英语中的修辞手法_修辞(for_students).doc

Figures of speech (修辞)are ways of making our language figurative. When we use words in other than their ordinary or literal sense to lend force to an idea, to heighten effect, or to create suggestive imagery, we are said to be speaking or writing figuratively. Now we are going to talk about some common forms of figures of speech.Figures of Resemblance and RelationshipSimile(明喻) Metaphor(暗喻) (隐喻) Metonymy(转喻) (借代)Synecdoche（提喻）Personification（拟人）Antonomasia （换称）一 Simile(明喻)Simile：(明喻)It is a figure of speech which makes a comparison between two unlike elements having at least one quality or characteristic (特性)in common. To make the comparison, words like as, as.as, as if and like are used to transfer the quality we associate with one to the other.Simile is a comparison between two different things that resemble each other in at least one way. In formal prose the simile is a device both of art and explanation, comparing an unfamiliar thing to some familiar thing (an object, event, process, etc.) known to the reader. For example, As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.1. Simile通常由三部分构成：本体（tenor or subject）,喻体（vehicle or reference）和比喻词（comparative word or indicator of resemblance）。eg: My love is like a red red rose. tenor comparative word vehicle2.句型（1）.like型A联系动词（以to be 居多）+likeEg: Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.生活没有目标犹如航行没有指南针实意动词+like。They will never be able to save money to buy a new housethey both spend money like water. as 型as在明喻句中用作介词，后跟名词。也可用作连词，后跟状语从句，表示动作或行为的方式。此外，还有两个常用句型，即asas和asso。英语里有不少含有明喻的成语，其结构为as+形容词+as+名词（第一个as可省略）。例如：(as) firm as a rock 坚如磐石(as) light as a feather 轻如鸿毛(as) close as an oyster 守口如瓶(as) mute as a fish 噤若寒蝉(as) strong as a horse 强壮如牛(as) cool as a cucumber 泰然自若(as) sober as a judge 十分清醒(as) sure as a gun 千真万确虚拟句型最常见的是as if/though，另外还有其他一些形式。Eg: He was a beautiful horse that looked as though he had come out of a painting by Vealsquez.这匹马真雄俊，看起来仿佛是从一副维拉斯奎兹的油画里跑出来的一样。The dogs were in full cry, their noses down, their tails up, so close together that might have been one great yellow and white moving carpet.那群狗吠叫着追猎，低着头，翘着尾巴，一条挨一条，看上去就像一块行进的黄白交织的大地毯。He woke them both up getting to bed, but when they tried to wake him up afterwards they might as well have tried to wake the dead.他去睡觉的时候把他们两个都弄醒了，但是后来他们想唤醒他时，简直就像唤死人一样。 what型A. A is to B what X is to YEg: Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.阅读之于思想，如同锻炼之于身体。Judicious praise is to children what the sun is to flowers.明智的表扬对于孩子的作用，就像阳光对于花朵的作用。B What X is to Y, A is to B. Eg: What salt is to food, that wit and humour are to conversation and literature.妙语与幽默对于会话与文学，恰似盐对于食物一样。What blood vessel is to a mans body, that railway is to transportation. 铁路对于运输，好比血管对于人体一样。than型 A home without love is no more than a body without a soul.没有爱的家无异于一具没有灵魂的躯体。 Man can not help craving for expression any more than birds can help singing.人之不能舒其襟怀，亦犹鸟之不能啭其歌喉。and型这是一种特殊的明喻句，常见于英语谚语。其中and的作用相当于like.Eg: A word and a stone let go cannot be recalled.说出的话犹如抛出的石，是收不回的。 Love and cough can not be hid.恋爱如同咳嗽，难逃他人耳目。Words and feathers are tossed by the wind.言语如羽毛，风刮到处飘。 Truth and roses have thorns about them.真理如玫瑰，全身都带刺。 King and bears often worry their keepers.国王跟熊一样，总使照料者坐立不安。