英语常用30种修辞

I Rhetorical Devices
1.1Alliteration
1.1.1Definition
The word “alliteration”derives from Latin, meaning “repeating and playing upon the same letter”. It is the repetition of initial consonant in two or more words. 1.1.2Examples
(1)The great and good do not die even in this world. (- Companionship of Books)
(2)Love me, love my dog. (- Companionship of Books)
(3)The preacher preached a wonderful rhythmical sermon, all moans and shouts and lonely cries and dire pictures of hell, and then he sang a song about the ninety and nine safe in the fold, but one little lamb was left out in the cold. (-Salvation)
1.1.3Analysis
In the three sentence, “good”and “great”，“love”and “love”, and “preacher”and “preached”all have initial consonants; that means they are the repetitions of initial consonants in two words, so the sound rhymes are made in the three sentences. All in all, the alliterations are used in these three sentences.
1.2Assonance
1.2.1Definition
Assonance is the repetition or resemblance of vowel sounds in the stressed syllables of a sequence of words, preceded and followed by different consonants. Assonance also refers to the likeness of sound in a series of words.
1.2.2Examples
(1)My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life! (-Salvation)
(2)It also enshrines the germs of action, for good words almost always inspire to good works.
(- Companionship of Books)
1.2.3Analysis
(1)In the first sentence, in the “light”, the “inside”, and the “life”, the vowel sound “I[ai]”—in the stressed syllables is repeated, so the euphony is created and also it is followed by different consonants, so the assonance is applied.
(2)In the second sentence, the “words”and the “works”have the likeness of sound—[wɜː], the partial–rhyme is made, so the figure of speech of this sentence is assonance.
1.3Consonance
1.3.1Definition
Consonance comes from Latin, meaning “to harmonize”. It refers to the repetition
of the final and identical consonants whose preceding vowels are different.
1.3.2Examples
(1)My Stroke of Luck. (--My Stroke of Luck.)
(2)Yet it is often misunderstood and misinterpreted, for language is a very complicated mechanism with a great deal of magnitudes. (-Gender Bias in Language)
(3)Almost without fail the masculine word is put before the feminine word. For example, Mr. and Mrs., his and hers, boys and girls, men and women, kings and queens, brothers and sisters, guys and dolls and host and hostess are all commonplace in today s society.
(-Gender Bias in Language)
1.3.3Analysis
In the first phrase, the sounds of “ke”and “k”are same; in the second sentence, the sounds of the “d”are repeated; in the last sentence, the sounds of the “s”are the same. The consonances are used in the phrase and the two sentences to make them more metrical.
1.4Pun
1.4.1Definition
Pun is, in nature, a word–play. A pun involves the use of a polysemous word to
suggest two or more meanings, commonly literal meaning versus figurative meaning, or involves the use of homonyms.
1.4.2Examples
(1)For I was then his vision, as I am still his right hand. Literally, I was (what he often called me) the apple of his eye. He saw nature -- he saw books through me. (-Jane Eyre)
(2)If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately. (-Benjamin Franklin)
1.4.3Analysis
(1)In the first sentence, the sounds “I”and the “eye”are the same.Literally, I help him see something, but figuratively, I am his eyes, and I am the apple in his eye—I am very important, so the pun is used and produces a witty effect from the juxtaposition of meanings.
(2)In the second sentence, the first “hang”means “unit”, but the latter “hang”means “being killed”-one word suggests two meanings. The pun is used and both of the humorous effect and witty effect are created.
1.5Repetition
1.5.1Definition
Repetition is a powerful rhetorical device which creates good rhythm and parallelism to make the language musical, emphatic, attractive and memorable.
1.5.2Examples
(1)Then he said: 'Won't you come? Won't you come to Jesus? Young lambs, won't
you
come?"
(-Salvation) (2)And I kept waiting serenely for Jesus, waiting, waiting—but he didn't come.
(-Salvation) (3)I wanted to see him, but nothing happened to me. Nothing! I wanted something to happen to me, but nothing happened. (-Salvation)
1.5.3Analysis
In the first sentence, the “Won't you come?”is repeated for three times; in the second sentence, “waiting”is also repeated for three times to show the anxiousness of the author; in the third sentence, the “nothing”is repeated for three times to express that the author’s irritation or complains. The repetitions are used in the three sentences and create good rhymes to make the language more emphatic, attractive and memorable.
