英语修辞格

An Introduction to Figures of Speech(修辞格) Rhetorical Devices(修辞手法)

1. Simile(明喻)

Simile is an expression of comparison between two different things. It is usually introduced by “as” or “like”, and sometimes also by “as…as/as…so”, and “resemble” as the signs of comparison.

明喻就是打比方，指一事物像另一事物的修辞格。常用的比喻词有“as” or “like”, and sometimes also by “as…so /as…as”, and “resemble”等

1). Mercy drops as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.

—Shakespeare

2). The cheque fluttered to the floor like a bird with a broken wing.

3). Self-criticism is as necessary to us as air to water. 4). As a man whispers, so the breeze makes a low, hissing sound.

5) Learning resembles scaling the heights.

2. Metaphor(隐喻/暗喻)

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Metaphor contains an implied comparison, in which a word or phrase ordinarily or primarily used of one thing is applied to another. In other words, it calls one thing by the name of another or one thing is described in terms of another.

隐喻是一种隐含着比喻的修辞格，它直接把一种事物比为另一种事物，不用比喻词，通常比较含蓄。 1). The imperialists and all reactionaries are paper tigers. (All reactionaries and paper tigers are two entirely different things, but they are surprisingly alike in one respect: in appearance they both look strong and terrible, but in fact they are weak and can be easily crushed and defeated.)

2). The night had a thousand eyes. (We think of the stars as if they were the eyes of a human being, and this produces a beautiful picture.) 3). There was a stormy discussion at our last meeting. 4). The sunshine of happiness is made up of very little beams

5). All the world’ a stage, and all the men and women merely players. (Shakespeare)

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6). Because of his wealth, he was a fountain of generosity to his relatives and friends.

3. Personification(拟人)

Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing, quality, or idea is represented as a person.

拟人是把物当作人来描写的一种修辞格。它变无灵为有灵，使表现对象栩栩如生、活灵活现。 1). the anger of the tempest. 2). the whisper of the leaves. 3). Look at the smiling moon. How bright she is! 4). The thirsty soil drank in the rain. 5). None preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing.

6). Liberty veiled her face, while the tyrant spoke.

4. Metonymy(借代/转喻/换喻)

Metonymy means a change of name. The thing spoken of and the thing meant may be wholly unlike, but the relation between them is such that the mention of one suggests the other.

转喻是指用一名称来指代与之密切相关的事物。

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1). The kettle (=The water in the kettle) is boiling. 2). The mother did her best to take care of the cradle. (=her baby)

3). He succeeded to the crown in 1848.

(i.e. became the sovereign ruler)

4). The pen has more influence than the sword. (=Those who use the pen have more influence than those who use the sword)

5). He reads Shakespeare. (= the works of Shakespeare)

6). Nowadays no one can claim to scholastic attainments, without knowing Darwin and Einstein. (= the Theory of Evolution and the Theory of Relativity)

7). After a day’s travelling we took a rest under the shade. (=the tree) 8). Many people love rosy cheeks.(= children)

5. Synecdoche(提喻/举喻)

Synecdoche is a figure of speech which consists chiefly in putting a part for the whole or the whole for the part, and which consists chiefly in putting the

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concrete for the abstract or the abstract for the concrete.

提喻是指以局部代替全体或以全体代替局部，以抽象代替具体或以具体代替抽象的一种修辞格。

1). The part for the whole

1). How to earn daily bread by my pen was the problem.

(= the necessaries of life) (B. Shaw) 2). The whole for the part

2). China (=The Chinese players) defeated Japan (=the Japanese players) in the men’s world table-tennis championships.

3). The concrete for the abstract

3). It was the circumstances that developed the poet (= poetic talent) in him. 4). The abstract for the concrete.

4). He has done me many kindnesses. (= kind things)

Note: Metonymy and synecdoche are essentially the same in principle, and therefore the distinction between these two figures is now regarded as of little practical value.

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6. Hyperbole (夸张)

Hyperbole is a figure of speech which gently exaggerates the truth. In hyperbole, things are represented as greater or less, better or worse, than they really are.

