英语中修辞方法要点

1、高级英语修辞By figures of speech we refer to those rhetorical devices termed tropes in classical rhetoric. Tropes have to do with the way words are made to mean other tha n what they would no rmally imply, and therefore invo Ive deviati on from the ord inary and literal meaning of words. They are ways of

2、making our Ianguage figurative.1. Simile（明喻）Simile develops out of the Latin word "similis" meaning "like". A simile is a figure of speech which makes a comparison between two unlike eleme nts hav ing at least one quality or characteristic in com mon. The comparison is purely ima

3、ginative. To make the comparison, words like as, as.so, and like are used to transfer the quality we associate with one to the other.Simile（明喻）一词源于拉丁语，意思是：象、如一样。明喻直接比较两个或两个以上不同的人或事物，英语中常用的喻词是like和as。明喻比较的不同的人和事物之间必须至少有一个共同点，而所进 行的比较纯属想象。1.1 was interrupted in my meditations by a noise like the Scotc

4、h express going under a bridge. It was Honoria Glossop laughing. -by P.G Wodehouse 一阵犹如直快火车在桥下隆隆驶过的响声打断了我的思 路。原来是格洛思蒲在笑。2. He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow.-by George Eliot这个人就像一只骄傲自负的公鸡，以为太阳升起是为了听它啼鸣3. One bli nks before the dirty houses as one bli nks before a man

5、with his face shot away. - H丄.Me ncken人们看到这所肮脏的房子，就像看到 一个脸被子弹崩掉的人一样，惊愕不已。4. Mary and her mother are as like as two peas.玛丽和她母亲长得酷 似。2. Metaphor(隐喻)A metaphor, like a simile, also makes a comparison between two unlike elements, but unlike a simile, this comparison is implied rather than stated. A met

6、aphor is in a sen sea conden sedsimile, differi ng from the latter only in form and artistry. Let's compare:Metaphor(隐喻)和明喻一样，也是两个不同事物之间的比较，但它有 别于明喻，这种比较是隐含的，非陈述的。隐喻是一种浓缩的明喻， 只是形式和表现手法不一样。Let's compare:Jim was as cunning as a fox. ( simile )Jim was a fox. ( metaphor )The world is like a stag

7、e. ( simile )The world is a stage. ( metaphor )Let's look at more examples:1. They wan ted to get into the fun before the whole thi ng turned belly up. 它们要在这场战争结束之前也过一下打仗的瘾。analysis For description, a dead fish which would be belly up implies the end of the thing. In translation, the implied rhe

8、torical meaning is give n in stead of the literary meaning of the origi nal.2. Malone accused Bryan of calling for a duel to the death betweenscienee and religion.Then the court broke into a storm of applause that passed that for Brya n. The crowd seemed to feel that their champi on had not scorched

9、 the infidels with the hot breath of his oratory as he should have.Joh n Scopes马隆呼吁学术自由，指责布赖恩挑起科学与宗教之间的殊死斗争。听众们似乎觉得他们的雄辨家布赖恩并没有能象往日那样以其三寸 不料之舌击败马隆那些异教徒们。analysis The write uses the words "duel" and "storm" and "scorched" to mean metaphorically "the dead struggle be

10、twee n scie nee and religi on", the idealistic support of the mass and the unreasonableresentment of them against reasonable ideas决斗"，"暴风雨"和"烧焦"3. His eyes came out of his head like a prawn's, and once more his moustache foamed up against his breakwater of a nose.by

11、 Mr.Woodhouse他那两只对虾眼在头上凸出来，鼻孔中喷出的热气把胡须吹得飘来飘去。4. Of all the arts, tragedy is the proudest, the most triumphant; for itbuilds its shining citadel in the very center of the enemy's country, on the very summit of his highest moun tai n; from its impreg nable watch-towers, his camps and arse nals, hi