1.6Anaphora
1.6.1Definition
The word “anaphora”originates from Greek, meaning “carrying back”. It is a popular figure of speech involving the repetition of the same word at the beginning
of successive clauses, sentences or verses.
1.6.2Examples
(1)Do you respect plant life? Do you stop anyone from carving in the bark of trees? Do you avoid walking on fresh grass? Do you conserve water and energy?
(-Becoming A Child Of Nature：It’s A Twofold T ask of Parents and Children)
(2)I loved life, and I loved being alive. (- The Light of Depression)
(3)He taught me to hate hypocrisy and pious mouthing of unctuous words. He taught me that beneath gruffness there may be kindness, and that kindness is the sweetest thing in the world, and goodness is the best thing in the world. He taught me to despise money grubbing.
(-A Debt to Dickens)
(4)I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my
four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."? （-I Have A Dream）
1.6.3Analysis
In the three sentences, the beginning words of the successive sentences are all repeated：“do you”, “I loved”, “he taught”，and “I have a dream”are all the beginning words of the successive sentences and are all repeated. Therefore, the anaphoras are used and strengthen the tone of the language to make the text more persuasive.
1.7Epiphora
1.7.1Definition
Epiphora is the opposite of anaphora. It is the repetition of the same words or phrases at the end of successive lines, clauses or sentences.
1.7.2Examples
(1)That the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. (-Abraham Lincoln)
(2)The man takes away a woman’s virginity and a woman loses her virginity.
(-Gender Bias in Language)
(3)And slowly, the desire to live, the courage to want to live, began to return.
(-- The Light of
Depression)
1.7.3Analysis
In the three sentences, the ending words of the successive sentences are all repeated：“the people”, “virginity”, and the “to live”are all repeated, so the figure of speech of these three sentences is the epiphora and the epiphora is used to make the speech or text more convincing.
1.8Antithesis
1.8.1Definition
The word “antithesis”comes from Greek word “antithenai”, meaning “opposition”. Antithesis, favored by many speakers when persuading, places contrasting ideas side by side for emphasis and rhythm.
1.8.2Examples
(1)The world will little note what we say here, but it can never forget what they did
here.
(-Abraham
Lincoln)
(2)In American culture, a woman is valued for the attractiveness of her body, while a man is valued by his physical strength and his achieves.
(-Gender Bias in Language)
(3)Allen Pace Nielsen notes that there are instances when women are seen as passive while men are active and bring things into being. (-Gender Bias in Language)
1.8.3Analysis
(1)In the first sentence, the “little note”and the “never forget”are the contrasting ideas in order to emphasize that people will never forget what the soldiers do their country. Clearly, the antithesis is used to stress the important part of the sentence.
(2)In the second sentence, the difference between women valued for attractiveness and men valued by their strength and achievements is demonstrated to show that the discrimination to the women. The antithesis is used to make the language more sharp or forceful.
(3)The two contrasting ideas: “active”and “passive”are used to show the gender bias in the society. The antithesis is applied to stress the contradiction—the author’s intention can be protruded.
1.9Climax
1.9.1Definition
The word “climax”derives from the Greek word “klimax”, meaning “ladder”. As a figure of speech, climax is the arrangement of words, phrases, clauses, or sentences in ascending order of importance.
1.9.2Examples
(1) But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot
hallow this
ground.
(-Abraham
Lincoln)
(2)Men can think, feel and sympathize with each other through their favorite author.
(-Companionship of
Books)
1.9.3Analysis
(1)Dedicate, consecrate, hallow, the tone of the sentence is gradually increasing, the summit is the “hollow”, so climax is applied to convey the author’s thought in an ascending order of force and intensity. It can make people accept an idea gradually.
(2)In the second sentence, firstly, people think, and then at a higher level people feel with each other, and the highest level is that people sympathize with each other through their favorite author. As a result, the climax is used to convince us
that books are very important to us and to make us accept the idea more easily.
1.10Anticlimax
1.10.1Definition
Anticlimax is the opposite of climax. It is the figure of speech that involves stating one’s thought in a descending order of significance or intensity, from the sublime to the ridiculous, from strong to weak, from weighty to light or frivolous.
1.10.2Examples
(1)He gave me that zest, that immense joy in life and in people, and in their variety.
(- A Debt to
Dickens)
(2) We sympathize with them, enjoy with them, grieve with them.
(-Companionship of
Books)
1.10.3Analysis
(1)The first sentence, life is a very broad concept, while the people is less broad and the people’s variety is the most narrow concept among the three phrases, so the anticlimax is used and makes the sentence change from a strong tone to a weak one.
