To the Question of the Individual Style of S. Milligan

Abstract

The article explores the individual style of the writer, analyses some mechanisms of the creation of comic and eccentric effects in poems for children by outstanding English writer S. Milligan and gives the basic characteristics of linguistic means in his poetic works. Comic and eccentric effects in the works of the author are represented as a game with meaning, the interpretation of events or phenomena in completely different forms, leading to a duality of understanding. Polysemy, homonymy, onomatopoeia, unexpected children’s interpretations or explanations of what is happening and the game moments are the basis of creating a comic effect in the poems and fairytales for children by S. Milligan. Phonetic puns, illogical things, grotesque, oxymoron, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, impersonation, the creation of new words, chiasm, allusion and antithesis are the main stylistic means in the poetic works of the writer. Moreover, simplicity and euphony are important characteristics of the individual style of S. Milligan. Therefore, various expressive language and visual-graphical means used by the author are connected and aesthetically justified to make the text bright and figurative.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s4p215