Научная статья на тему 'Stylistic repetition in the lyrics by Francis Albert Sinatra'

Stylistic repetition in the lyrics by Francis Albert Sinatra Текст научной статьи по специальности «Языкознание и литературоведение»

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Ключевые слова
stylistic repetition / phonetic repetitions / song lyrics / lexical anaphora / anadiplosis / two types of gradation

Аннотация научной статьи по языкознанию и литературоведению, автор научной работы — Ogorodnikova L. A., Panin V. V., Ryndina Yu. V.

The relevance of our research is determined by the need to study the use of stylistic repetition in the texts of English songs since this problem has rarely been the object of special research. In order to analyze the stylistic features of repetition, we chose the lyrics by the American singer Francis Albert Sinatra, which reflect the ideas and world-view the XX century youth and subsequent generations. To implement the tasks set in the study, the following methods were used: theoretical analysis of scientific literature and stylistic analysis of song lyrics. The results of the present research can be applied in teaching foreign languages in higher school.

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Текст научной работы на тему «Stylistic repetition in the lyrics by Francis Albert Sinatra»

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Ogorodnikova L.A.

Ph. D. (Philology), Associate Professor of the Department of Russian and ^ foreign Philology, cultural studies and methods of teaching, P.P.Yershov Ishim Pedagogical Institute, branch of Tyumen State University

Panin V. V.

Ph. D. (Philology), Associate Professor of the Department of Russian and foreign Philology, cultural studies and methods of teaching, P.P.Yershov Ishim Pedagogical Institute, branch of Tyumen State University

Ryndina Yu.V.

Ph. D. (Pedagogics), Associate Professor of the Department of Russian and foreign Philology, cultural studies and methods of teaching, P.P.Yershov Ishim Pedagogical Institute, branch of Tyumen State University

DOI: 10.24411/2520- 6990-2020-11547 STYLISTIC REPETITION IN THE LYRICS BY FRANCIS ALBERT SINATRA

Abstract

The relevance of our research is determined by the need to study the use of stylistic repetition in the texts of English songs since this problem has rarely been the object of special research. In order to analyze the stylistic features of repetition, we chose the lyrics by the American singer Francis Albert Sinatra, which reflect the ideas and world-view the XX century youth and subsequent generations. To implement the tasks set in the study, the following methods were used: theoretical analysis of scientific literature and stylistic analysis of song lyrics. The results of the present research can be applied in teaching foreign languages in higher school.

Key words: stylistic repetition, phonetic repetitions, song lyrics, lexical anaphora, anadiplosis, two types of gradation

One of the distinctive features of poetry is its rhythmic organization, provided by the use of such stylistic figure as repetition. A repeat, or a reprise, is a "literary device that repeats the same sounds, words, morphemes, synonyms, or syntactic constructions to make an idea clearer and more memorable" [1]. The functions of the repetition and the additional information it transmits can be very diverse. I. R. Halperin identifies four main functions of repetition: "the increase function, the sequence function, the gain function and the modality function" [2].

In poetry, the variety of functions of stylistic repetition is especially strong, since the verification is based on the repetition of constructive elements. In the speech of characters, repetitions perform the following functions: expressiveness, emotionality, and the function of communication between sentences.

To consider the stylistic features of repetition, we chose the lyrics by the American singer Francis Albert Sinatra (Frank Sinatra), who was famous for his romantic style of singing and "velvety" voice timbre.

Frank Sinatra is one of the artists whose influence on modern culture is so great that it is difficult to find words that sufficiently explain its significance. He released about a hundred hit singles and was awarded Grammy nine times.

Frank Sinatra performed songs on behalf of a lyric character so that listeners could visualize the imaginary world of the song and be inspired by the emotions that the song provokes.

In the lyrics we find phonetic repetitions for the most part. In addition to rhyme and refrain, which often define the poetic style and are sometimes an integral part of the song verse, here we are interested in such types of sound repetition, which are reduced to the repetition of a single sound, interjections, onomatopoeia and serve to enhance the emotional colouring. They are designed to evoke an emotional response among the audience, "enliven" the composition.

The famous song "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" was written on a hot summer day and has nothing to do with Christmas holidays. This song is about lovers sitting in front of a fireplace on a winter evening. The man does not want to leave, and he is happy with the snowfall because it became an excuse to stay for a while. The song consists of 22 repetitions of two lines of the refrain: "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow".

The song includes a sound repetition as a means of creating the beauty of the sound of the verse and highlighting important words in an artistic sense: "Oh the weather outside is frightful But the fire is so delightful" [4]. In the third verse there is a cross rhyme, which allows to better convey the necessary mood: "When we finally kiss goodnight How I'll hate going out in a storm But if you really hold me tight All the way home I'll be warm"[4]. However, there were songs that show the development of the poetic side of the lyrics. In the song "Ain't She Sweet" we can see:

- parallel constructions (the word combination "ain't she sweet" occurs 8 times, and "ain't she nice" -4 times):

"Ain't she sweet? See her walking down that street.

Yes, I ask you very confidentially, ain't she sweet?

Ain't she nice? Look her over once or twice" [7].

- the repetition of interjections:

"Yes, I ask you very confidentially, ain't she nice?

Just cast an eye in her direction, oh me oh my, ain't that perfection?

I repeat, well, don't you think that's kinda neat? Yes, I ask you very confidentially, ain't she sweet?

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Just cast an eye in her direction, oh me oh me oh

my,

ain't that perfection?" [7]. The phrase "Ain't she sweet?" completes the first and last verses, forming a circular repeat. It should also be noted that each verse has a single structure: the phrases "Ain't she sweet?" and "Ain't she nice?" form a frame in it:

"When you see her walking down that street Well I ask you very confidentially Ain't she sweet Oh ain't that nice

When you look her over once or twice Yes I ask you very confidentially Ain't she nice"|71.