(2)Firstly we grieve with them, and then enjoy with them and in the end we sympathize with them, but in the second sentence the order is reverse, so the anticlimax is used to make the sentence more humorous.
1.11Syllepsis
1.11.1Definition
The word “syllepsis”derives from the Greek word “sullepsis”, meaning “taking together”. It is a construction in which the word that governs two or more other words means differently when it is collocated with these words separately.
1.11.2Examples
(1)For three days I dined alone on nothing more than humiliation, shame, and an assortment of junk food from a machine strategically placed outside my room. （-Fresh Start）
(2)She opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy. (-Reference Book)
1.11.3Analysis
(1)In the first sentence, “dined”has two different meanings :the “dined”with the humiliation and shame should be interpreted “suffered”while the “dined”with the junk food should be translated into the “ate”, so the figure of the speech of the sentence is syllepsis and the syllepsis makes the sentence more interesting and attracts more readers.
(2)In the second sentence, the word “opened”in “opened the door”means “disclosed the door”, but in “opened her heart”it means “embraced the boy”, so the syllepsis is used to interest the readers.
1.12Zeugma
1.1
2.1Definition
In Greek, the word “zeugma”means “yoke”. Zeugma is a figure of speech in which a word is used to modify or govern two or more words although its use is not grammatically or logically correct with all of them.
1.1
2.2Examples
(1)At moon Mrs. Turpin would get out of the bed and humor, put on kimono, airs, and the water to boil foe coffee. (-Reference Book)
(2)“During our war against Dutch,”he recalled, “I was a pacifist—but still a patriot. Other people carried guns. I carried words. Whenever people gathered, I spoke against the Dutch.
(-Reference Book)
1.1
2.3Analysis
(1)The first sentence, the verbal phrase “put on”correctly governs “kimono”, “airs”in the grammar and logic, but it is incorrect to govern the word “water”, so the zeugma is used to catch the reader’s attention.
(2)In the second sentence, “carry”collocates properly with “guns”, but not properly with “words”, so the zeugma is used to attract the audience.
1.13Chiasmus
1.13.1Definition
The word “chiasmus”comes from Greek word “chiasmos”, meaning “cross–wide”. It is a construction involving the repetition of words or syntactic elements in reverse order.
1.13.2Examples
(1)"The Shepard seeks the sheep,
and not the sheep the Shepard;
but I seek my master,
and my master seeks not me;
therefore I am no sheep."
"The sheep for fodder follow the Shepard,
the Shepard for food follows not the sheep;
thou for wages followest thy master,
thy master for wages follows not thee;
therefore, thou art a sheep." —Shakespeare
(2)You can fool all the people some of the time, and some people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
1.13.3Analysis
(1)In this poetry, chiasmus is used because some words like “Shepard”and “sheep”, “I”and “my master”etc. are repeated in reverse order. The chiasmus
makes the sentence more humorous.
(2)In the second sentence, “all”, and “some”are repeated in a reverse order to make the sentence more humorous, so the chiasmus is applied and creates a solemn and witty effect.
1.14Simile
1.14.1Definition
The word “simile”derives from Latin word“similis”, meaning “like”. In rhetoric, simile is a figure of speech by which two concepts or two dissimilar things are imaginatively or descriptively compared because they have at least one quality or characteristic in common or in resemblance.
1.14.2Examples
(1)In those days Hollywood was like a magnet. (--Hollywood)
(2)The good and true thought may in times of temptation be as an angel of mercy purifying and guiding the soul. (-Companionship of Books)
(3)Now what will become of your weariness if you suddenly raise your eyes only to catch sight of distant row of trees （or just a couple of them）standing there proudly like sentries.
1.14.3Analysis
(1)In the first example the “Hollywood”is the tenor and the “magnet”is the vehicle; they have one thing in common: attractiveness; also, on account of the commonest connective “like”, the figure of speech of this sentence is simile and the simile gives us a deeper insight into the idea through the association.
(2)The second example, “both of the good and true thought”is the tenor and the “angel”is the vehicle; plus the commonest connective “as”, the figure of speech of this sentence is simile, and the simile explains abstract idea in simple, concrete imagery.
(3)As for the third example, the tenor is “the trees”and the vehicle is the “sentries”; and the trees and sentries all stand very straight—their likeness; because of the word “like”, simile is used in this sentence to make us have a clear idea about the trees’standing.
