It was one of the nights in the rainy season in March, the four-and-twentieth year of my first

setting foot in this island of solitude, I was lying in my bed or hammock, awake, very well in
health, had no pain, no distemper, no uneasiness of body, nor any uneasiness of mind more than
ordinary, but could by no means close my eyes, that is, so as to sleep; no, not a wink all night
long, otherwise than as follows:
It is impossible to set down the innumerable crowd of thoughts that whirled through that great
thoroughfare of the brain, the memory, in this night’s time.  I ran over the whole history of my
life in miniature, or by abridgment, as I may call it, to my coming to this island, and also of that
part of my life since I came to this island.  In my reflections upon the state of my case since I
came on shore on this island, I was comparing the happy posture of my affairs in the first years
of my habitation here, with the life of anxiety, fear, and care which I had lived in ever since I had
seen the print of a foot in the sand.  Not that I did not believe the savages had frequented the
island even all the while, and might have been several hundreds of them at times on shore there;
but I had never known it, and was incapable of any apprehensions about it; my satisfaction was
perfect, though my danger was the same, and I was as happy in not knowing my danger as if I
had never really been exposed to it.  This furnished my thoughts with many very profitable
reflections, and particularly this one: How infinitely good that Providence is, which has
provided, in its government of mankind, such narrow bounds to his sight and knowledge of
things; and though he walks in the midst of so many thousand dangers, the sight of which, if
discovered to him, would distract his mind and sink his spirits, he is kept serene and calm, by
having the events of things hid from his eyes, and knowing nothing of the dangers which
surround him.

1. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TEXT

The text under analysis is taken from the novel Robinson Crusoe belonging to the pen of the
famous writer Daniel Defoe.
The author
Daniel Defoe was an English trader, writer, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous
for his novel Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the
Bible in its number of translations. Defoe wrote many political tracts and was often in trouble
with the authorities, and spent a period in prison. Intellectuals and political leaders paid attention
to his fresh ideas and sometimes consulted with him.
Robinson Crusoe is a middle – class hero. He’s pragmatic, he trusts his own abilities, he is able
to survive. Dafoe explores the conflict between economical motivation and spiritual salvation :
the island is the ideal place for Robinson to prove his qualities organising a primitive empire.
Theme - At the center of Robinson Crusoe is a tension between society and individuality.
Main idea - Self-Reliance. Robinson Crusoe is at its core a story of adventure, and true to
its nature the hero must rely upon his wits and courage to survive. Throughout the novel readers
see this theme in action.
Setting - The story begins in mid-17th-century York, with a brief account of Robinson
Crusoe's early years. From there it moves to the Moorish port of Sallee, where Crusoe is
imprisoned after his capture by pirates, and then to Brazil, where he sets up as a planter after his
escape.
2. LEXICAL PECULIARITIES
Semantic classes of words:
Monosemantic words: solitude, habitation, Apprehension, satisfaction, miniature(scientific
terms)
Polysemantic words: Health (1 the activity or business of providing medical services, 2 the
condition of someone's body or mind, or the state of being well, 3 the condition of a company,
organization, or economy and the degree to which it is successful or makes a profit); Time (1. the
part of existence that is measured in minutes, days, years, etc., or this process considered as a
whole 2 the system of recording hours used in different parts of the world, 3 an amount of time
that you have available to do something.);Sight (1. the ability to see 2. something that is in
someone's view 3. a part of a gun or other device through which you look to help you aim at
something )
Homographs: can(to be able to:/ a closed metal container, especially cylinder-shaped, in which
some types of drink and food are sold); sink (to (cause something or someone to) go down below
the surface or to the bottom of a liquid or soft substance/ a bowl that is attached to the wall in a
kitchen or bathroom in which you wash dishes or your hands)
Antonyms: solitude-danger, lay-stand, mankind-animals, sleep – be awake
Set-phrases: well in health, uneasiness of body, all the while, by abridgement
Idioms: set one’s foot in smth - to enter a place;
Phraseological units: run over - to look at, examine, think of, or deal with a set of things, esp.
quickly;
Structure of words: simple(foot, close, crowd, anxiety); derived(uneasiness, habitation,
apprehensions); compound(mankind)
Lexico-semantic groups: feelings(solitude, uneasiness, pain, fear, danger, affair); body
parts(foot, brain, eyes, body, mind)
Stylistic stratification of words: formal(thoroughfare, welfare)neutral(body, close, posture,
walk);
The emotional tone of the speech is achieved by a number of colloquial means: colloquial words
and phrases (very well in health, had no pain, no distemper, no uneasiness of body, nor any
uneasiness of mind; impossible to set down the innumerable crowd of thoughts . I ran over the
whole history of my life) elliptical sentences (that great thoroughfare of the brain, the memory,
in this night’s time, How infinitely good that Providence is, which has provided, in its
government of mankind, )
3. GRAMMATICAL PECULIARITIES
Morphology
Use of tenses: Past tenses prevail in the text: Past Simple (It was one of the nights in the…, I ran
over the whole history of…, Not that I did not believe the savages had) Past Continuous (, I was
lying in my bed or hammock…, I was comparing the happy posture) Past perfect(the savages
had frequented the island…, but I had never known it, and…, if I had never really been exposed
to it.)
Passive voice (I had never really been exposed to it.; he is kept serene and calm,; events of things
hid from his eyes,)
Grammatical constructions: Possessive case(, in this night’s time; ) infinitives(to sleep, to set
down, to live) participle 1 (, I was lying, I was comparing, knowing nothing of the dangers )
participle 2(might have been several hundreds, I had lived in ever since I had seen) gerund(year
of my first setting foot, to my coming to this island, happy in not knowing my danger, , by
having the events )
Syntax
Sentences’ structure: Compound sentences (It was one of the nights in the rainy season in March,
the four-and-twentieth year of my first setting foot in this island of solitude, I was lying in my
bed or hammock, awake, very well in health, had no pain, no distemper, no uneasiness of body,
nor any uneasiness of mind more than ordinary, but could by no means close my eyes, that is, so
as to sleep; no, not a wink all night long, otherwise than as follows:) Complex sentences(.  I ran
over the whole history of my life in miniature, or by abridgment, as I may call it, to my coming
to this island, and also of that part of my life since I came to this island. )
Homogeneous members of sentences: Copulative: and, not only... but also, neither ... nor, as
well as or, either... or (I was lying in my bed or hammock, awake, very well in health, had no
pain, no distemper, no uneasiness of body, nor any uneasiness of mind more than ordinary, but
could by no means close my eyes, that is, so as to sleep; no, not a wink all night long, otherwise
than as follows:)

4. Stylistic peculiarities
Phono-graphical features: alliteration( f posture of my affairs in the first years of my habitation
here, with the life of anxiety, fear,; )
Lexical stylistic devices: allegory (island of solitude, print of foot,) allegory of the whole text:
Crusoe ultimately finds God and draws comfort from his relationship with God. Perhaps we too
can also draw comfort by establishing a similar relationship with God. Defoe's novel is, in this
sense, a dramatization of universal experience: "We are all Crusoe, for to be Crusoe is the human
fate." One critic has described this novel as an "epic of solitude"; antonomasia(Province – to
emphasise the fact that he converts his whole prolonged stay on the island into a kind of
commercial investment which brings him rich dividends)
We also have a deal with epithets which the author uses to describe his feelings more vividly(the
innumerable crowd of thoughts,profitable reflections) hyperbole(so many thousand dangers, and
might have been several hundreds of them at times on shore there, , that is, so as to sleep; no, not
a wink all night long, life of anxiety, fear, and care); metaphor(crowd of thoughts, thoroughfare
of the brain, ran over the whole history, furnished my thoughts, walks in the midst of so many
thousand dangers, sink his spirits) simile(I was as happy in not knowing my danger as if I had
never really been exposed to it. ) synonymic repetition (thoroughfare of the brain, the memory,)