eyes open". In some cases, periphrasis is widely used in learning new vocabulary, especially in vocabulary games. As an English teacher I sometimes use periphrasis for learning difficult vocabulary as learning terms with definition like periphrasis.
Periphrasis is commonly used in literature. As an example, ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,’ includes some examples of periphrasis. This stylistic device gives special color to the poem. The poet chose to use periphrasis in order to create a specific experience for their readers.
The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.[4]
In this work, Alfred describes the street, fog, smoke, and soot of the evening. Techniques such as imagery and personification is used to show the reader’s senses and make them feel as though they’re there. If he had used simpler language and said, “The evening was dark, and there was smog on the street,” it would be a very different poem. He needs lines like “Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening” and “And seeing that it was a soft October night, Curled once about the house, and fell asleep” to create the haunting and disturbing atmosphere Alfred is known for.
Another example is ‘Kubla Khan’ which is one of the most famous poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Its full title is ‘Kubla Khan: or, A Vision in a Dream. It is naturally different from the poet’s other works and was initially scorned and questioned by critics. Nowadays, it is one of his top three most famous poetic works. A few lines that demonstrate his use of periphrasis: 
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round;
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.[5]
In this poem the speaker is describing the differences between the world inside Kubla Khan’s “pleasure-dome” and the world outside it. Instead of simply stating that the world outside was wild and the world inside was calm and beautiful, Coleridge uses beautiful flowery language in order to make the reader feel the difference. This is a great example of how periphrasis can be used in a positive way and it provides the reader with more information than is necessary.
BIBLOGRAPHY

1. 
   https://poemanalysis.com/literary-device/periphrasis
   
2. 
   Nino Dvalidze, Thea Shavladze “A lecture-course in stylistics”, Shota Rustaveli State University 2013, - p.74
   
3. 
   Proceedings of Global Technovation 2nd International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference Hosted from London, U.K. https://conferencepublication.com December 28th, 2020. – p.215, 216
   
4. 
   https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/44212/the-love-song-of-j-alfred-prufrock
   
5. 
   https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43991/kubla-khan