二、Metaphor(隐喻)(暗喻)Metaphor：(暗喻)It is like a simile, also makes a comparison between two unlike elements, but unlike a simile, this comparison is implied rather than stated.For example, the world is a stage.Metaphor compares two different things by speaking of one in terms of the other. Unlike a simile or analogy, metaphor asserts that one thing is another thing, not just that one is like another. Very frequently a metaphor is invoked by the to be verb: Metaphor is compressed simile(简缩了的明喻)。在实际运用中Metaphor有时仅出现喻体，本体需要从上下文中分析推敲出来。英语Metaphor的运用格式灵活多样，它可以体现在任何句子成分上，如主语、谓语、表语、定语、宾语或状语。在表达上它可以是一个单词、一个词组或一个句子，甚至是一个段落。以下为英语Metaphor的常见运用格式：名词型最常见的句式是“甲是乙”，喻体一般体现在句子的表语部分。All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players.整个世界是座舞台，男男女女，演员而已。Money is a bottomless sea, in which honour, conscience, and truth may be drowned.金钱是无底的海洋，荣誉、良心和真理都可以淹没在其中。动词型The boy wolfed down the food the moment he grabbed it.那男孩儿一抓到食物便狼吞虎咽般地吃了下去。Some books are to be tasted, others swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested 。书有可浅尝者，有可吞食者，少数则须咀嚼消化。 形容词型She has a photographic memory for detail.她对细节有照相机般的记忆力。The mountainous waves swallowed up the ship.山一般的巨浪吞没了那艘航船。-of短语型-of-短语构成的英语隐语很普遍，根据其结构及用法特征又可细分为两类：A. a/the+N1+of+N2 Eg: the bridge of friendship, the valley of despair.B a+N1+of+a+N2 (N1和N2前除a外，还可用the或人称代词的所有格形式)Eg: a flower of a girl, a fox of a man The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.自由之树需要爱国者和暴君的鲜血来浇灌。鲜血是养育自由之树的天然基肥。A policeman waved me out of the snake of traffic and flagged me to stop.一位警察招手要我从长蛇般的车流中出来，并招呼我停下。三、Metonymy(转喻) (借代)Metonymy (转喻) It is a figure of speech that has to do with the substitution of the mane of one thing for that of another. For instance,. Beneath the rule of men entirely great The pen is mightier than the sword.该修辞故意不用需要说明的人或物的本称，而是借与该人或该物密切相关的事物名称来代替，即借乙名代甲称。Metonymy的运用基础是联想，两个相互借代的事物必然紧密相关，存在某种现实的联系。如：What is learned in the cradle is carried to the grave(幼小所学，终生不忘)，句中的the cradle与the grave是跟birth与death密切相关的事物，因此两者之间形成了借代关系。：以事物的特征代替事物本身A thousand mustaches can live together, but not four breast.千条汉子能共处，两个婆娘难相容。以工具代替动作或行为者A hundred bayonets were marching down the street.100把刺刀正沿街前进。以容器代替其中内容。Whenever my husband has a bad day at the office, he hits the bottle.每当我丈夫在办公室不顺心，他就会喝得酩酊大醉。以人体器官代替其功能The practiced ear can recognize a classic flavour.有音乐修养的人能够听出古典音乐的韵味。She has the eye for the fair and the beautiful.她有审美眼光。I have an opinion of you, sir, to which it is not easy to give the mouth.我对你有一个意见，先生，不过很难用话语表达出来。以人或动物代替其特性There is still much of the schoolboy in him.他身上还有许多小学生的气质。The wolf and the pig mingled together in his face.凶残与贪婪交织在一起，浮现在他的脸上。以原材料代替制成品The 25th Games in Barcelona saw 4golds and 5 silvers in swimming fall into Chinas pockets.在巴塞罗那举行的第25届奥运会上，游泳项目有4枚金牌、5枚银牌落入了中国队的囊中。And as he pluckd the cursed steel away, 当他拔出那可恶的凶器的时候Mark how the blood of Caesar followed瞧，恺撒的血是怎样跟着它流出来以作者或生产者代替作品或产品The captainhad fallen in possession of a complete Shakespeare.船长得到了一整套的莎士比亚作品。We drove a Ford to Hyde Park.我们驾驶一辆福特到海得公园去。以具体事物代替抽象事物Although his plan had not completely succeeded, she gave him a pat on the back for having tried so hard.尽管他的计划未获完全成功，但她对他作出的努力表示赞许。以抽象事物代替具体事物In the present instance, it was sickness and poverty together that she came to visit.在目前这种情况下，她一并前来探望的是病人和穷人以事物活动的处所代替事物或活动者She is an ageing opera singer who has retired from the stage to teach.