English Rhetoric Figures of Speech Figures of Speech

English Rhetoric (Figures of Speech)

Figures of Speech 她的微笑很温暖。 她有着春风般的微笑。 She has a warm smile. She smiles warmly. very impressive Her smile is like spring breeze, it has blown the warmth into my heart. Simile Her smile is as warm as spring breeze.

• It is much better to enjoy the air and sun in the bathing beach. • More sun and air for your son and heir. 这里有充足的阳光，清新的空气，一切为了您 的子孙后代。 谐音双关(homophonic pun)

• Welcome to airport duty-free shop. • Have a nice trip, buy (bye). • 一路顺风，捎点东西走吧。 homophonic pun

(12. 11. A Para lliter llelis 1. Simile m) 2. Metaphor ation 4. Metonymy/ 10. Oxymoron 9. Transferred Epithet 8. Hyperbole/ ion t a c i f i n o 3. Pers Figures of speech overstatement &understatement 7. Irony he c o necd y 5. S 6. Euphemism

1. Simile （明喻） Two different things are compared with the expression as the followings: like, not unlike, it was a bit like, as if, as though, as it were, similar to, may be compared to, as…as…, etc.

(1) Oh, my love’s like a red, red rose. (2) I wandered lonely as a cloud. (3) He drove as if possessed by the devil. (4) She danced and sang happily like a lark. (5) The old man’s hair is as white as snow.

…is like… My heart is like a singing bird. Love is like war, easy to begin but hard to end.

2. Metaphor (暗喻） Money is a bottomless sea, in which honor, conscience, and truth may be drowned. 金钱是无底的海洋，荣誉、良心和真 理都可以淹没在其中。

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. --- I Have a Dream (Martin Luther King)

(1) She has a stone heart. (2) He is a peach to work with. (3) Love and cough cannot be hidden (4) The boy wolfed down the food the moment he grabbed it. (5) The lady tries to make sheep’s eyes at her new boss.

…is a/an… True Friendship/ true love is a tug-of-war. It’s hard to hold on. But it is even harder to let go.

3. Personification（拟人） Mosquitoes were using my ankles for filling stations. 蚊子把我的脚脖子当作了加油站。

• It is to treat a thing or an idea as if it were human or had human qualities. (1) nature phenomenon and lifeless things (2) animals and plants (3) abstract things

Natural phenomenon and lifeless things 1. The thirsty soil drank in the rain. 2. The wind howled and moaned. 3. Time waits for no man. 4. Walls have ears. 5. The wind whispered in the trees.

Animals and plants 1. The flowers nodded as she passed. 2. The flowers breathed out their sweat perfume.

Abstract things 1. Duty calls us. 2. Fate won’t smile to you unless you smile to fate.

4. Metonymy（换喻） The wolf and the pig mingled together in his face. Sword and cross in hand, the Europeans fell upon the Americans. 凶残与贪婪交织在一起，浮现在他的脸上。 一手持剑，一手拿着十字架，欧洲人向美洲人进攻了。

It is substituting the name of one thing for that of another with which it is closely associated. (1) With container for content 1. The baby was brought up on the bottle. 2. The hall applauded. 3. The whole city went out to see the victorious general.

(2) With tools for the objects: 1. The pen is mightier than sword. 2. He chose a gun instead of a cap and gown. (3) With the names of authors for works: 1. Have you read Jack London？ 2. I have read Luxun for many times.

(4)With typical features for their owners 1. the crown --- a king 2. Grey hair should be respected. (5) With locations for their government or organization 1. The White House --- the American government 2. Downing Street --- the government of Great Britain

5. Synecdoche (提喻) Two heads are better than one. He toiled all day long to earn his bread. 三个臭皮匠顶个诸葛亮。 他整日劳作以维持生计。

When a part is substituted for the whole is substituted for a part, synecdoche is applied. (1) A part for whole: 1. Many hands make light work. 2. She couldn’t move a muscle.

(2) A whole for the part: 1. This fox goes very well with your cap. fox 2. It was reported that Britain beat New Zealand in the football match yesterday. (3) The abstract for the concrete All the wit and learning of the land were assembled there.

(4) The concrete for abstract: I had the muscle, and they made money out of it.

