1、Figures of Speech Figures Of SpeechIn English Stylistics第1页，共178页。Simile A figure of speech in which one thing is liken to another,in such a way as to clarify and enhance an image.It is an explicit comparison recognizable by the use of the word like or as.(A Dictionary of Literary Terms)第2页，共178页。Si
2、mile w 1.Origin:Latin,meaning like w 2.Comparative words:like,as w 3.Functions:describing shape,scenery;expressing emotions;explaining;vivid description,making easy to understand;creating interest.第3页，共178页。Structure of a Similew Tenor+comparative word+vehiclew Subject+comparative word+referencew Ex
3、ample:My love is like a red red rosew Tom is as tall as his brother(not a simile)w Tom is as tall as a Maypole.(simile)第4页，共178页。Type One:likew Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.w Marriage is like a beleaguered fortress:those who are without want to get in,and those within want
4、 to get out.第5页，共178页。w Type Two:as w As firm as a rockw As mute as a fishw As strong as a horsew As brave as a lionw As obstinate as a coww As white as snoww As black as ink/pitchw As changeable as the weatherw As wet as a drowned ratw As blind as a batw As fat as a pigw As proud as a peacockw As f
5、resh as a rose第6页，共178页。Type Three:whatTwo Patterns:A is to B what C is to D.What C is to D,A is to B.第7页，共178页。Type Three:what Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.The pen is to a writer what the gun is to a fighter.作家的笔犹如战士的枪。.第8页，共178页。Type Three:what What sculpture is to a block o
6、f marble,education is to the soul.教育之于心灵犹如雕刻之于大理石。What salt is to food,wit and humor are to conversation and literature第9页，共178页。Type Four:thanw A home without love is no more than a body without a soul.w He had no more idea of money than a cow第10页，共178页。Type Five:andw Love and cough can not be hid.
7、爱情像咳嗽一样是掩盖不了的。w Truth and roses have thorns about them.w Kings and bears often worry their keepers.w A word and stone let go cannot be recalled.说出去的话就像抛出去的石子，是收不 回的。第11页，共178页。Type Six:othersWho is to blame but her tyrant of a father.怪谁呢？只怪她那暴君般的父亲。A doctor must have the heart of a lion andthe hand
8、of a lady.当一个医生必须有狮子般的胆量和仕女般的巧手。第12页，共178页。SimileO,my loves like a red,red rose,Thats newly sprung in June:O,my loves like the melody Thats sweetly played in tune.Robert Burns 第13页，共178页。Simile 啊，我的爱人像一朵红红的玫瑰；六月里迎风初开；啊，我的爱人像一曲甜蜜的歌；唱得合拍又柔和。第14页，共178页。The first line of the poem above,O,my loves like a
9、 red,red rose,is a simile.To communicate his feelings,the poet invites the reader to perceive in his sweetheart some of the properties of a rose.Properties this might include are beauty,freshness,scentedness,specialness and rarity.Greenfly,thorns or blight,also common properties of roses,are likely
10、to seem appropriate points of comparison,bearing in mind what we know of the context.第15页，共178页。Metaphor A figure of speech containing an implied comparison,in which a word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another.(Websters New World Dictionary)第16页，共178页。Metaphor A
11、 figure of speech in which one thing is described in terms of another.The basic figure in poetry.A comparison is usually implicit;whereas in simile it is explicit.(A Dictionary of Literary Terms)第17页，共178页。Metaphor Metaphors are often easy to identify and take the form X is Y.Something or someone is
12、 being compared to something or someone else through a construction using the appropriate part of the verb to be(i.e.am,are,is,was,were,will be).第18页，共178页。Metaphorw Education is not the filling of a pail,but the lighting of fire.w 教育不是将桶装满水，而是将火点燃。w Money is a bottomless sea,in which honor,conscien
13、ce,and truth may be drowned.w 金钱像无底的海洋，将荣耀、良知和真理淹没。w Marriage is a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and remaining chapters in prose.第19页，共178页。All the worlds a stage,And all men and women merely players;They have their exits and entrances,And one man in his time plays many parts,
14、His acts being seven ages (Shakespeare,As you Like it)The first clause sets up the basic comparison.The tenor and vehicle invoked by the firstline are elaborated in the lines that follow.The metaphor makes possible for the literary writer to explain things vividly in great detail.第20页，共178页。Metaphor
15、w The boy wolfed down the food the moment he grabbed it.w Some books are to be tasted,others swallowed,and some few to be chewed and digested.(Of Studies,Bacon)w She has a photographic memory for details.w The mountainous waves swallowed up the shipw A policeman waved me out of the snake of traffic.
