parenthesis stylistic device

Parenthesis

Definition of Parenthesis Parenthesis is a stylistic device that comes from the Greek word meaning “to place,” or “alongside.” Parenthesis is a qualifying or explanatory sentence, clause, or phrase that writers insert right into a paragraph or passage. However, if they leave it out, even then it does no longer grammatically have an effect on the text, which is correct without it. Writers mark these explanatory clauses off by using spherical or rectangular brackets, or by way of commas, dashes, or little lines. As some distance as its cause is concerned, this verbal unit offers extra facts, interrupts the syntactic waft of words, and allows readers to take note of the rationalization. However, the overuse of parenthesis may additionally make sentences look ambiguous and poorly structured. Examples of Parenthesis in Literature Example #1: One Art (By Elizabeth Bishop) “—Even dropping you (the joking voice, a gesture I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident the art of dropping’s no longer too difficult to master though it could appearance like (Write it!) like disaster.” Bishop makes use of an abrupt, excruciating parenthesis in the direction of the quit of the poem. For this, she makes use of brackets, for expressing understatement, and for suggesting how to address losses via art by way of the usage of the phrase “write it.” Example #2: The Elements of Style (By William Strunk, Jr. And E. B. White) “It is now vital to provide you with a warning that your concern for the reader should be pure: you ought to sympathize with the reader’s plight (maximum readers are in trouble approximately half of the time) but never are searching for to recognize the reader’s wants. Your entire obligation as a creator is to please and satisfy yourself…” The style guidebook offers parenthetical information several times. Here, you can see how the authors have defined the reader’s plight with the aid of giving descriptive sentence in brackets, showing how readers are in problem. Example #3: The Dogwood Tree: A Boyhood (By John Updike) “A little gravel alley, too small to be marked with a road sign but known inside the community as Shilling Alley, wound hazardously around our belongings and on down, past an untidy collection of back buildings (chicken houses, barns out of plumb, a gun shop, a small lumber mill, a shack wherein a blind guy lived, and the enchanted grotto of a storage whose cement floors have been waxed to the luster of ebony through oil drippings … silver water so cold it made your front teeth throb) on down to Lancaster Avenue, the principle avenue, wherein the trolley vehicles ran.” Look, the author has employed an in depth descriptive parenthesis on this passage. He explains in element a sequence of untidy lower back buildings, and why they give the sort of depressing appearance. Example #4: The Horse and His Boy (By C. S. Lewis) “[I]n Calormen, story-telling (whether or not the tales are true or made up) is a factor you’re taught, simply as English boys and ladies are taught essay-writing. The difference is that humans need to hear the tales, whereas I never heard of all of us who wanted to read the essays.” Here, Lewis makes use of spherical brackets to describe the story, specifying whether or not they're proper or made up. He means to mention that humans like to listen to a story, which aren't taught as are essays. Hence, essays appear boring. Example #5: Lights Out for the Territory (By Iain Sinclair) ” ‘Black dog’ is the temper of bottomless, suicidal depression suffered, most notoriously, by Winston Churchill (himself a sort of bulldog in nappies, a emblem for Empire; growling and dribbling, wheezing smoke, swollen veins fired with brandy).” In this essay, Sinclair gives the readers a unique, enlightened, provocative, disturbing, and wholly daring image of present day city life in London, and of its humans. In the process, he reveals a darkish underbelly of London, as you could see his provocative understatement and parenthetical facts approximately Winston Churchill. Function of Parenthesis Parenthesis makes the statements greater convincing, because it puts the readers in a right shape from the very starting wherein they study it as an rationalization. However, its main feature is to give extra rationalization and upload emphasis, even as its repeated use can reason attention and consequently makes parenthetical insertions a dominant characteristic of a sentence. Parenthesis also offers readers an perception into authentic feelings and critiques of characters and narrators, at the same time as they might generally tend to evade parenthetical records as unimportant. Doing this, parenthesis should go away them clueless to the actual purpose of a sentence. In addition, it regularly creates humorous impact through the use of hyperbole and understatements.

Alliteration
Anachronism
Antimetabole
Aposiopesis
Characterization
Colloquialism
Connotation
Deus Ex Machina
Didacticism
Doppelganger
Double Entendre
Flash Forward
Foreshadowing
Internal Rhyme
Juxtaposition
Non Sequitur
Onomatopoeia
Parallelism
Pathetic Fallacy
Personification
Poetic Justice
Point of View
Portmanteau
Protagonist
Red Herring
Superlative
Synesthesia
Tragicomedy
Tragic Flaw
Verisimilitude

English Studies

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Parentheses in Literature

The term “parentheses” has its origins in Late Latin, deriving from the Greek word “parenthesis,” meaning “a putting in beside.”

Parentheses: Etymology, Literal and Conceptual Meanings

The term “parentheses” has its origins in Late Latin, deriving from the Greek word “parenthesis,” meaning “a putting in beside.” This reflects its original function as a punctuation mark used to insert explanatory or qualifying material within a sentence. In its literal sense, parentheses serve to enclose supplementary information that is not essential to the main clause, providing additional context or clarification. Conceptually, parentheses can convey various meanings, including:

In both its literal and conceptual applications, parentheses serve to enrich and elaborate upon the primary content of a text or discourse, offering readers a deeper understanding or perspective on the subject matter.

Parentheses: Definition

Table of Contents

Parentheses are punctuation marks used to enclose supplementary or explanatory material within a sentence. They serve to provide additional information that is not essential to the main clause but contributes to the reader’s understanding. Parentheses are typically employed to set off digressions, clarifications, or asides in written text.

Parentheses: Examples in Everyday Life

Parentheses in literature: examples.

“A classic case in point is the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia, in which Hamlet’s feigned madness (or perhaps real madness) plays a crucial role.” ( Hamlet by William Shakespeare)
“She whispered the secret (which she had sworn never to reveal) to her closest friend.” ( The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett)
“The protagonist’s thoughts (filled with doubt and uncertainty) reveal his inner turmoil.” ( Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky)
“He glanced at her sideways, a sly smile creeping onto his face (indicating his amusement at her predicament).” ( Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
“The wind howled outside, rattling the windows (which had been left open by mistake).” ( The Shining by Stephen King)
“The detective noticed a peculiar smell in the room (reminiscent of sulfur or burnt matches).” ( The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle)
“She stumbled over her words, trying to explain the situation (which was becoming increasingly awkward).” ( To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
“The soldier recounted his harrowing experience in the war (which had left him deeply scarred).” ( All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque)
“As she gazed out the window, lost in thought (contemplating her next move), she failed to notice the time slipping away.” ( The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger)
“He received a mysterious letter (addressed in handwriting he didn’t recognize) that set off a chain of events.” ( Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling)

Parentheses in Literature: Relevant Terms

Parentheses in literature: suggested readings.

Abrams, M.H. and Geoffrey Galt Harpham. A Glossary of Literary Terms . Cengage Learning, 2014.
Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory . Penguin Books, 2015.
DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama . McGraw-Hill Education, 2018.
Gibson, Walker. The Complete Guide to Literary Terms: A Handbook for Writers and Students . Writer’s Digest Books, 1999.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing . Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015.
Roberts, Edgar V. and Henry E. Jacobs. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing . Pearson, 2014.

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