6. Euphemism (委婉语) Cosmetic Words And, it being low water, he went out with the tide. 正是退潮的时候，他跟潮水一道走了(溺水而亡)。

It is the substitution of a mild or vague expression for a harsh or unpleasant one. • 1. Your painting is not so good. • 2. She wasn’t at all embarrassed by his lowincome, and decided to marry him soon.

她有点胖。 She is a little plump. 他又矮又胖。 He is a little stout. 他很聒噪。 He needs to develop quieter habits of communication.

7. Irony (反语) This diligent student seldom reads more than an hour per week. 这个 “勤奋”的学生每个月读书时间不超过 一小时 。

• It is the use of words which are clearly opposite to what is meant, in order to achieve a special effect. • We are so lucky. • What you said makes me feel really good.

8. Overstatement and Understatement (夸大和缩小) One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. This problem is not above us. 一个父亲的作用大于100个教师。 这个问题难不住我们。

In an overstatement the diction exaggerates the subject, and in understatement the words play down the magnitude or value of the subject. Both aim at the same effect: to make the statement or description impressive or interesting.

• The boy said that he was thirsty and could drink a big bottle of water. • The boy said that he was dying of thirst and could drink up the whole sea. • Hyperbole/exaggeration • /overstatement

（2）understatement： 1. It took a few dollars to build this indoor swimming pool. 2. The face wasn’t a bad one: it had what they called charm.

• An epithet is an adjective or descriptive phrase that serves to characterize somebody or something. A transferred epithet is one that is shifted from the noun it logically modifies a word associated with that noun. epithet an adjective to characterize sb. or sth. sleepless quiet respectful unthinking reassuring

More examples: 1. A: She is sleepless. B: She has a sleepless night. 2. A: This is the cheapest market in this country. B: The goods of this market are the cheapest in this country. epithet transferred epithet

3. A: His boss is respectful. B: He kept a respectful distance from his boss. 4. A: The old man is reassuring. B: The old man put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. epithet transferred epithet

10. Oxymoron(矛盾修饰) Love is cruel, love is sweet Cruel sweet, Lovers sigh till lovers meet, Sigh and meet Sigh and meet, sigh and again　 　Cruel sweet! O sweetest pain! 　　　　　 ----- Robert Burns: To A Kiss 爱情残忍爱情甜 残忍而又甜， 情人肠断到相见， 相别肠又断 残忍的甜蜜！最甜的肠断！

In oxymoron apparently contradictory terms are combined to produce a special effect. 1. Love is a sweet torment. 2. During his useful life he often felt he was useless.

（1） adj. +n： cruel kindness, global village, busy idleness (无事空忙） (2) v-ing+n：loving hate, walking dead (3) adj. +adj(+n). ：ugly beautiful face, bitter sweet love, A miserable, merry Christmas

• (4) adv. +adj. ：desperately longing（在绝望中 等待） • (5) adv. +v-ing：changelessly changing(既始终 如一，又变化多段） • (6) n+n：life-and-death struggle • (7) v. +adv. ：talk silently

11. Alliteration(头韵) US trade policy is often viewed as inconsistent, incoherent and incomprehensible to other countries. 美国的贸易政策通常不靠谱，不一致的， 不连贯而且难以被他国理解。

It refers to the appearance of the same initial consonant sound in two or more words, such as “proud as a peacock” and “blind as a bat”. physical pain，psychological power (1) Pride and Prejudice，Sense and Sensibility (2) A big black bug bit a big black bear. （3）vice and virtue （罪恶与美德） twists and turn（曲折） safe and sound（安然无恙） tit for tat（针锋相对，一报还一报）

Wherefore feed, and clothe, and save, synecdoche From the cradle to the grave, metonymy Those ungrateful drones who would drain your sweat—nay, drink your blood? —by Percy Bysshe Shelley alliteration

Self-learning Assignment • 1. Group Games： • Compose 11 sentences according to those 11 rhetorical devices. Inter-evaluate among groups and select the most creative 11 sentences to champion the top one group. • 2. Finish the Task 7 on Page 21. • 3. Preview: Next Part Sentences

Parallelism 平行 Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. 读书足以怡情，足以博采，足以长才。