她是一位年迈的歌剧演员，现已退出舞台从事教学。地名或建筑物名可借以代称设于那里的机构。如：Kremlin(克林姆林宫，俄罗斯政府) The Pentagon(五角大楼，美国国防部) Hollywood(好莱坞，美国电影业) Downing Street(唐宁街，英国政府) Foggy Bottom(雾谷，美国国务院) Buckingham Palace(白金汗宫，英国皇室) 等等。四、SynecdocheNote: Synecdoche can easily be mistaken for metonymy Synecdoche (提喻) It is involves the substitution of the part for the whole, or the whole for the part. In another word , a part is made to represent the whole, or vise versa. For instance, they say theres bread and work for all. She was dressed in silks.3.Synecdoche is a type of metaphor in which the part stands for the whole, the whole for a part, the genus for the species, the species for the genus, the material for the thing made, or in short, any portion, section, or main quality for the whole or the thing itself (or vice versa). A major lesson Americans need to learn is that life consists of more than cars and television sets. Two specific items substituted for the concept of material wealth Give us this day our daily bread. -Matt. 6:11 If you still do not feel well, youd better call up a sawbones and have him examine you. This program is for the little old lady in Cleveland who cannot afford to pay her heatingThere sits my animal instead of dog guarding the door to the henhouse. He hurled the barbed weapon instead of harpoon at the whale五、Personification（拟人）Personification: (拟人)It gives human form of feelings to animals, or life and personal attributes(赋予) to inanimate(无生命的) objects, or to ideas and abstractions(抽象). For example, the wind whistled through the trees.Laziness travels so slowly, that poverty soon overtakes him.懒惰缓慢而行，贫穷迎头赶上。.Liquor talks mighty loud when it gets loose from the jug.酒一从酒壶里溜出来就会大言不惭。.It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion.当狼依然持有不同意见之时，群羊要通过赞成素食主义的决议案也是无济于事的。.Mosquitoes were using my ankles for filling stations.蚊子把我的脚脖子当作了加油站。.Time is like a fashionable host, that slightly shakes his passing guest by th hand; and with his arms stretched, as he would fly, grasps in the comer. The welcomes ever smile, and farewell goes out sighing. （William Shakespeare）时间正像一个趋炎附势的主人，对于一个临去的客人不过和他略微握一握手，对于一个新来的客人，却伸开了双臂，飞也似地过去抱住他。欢迎是永远含笑的，告别总是带着叹息。.A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. ( Mark Twain)当真理刚刚穿上鞋子，谎言就可能已经走了半个世界。.How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth, stolen on his wing my three and twentieth year! (John Milton)时间，这个盗窃青春的狡猾的小偷，盗窃了我二十又三年飞走了。六Antonomasia(换称) Antonomasia (换称) It has also to do with substitution. It is not often mentioned now, though it is still infrequent use. 1 The use of an epithet or title in place of a name 2The use of a proper name instead of a common nounNote: there is a certain degree of overlapping with synecdoche.He is our Gorky. (famous Russian writer for a famous writer.)For example, Solomon for a wise man. Daniel for a wise and fair judge. Judas for a traitor.