夸张是指在事实的基础上进行夸大，用来抒发作者或说话人的强烈感情，表达自己的深刻感受。

1). I haven’t seen you for ages.

(while in fact it was only two weeks ago that you parted.)

2). A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. 真理刚刚穿上鞋子，谎言就走了大半个世界。

3). Had Cleopatra’s nose been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been different. （Cleopatra “埃及艳后”， 美妙绝伦。她权利欲极强，先为凯撒大帝的情妇，后与安东尼结婚，安东尼失败后，又欲勾引屋大维，没有成功，随以毒蛇噬咬自杀。此句夸张这个女人的容貌与世界面貌的关系。）

4). The first lines of a long gypsy poem sing: “ When a woman loves a man, her body has the odor of a

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thousand apple trees in blossom. The long lashes of her eyes fan the fires of his heart to flame.” (Konrad Bercovici: The Wisdom of the Illiterate)

7. Transferred Epithet(移就)

The transferred epithet is a qualifying adjective transferred from a person to a thing or from one thing to another.

把修饰词转换位置，不再修饰应该由它修饰的词，而修饰一个本不应该由它修饰的词。

1). He was engaged in a dishonest calling.(他在忙于欺诈行当)

(i. e. He was engaged in a calling, in which he

was dishonest.)

2). The patient lay all night on his sleepless pillow. (i. e. The sleepless patient lay all night on his

pillow)

3). He closed his busy life at the age of sixty. (i. e. He closed his life, during which he was

busy.)

4).This is the cheapest market in this country. (i. e. This is the market where the things are sold at

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the cheapest prices.)

5). Hans shrugged a scornful shoulder. (i.e. Hans shrugged his shoulder with showing

contempt. )

6). She has expensive tastes in clothes. (i. e. She has tastes in clothes, the prices of

which are expensive.)

8. Antithesis（对照/对偶）

Antithesis is an opposition or contrast of words or ideas in the same sentence. It is emphasized by contrasting one thing with another, as health with sickness, war with peace, riches with poverty. In this figure, verbs should be contrasted with verbs, adjectives with adjectives, nouns with nouns, etc.

对照（对偶）是把意义相反或相对的语言单位（词语、从句或句子）排列在平行、对称的结构里，语义上形成互相对立或对照的一种修辞格。

1). Flattery brings friends; truth brings foes. 2). Knowledge makes humble; ignorance makes proud.

3). To read without reflection is like to eat without

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digestion. 4). False friends are worse than open enemies. 5). No bees, no honey; no work, no money. 6). Give me liberty, or give me death. 7). Speech is silver, silence is gold. 8). Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. （不是我不爱凯撒，而是我更爱罗马。）

9. Oxymoron(矛盾修饰法)

Oxymoron is a figure of speech which combines incongruous and apparently contradictory words and meaning for a special effect. It is formed by the conjoining of two contrasting, contradictory or incongruous terms. An understanding of oxymoron can help us to enjoy more fully the implied complexity of descriptions and feelings.

矛盾修饰法把两个意思完全相反的词或词组搭配在一起来形容一项事物，去揭示事物的矛盾性，造成一种出人意外、引人入胜的效果。这种修辞方法，语言简练，富有哲理。

1). Painful pleasure.（悲喜交加） 2). A victorious defeat.（胜利的失败）

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3). A thunderous silence.（此时无声胜有声） 4). I despise(=look down upon) its very vastness and power. It has the poorest millionaires, the littlest great man, the haughtiest(=aggrogant) beggars, the plainest（=not beautiful, pretty）beauties, the lowest skyscrapers, the dolefulest(=very sad) pleasures of any town I ever saw.