12、s colu mns and forts are all revealed.Bertra nd Russell悲剧是艺术之巅，是艺术的骄傲，因为悲剧把自己辉煌的城堡建造在敌人心脏地区的峰项上，在坚不可摧的敌人的防区扎起营房、设下火药库、排好队列并且造起炮楼。5. Kno wledge bega n to in crease as soon as the thoughts of one in dividualcould be com muni cated to ano ther by means of speech. Then kno wledge began to be accumulated

13、 according to a systematic plan. The trickle became a stream; the stream has now become a torrent.by G N. M.Tyrell语言一旦成为人们交流思想的工具，知识就开始增加，随后就 是知识的系统化积累。点点滴滴的知识汇成潺潺涓流，涓涓溪流又汇 成汪洋大海，取之不尽、用之不绝。6. The hall way was zebra-striped with darkness and moonlight.-Kurt Vonn egut Jr.月光射进回廊，在黑暗中投下条条光影。3. Met on ym

14、y（换喻）Origin at ing from Greek, metonymy means "a cha nge of n ame", that is, the use of one thi ng for ano ther related to it, as "the Ben ch" for the magistrates or judges sitt ing in court, "a silk " for a Quee n's Coun sel, "the bottle" for alcoholic li

15、quor.Meto ny my(换喻)一词来源于希腊语，意思是：名称的变换。换喻就 是用一个事物的名称替换与它有连带关系的另一事物的名称，例如， 用法官坐的"板凳"替换"法庭的法官"；用法官穿的"丝服"表示"英国王 室的法律顾问"；用盛酒的"瓶子"替换"酒"。The glories of our blood and state,Are shadows, not substa ntial thi ngs;There is no armor against fate;Death

16、lays his icy hand on kin gs;Scepter and Crow nMust tumble dow nAnd in the dust be equal madeWith the poor crooked Scythe and Spade.(Shirley, The Glories of Our Blood)Metonymy can be derived from various sourcesfrom names ofpersons, from animals, professions, locations, or names of places:A. Names of

17、 pers ons1. Joh n Bull: En gla nd, or the En glish people2. Uncle Sam: The United States of AmericaB. An imals1. British Lion: England or the English government2. the bear: The former Soviet union or the Soviet governmentC. Parts of the body1. heart: feeli ngs or emoti ons2. gray hair: old ageD. Pro

18、fessi ons1 the bar: the legal professi on;.2. the ben ch: positi on (office) of judge or magistrate;3. the veil: vocati on of a nun;4. the press: n ewspapers; n ewspaper reporters;E. Locati ons of gover nment, of bus in ess or in dustrial en terprises1. Downing Street: the British government or cabi

19、net2. The White House: the Preside nt or Executive branch of the U. S. gover nment.3. Capitol Hill: the Legislative branch of the U.S. government.4. the Pen tag on: the U.S. military establishme nt5. Kremli n: the gover nment of the former Soviet Un io n6. Fleet Street: the British press7. Wall Stre

20、et: U.S. finan cial circles8. Madis on Ave nue: America n advertis ing in dustry9. Hollywood: America n film-mak ing in dustry10. Foggy Botto n: U.S. State Departme ntLet's look at some examples:1 Lands bel ong to the crow n.普天之下皆王土。2 The kettle boils.壶里的水开了。3 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou

21、 eat bread.为了生存，人皆要劳动。作者原文中用"汗水"替代"劳动"用"吃面包"替代"生存"。4. Synecdoche提喻)Syn ecdoche has often bee n con fused with metonymy, and sometimes even treated synonymously. This is not surprising, as both figures of speech invoIve substitution, only metonymy invoIves subs

22、titution of the name of one thing for that of another closely associated with it, whereas synecdoche invoIves the substitution of the part for the whole, or the whole for the part.A. The part for the whole1 hand: a) member of a ship' s crewAll hands on deck.b) worker, laborer, helper They were s

23、hort of hands atharvest time.2 head: pers onHe paid the workers $ 5 per head.3 heart: brave fellowYet there were some stout hearts who attempted resista nee. (C.S.Forester)4 legs(coll.) pers ons on foot ; the infan tryThe legs could hardly keep up with the tan ks.5 bread: food, esp. staple food_ Giv