1.15Metaphor
1.15.1Definition
The word “metaphor”derives from the Greek word “metaphora”, which means “transference, carrying over”. It is a very common figure of speech. Metaphor uses words to indicate something different from their literal meaning—one thing is described in terms of another so as to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. It is like a simile, also makes a comparison between two unlike elements, but unlike
a simile, this comparison is implied rather than stated.
1.15.2Examples
(1)A good book is often the best urn of a life enshrining the best that life could
think about.
(-Companionship of
Books)
(2)Life is a big swing, dangling between the depths of happiness and sadness.
(3)But then, remembering my aisle mate's hand clutching mine while I clutched the hand of the high school student, I feel struck by lightning all over again: the point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on. (-When the Lightning Struck)
(4)Many studio chiefs were tyrants, determined to get their own way at all costs, no matter how unscrupulous the means. (--Hollywood)
1.15.3Analysis
(1)In the first two sentences, the book is not the urn and the life is not the wing, so the “likeness”is implied in these two sentences; thus the metaphor is used in the first two sentences to make the abstract idea like “life”more concrete.
(2)In the third sentence, literally, “I was struck by lightning”, but actually, the author wants to express that an idea occurs to me suddenly and sharply, just like being struck the lightning. The metaphor is used.
(3)In the third sentence, the metaphor is applied because the studio chiefs and the tyrants are alike in their own ways of doing things, and the “likeness”is implied to illustrate the cruelty of the studio chiefs.
1.16Metonymy
1.16.1Definition
The word “metonymy”derives from the Greek word “metonymia”, which means “change of name”. It is a figure of speech that has to do with the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another.
1.16.2Examples
(1)About 80％of all American TV entertainment comes from Hollywood. (--Hollywood)
(2)The virtue was a great zest for life. If he saw everything black and white, it was because life rushed out of him strong and clear, full of love and hate. (- A Debt to Dickens) 1.16.3Analysis
(1)In the first sentence, though Hollywood is a place, nowadays, people are apt to regard Hollywood as a symbol of American movie industry. Therefore, the American movie industry is substituted by the Hollywood. The metonymy is used.
(2)Of the second sentence, the “black”and “white”refer to “evil”and “kind”respectively. The metonymy is used to give us more space to think about the referent in a semantic way.
1.17Synecdoche
1.17.1Definition
The word “synecdoche”is from the Greek word “syneckdoche”, which means “to receive together”. It is a figure of speech by which a more comprehensive term is used for a less comprehensive or vice versa; as whole for part or part for whole, genus for species or species for genus, etc.
1.17.2Examples
(1)To this small, isolated creature there came one day an extraordinary accident.
(- A Debt to
Dickens)
(2)Even now, back on terra firma, walking down a Vermont road, I sometimes hear an airplane and look up at that small, glinting piece of metal. (-When the Lightning Struck)
1.17.3Analysis
(1)The first sentence, the creature is a very general concept, but there the author herself is a specific concept, genus for species, so the figure of speech of this sentence is synecdoche.
(2)In the second sentence, the metal is the material of the airplane, part for the whole, so the synecdoche is used.
1.18Personification
1.18.1Definition
Personification is a figure of speech which attributes human characteristics to impersonal things, such as animals, inanimate objects, or abstractions.
1.18.2Examples:
(1)It does not turn its back upon us in times of adversity or distress. (-Companionship of Books)
(2)Those things never die, nor does the memory of a man who never stopped being my valentine.
(-My Forever Valentine) (3)Clinical depression painted my world black while screaming quietly that I was worthless.
(-The Light of Depression)
1.18.3Analysis
All the three sentences attribute human characteristics to the impersonal things like the book, those things and clinical depression: the book doesn’t have the ability of turning its back; the things don’t have life not mentioning dying; and the clinical depression can’t scream, so the personifications are used to add the vividness of the sentences.
1.19Parody
1.19.1Definition
The word “parody”derives from the Greek word “paroidia”, meaning “counter –song”. It is seen as kind of imitation which borrows the style and techniques of a
text or writer’s idiolect and fits new subject matter to it.
1.19.2Examples
(1)There is an old proverb, “Love me, love my dog.”But there is more wisdom in this: “Love me, love my book.”(-Companionship of Books)
(2)TO LIE OR NOT TO LIE—THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA.
(-TO LIE OR NOT TO LIE—THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA)
1.19.3Analysis
(1)The proverb is the “Love me, love my dog.”And “Love me, love my book”borrows the style of the proverb, so parody is used in this sentence to make the sentence more humorous
(2)The second sentence is a kind of imitation of the sentence-to be or not to be, that’s a question—written by Shakespeare. The parody is used to make the sentence more humorous.