——O. Henry

我最蔑视权贵，这里我曾见过最贫穷的百万富翁，最渺小的伟人，最高傲的乞丐，最丑陋的美人，最低矮的摩天大楼，最无趣的乐事。

—

—欧·亨利

5). Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical, Dove feather’s raven, wolfish-ravening lamb, Despised substance of divinest show, Just opposite to what thou justly seems, A damned saint, an honorable villain! 美丽的暴君， 天使般的恶魔！

长着鸽子羽毛的渡鸦，嗜杀成性的羔羊！ 神圣仪表下面的卑鄙本质！

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正是你的外貌的对立面， 该遭诅咒的圣徒，体面的恶棍！

——威廉·莎士比亚

10. Climax (渐强法/层进法/递进法)

Climax is a series of words, phrases, clauses or sentences arranged in order with increasing strength or importance. The climax is, if skillfully used, will promote force.

渐强法（层进法、递进法）修辞法是把一系列短语或句子用升级的手法按语势的强度顺序排列，所表达的内容由浅入深，由小到大，由轻到重，由少到多，由弱到强，使语势层层递增，渐进到最高强度。

1). I came, I saw, I conquered. 2). One boy is a boy, two boys half a boy, three boys no boy. 3). The audience smiled, chuckled, and finally howled (哄笑).

4). We could not find pigeons here, there, everywhere.

5). But in a large sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.

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6). To educate yourself, you must read, study, observe, reflect, reason, and think. (M. F. Burlingame)

7). Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. ——Francis Bacon

8). Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.

——Francis Bacon

11. Anticlimax =Bathos(渐降法/突降法/顿降法) Anticlimax is the reverse of Climax: i.e. the least important thought is put at the close. It is often used in humorous writings. This figure is also called Bathos

渐降法是与层进法相反，作者所描写的事物意义重大、深刻，本应推向高潮，但突然却转入微不足道、平淡的琐事，或荒诞的事物。即由大到小、从强到弱、从重到轻、从高到低降下来，与读者或听众的预期不同或相反，使人哑然失笑，使严肃的内容变得诙谐。

1). O dear! O dear! What shall I do?

I have lost my beau and lipstick too. 哦，天啊！哦，天啊！我该怎没办啊?

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我失去了我的情人，还失去了我的口红。 2). He lost his empire, his family and his fountain-pen.（自来水笔）

3).The duties of a soldier are to protect his country

and peel potatoes.（战士的职责是包围祖国和剥土豆）

4). 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.

12. Euphemism(委婉语)

Euphemism is the use of a more agreeable word or expression instead of an indelicate(不当的), harsh(刺耳的), or depressing one.

“委婉语”源自希腊语“顺耳的话”，即用间接的言词取代生硬语，亦即采用转弯抹角和暗示的说法代替直截了当的话，使说话温和一些，幽默一些，避免不悦耳、不愉快或禁忌语。

1). Your statement is incorrect. (i.e. Your statement is false.)

2). He passed away at six that morning. (i.e. He

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died.)

3). His relation with his wife has not been very fortunate. (i.e. He often quarrels with his wife.) 4). He had opened his eyes with the sun at dawn, scratched, done his business like a dog at the roadside, washed at the public fountain.

（破晓， 他随着太阳的升起睁开眼睛，瘙痒，像狗一样在路边大小便，在喷泉旁边洗洗脸。）

(Gibort Highet: Diogenes and Alexander)

13. Onomatopoeia (拟声法)

Onomatopoeia is the use of words to imitate a sound appropriate to the sense.

1). The door banged after him.（把?砰得关上） 2). The rain pattered all night.（雨啪嗒啪嗒地下） 3). A sharp rattle was heard on the window, which made the children jump.（格格声）

4). There were tinkling(叮当声)of small bells and jingling(叮叮当当)of big bells as the sledge glided on the smooth ice in the stillness of night.

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14. Parallelism(平行结构)

Parallelism is a figure which consists of a continued comparison of two or more similar objects, showing the points of resemblance and of difference. It is an extended antithesis.