七Analogy (类比) Analogy: (类比)It is also a form of comparison, but unlike simile or metaphor which usually uses comparison on one point of resemblance, analogy draws a parallel between two unlike things that have several common qualities or points of resemblance.Analogy compares two things, which are alike in several respects, for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one. While simile and analogy often overlap, the simile is generally a more artistic likening, done briefly for effect and emphasis, while analogy serves the more practical end of explaining a thought process or a line of reasoning or the abstract in terms of the concrete, and may therefore be more extended. You may abuse a tragedy, though you cannot write one. You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you cannot make a table. It is not your trade to make tables. -Samuel Johnson He that voluntarily continues ignorance is guilty of all the crimes which ignorance produces, as to him that should extinguish the tapers of a lighthouse might justly be imputed the calamities of shipwrecks. -Samuel Johnson .For answers successfully arrived at are solutions to difficulties previously discussed, and one cannot untie a knot if he is ignorant of it. -Aristotle Notice in these examples that the analogy is used to establish the pattern of reasoning by using a familiar or less abstract argument which the reader can understand easily and probably agree with. Some analogies simply offer an explanation for clarification rather than a substitute argument: Knowledge always desires increase: it is like fire, which must first be kindled by some external agent, but which will afterwards propagate itself. -Samuel Johnson The beginning of all evil temptations is inconstancy of mind, and too little trust in God. For as a ship without a guide is driven hither and thither with every storm, so an unstable man, that anon leaveth his good purpose in God, is diversely tempted. The fire proveth gold, and temptation proveth the righteous man. -Thomas a Kempis When the matter is complex and the analogy particularly useful for explaining it, the analogy can be extended into a rather long, multiple-point comparison: The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. (And so forth, to the end of the chapter. -l Cor. 12:12 (NIV) The importance of simile and analogy for teaching and writing cannot be overemphasized. To impress this upon you better, I would like to step aside a moment and offer two persuasive quotations: The country parson is full of all knowledge. They say, it is an ill mason that refuseth any stone: and there is no knowledge, but, in a skilful hand, serves either positively as it is, or else to illustrate some other knowledge. He condescends even to the knowledge of tillage, and pastorage, and makes great use of them in teaching, because people by what they understand are best led to what they understand not. -George Herbert To illustrate one thing by its resemblance to another has been always the most popular and efficacious art of instruction. There is indeed no other method of teaching that of which anyone is ignorant but by means of something already known; and a mind so enlarged by contemplation and enquiry that it has always many objects within its view will seldom be long without some near and familiar image through which an easy transition may be made to truths more distant and obscure. -Samuel Johnson Figures of Emphasis and UnderstatementEuphemism（委婉）Hyperbole（夸张）Understatement（低调陈述）Contrast（对照）Antithesis（平行对照）Parallelism（平行）Repetition（反复）Oxymoron（矛盾修饰）Parody(仿拟) Zeugma(轭式搭配) Allusion（引喻）Irony（反语）Climax（层递）Anticlimax（突降）一Euphemism（委婉）Euphemism: (委婉) It is the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive(无冒犯) expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant. For instance, we refer to die as pass away.Euphemism（委婉）， 以文雅、悦耳或温婉来代替粗野、刺耳或直露。