Along with creative growth, there was also the development of his songs lyrics. In the song "Fly me to the Moon", the phrase "Fill my heart with song" is repeated twice in different parts of the sentence. Here you can also notice the abundance of repeated pronouns that emphasize the sincerity of feelings: "Fly me to the moon Let me play among the stars Let me see what spring is like ..." [8]. The phrase "Fill my heart" is also key in the chorus, where it is used as an anaphora, which consists in "repetition of words at the start of clauses or verses" [3]:

"In other words, please be true In other words, I love you In other words, please be true In other words, in other words I love... you" [8].

The phrases "In other words, please be true" and "In other words, I love you" are used in the second and third verses as epiphora, which consists in "repetition of the same word at the end of each clause" [3], as well as semantic repetition.

In the song "My baby shot me down" we can see one type of stylistic repetition - onomatopoeia, which consists in "the use of words that sound like auditory impressions of the depicted phenomenon" [2]: "Bang bang, I shot you down Bang bang, you hit the ground Bang bang, that awful sound Bang bang, I used to shoot you down»[14]. In the song "It Was a Very Good Year", the nostalgia for old times can be felt in the first line of the first verse, where this effect is enhanced by repeating the phrase "When I was": "When I was seventeen, It was a very good year. It was a very good year for small town girls When I was twenty-one, It was a very good year. It was a very good year for city girls"[9]. In the song "Strangers in the night" the word "something" begins and ends the first 3 lines, forming a circular repetition. It should also be noted that each line has a single structure. The frame is formed by phrases:

"Something in your eyes was so inviting, Something in your smile was so exciting, Something in my heart, Told me I must have you"[13].

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The repetitions in this song play a symbolic role. In each verse, the author returns again and again to the phrase "When I was" as a memory of the old times, and the word "now" as an appeal to the present time is the antithesis to it and reveals a bright contrast between yesterday and today:

"But now the days grow short. I'm in the autumn of the year. And now I think of my life as vintage wine From fine old kegs, From the brim to the dregs, And it poured sweet and clear. It was a very good year"[9]. The song "Say it" sounds like a call and is built on repeating the phrase "Say it", "I love you", where the words "say" and "love" are the keywords: "Say it over and over again, Over and over again, Never stop saying you're mine. Say it, ."[10]

The special role of love is emphasized by the anadyplosis, which consists in "repetition of the last word in a line or clause"[3] in the first quatrain: "Say it over and over again, Over and over again" [10]. In the Song "New York, New York", a big city is contrasted with a small one by using a stylistic figure of contrast - the antithesis:

"These little town blues, are melting away I'm gonna make a brand new start of it -In old New York" [5].

The singer's indefatigable desire to become a part of a big city and to achieve success is expressed with the help of a bright refrain: "I want to be a part of it -New York, New York Right through the very heart of it -New York, New York"[5]. By repeating the syntactic construction of "It's up to you", Sinatra's dream of becoming the most famous singer in New York is reinforced.

In the lyrics of the song "I've got you under my skin" the following lexical anaphora is used: "I've got you under my skin I've got you deep in the heart of me"[6]. The anaphora is often combined with a stylistic figure of gradation consisting of a gradual increase or decrease in the means of artistic speech. There are two types of gradation - the climax (ascent) and the anticlimax (descent). A climax is "a figure of poetry consisting in the arrangement of words in the order of their increasing meaning"[1]:

"I've loved, I've laughed and cried I've had my fill, my share of losing And now as tears subside I find it all so amusing"[12]. In some cases, it is repeated at the end of a stanza forming a tautological rhyme to emphasize the importance of a phrase or word: "This town is a lonely town Not the only town like-a this town This town is a make-you town Or a break-you-town and bring-you-down town"[11].

Based on the results of our research, we can conclude that the stylistic features of repetition are multi-

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functional and serve to enhance the expressiveness of the lyric poetry, to highlight the main idea contained in it, as well as to give the lyric poetry expressiveness and emotional colour.

References

1. Arnold, I. V. Stylistics. Modern English language. Moscow: Flint, 2013. - 384 p.

2. Galperin, I. R. Stylistics of the English language. Textbook. M.: Krasang, 2014. - 336 p.

3. Repetition // Literary devices. Definition and examples of literary terms. URL: https://literarydevices.net/repetition/

4. Sinatra F. Let it snow. URL: https://en.lyrsense.com/frank_sinatra/let_it_snow

5. Sinatra F. New York, New York. URL: https://en.lyrsense.com /frank_sinatra/new_york_new_york

6. Sinatra F. I've got you under my skin. URL: https://en.lyrsense.com/frank_sinatra/ive_got_you_un der_my_skin_fs

7. Sinatra F. Ain't She Sweet. URL: https://genius.com/Frank-sinatra-aint-she-sweet-lyrics

8. Sinatra F. Fly me to the Moon. URL: https://en.lyrsense.com /frank_sinatra/fly_me_to_the_moon_fs

9. Sinatra F. It was a very good year. URL: https://en.lyrsense.com /frank_sinatra/it_was_a_very_good_year_fs

10. Sinatra F. Say it. URL: https://textypesen.com/frank-sinatra/say-it/

11. Sinatra F. This town. URL: https://en.lyrsense.com/frank_sinatra/this_town

12. Sinatra F. A long night. URL: https://en.lyrsense.com/frank_sinatra /a_long_night

13. Sinatra F. Strangers in the night. URL: https://en.lyrsense.com /frank_sinatra/Strangers_in_the_night

14. Sinatra F. Bang bang (My baby shot me down).

URL:https://en.lyrsense.com/cher/bang_bang_my_bab y_shot_me_down

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