1、Chapter 9Syntactic Figures of Speech(II)9.1 Climax 渐升/层进/递进法vClimax comes from Greek meaning“ladder.”vIt is the arrangement of words,phrases,clauses or sentences in ascending order of importance.vIdeas arranged in such a way develop gradually,like climbing a ladder,each idea outweighing the precedin
2、g one until reaching the summit.v彼采葛兮，一日不见，如三月兮。v彼采萧兮，一日不见，如三秋兮。v彼采艾兮，一日不见，如三岁兮。诗经vClimax is widely employed by speakers and writers.In persuasive speech or writing,it is extremely effective in stirring up feelings and emotions:v1)It is an outrage to bind a Roman citizen;to scourge him is a crime;to
3、 put him to death is almost parricide.(Cicero)v2)We do not retreat.We are not content to stand still.As Americans,we go forward,in the service of our country,by the will of God.(Franklin D.Roosevelt)vA climax usually consists of three or more parts and is used together with other figures of speech.v
4、I came,I saw,I conquered.(with anaphora.)vReading maketh a full man;conference a ready man;and writing an exact man.(with parallelism)vI was born an American;I live an American;I shall die an American.(with simploce)vHaving power makes totalitarian leadership isolated;isolation breeds insecurity;ins
5、ecurity breeds suspicion and fear;suspicion and fear breed violence.(with anadiplosis)9.2 Anticlimax 渐降/层降v Anticlimax involves stating ones thought in a descending order of significance or intensity from strong to weak,from weighty to light,from the sublime to the ridiculous.vThe bomb completely de
6、stroyed the cathedral,the new cinema,several dozen houses and my dustbin.v“a sudden drop from the dignified or important thought or expression to the commonplace or trivial,sometimes for humorous effect”(Websters New World Dictionary);v1)We often joked about his passionate love for his daughter,his
7、cat and his ashtray.v2)Where shall I find hope,happiness,friends,cigarettes?v3)He lost his empire,his family and his fountain pen.vAnticlimax sometimes needs only two steps of descends,e.g.v-O dear!O dear!What shall I do?v I have lost my beau and lipstick too.vSometimes,it is not to create satire no
8、r ridicule nor humor,but emphasis,e.g.vFor God,for America,and for Yale.vReligion,credit and the eye are not to be touched.(proverb)9.3 Syllepsis一语双叙 vIn Greek,“taking together”vIt is a way of using words in which one word collocates with two or more other words in different meaningswith some it is
9、literal meaning,with others it is figurative meaning.v1)He lost his coat and his temper.v2)Yesterday,he had a blue heart and coat.v3)She dropped a tear and her pocket handkerchief.v4)They sell clothes that fit figures and times.v1.One verb+two or more objects.1)He caught a bus and a cold.2)He swallo
10、wed bread and butter and a spasm of emotion.3)She opened the door and her heart to the homeless child.v2.One adjective+two or more nouns.1)Yesterday he had a blue heart and coat.(“a blue heart”means“was unhappy”.)2)He had short coat-tails and temper.v3.One proposition+two or more objects.1)He fought
11、 with desperation and a stout club.2)She was serving soup with a ladle and a scowl.3)The businessmen left in high spirits and a Cadillac.v4.Two nouns+one verb.v1)At length down went her head and out came the truth and tears.v2)His temper was as short as his coattails.vPractice:vHe lost his credit ca
12、rd and his temper.vAt noon Mrs.Turpin would get out of bed and humor,put on kimono和服,airs,and the water to boil for coffee.(O.Henry)9.4 Zeugma轭式搭配vGreek,meaning yoke.vA word is used to modify or govern two or more words while its use is grammatically or logically incorrect with one of them.E.g.vput
13、on kimono,airs,and the water to boil for coffeevto kill the man and the luggage;vto wage war and peace;vto disinherit somebody of his lands and of his courtesy;etc.v1.One verb+two nounsv1)We ate a bun and a glass of milk.v2)Mrs.Packletide had already arranged in her mind the lunch.,with a tiger-skin
14、 occupying most of the foreground,and all the conversation.(Saki)v2.One adjective+two or more nounsv1)They went to the graveyard with weeping eyes and hearts.v2)It is much better to have a patched jacket than to have a patched character.v3.One preposition+two or more nouns.v1)She was dressed in a ma
15、ids cap,a pinafore,and a bright smile.v2)All of his purchases of recent years had to be liquidated at a great sacrifice both to his health and his pocketbook.vDifference between zeugma and syllepsis:vin syllepsis,the key word refers correctly to all the words it modifies;vin zeugma,the key word does
16、 not refer properly to all of them.9.5 Chiasmas交错配列vGreek,“cross-wide”va construction involving the repetition of words or elements in reverse order(a b:b a).vBeauty is truth,truth(is)beauty.v假话全不说，真话不全说。季羡林v君子和而不同，小人同而不和。v有德者必有言，有言者不必有德。仁者必有勇，勇者不必有仁。论语v今生我是谁?来生谁是我？生时为谁名？死后名为谁?网贴vIt serves different
17、 purposes in different contexts.On many occasions it serves the purpose of being serious or solemn,witty or humorous.v输家就是赢家无论他失败多少次假如他征服了自己；赢家却是输家无论他赢了多少次假如他输给了自己。vTwo types of chiasmus:v1.Repetition of the wordsv1)One should eat to live,not live to eat.(Moliere)v2)You can fool all the people some
18、of the time,and some of the people all the time,but you cannot fool all the people all the time.(Abraham Lincoln)v3)Forty is the old age of youth;fifty is the youth of old age.(Victor Hugo)v 4)Ask not what your country can do for you,ask what you can do for your country.v2.Repetition of the structur
19、al elements:v1)He was an angel on the surface,but at heart a knave.v2)To stop too fearful,and too faint to go.(Gold Smith)v3)She went to Paris,to New York went he.Assignment v1.Answer the questions:vWhat is the difference between climax and anticlimax;between syllepsis and zeugma?What are their rhetorical functions?v2.Give one or two examples of climax,anticlimax,syllepsis,zeugma and chiasmus from outside our textbook.v3.Preview the rest part of the chapter.祝您成功！