1.20Transferred epithet
1.20.1Definition
Transferred epithet is a figure of speech in which an adjective properly modifying one noun is shifted to an other noun in the same sentence.
1.20.2Examples
(1)Memory and desire, stirring.
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering.
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding.
A little life with dried tubers. (-Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard)
(2)The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way.
(-Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard)
(3)Full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
Some village-Hampden, that with dauntless breast
The little tyrant of his fields withstood;
Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest,
Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood. (-The Waste Land)
1.20.3Analysis
In the three sentences, the adjectives are all shifted to modify another noun in the same sentence: forgetful snow, his weary way, and dauntless breast. Not the snow is forgetful; not the way is weary but the ploughman; not the breast is dauntless but the village–Hampden. All in all, the transferred epithets are used in the three
sentences.
1.21Allegory
1.21.1Definition
Allegory is a story in verse or prose with a double meaning: a primary or surface meaning, and a secondary or under–the–surface meaning.
1.21.2Examples
(1)Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. "Pardon, O King," cried the little Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?" The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him that he lifted up his paw and let him go. Sometime after the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight, in which the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. "Was I not right?" said the little Mouse.
(-The Fables of Aesop)
(2)The Lion once gave out that he was sick unto death and summoned the animals to come and hear his last Will and Testament. So the Goat came to the Lion's cave,
and stopped there listening for a long time. Then a Sheep went in, and before she came out a Calf came up to receive the last wishes of the Lord of the Beasts. But soon the Lion seemed to recover, and came to the mouth of his cave, and saw the Fox, who had been waiting outside for some time. "Why do you not come to pay your respects to me?" said the Lion to the Fox. "I beg your Majesty's pardon," said the Fox, "but I noticed the track of the animals that have already come to you; and while I see many hoof-marks going in, I see none coming out. Till the animals that have entered your cave come out again I prefer to remain in the open air." (-The Fables of Aesop)
1.21.3Analysis
(1)In the first story, from the surface meaning, the lion was saved by his kindness of not killing the little mouse, but from the under–the–surface meaning, we learned that little friends might prove great friends. Allegory is used to teach moral principle.
(2)In the second story, primarily, we know that fox wasn’t killed by the lion because of not entering the cave of lion; secondly, we learned that it was easier to get into the enemy's toils than out again. The allegory is used in the story to make us understand the underlying sense.
1.22Allusion
1.2
2.1Definition
Allusion derives from the Latin word “allusio”，which means “playing with”. It is
usually a casual, brief and implicit reference to a famous historical or literary figure or well–known historical event, which the writer assumes to be familiar to his readers.
1.2
2.2Examples
(1)Then just before the revival ended, they held a special meeting for children, "to bring the young lambs to the fold." (- Salvation)
(2)How do you translate the image of the Lamb of God for a culture in which sheep do not exist? What exactly was the fruit that Eve picked in the Garden of Eden? What was the creature that swallowed Jonah, given that whales are not given to swimming in warm, southern seas?
(-Cultural Encounters)
1.2
2.3Analysis
(1)The first sentence, the Lame comes from “the Lame of God”, meaning the people who need to be saved from sins, so the allusion is used to make us to be more familiar with the concept in the sentence.
(2)The “Eve”, “the Garden of Eden”, and “Jonah”are all from the Old Testament, so the allusion is applied.
1.23Hyperbole
1.23.1Definition
It is a common figure of speech popularly known as exaggeration or over–statement.
1.23.2Examples
(1)There is little difference between red glass and rubies to a child of six, and I remember wearing that ring with a pride that all the cards in the world could not surpass. (-My Forever Valentine)
(2)If our parents didn’t get them for us, we felt our world would fall apart.
(-The Virtues of Growing
Older)
1.23.3Analysis
(1)In the first sentence, the ring is best in the world—it is only a kind of exaggeration to express that the author thinks the ring is very precious, so the hyperbole is used to emphasize the idea and draw the attention of the sentence.
(2)In the second sentence, “the world would fall apart”is also a kind of exaggeration to express that getting good dress is the most important thing in the world, so the hyperbole is used to draw the attention of the audience to the subject so as to lay emphasis on it.
1.24Understatement
1.24.1Definition
Understatement is a figure of speech in which an idea is deliberately expressed too weakly. It is the opposite of hyperbole.。