高级英语修辞手法

高级英语》中的修辞手法(2011-06-16 16:46:24)转载▼标签：教育分类：班内资源Figures of SpeechFigures of speech are forms of expression that depart from nor-mal word or sentence order or from the common literal meanings of words, for the purpose of achieving a special effect.In everyday speech and writing and in literature the chief func-tions of figures of speech are probably to embellish, to emphasize or to clarify. They are used to give tone or atmosphere to discourse, to provide vivid examples, to stimulate thought by startling the reader or listener, to give life to inanimate objects, to amuse, or to orna-ment. Figures of speech exist in almost endless variety and many are closely related or intricately overlap, hence no completely satisfacto-ry system of classification has ever been devised. The following may be considered one of the serviceable classifications of the present1. Figures of resemblance or relationship. These are the most important, interesting, and frequent figures of speech.2. Figures of emphasis or understatement. The chief function of these is to draw attention to an idea.3. Figures of sound.4. Verbal games and gymnastics. Some of these are rare and minor figures. 1.Figures of resemblance or relationship1) Simile: a figure that involves an expressed comparison, almost always introduced by the word "like" or "as". The two things compared must be dissimilar and the basis of resemblance is usually an abstract quality.a) As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far county. (Proverb)b) The water lay gray and wrinkled like an elephant' s skin. (Nancy Hale)c) My very thoughts were like the ghostly rustle of dead leaves. (Joseph Conrad)2) Metaphor: The substitution of one thing for another, or the identification of two things from different ranges of thought. It is often loosely defined as "an implied compari-son," "a simile without 'like' or 'as'". Metaphor is con-sidered by many the most important and basic poetic figure and also the commonest and the most beautiful.a) Boys and girls, tumbling in the streets and playing, were moving jewels.b) The town was stormed after a long siege.c) Snow clothes the ground.d) He swam bravely against the tide of popular applause. A note of warning:Avoid mixing figures of speech.a) This is not the time to throw up the sponge, when the enemy, already weakened and divided, are on the run to a new defensive position, (mixed metaphor; a mixture of prize—ring and battlefield)b) There is every indication that Nigeria will be a tower of strength and will forge ahead, (mixed metaphor; a mixture of a fortress and a ship)3) Personification: a figure that endows objects, animals, ideas, or abstractions with human form, character, or sen-sibility. There are three chief kinds of personifications:a) That produced by the use of adjectives.the blushing rose! the thirsty groundb) That produced by the use of verbs.the kettle sings; the waves dancedc) That produced by the use of nouns.the smiles of spring! the whisper of leaves4) Metonymy: t he substitution of the name of one thing for that of another with which it is closely associated.a) The pen is mightier than the sword. (Here you have the instrument (pen or sword) as a name for the people wielding it.)b) Gray hairs should be respected, (the symbol (gray hair) as a name for the persons (old people) symbolized)c) He is too fond of the bottle. ( = He is too fond of drink-ing! the container (wine bottle) as a name for the thing (wine) contained)d)I have never read Li Bai. (the poet (Li Bai) as a name for the thing made (poems written by Li Bai))5) Synecdoche:commonly, the naming of a part to mean the whole, as in "hands" for "men who do manual labour", "a fleet of 50 sails" for "a fleet of 50 ships". But various other such substitutions are also included in the term.a) Have you any coppers? ( = Have you any money?) (coppers stand for coins of low value made of copper or bronze (here it is the naming of the material (copper) for the thing made (coin))b) He is a poor creature, (the naming of the genus for the species)c) He is the Newton of this century, (the naming of an individual for a class)Note: Synecdoche can easily be mistaken for metonymy.6) Antonomasia: the term for some common figurative uses of namesa) the use of an epithet or title in place of a namehis majesty for a king or the name of the kinghis honor for a judge or the name of the judgethe Boss for the name of the employerb) the use of a proper name instead of a common noun a Judas (Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ who betrayed Jesus) for a traitor a Quisling (Norwegian fascist politician who led a puppet regime during the German occupation of Norway, later ex-ecuted for treason) for a traitor.c) He is our Gorky. Gorky, (famous Russian writer) for a famous writer.Note: cf. synecdoche. There is a certain degree of overlap-ping here.7) Euphemism: the substitution of an inoffensive expression for one that may be disagreeable, as in the use of " pass away or pass on" for "die", "misinform" for "lie" in "the gentleman is misinformed", " remains" for a "corpse' , "visiting the necessary" for "going to the toilet", etc.2. Figures of emphasis or understatement1) Hyperbole: a conscious exaggeration for the sake of empha-sis, not intended to be understood literally.a) The wave ran mountain high.b) America laughed with Mark Twain.c) His speech brought the house down.d) All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.2) litotes: a form of understatement which gains its particular effect by phrasing in the negative what it wishes to say positively.a) This in no small accomplishment. (It