24、e us this day our daily bread.(Prayer)_ They say there's bread and work for all, And the sun shi nes always there;But I'll n ot forget old Irela nd,Were it fifty times as fair. (Helen S. Blackwood)B. The whole for the part1 Name of country for group of people of that countryAustralia beat Ca

25、n ada at cricket.(=the Australia n team beat Can adia n team)2 Vehicle for engine, machi ne for mecha nism of mach ine itself, etc._ The car con ked out._ The pla ne's flamed out!_ The radio(TV) is out of order.3 Pers on for part of his bodyThen he cut me ope n and took out the appe ndix and sti

26、tched me up aga in (二cut his abdome n ope n)Let's look at more examples:1 With thunders from her native oak, She quells the flood below.By Thomas Campbell战舰喷出雷鸣般的炮火，在狂浪中稳健地向前冲.an alysis "Oak"represe nts the warships as well as the material from which they are made.2 Chelsea won the mat

27、ch.切尔斯队在足球赛中获胜.an alysis Chelsea sta ndsfor the Chelsea Football team .In the Chi nese version, we put the synecdoche into the truth-telling implied meaning.3 The case had erupted rou nd my head.这个案子硬是把我搅了进去。an alysis Head is a part of a pers on and here sta nds for the pers on. This is a syn ecdoch

28、e in which part sta nds for the whole. The Chin ese vers ion has the implied meaning give n clearly.4 But n either his vanity nor his purse is any concern of the dicti on ary's.编撰词典、收录词条可不管谁有钱、谁有名气。（原文中使用了提喻，以装钱的包代替钱包里所装的钱， 汉语中译出了提喻所寓的修辞 意义。）5. Personification（拟人）By definition, personification i

29、s a figure of speech that gives human form of feelings to animals, or life and personal attributes to inanimate objects, or to ideas and abstracti on s. Pers on ificatio n（拟人）是写作中人为地把 人格赋予事物或抽象概念，使之似乎活起来的修辞格。1 I ran across a dim photograph of him the other day, going through some old thi ngs. He'

30、;s bee n dead twen ty-five years. His n ame was Rex and he was a bull-terrier.James Thurberan alysis Here a dog is pers oni fied.2 The wind whistled through the trees.analysis Here the wind is personified3 If not always in a hot mood to smash, the sea is always stealthily readyfor a drow ning.Joseph

31、 Conradan alysis Here the n atural phe nomena "the sea" is pers oni fied.4 She sat like Patienee on a monument Smiling at Grief. WilliamCowperanalysis Here an abstraetion, patienee, is personified.5 The long flames sang their drumming chorus in voices of the heaviest bass.6 The light we se

32、e coming from some far-off stars started on its journey more tha n a hun dred years ago.6. Euphemism（委婉）The word euphemism comes from Greek meaning 'fair speech'. It is the habit of avoiding an unpleasant or taboo reference by substituting some in direct word or expressi on for the blunt dir

33、ect one, as we say that somebody 'passed away 'whe n we mean that he died. Euphemism（婉） 词来自希腊语，意思是：顺耳的话。习惯上，这是一种用间接的言 词取代生硬的话语，以避免不愉快和禁忌语的方式。如：不说某某"死了"，而说他"过世了"。A. Death, Illness, Old Age, etc1. to die to pass away; to depart; to go to sleep; to go to heave n2. old age, s

34、en ilitygetting on (in years); past one's prime; feeling one's age; second childhood3. old peoplesenior citize ns4. mad; feeble- min dednot all there; soft in the head; of unsound mind; simple-min ded5. stupid pupila slow lear ner; un der-achiever6. fat peopleweight-watchers(The motive for t

35、he euphemisms in this case seems to be to avoid hurting people's feeli ngs.)B. Toilet Habits, etc.1. to urin ate or to defecatego to the bathroom;do their bus in ess;an swer n ature's call;(The motive here, obviously, is to avoid using the true words which arecon sidered crude and in dece nt