借助语音、语法、词汇，表达生活中使人尴尬、惹人不快、招人厌恶或令人恐惧的事物。Euphemism又叫sweet talk（甜言蜜语），gilded words（镀金的字眼）或cosmetic words（化装词）有关疾病、残疾、衰老、死亡疾病Look off colour（气色不好，指身体有病）under the weather（在恶劣天气条件下，指健康欠佳）not all there（神志不清，实指患精神病）long illness（久病，实指癌症）social disease（实指艾滋病）。替代illness或disease婉称疾病的词有condition, disorder, problem, trouble等。残疾Disabled（丧失能力的）handicapped（受到障碍的），,inconvenienced（行动不便的）,hard of hearing（听觉困难的），auditory-impaired（听觉损伤的）表示“耳聋的“；sight-deprived（被剥夺视力的）visually retarded（视力上有障碍的）指“失明”。衰老 “衰老”的委婉说法Advanced in age（年岁上先行的）past ones prime（已过壮年）feel one age（感觉上了年纪）golden age（金色岁月）sunset years（日落之年）表示“老人”senior citizen（资深的公民），the longer living（生活经历较长者）。.死亡多达上百条。如，go west（西去），be at rest（安息），be asleep in the Arms of God（安睡在上帝的怀抱中），go the way of all flesh（走众生之路），join ones ancestors（加入祖先的行列），return to dust（归之尘土），breathe ones last（作最后一次呼吸），pass away（离去），run ones race（跑完自己的赛程），be no longer with us（与我们永别了）。有关人体、排泄、性爱、生育A.人体“赤身露体”In the altogether（全体），in a state of nature（处于天然状态），in ones birthday suit(身着生日服装)“女性乳房”globes（球体）apples（苹果）curves（曲线）charms（迷人之处）表示“阴部”、“生殖器”private parts（私处）外，affair（事情），it（它），thing（东西），place（地方），what-do-you-call-it（那玩意儿）.B.排泄Pass air（排气），let a breezer（刮一阵微风），make a noise“放屁”；，“大小便wash ones hands（洗洗手）relieve oneself（让自己轻松一下），get some fresh air（去呼吸点新鲜空气），answer the call of nature（应付自然本能之需）C.性爱“性交Go all the way（走完全程），have relations with（与人有关系），go to bed with（与之共寝），make love（做爱），do it（干那种事）等用于指”；“同居”live together（住在一起）married but not churched（结婚了但未去教堂举行仪式），“谈恋爱”walk out（出去溜达）；“乱搞男女关系”sleep around（到处睡觉）D生育“怀孕”in the family way（家居打扮的），eating for two（吃双份饭），swallow a watermellon（吞了颗西瓜籽），in trouble（惹上麻烦，指未婚先孕），learn all about diaper folding（学叠尿布），rehearsing lullabies（练唱催眠曲），wear the apron high（围裙高系）。“分娩”be confined（行动受限制），in travail（处于痛苦之中）。有关社会职业、社会问题的委婉语A.职业从事卑微职业者拨高、美化职业:名称本义委婉义Shoetrician鞋靴专家补鞋匠garbologist垃圾学专家垃圾清运工Domestic engineer家庭工程师家庭妇女Aisle manager通道经理商场巡视员Chimney consultant烟囱顾问烟囱工State electrician州级电气师电椅操纵手Land architect风景建筑师园丁、花匠B.犯罪偷窃：to hook（钩、钓），to palm（藏于掌中），to work the hole （在洞里干，指“在地铁里行窃”），to walk away with（带走某物，指“顺手牵羊”）。抢劫：to clip（夹住），to put the arm on（架臂于某人），to break a jug（打破罐子，指“抢劫银行”）。吸毒：to blow snow（吹雪，指“嗅闻可卡因”），to lie down（躺下，指“抽大烟”）to trip out（旅行，指“吸毒后产生迷幻”），Lady snow（白雪夫人，即“可卡因”），joy powder（快活粉，指“毒品”）。贿赂：to fix（安排，即“买通”），to oil（加油润滑，即“行贿”），kickback（回扣），protection money（保护费）。谋杀：to X out（打叉划掉，即“谋杀”），to disappear（消失，即“被利索地除掉”），to die in a necktie（颈系领带而亡，指“被绞死”），to go cool（变凉了，指“被同伙杀掉灭口”）。惩罚：to throw the book at sb（将书向某人掷去，实指“对其判重刑”，the book表示“法律条文”等）to drop into the bucket（扔进水桶，指“投入监狱”），do time（度过时光，指“服刑”），to walk the last mile（走最后的里程，即“上刑场”）。有关政治、经济、军事、外交的委婉语A.政治DP(=displaced person离乡者，指“难民”),energy release（能量释放，指“核辐射泄露”），eyes only（只准用眼，指“绝密文件”），to misspeak（口误，表示：“出言不慎”或“撒谎”），ongoing situation（持续态势，指“老大难问题），to knock doors（到处敲门，指“游说议员”）。B.经济A revenue gap（岁入差，即“赤字”），slowdown（减速，指“经济衰退”）,cash flow problem（现金流动问题，即“可用现金不足”），adjustment downward（下向调整，指“效益不佳”），income maintenance（维持性收入，即“救济金”），technical adjustment（技术性调整，指“股票市场价格的波动”）。C.军事Air support（空中支持，即“轰炸”），all out strategic exchange（全面战略交火，实际指“世界核大战”），to pacify（绥靖，指“毁掉敌方城市乡村”）to escalate（升级，指“扩大战争范围及烈度”）adjustment of the front（战线调整，即“撤退”）Depart