修辞学课件：metaphor

• In a metaphor, however, the comparison would appear simply as • (1a) Jim was a fox. • (2a) The world is a stage.
• A metaphor, then, is in a sense a condensed simile, differing from the latter only in form and artistry. It is a higher form, though, and not all metaphors can be recast (to give a new shape to) as similes. It requires greater ability on the part of the reader to perceive the hidden association, the insight into persons, things or ideas that is implied. For whereas in a simile the particular aspect of the point of resemblance between two unlike elements is given, in a metaphor nothing is stated.
b. His misery beggared description. c. 1. I have been wrestling with this problem.
2. He shrugged off my suggestion.
d. 1. A good teacher plants the love of
Her brute of a husband 她野兽般的丈夫 A boy of a girl 男孩子气的女孩子 A girl of a boy 女孩子气的男孩子
Adjective Metaphor • It is a thorny problem. • His speech touched off a stormy protest.
• Entities in the source domains are generally more familiar, more concrete and more tangible; whereas entities in the target domains are more unfamiliar, more abstract. • Thus the more abstract entities, processes, ect. can be well explained in terms of more tangible, more concrete entities.
• How does it come into being? • Metaphorization, that is: structures are projected from one conceptual domain (source domain) onto the other one (target domain)
• The past is the bank in which we store our most valuable possession—the memories that give meaning and depth to our lis a stage, And all the men and women are merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. ----Shakespeare, As You Like It
• • • • •
大千世界是个舞台， 所有男男女女不外是戏子； 各有登场和退场， 一生扮演着那么些角色， 七样年龄分七幕。
• 2) Extended cases: • There are a variety of linguistic forms of the extended cases.
• Verb-metaphors:
Traditional Metaphor and Conceptual Metaphor
The traditional view of metaphor: only regarded it as a linguistic phenomenon, a figure of speech, to ornament languages.
• Whereas cognitive linguists propose that it belongs not only to the category of language, but also to the category of thinking and cognition. It is regarded as basic thinking, cognitive and conceptualization modes.
• 4. a dog in the manger A：Give the skates to me! B：You shut up! A：If you don’t know how to skate, why don’t you give the skates to me? Don’t be a dog in the manger. 5. a gay dog A：It’s strange they should get along so well! B：That’s nothing unusual. A：You don’t know much about the couple. One likes to be alone, but the other is a bit of a gay dog.
Classifications of metaphors
• 1). Central cases: A is B. • She is really a duck, he thought. (Galsworthy) • 他心里想，她真是一个可爱的人。 • Habit is a cable, every day we weave a thread, and soon we cannot break it. • 习惯乃绳缆，我们每天编进一根线，很快 它就结实不断。
Differences between metaphor and simile
• In a simile, the words like, as, as…so are used to make the comparison, as in:
– Jim was as cunning as a fox. – The world is like a stage.
• Taking the sentence “Jim was as cunning as a fox” for example, we can see that the aspect of cunningness in both man and fox is compared, but in “Jim was a fox” this aspect is not indicated. • To summarize, a metaphor shows a closer relation between the tenor and the vehicle. As a result of its condensed form (compared with a simile), it is more suitable to express the more vivid images/feelings.
learning in students. 2. Jack wilted under the pressure.
e 1. His followers melted away at first sight of danger. 2. We bubbled over with excitement. 3. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it, and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. • (J. F. Kennedy)
4. He wolfed down his supper. 5. The Duchess (the wife of a duke) of Croydon kept firm, tight rein on her racing mind. • 克罗伊顿公爵夫人牢牢地控制着飞快奔驰 的思绪。(把思绪当作奔马来写)
• Metaphor in Idioms 1. No smoke without fire. 2. Bad news has wings. 3. a bad apple A：Oh, A Oh, my God! What happened? Why are you black and blue? B：I got beaten by Peter’s brother. A：That’s a bad apple! Let’s think up a way and teach him a lesson.
• 我们从事这一事业的那种精力，信念和献 身精神将照耀我们的国家和一切为此出力 的人们。这一火焰发出的光芒将真正照亮 这个世界。（把精力，信念和献身精神当 作火光来描写）
4. The charm of conversation is that it does not really start from anywhere, and no one has any idea where it will go as it meanders or leaps and sparkles or glows. (H. Fairlie) • 谈话的魅力就在于它没有专门话题作为起 点，当谈话像流水一样缓慢徜徉或急湍直 下，像火焰一样熠熠闪烁，没有人知道它 会向什么方向发展。（把谈话当作流水和 火焰来写）