16、第21页，共178页。Metonymy(借代）A figure of speech that consists in using the name of one thing for that of something else with which it is associated.(Websters New International Dictionary)第22页，共178页。Metonymyw Definition:one thing for another;associationw Metonymy is Greek for a change of name Function:brie
17、f,vivid,interestingw Example:w What is learned in the cradle is carried to the grave (from the cradle to the grave从生到死）第23页，共178页。A thousand mustaches can live together but not four breasts.千条汉子能共处，千条汉子能共处，两个婆娘难相容。两个婆娘难相容。The pen is mightier than the sword.He keeps a good table.(待客周到,以丰盛的饮食招待客人)She
18、has the eye for the fair and the beautiful.The wolf and the pig mingled together in his face.China won 4 golds and 5 silvers.We drove a Ford to Hyde Park.第24页，共178页。Metonymyw This is the struggle between the kimono and the miniskirt.w It is a pity that there is more ignorance than knowledge in the c
19、ountry.w She has retired from the stage to teach.第25页，共178页。The glories of our blood and state,Are shadows,not substantial things;There is no armour against fate;Death lays his icy hand on kings;Sceptre and CrownMust tumble downAnd in the dust be equal madeWith the poor crooked Scythe and Spade.(Shi
20、rley,The Glories of our Blood)第26页，共178页。In this poem,four metonyms are used:Sceptre,Crown,Scythe,and Spade.Sceptre and Crown are things that kings and queens carry and wear to represent their power and authority,and are therefore metonyms for kings and queens.Scythe and Spade are things used by pea
21、sants or farm workers,and are therefore metonyms for peasants.What Shirley is trying to say is that death comes to all people,the noble and the humble alike.The idea would have been expressed much less effectively,if metonyms had not been used.第27页，共178页。显贵王侯全会倒毖，与贱民并肩齐埋在尘土之中。在这首诗中诗人借皇冠(crown)和君主节杖(
22、sceptre)来代替显贵王侯、君主贵族。借农民常用的工具大镰刀(scythe)和铁锹(spade)代表农民大众。诗人运用借代这一修辞手段形象生动、简洁地表达了一种不可抗拒的自然规律：无论是至高无上的君主，还是卑微的劳苦大众在死神面前一律平等。第28页，共178页。Parody (Piece of)writing intended to amuse by imitating the style of writing used by somebody else.(Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English)第29页，共178页。P
23、arody Literary or musical composition imitating the characteristic style of some other work or of a writer or composer,but treating a serious subject on a nonsensical manner,as in ridicule.(Websters New World Dictionary)第30页，共178页。Parodyw Definition:imitation of well-known sayingsw Function:humorous
24、,ironical,interestingw Example:第31页，共178页。Parody I have no outlook,but an uplook.My place in society was at the bottom.我没有人生观，但我有“上爬观”，我的地位在社会的最底层。第32页，共178页。ParodyA friend in need is a friend to be avoided.难中的朋友是要躲避的朋友。这句话明显是仿A friend in need is a friend indeed.而来的。第33页，共178页。ParodyIt is said Jane
25、has fallen in love with Jack.Yes,but she says she had hesitated for a longtime before she finally walked into love.据说简与杰克坠入了情网。是的，不过她说她曾经犹豫了很长一段时间最后才步入情网。第34页，共178页。Reagans conduct in the Governors office did at least demonstrate that his conservative bark often carried little bite when he tackledth
26、e practical problems governing his state.(Time,April 28,1980)里根在州长任上的行为至少显示他在处理州里的实际问题时并不像他大叫大嚷的那些保守的调调厉害。bark often carried little bite 是根据谚语Hisbark is worse than his bite.(心地不如嘴恶)仿拟出来的。第35页，共178页。“Twinkle,twinkle,little bat!How I wonder what youre at!”“You know the song,perhaps?”“Ive heard somethi
27、ng like it,”said Alice.“It goes on,you know.”the Hatter continued,“in this wayUp above the world you fly.Like a tea tray in the sky.Twinkle,twinkle”(l.Carrol,Alices Adventures in Wonderland)第36页，共178页。“一闪，一闪，小蝙蝠！我不知道你往哪里飞！”“你也许知道这首歌吧？”“我听过相似的歌，”艾丽斯说，“你知道下面还有呢。”帽匠继续道“是这样的离开地面的你高高地飞翔像个茶盘在天上一闪一闪”第37页，共