英语parallelism(平行结构)源于希腊语parallelismos, 意思是alongside one another(并排)，它是英语中最常见的修辞格之一，广泛应用于诗歌、散文、喜剧、小说及讲演中。它是把结构相同或相似、意义相关或并重、语气一致的语言分别平行并列在一起的一种修辞方法，能使读者感到它具有语义丰富、音韵铿锵、句式匀称等特点。

1). With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

(Martin Luther King: I Have a Dream)

2). There is no reason for us to be enemies. Neither of us seeks the territory of the other; neither of us seeks domination over the other; neither of us seeks to stretch out our hands and rule the world.

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(Winston Churchill: Speech on Hitler’s

Invasion of the U.S.S.R.)

15. Pun(双关)

Pun is a play upon words that are similar in sound but different in sense. It is seldom used except for jest. (笑话、俏皮话=joke)

英语Pun(双关)源自拉丁语paronomazein，意为“以不同的名称称呼”，它是使用同音异义词或同形异义词进行的一种幽默表达方式，该词在句子里有双重或更多的含义，可作不同的解释，以造成一种滑稽、幽默的效果。莎士比亚、狄更斯、马克·吐温、萧伯纳等都是运用双关语的行家。

1). He laid down his arms. (放下手臂 //stopped fighting=放下武器) 2). Eat our corn, you’ll smile from ear to ear. (from year to year=year after year; ??保你笑得合不拢嘴)

3). Seven days without water makes one weak. (week)

4). An ambassador is an honest man who lies abroad for the good of his country.

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16. Paradox (隽语/僻论)

（似非而是的隽语，或自相矛盾的话//看似矛盾其实正确的观点）

隽语/僻论是一种表面上自相矛盾、不合乎逻辑，实际上颇有道理、意味深长的修辞格。

A paradox is a figure of speech consisting of a statement or proposition which on the surface seems self-contradictory, absurd, or contrary to established fact or practice, but which on further thinking and study may prove to be true, well-founded, and even to contain a succinct point.

Note: proposition见解、观点

succinct//(concise)言简意赅 well-founded有道理的、有根据的

A good example of a paradox is in this passage from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet finding out who Romeo is, expressing her feelings in this way:

Nurse: His name is Romeo, and a Montague,

The only son of your great enemy. Juliet: My only love sprung from my only hate. Too early seen unknown and known too late!

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Prodigious birth of love it is to me, That I must love a loathed enemy. ——Shakespeare Note: Prodigious(enormous/colossal)

Loathe(hate)

Colossal(extremely large)

我所钟情所至的是我唯一的世仇， 早已相见不曾相知，而今相知已太迟！ 涌泉的爱浪喷自胸膛， 爱之所以是不共戴天的世敌。

—

—莎士比亚

1). More haste, less speed. (越急越慢)

2). The child is father to the man. (儿童乃成年人之父)

3). Those who have eyes apparently see little. 4). He who praises everybody praise nobody. 5). Women were running out to the line of march,

crying and laughing and kissing.

17. Zeugma (轭式搭配)

Zeugma is a figure of speech in which a single word,

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usually a verb or adjective, is syntactically related to two or more words, with only one of which it seems logically connected.

(Syntactically: 在句法上)

Zeugma(轭式搭配)源自希腊文zengunai(用一副轭套上两个牲口)，轭式搭配的形式一般是用一个中心词（通常是形容词、动词或介词）来搭配或修饰两个或更多名词，其中这个中心词只能与一个形成自然搭配（合乎逻辑），而与另一个本来不能搭配（牵强搭配），不过巧妙地借助于前面那个正常的搭配，运用到后者的身上。结果不但不显得牵强，反而具有更强的表现力。正如其名，好像用轭把几头牲口硬套在一起拉车似的。看似硬套，却又能协调行进；看似强扭，却又能产生强大的合力。

1). He killed the boy and the luggage.

(He killed the boys and destroyed the luggage.) 2). Your young rooster( a young officer with the plumed hat) has lost his fine hat and a great deal of his vanity.

( Rooster:雄鸡/自负者; plumed: 有羽毛的) 3). We ate a bun and a glass of milk.

4). She opened the door and her heart to the

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homeless boy.

5). Ten minutes later, the coffee and Commander Dana

of

Naval

Intelligence

arrived

simultaneously.