means this is an accomplishment of considerable magnitude.)b) The German fleet was not an unworthy opponent. (It means the German fleet was a formidable opponent.)c) This is not at all unpleasant. (It means it is quite pleasant.)3) Antithesis:the setting of contrasting phrases opposite each other for emphasis. In true antithesis thea) The quest for righteousness is Oriental, the quest for knowledge, Occidental. (Sir William Osier)b) Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person. (Mark Twain)c) A friend exaggerates a man's virtues, an enemy his crimes.d) The convention bought time! it could not bring settle-ment.e) Its failures became a part of history but its successes held the clue to a better international order.4) Paradox: a statement that appears to be logically con-tradictory and yet may be true, the purpose of which is to provoke fresh thought.a) One man' s terrorist is another man' s freedom fighter.b) A lover of peace emerged as a magnificent leader of war.c) My life closed twice before its close. (Emily Dickinson) (meaning two truly eventful things occurred in her life before that life ceased)5) Oxymoron: a kind of paradox or antithesis that links to-gether two sharply contrasting terms, as "cheerful pes-simist", "the wisest fool in Christendom", "living deaths", "freezing fires", "glorious defeat", etc.6) Epigram: a short, pithy statement in verse or prose, usually with a touch of wit, often antitheticala) Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that some- one may be looking. (H. L. Mencken)b) Necessity is the mother of invention.c) The child is father of the man. (Wordsworth)(the intended meaning is that the actions of a boy in-dicate what kind of a man he is likely to become)d)Experience is the name everyone gives to his mistakes.Note: There may be some overlapping of an epigram and a paradox.7) Apostroph: the turning away from the subject and the addressing of an absent person or a personified object or abstraction. The shift is both emotional and dignified, therefore most appropriate in serious and stately contexts.a) "You Heavens, give me that patience, patience I need!" ( Shakespeare, King Lear)b) "Envy, be silent and attend! " (Pope)c) "Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour' Eng-land hath need of thee."(Wordsworth)(Milton, famous English revolutionary and poet, who wrote "Paradise Lost . John Milton lived and wrote in the 17th century and the English romantic poet, William Wordsworth in the 18th and 19th cen-turies. )8) Rhetorical Question: a question neither requiring nor in-tended to produce a reply but asked for emphasis. The assumption is that only one answer is possible.a) Was I not at the scene of the crime? (Lesson 2)b) O WindIf Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? (Shelley: Ode to the West Wind.)9)Irony: the expression of actual intent in words that car-ry the opposite meaning. It is an effective literary device because it gives the impression of great restraint.a) ... until we are marching backwards to the glorious age of the sixteenth century (Lesson 10)b) He was my friend, faithful and just to me:But Brutus says he was ambitious!And Brutus is an honourable man .(Shakespeare: Julius Caesar)(Antony here is saying just the opposite. He means that Brutus is not honourable, he is a murderer. )10) Sarcasm: a cutting remark, a verbal sneer. Sarcasm pretends to disguise its meaning, but does not intend to be misunderstood.a) "Oh, you're really a great friend, aren't you?" (addressed to one who won' t lend the speaker 5 Yuan)c) Where's y' go for it, man—Jamaica? (Lesson 16) (Hopkins's cutting remark to McNair, the custodian, for not being quick enough with the rum. Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean, world famous for its rum.)11) Satire: It generally refers to a piece of literary work— prose, poetry or drama—and generally not to a single sentence. It uses ridicule to expose and to judge be- haviour or ideas that the satirist finds foolish, or wicked, or both; Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is a piece of satire.12) Ridicule: instance of being made fun ofa) They'll be wanderin' in any time now, sir,—with Old Grape'n" Guts leadin' the pack. (Lesson 16)b) Bryan, ageing and paunchy, was assisted in his prosecution by his son ... Tom Stewart. (Lesson 10)c) Bryan mopped his bald dome in silence. (Lesson 10)13) Innuendo: hinting or implying a thing without plainly saying ita) I do not consult physicians! for I hope to die without them, (meaning they are more trouble than help)b) During the last five years my cook has several times been sober, (meaning that he is always drunk)14) Parody:using the words, thought, or style of an au-thor, but by a slight change adapting them to a new purpose or ridiculously inappropriate subject', the imita-tion or exaggeration of traits of style so as to make them appear ludicrousa) Britannia rues the waves (Lesson 13)(parodying a well-known line, "Britannia Rules the Waves", of the famous British navy song "Rule, Britannia" (see note 1 of Lesson 13)b) ... or will the game be played according to the usu-al industrial rules: from each according to his ability, to each according to his investment (parodying a Marxist saying: from each according to his ability, to each according to his need).15) Climax: arrangement of phrases or sentences in as-cending order of importancea) Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. (Francis Bacon• Of Studies)b) Empire offered a few men a source of profit, many men a sense of mission and, to the anonymous everyman of Europe's slums, a sense of pride.16) Anti-climax: the sudden appearance of an absurd or trivial idea following one or more significant or elevated ideas. Anticlimax is usually comic in effect.a) The duties of a soldier are to protect his country and peel potatoes.b) Seldom has a city gained such world renown, and I am proud and happy to welcome you to Hiroshima, a town known throughout the world for its—oysters. (Lesson 2)c) The Kaiser was forced to flee to Holland where he lived out his remaining 23 years, " unwept, unhonored, and unhung."3. Figures of sound.1) Alliteration: the use in a phrase or sentence of words beginning with the same letter or sound. Alliteration should be used only when the writer makes a strong e-motional response to his subject.a) We felt strong, smug, secure.