28、178页。艾丽斯漫游奇境记中帽匠关于蝙蝠的歌明显是仿拟英国诗人Jane Tayor写的著名儿歌The Star的第一节：Twinkle,twinkle,little star,How I wonder what you are!Up above the world so high.Like a diamond in the sky.第38页，共178页。Parodyw Original:w Where there is a will,there is a way.w Imitation:w Where there is a will,there is a relative.第39页，共178页
29、。Parodyw A bird in hand is worth two in the bush：w it is better to be content with what one has than to risk losing everything by being too greedy.(一鸟在手胜于二鸟在林）w A husband in hand is worth two in the bush.bite off more than one can chew:attempt to do too much or something that is too demanding.(试图做过多
30、的事或太费周折的事）w He married a bit more than he could chew.第40页，共178页。w A stitch in time saves ninew(一针及时，可省九针）w A word in time saves nine.To be or not to be,thats the problem.(生存还是毁灭，这是个问题)To lie or not to liethe doctors dilemma.第41页，共178页。To err is human;to forgive divine(人孰无过):It is human nature to sin
31、 and make mistakes and therefore one should be as forgiving as possible.w To eat is human;to digest,divine.第42页，共178页。PersonificationA figure of speech in which a thing,quality,or idea is represented as a person.(Websters New World Dictionary)第43页，共178页。1.O,my loves like a red,red rose,Thats newly s
32、prung in June:O,my loves like the melody Thats sweetly played in tune.Robert Burns 啊，我的爱人像一朵红红的玫瑰；六月里迎风初开；啊，我的爱人像一曲甜蜜的歌；唱得合拍又柔和。(王佐良译）第44页，共178页。2.Kindness is the golden chain by which the world is bound.(Goethe)仁爱是联结世界的一条金链。第45页，共178页。3.The rain to the wind said“You push and Ill pelt,”They so smote
33、 the garden bedThat the flowers actually kneltAnd lay lodged though not deadI know how the flowers felt.(Robert Frost)第46页，共178页。雨对风说：“你来狂吹，我来猛落。”他们俩就这样在花圃上施暴虐于是花儿们便七歪八倒叶残瓣破最后终于倒下了尽管还奄奄一息活着我知道花儿们此时心中感受如何。第47页，共178页。例1是明喻，将爱人比作花朵，比作乐曲；例2是隐喻，将仁爱比作金链条，都是静止的比喻。例3作为拟人格却活泼得多，风和雨都成了人，变成了冷酷、残暴、以施虐为乐的人，风和雨狂吹
34、猛落直把花儿摧残得奄奄一息。第48页，共178页。How soon hath Time,the subtle thief of youth,stolen on his wing my three and twentieth year!(Milton)时间，这个盗窃青春的狡猾的小偷，盗窃了我二十又三年飞去了。在十七、十八世纪的古典诗歌中，诗人们出于对神话和传统的尊重，常喜欢把自然现象人格化。诗人按照传统把Time比拟做人。第49页，共178页。PersonificationLove,free as air,at sight of human ties,spreads his light wing
35、s,and in a moment flies.爱情，自由得像空气，一见到人间的羁绊，伸展开他的翅膀立即飞开。第50页，共178页。Personificationhere let them lieTill famine and ague eat them up.(Shakespeare:Macbeth)让他们去撒谎吧直到饥荒与疟疾把他们都吃掉。饥荒与疟疾都是可以置人于死地的，所以，用eat up 把这些灾祸拟人化，是很贴切的。第51页，共178页。Personificationw A lie can travel half way around the world while the trut
36、h is putting on its shoes.真理还来不及穿上鞋子，谎言已经走遍了半个世界。第52页，共178页。The Rose and the GardenerThe Rose in the garden slipped her bud,And she laughed in the pride if her youthful blood,As she thought of the gardener standing by“He is old so old;and he soon will die!”The full Rose waxed in the warm June air,An
37、d she spread and spread,till her heart lay bare,And she laughed once more as she heard his tread,“He is older now.He will soon be dead!”第53页，共178页。But the breeze in the morning blew,and foundThat the leaves of the blown Rose strewed the ground,And he came at noon,that Gardener old,And he raked them
38、softly under the mold.And I wove the thing to a random rhyme,For the Rose is Beauty:the Gardener,Time.(Austin Dobson 1840-1921)第54页，共178页。玫瑰与园丁玫瑰花在园中绽开了她的蓓蕾，她讪笑着自恃着年轻娇美，她笑那老园丁竟站在她身边“他已经老了老态龙钟，很快便会命丧黄泉。在六月的暖风中她尽量摇曳盛开，她灿烂地开放，开放，直到袒露心怀，她听见老园丁的脚步声便再次嘲笑：“他越来越老了，他老命难保！”第55页，共178页。可是上午的和风不停地吹，结果发现玫瑰花的花瓣被吹落