36、 in polite conv ersati on.)C. Poverty and Un employme nt1. dismiss, sacklay off; ease out; give (get) the walki ng ticket, pink slip2. Penn ilessout of pocket; hard up; in reduced circumsta nces;badly offD. Men ial jobs or professi ons of low social sta nding1. a maid, housekeeper, etc.domestic help

37、; day-help; live-i n help2. chief waiter, waitresscapta in; hostess3. real estate age ntrealtor4. hairdresserbeauticia n5. ja nitorsuperi ntendent; custodia n6. un dertakermorticia n7. rat-catcherexterm in at ing engin eer; pest con trol operatorThe motive here is plainly to uplift these professions

38、 by name.Let's look at more examples:1 A man is helpi ng police with their inq uiries.一名罪犯正在配合警察的审讯工作。an alysis A suspected crimi nal isdeta ined by the police and probably un der close arrest.2 A clea n bomb put qua ntities of people to rest.一枚炮弹送很多人回了老家。analysis An atom bomb kills manypeople.3

39、 He is out visit ing the n ecessary.他出去方便了一下 an alysis He is in the lavatory, or W.C.7. Hyperbole（夸张）Hyperbole is the deliberate use of overstatement or exaggeration to achieve emphasis.In stead of say ing in pla in Ian guage "She is a pretty girl" or "He laughed heartily" we cou

40、ld express the same ideas more emphatically by say ing "She is the prettiest girl in the world" or "He almost died laughi ng." Effective hyperbole, however, is more tha n just to emphasize somethi ng in exaggerated terms. In the hands of experieneed writers it can be used to achi

41、eve various literary effects: to inten sify emoti on, to elevate a pers on or thing to heroic or mythical status, or to poke fun at or ridicule. Moreover, its form, too, can vary from a phrase, a sentence, to a paragraph or paragraphs of description. Sometimes a whole story orarticle may be one big

42、hyperbole.Examples of these various forms and uses are give n below.1 A Vow to Zip His Lipsan alysis It is impossible to zip on e's lip, so this is hyperbole.2 Beli nda smiled, and all the world was gay.3 Hamlet: I loved Ophelia, forty thousand brothers could not, with alltheir qua ntity of love

43、, make up my sum.4 For she was beautifulher beauty madeThe bright world dim, and everyth ing besideSeemed like the fleeting image of a shade.P.B.Shelley: "The Witch of Atlas"8. Onomatopoeia拟声）This device makes use of imitatio n of sounds for effect.Onomatopoeia拟声）是一种模拟声音，追求特殊语言效果的修辞手 法。The

44、se sounds may be those made by a person, animal or thing, or associated with some action or movement. For example, moo, meow, bow-wow, hiss, roar and baa are respectively imitative of the cries or calls of cows, cats, dogs, sn akes, li ons and sheep. In the same way, trains toot; doors bang; wi ndow

45、s rattle; fire crackles; machi nes cla ng; and rac ing cars go vroom-vroom. It is a device much used in poetry and prose to add vividness or vitality to description or narration.1 Spring, the sweet Spring, is the year's pleasant king;Then blooms each thi ng, the n maids dance in a ring,Cold doth

46、 not sti ng, the pretty birds do sing,Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!Thomas Nash: "Spri ng"2 Ding! Whrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Crash!A tiny virus called Michela ngelo whips the computer world into a fren zy.3 Rent a toot or buy a tweet, boom, zing, twang, tin kle, hum or pli nk. (Advertisement

47、for Dallas Music Company - Reader's Digest, June 1981)4 As you approach the copper-smith's market, a tinkling and banging and clash ing beg ins to imp inge on your ear.5 Four or five thousand men in all, winding up the road with a clumping of boots and a clatter of ir on wheels, were marchi