(Bailey: The American Pageant )b) Colonel Mueller neither forgives nor forgets.( Sheldon: The other Side of Midnight)c) They pay in taxes needed in part to finance Medi-care and Medicaid. (Time, May 28, 1979)d) Millions depend for their bread and butter on FBI's smile or its scowl. (Cook: The FBI Nobody Knows)e) The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, the furrow followed free.(Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner )a) a deep green streamb) I arise from dreams of theeIn the first sweet sleep of night (Shelley: The Indian Serenade)c) the rain in Spain falls on the plain ( My Fair Lady )3) Onomatopoeia: the use of words that, when pro-nounced, suggest their meaning, such as " hiss or "buzz". In poetry it involves suiting sound to sense and thereby creating verses that carry their meaning in their sound.a) The moan of doves in immemorial elms, And murmuring of innumerable bees, ( Tennyson: The Princess )b) The ice was all around: It cracked and growled, and roared and howled. (Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)4. Verbal games and gymnastics .1) Transferred epithet: the transference of an adjec-tive to a noun to which it is not wholly appropriate,a) Even so, the risk of discovery was beginning to cause Pettit sleepless nights,b) throwin'g a reassuring arm round my shoulder (Lesson 10)c) Gray peace pervaded the wilderness-ringed Argentia Bay in Newfoundland. (Lesson 14)2) Pun: a play on words based on similarity of sound and sharp difference in meaning.a) One shop announced: Darwin Is Right—Inside. (Les-son 10)b) Seven days without water make one weak ( = week) .c) If we don' t hang together, we shall assuredly hang separately. (Lesson 16)d) Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a graveman. ( Shakespeare : Romeo and Juliet)还有我搜集的一些，有些有重复的，一并发给大家，需要的自己整理一下好了！RHETORICMetonymyMetonymy is a figure of speech that has to do with the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another. This substituted name may be an attribute of that other thing or be closely associated with it. In other words, it involves a change of name.She was a girl who excited the emotions, but I was not one to let my heart rule my head.He took to the bottle....little old Japan adrift amid beige concrete skyscrapers ...struggle between kimono and the miniskirtI thought that Hiroshima still felt the impactMetonymy can be derived from various sources:a. Names of personsUncle Sam: the USALu Xun: all the books written by himI am recently reading Lu Xun.b. Animalsthe bear: the Soviet unionthe dragon: the Chinesec. Parts of the bodyheart: feelings and emotionsgrey hair: old aged. Profession:the press: newspapers, reporters etc.He met the press yesterday evening at the Grand Hotel.the bar: the legal professione. Location of government, business etc.Downing Street: the British Governmentthe White House: the US president and his governmentthe Capital Hill: US CongressWall Street: US financial circlesHollywood: American film-making industryJust as the Industrial Revolution took over an immense range of tasks from MEN's MUSCLES and enormously expandedproductivity, so the microcomputer is rapidly assuming huge burdens of drudgery from HUMAN BRAIN and thereby expanding the minds capacities...SynecdocheSynecdoche (ti yu) has often been confused with Metonymy, and sometimes even treated synonymously. This is not surprising, as both figures of speech involve substitution. The distinction lies in the fact that while metonymy involves the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another, synecdoche involves the substitution of the Part for the WHOLE orvice versa.a. Part for the Whole:...eat your humble BREAD and CHEESE...All HANDS on deck.All of a sudden, I saw a SAIL in the distance....eye-ball to eye-ball consultations with...on the TUBE...The computer revolution is ...liberating LIMBS...cf: metonymytake over from HUMAN MUSCLES and assume burdens of drudgery from the HUMAN BRAINb. Whole for the Part:China beat Japan at the game.He cut me open and took out the appendix and stitched me up again.c. The species for the genus or vice versaAlas, that Spring should vanish with the ROSE! (flowers in general)What a tricky CREATURE he is! (man)d. Name of material for the thing madeShe was dressed in silks and satins....eye-ball to eye-ball consultations with...on the TUBE...The computer revolution is ...liberating LIMBS...Antonomasia (huan cheng)1. the substitution of another designation for a common obvious, or normal one,a. the use of an official title or an epithet in place of a proper namea有两种，同样是用另外一个指称来代替一个普通明白的，或标准的说法，但第一是实指，因此给了Judge Doe，即用“大人”代替“张（或王、李等）法官”，有如用“先生”、“阁下”指代“张省长”，“邱首相”等，his honour for Judge Doehis / her majesty: king or queenyour honour / highness / mightiness而第二种是虚指，因此没有给姓氏，也没有大写，如用“首席行政长官”来代替“总统”，用“首长”，“中央领导”来代替“市长”，“省长”或“部长”“副总理”等。