#7 Expressive means and Stylistic devices

Finally, let's proceed to the last part of our analysis. I shouldn't say that this text is full of expressive means and stylistic devices, because the author's narration in rather serious, the main aim here is to show this ironical effect that one can observe in the end of the novel. That's why he tried not to express the personality of a main hero, no, he was an ordinary man. But through the actions and movements in a climatic moment, we can notice some means of expression, Bierce uses. So, in order to portray the characters, to render the mood and reveal the idea vividly and convincingly, the author of analysed text resorts to such devices:

Lexical:  metaphors: theatre of war, military rat-trap - to express war reality, some territories which are under military actions; equestrian statue - to show the grace and tranquility of a horseman; face of rock - that rock was enormous, even had some kind of face: in the cloud of the horse's mane - the mane was thick, again, author expresses grace of the horse and equestrian; a touch upon a trigger - just one single action.  Personification:  duty had conquered , the spirit had said to the body - to emphasize on the concentration of Carter; a sound that died - when a murdered father fell of the cliff- to show the feeling of a soldier; legs failed him - Carter was frightened; a courtesy that masked a breaking heart - a feeling of father to the son, when he claimed his decision; road turned west, turned southward, went zigzagging - to show the complexity of setting, the territory of the place. Allegory: angel came in a dream; messenger of fate touched - to express the sence of something that hase woke Carter up; some new Apocalypse - after Carter fired, he felt like the whole world is crashing. Periphrasis: the sleeping sentinel, criminal, young Virginian - are the words denoting Carter Druse, in different places and time; equestrian, horseman, figure, statue, a Grecian god in the marble - to emphasize on successfullness of father as the American soldier; officer was overcome by the intensity of his emotions - to express the nervous state of Carter; charger - horse. Different epithets are used:  extended, loosely, perilous in the extreme, quietly but gravely - to create the full characterization of the main hero; brave, compassionate heart - shows power of the opponent; half-defined feeling- which is not yet understandible to Carter; broad awake and keenly alive - to show the aim of Carter; magnified - expresses the astonishment; accoutment softened and subdued by the shadow - to show how perfect the man is, from each side; statue of impressive dignity- impressivness of the figure; with aimless feet - unwillingly; marvelous performance and other - carelessly, fatal, hardly less blue, cautiously - mostly to intensify the meaning of actions and subjects. Simile: as tranquil as a sleeping babe's; as a divine mandate, rang the words; he looked through the deeps of air downward as from the surface to the bottom of translucent sea; hair, waiving like a plume; with all the legs thrown sharply forward as in the act of alighting from a leap - numerous similes in the text help the reader to understand and appreciate the situation in the whole sence. Hyperbole: heroic, almost colossal size - to create the image of something enormous; incredible truth - to exaggerate on the situation, when saying the truth is not necessary; gigantic face of rock - to show how enormous and big the mountain is; in the cloud of horse's lifted mane - thick mane of a horse;
Syntactical: There are some cases of repetition: without the movement, without the sound..; to look into his face, into his eyes..; without warning, without a momen'ts preparation, with never so much as unspoken prayer - to point out, put a stress on the details of situation; and climax: to look into his face, into his eyes, into his brave, compassionate heart - to show the sequence of the actions; Druse grew pale, shook in very limb, turned faint - express the sequence of feelings; anticlimax - without a movement, without a sound, in the profound silence - shows how silen he became.
There are no phonetic, graphic and phonetic, graphic means of expression.
Summing up the analysis of the given extract, one should say that the writer Ambrose Bierce brilliantly uses mostly lexical devices, such as metaphor, epithet, simile, hyperbole, periphrasis, and syntactically, climax, anticlimax and repetition, which help to reveal the main character's nature, to create true-to-life atmosphere of the events and played a considerable role in this sad but simultaneously interesting and breathtaking story.