48、ng southward.7 He finds himself projected into a hall full of people humming with an ticipati on.9. Paregmenon同源词并列)As a figure of speech, paregme non is the use of several words of similar origin close together. Its function is to accumulate strength by phono logical mea ns.Paregmenon同源词并列）并列这种辞格连续

49、使用几个同源词，凭借其类似的音韵增强语势。1 Can't you sense his sen sibility难道你没有意识到他是多么敏感？an alysis "se nse" echoes pho no logically with the first part of the sounds of "se nsibility". Such a short sentence have the same sounds repeated and the two words come from the same origin, thus making t

50、he impression and the in terrogatio n strong in sen time nt.2 What will effect the effectiveness?还能有什么办法会产生这种效果呢？an alysis "effect" matches "effective ness" in soun ds, thus giving stress.In translation, we show the rhetorical effect by adding a part of un doubted questi on.3 &qu

51、ot;There's one thi ng you may be sure of, n amely, that lies are lies. Don't you tell any more of them, Pip. And as to being com mon, you can't get to be un com mon through going crooked." said Joe after some reflecti on.Dicke ns乔伊想一阵后说：”匹普，有一件事你要记住：谎言就 是谎言。再也不要说谎。至于没出息'的问题，人若是不

52、走正道，是' 出息'不了的"。4 Although William Blake was evidently sometimes prone to answer a fool accord ing to his folly, he ofte n expla ined in sober earn est his ideas of the essential truth of art虽然威廉布菜克往往好用”以其人之道，还治 其人之身"的办法回敬某个笨蛋，但是他常常极其诚恳而平和解释他 自己的精辟的艺术见解。5 "Still, I th ink you&#

53、39;ll do the job all right, Dixo n. It's n ot that you've the qualificatio ns, but you have n't got the disqualificati ons, and that is much rarer.""丘克斯，我还是认为你可以干这件事。不是因为你合乎资格；而是因为你没有不合格的地方。这才是难得的。"6 He tried to force his spirits down, to expect nothing but unexpected and

54、very marshy mushi ness他竭力镇静下来，只等着出乎意料和难解难分 的情况发生。7 The flow ing water helped her thoughts to flow. 潺潺流水使她思绪翩 翩。10. Pun（双关语）Pun is a figure of speech to play on words, or rather to play with the form and meaning of words, for a witty or humorous effect.Pun（双关语）是一种使用音异义词或多义词以取得诙谐效果的修饰手法。a form of word

55、 play which exploits nu merous meanings of a stateme nt, allowing it to be understood in multiple ways for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic, homographic, metonymic, or metaphorical Ian guage.There are many words i

56、n the En glish Ian guage which look or sound alike, but have differe nt sen ses, or conno tati ons.e.g.a) arms (part of the body)arms(weap ons)b) see(verb, to sight)see (noun, a bishop's diocese)see (noun, a vast expa nse of water)c) row(verb, to row a boat)row (noun, a row of houses)row (noun,

57、a no isy quarrel, pronoun ced /rau/ )There are also words which have more tha n one basic meaning, or have developed figurative meanin gs.e.g.d) bridge(a woode n bridge)(a den tal bridge)e) power(authority, force)(en ergy, as in electric power)f) table(a di ning table)(a table numbers, a time-table)

58、Based on the above two types of similarities in words, there are two broad classes of puns.1) Why is an empty purse always the same?Because there is never any change in it. （change can be “变化” or“零钱”）2）What do lawyers do after they die? Lie still.3）A professor tapped on his desk and shouted:-orderGe

59、ntleme nThe entire class yelled,“ Beer! ”.4）On Sun day they pray for you, on Mon day they prey on you. （homophone同音异形异义词）5）lf we don' t hang together, we ' ll hang separately.（homograph 同形异义 word spelt like another but with a different meaning.）11. Transferred Epithet移就，修饰转换）A transferred epithet （移就, 修饰转换）is, as its name implies, a figure of speech where an epithet （an adjective or descriptive phrase） is transferred from the noun it should rightly modify to another to which it does not really bel