Stylistics, sometimes called linguo-stylistics, is a branch of general

contextual meanings.  
 The latter may sometimes deviate from the dictionary meaning to such a degree that the 
new meaning even becomes the opposite of the primary meaning. This is especially the 
case when we deal with transferred meanings. 
Transferred meaning is practically the interrelation between two types of lexical meaning: 
dictionary and contextual. 
INTERACTION OF PRIMARY AND DERIVATIVE LOGICAL MEANINGS 
The relation between dictionary and contextual meanings may be maintained along different lines: 
on the principle of affinity, on that of proximity, or symbol - referent relations, or on opposition. 
Thus the stylistic device based on the first principle is metaphor, on the second metonymy and on 
the third irony. 
IRONY 
Irony is a stylistic device also based on the simultaneous realization of two logical meanings - 
dictionary and contextual, but the two meanings are in opposition to each other. The literal 
meaning is the opposite of the intended meaning. One thing is said and the other opposite is 
implied. 
e.g. Nice weather, isn't it? (on a rainy day). 

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INTERACTION OF PRIMARY AND DERIVATIVE LOGICAL MEANINGS 
Plan 
1. The problem of polysemy 
2. Zeugma
3. The pun 
4. The Epithet
5. Oxymoron 
Polysemy is a generic term the use of which must be confined to lexicology as an aspect of the 
science of language. In actual speech polysemy vanishes unless it is deliberately retained for 
certain stylistic purposes. A context that does not seek to produce any particular stylistic effect 
generally materializes one definite meaning. That is why we state that polysemy vanishes in 
speech, or language in action. 
"Then hate me if thou wilt, if ever now." (Shakespeare) 
The verb “hate” here materializes several meanings. This becomes apparent when one reads 
sonnet 90 to the end and compares the meaning of this word with other verbs used 
synonymously. The principal meanings of this word are: “dislike”, “stop loving”, “become indiffer-
ent to”, “feel aversion for”, etc. 
There are special SDs which make a word materialize distinct dictionary meanings. They are 
zeugma and the pun. 
ZEUGMA is the use of a word in the same grammatical but different semantic relations to two 
adjacent words in the context, the semantic relations being on the one hand literal, and on the 
other, transferred. Zeugma is a strong and effective device to maintain the purity of the primary 
meaning when two meanings clash. 
e. g. Dora, plunging at once into privileged intimacy and into the middle of the room. 
The PUN is another S.D. based on the interaction of two well-known meanings of a word or a 
phrase. It is difficult to draw a hard and fast distinction between zeugma and pun. The only 
reliable distinguishing feature is a structural one: zeugma is the realization of two meanings with 
the help of a verb which is made to refer to different subjects or objects (direct and indirect). The 
pun is more independent. Like any S.D. it must depend on a context. But the context may be of a 
more expanded character, sometimes even as large as a whole work of emotive prose.