39、地上一片又一片，老园丁来时已经到了正午，他把落花轻轻聚拢埋入泥土。我且漫将此事写上我的诗笺，玫瑰虽美但园丁却拥有时间。这首诗是诗人借物抒情，诗人感慨人间有些人妄自尊大、浅薄自傲、负心薄义，但若直接说出便成了乏味的说教，而用拟人的手法将花变成人让花儿自己现身说法，十分巧妙地将诗人的心理感受转移到花儿身上。第56页，共178页。PersonificationSlang is language that takes off its coat,spits on its hands,and goes to work.Laziness travels so slowly,that poverty soon
40、 overtakes him.Australia is so kind that,just tickle herwith a hoe,and she laughs with a harvest.第57页，共178页。OnomatopoeiaCombination of sounds in a word that imitating what the word refers to,like hiss or boom.第58页，共178页。The stream flows through the woods.The stream is murmuring through the woods.Das
41、i started laughing.Dasi started giggling.The door was pushed open.The door crashed open.Heavy rain drops fell on the tent.Heavy rain drops began pitter-pattering on the tent.第59页，共178页。Onomatopoeiaw Definition:imitation of sound.w Function:association,direct,vivid.w Example:The snake hissed.w Giggle
42、,clap,patter,mew,rumble第60页，共178页。Onomatopoeiaw A turkry gobbles.火鸡咯咯叫w A wolf howls/growls.狼嚎w A snake hisses.蛇声咝咝w A bee hums.蜜蜂嗡嗡叫w A tiger growls.老虎吼叫w A sparrow twitters.麻雀吱吱喳喳叫第61页，共178页。Onomatopoeiaw A cock crows.公鸡喔喔叫w A cricket chirps 蟋蟀唧唧叫w A crow caws 乌鸦哇哇叫w A horse neighs/whinnies/nicker
43、s.马叫/马嘶/马鸣/马萧萧w A pig grunts/squeaks.猪咕噜咕噜/哼哼叫w A mouse squeaks/peeps 老鼠吱吱/唧唧/啾啾叫第62页，共178页。Onomatopoeiaw The train clattered out of the station.w 火车哐唧哐唧驶出车站。w The clock ticked,the fire cracked.w 钟声滴滴答答，火声噼噼啪啪。w The man shut the door with a bang.w 那人砰的一声把门关了。w The wind is whistling.风呼呼地响。第63页，共178页。
44、Onomatopoeiaw Sound from nature:w Murmur,babble,swish,patter,rumble,roll,rustle,zip,toot,tick,tinkle,screech,bang,bubble,clang,crack,splash,grumble第64页，共178页。EuphemismThe use of pleasant,mild or indirect words or phrases in place of more accurate or directones.In old Greek,eu means well or soundingw
45、ell;pheme means speech(说话).第65页，共178页。Euphemismw Definition:to talk about unpleasant things in a pleasant way.w Under the weather.w Hard of hearingw Join ones ancestorsw Wash ones hands第66页，共178页。Life 生:Ugly 丑：Homely,plain;Fat 胖：weight watcher,chubby,plumy,stout;Skinny 瘦:slender,slim,willowy,svelte第
46、67页，共178页。Euphemismw Diseases：病w Look off colourw Under the weatherw Not all therew Long illness第68页，共178页。Euphemismw 残疾：w Disabilityw Disabledw Handicappedw Inconveniencedw Visually retarded第69页，共178页。Euphemismw Old 老:w Advanced in agew Past ones primew Feeling ones agew Golden agew Senior citizenw
47、 The longer living第70页，共178页。Euphemismw Death 死：w Go westw At restw Asleepw Return to dustw Pass awayw Go to heaven第71页，共178页。Hyperbole/OverstatementAn exaggerated or extravagant statementused as a figure of speech (American Heritage Dictionary)Exaggeration for effect,not meant to be taken literally
48、 (The Websters New World Dictionary)Extravagant exaggeration (The Websters Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary)第72页，共178页。Hyperbole/Overstatementw Function:exaggerate the tonew Compare:w He ran down the avenue,making a loud noise.w He ran down the avenue,making a noise like ten horses at a gallop.第73页，共
49、178页。HyperboleOverstatementw One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.w Its a crime to stay inside on such a beautiful day.w The most effective water power in the world womens tears第74页，共178页。As fair art thou,my bonnie lass,So deep in luve am I,And I will luve thee still,my dear,Till a the se
50、as gang dry,Till a the sea gang dry,my dear,And the rocks melt wi the sun!And I will luve thee still,my dear,While the sands o life shall run.第75页，共178页。It is quite obvious that all the seas will never become dry and the rocks will unlikely melt with the sun.However,we can notice that the speaker he
