英语修辞与写作

第一章明喻、暗喻、换喻、提喻第一节明喻1.1.1 明喻(Simile)的定义The definition of simile-A simile is a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind by using the words:as,like,as…as,etc.Another definition:A figure of speech in which one thing is likened to another,in such a way as to clarify and enhance an image.It is an explicit comparison(as opposed to the metaphor where the comparison is implicit)recognizable by the use of the word“like”or“as”.有学者认为,“一事物”可称为“本体”,而“另一事物”最好称为“喻体”。

请看例句:New China is like a red sun rising in the east.(本体)(比喻词)(喻体)从例句结构上看,明喻包括“本体”(subject or tenor)和“喻体”(reference or vehicle)。

本体指被比喻的对象,喻体指用来做比喻的对象,比喻词用在本体和喻体之间起连接介绍作用。

从词源上讲,simile源于拉丁词similis,其意义相当于英语介词like(像)。

弄明白了本体、喻体和比喻词,对于理解和掌握明喻是大有裨益的。

1.1.2 明喻的例解1.1.2.1 用like或as引导1.My heart is like a singing bird.(C.G Rossetti:A Birthday)我的心如小鸟在歌唱。

2.I wondered lonely as a cloud.(W.Wordsworth:The Daffodils)我像一朵白云在独自漫游。

3.He bellowed like a bull seeking combat.他像寻衅的公牛一样怒吼。

4.He is as cunning as a fox.他像狐狸一样狡猾。

5.My brain was as powerful as a dynamo,precise as a chemist s scales,as penetrating as a scalpel.And think of it!-I was only eighteen.(Marx Schulman)我的头脑像发电机那样强大有力,像药剂师的天平那样精确,像外科大夫的手术刀那样锋利。

你想想看吧!———我那时才十八岁。

6.The quality of mercy is not strain d.It drops as the gentle rain from heaven.(Shakespeare)怜悯的性质不能曲解,它是从天而降的甘霖。

1.1.2.2 用what引导1.The pen is to a writer what the gun to a fighter.作家的笔犹如战士的枪。

2.What sculpture is to a block of marble,education is to the soul.教育之于心灵犹如雕刻之于大理石。

1.1.2.3 用形容词比较级(no more…than,not…any more tha n)引导1.He had no more idea of money than a cow.(Galsworthy)他对金钱像牛对金钱一样,一无所知。

2.The ruby shall be redder than a red rose,and the sapphire shall be as blue as the great sea.(O.Wilder)红宝石可以比红玫瑰还要红,蓝宝石可以同大海一样蓝。

(这是用一般比较级的形式)1.1.2.4 英语明喻还可以用连词and引导1.Love and cough cannot be hidden.爱情像咳嗽一样无法掩盖。

2.Words and feather are tossed by the wind.语言如羽毛,随风到处刮。

3.Truth and roses have thorns above them.真理如玫瑰,全身都是刺。

1.1.2.5 用行为动词也可以引导明喻He treats his daughter as the apple in the eye.他把女儿当掌上明珠。

1.1.3 汉语明喻汉语明喻一般也叫“直喻”,即直接明显地打比方。

其构成方式是本体和喻体都同时出现,两者之间用“像、好像、好似、如、比如、犹如、如同、仿佛”,“像……一样”、“如……似的”等比喻词作联结。

例如:1.线在上锭,线穗子就跟着一层层加大,直到沉甸甸的,像成熟了的肥桃。

(吴伯箫《记一辆纺车》)2.还似旧时游上苑,车如流水马如龙。

(李煜《忆江南》)3.他干起活来仿佛不知道什么是疲倦。

(马军《普通一兵》)也有一些不带比喻词的明喻。

例如:4.在朝鲜的每一天,我都被一些事情感动着;我的思想感情的潮水,在放纵奔流着,它使我想把一切东西都告诉给祖国的朋友们。

(魏巍《谁是最可爱的人》)还有运用排比、对偶等修辞形式的平行句法,使比喻和被比喻的事物各自成句,自成一体,而且往往紧急紧相连,使人一看就明白二者之间有明显的比喻关系。

例如:5.十月长安街,一路红旗,一路战鼓,一种豪情,一种凯歌,……(袁鹰《十月长安街》)6.射箭要看靶子,弹琴要看听众,写文章做演说倒可以不看读者不看听众了吗?第二节暗喻1.2.1 暗喻(Metaphor)的定义The definitions of metaphor-A metaphor is an implied simile.A metaphor is a figure of speech in which two different things are compared without the use of the words“as,like,as…as,as though,as if,etc”.A metaphor,like a simile,also makes a comparison between two unlike elements,but un-like a simile,this comparison is implied rather stated.从以上几个定义中可以看出,暗喻(隐喻)也是一种比喻,它不用比喻词,直接把甲事物(喻体)当作乙事物(本体),这种比喻关系隐含在句子中,从而表达更生动,更深刻,增强语言的艺术感染力和表现力。

但是英语暗喻对于学习外语的中国学生来说比较难以辨认和运用,一方面是因为文化差异,另一方面是因为英语暗喻的形式比较多。

1.2.2 英语暗喻的类型1.2.2.1 用系动词表达的暗喻1.He is an old fox.他是个老狐狸。

2.All the world is a stage,And all the men and women merely players.(Shakespeare)人生是舞台,男男女女不过是演员罢了。

3.Money is the lens in a camera.金钱是照相机的镜头。

(相机的镜头能反映出人的不同面貌,金钱则能检验出一个人的不同品质。

)4.Diplomacy is the art of putting your feet down without stepping on anybody s toes.外交是把脚踏下而不踩别人脚尖的艺术。

5.Sons are the anchors of a mother s life.(Sophocles:Phaedra)儿子们是母亲生活中的依靠。

1.2.2.2 动词构成的暗喻1.A bright idea suddenly struck him.他突然有了一个好主意。

2.Even with the most educated and the most literate,the King s English slips and slides in conversation.(Henry Fairtie)甚至是最有教养和最有文化的人,在谈话中也有用词不当和不合乎标准英语规范的时候。

3.Also,he had money in his pocket,and as in the old days when a pay day,he made the money fly.(Jack London)还有,当他口袋里有钱的时候,像过去发薪的日子,他挥金如土。

4.No one,least of all I,anticipated that my case would snowball into one of the most fa-mous trials in the U.S.history.(John Scopes:The Trial Tha t Rocked the World)谁也没有料到,尤其是我,更没有想到我的案子会越搞越大,以致成了美国历史上最闻名的审判之一。

5.Her hostility melted.她的敌意消解了。

6.His present hunger awoke and gnawed at him.眼前,他肚子里的饥饿又苏醒过来撕咬着他。

7.And so he lived-like a dog,because he cared nothing for the conventions of society,and because he showed his teeth and barked at those he disliked.(Gilbort Highet:Diogenes a nd Alex-a nder from College English Book3)他就这样生活着,有人说他像狗一样活着。

因为他对社会习俗置若罔闻,因为他对于自己不喜欢的人“龇牙狂吠,发出威胁。

”1.2.2.3 英语修饰性暗喻这类暗喻可以分成4小类:1.2.2.3.1 喻体与介词of连用,作为修饰语修饰本体,这类暗喻含有like的意义。

若译成汉语,和使用明喻的句子译为汉语时没有明显的差别。