6). I used to organize my father’s tools, my mother’s kitchen utensils, my sister’s boyfriends. 过去我常为父亲摆好工具，为母亲摆好厨房用品，甚至安排姐姐与男朋友约会。

18. Alliteration(头韵)

Alliteration is the use of succession of words with the same initial letter or sound. The repetition of sound usually occurs at the beginning of the words, but sometimes at the middle or end of them. It is a mere device for impressing the memory or pleasing the ear.

头韵指连续重复靠近字词的起头辅音，不一定是重复字词的首字母。头韵既简洁明快，又富于表现力，还具有音乐性，是有效的传达意思的语言手段，经常用在诗歌、文章标题、影片名或广告中。 1). Dumb dogs are dangerous. 2). Peter Piper picked a peck of picked pepper. 笛师彼得从泡菜里捡了一小块辣椒。

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3). Life is the lust of a lamp for the light. That is dark till the dawn of the day when we die. 生命是盏灯，追求着光明，

这光明实际是黑暗，直到我们死亡那天的黎明。 (Lust: passionate)

4). Next to health, heart, home, happiness for mobile Americans depends upon the automobile.

对于好动的美国人来说，幸福不仅取决于健康、爱情、舒适和温暖的家庭，还取决于汽车。

19. Irony(反语)

Irony is a figure of speech in which the words of the speaker or writer seem to mean one thing, but in reality mean just the contrary. If your friend has done something foolish and you make fun of him by saying “He is very clever.” Then you are being ironical. Irony is a disguised satire, so this figure is also called Sarcasm.

所谓反语，就是说反话，是一种富有幽默感或精妙的挖苦人的表达方法，其所用的词语要表达的意义正与这些词语的通常意义相反。在一定的语言环境中，运用反语更能引起注意，加深印象，产生特殊的效果。

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Oscar Wilde’s story “The Devoted Friend” is full of irony, and the story begins in an ironical tone:

1). Little Hans had very many friends, but the most devoted friend was big Hugh, the Miller. Indeed, the rich Miller was so devoted to Little Hans that when he passed his garden he always picked a large bouquet of flowers or filled his pockets with plums and cherries if it was the fruit season. 2). “Could you wait a few days for the money? I

haven’t any small change about me.”

“Oh, you haven’t? Well, of course, I know that gentlemen like you carry large notes. ” (Mark Twain: One Million Pound Bank-Note) “我过几天再付钱行吗？ 我身边没有零钱。” “啊，没带零钱? 嗯，当然啰， 像您这样的绅士是只带大票子的。”

20. Inversion(倒装)

倒装是指改变正常的主语、谓语、宾语序或状语的位。常见的倒装是为了着重描写，把需要强调的句子成分移前，也有为了承接上文，把下句中与上句有关联的事物移到句首。

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1). From out of the forest rushed a tiger. 2). Came frightful days of snow and rain. He did not know when he made camp, when he broke camp. He travelled in the night as much as in the day.

——Jack London 21. Repetition(重复)

Repetition is the use of the same word, phrase, speech sound etc. in a poem, speech etc. Its purpose is for the speaker to make a deeper impression on the audience.

重复是演讲者为了加强语气、强化语势、抒发强烈感情、强调所要表达的观点等，在诗歌或演讲中连续或间隔重复使用同一单词、短语或句子的修辞方法。

Yesterday the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Hongkong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Wake Islands. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Islands.

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——F. D. Roosevelt

22. Litotes (曲言法/间接肯定法)

曲言法是以反面之否定代替肯定之修辞格。 Litotes is a figure of speech which consists in making a statement by the use of negative before some other words, to indicate a strong affirmative in the opposite, as:

1). It is no easy. (= very difficult) 2). My French is not so bad. (= very good) 3). He is no mean opponent in the coming debate. (That is to say, “He is a worthy opponent.”) 4). Not without effort he made this discovery. 5). Nothing is impossible to the man who will try.

(English proverb)

6). I never go past that house but I think of my miserable life in the old society.

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