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Rhetorical Devices
1.
Simile
明喻
A figure of
speech in which two essentially unlike things are
compared, often in a phrase
introduced
by like or as
Eg.
How
like
the winter hath my
absence been.
So are you to my thoughts
as
food to life. (Shakespeare)
2.
Metaphor
暗喻
A figure of
speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily
designates one thing is used
to
designate another, thus making an implicit
comparison
Eg.
The world
is
a
stage.
3.
Personification
拟人
A figure of
speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions
are endowed with human
qualities or are
represented as possessing human form
Eg.
Hunger sat shivering on
the road.
4.
Antithesis
对照，对立，对比
A figure
of speech in which sharply contrasting ideas are
juxtaposed in a balanced or
parallel
phrase or grammatical structure
Eg.
That’s one
small
step for man; one
giant
leap for mankind.
（
Neil Armstrong,
Apollo
11 Moon Landing
Speech
）
5.
Pun
双关
A play on
words, sometimes on different senses of the same
word and sometimes on the
similar sense
or sound of different words
Eg.
Being in politics is
just like playing golf: you are trapped in one
bad
lie
after
another.
(lie:
①
a
deliberate untruth
②
the
position in which something rests)
6.
Ridicule
奚落
Words intended
to evoke contemptuous laughter at or feelings
toward a person or thing
Eg.
Sure
my
worthy
opponent
claims
that
we
should
lower
tuition,
but
that
is
just
laughable.
7.
Irony
反语
,
讽刺
The use of words to express something
different from and often opposite to their literal
meaning
An
expression
or
utterance
marked
by
a
deliberate
contrast
between
apparent
and
intended meaning
Eg.
It must be
delightful
to find oneself
in a foreign country without a penny in one's
pocket.
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8.
Sarcasm
讥讽
A combine of
irony and ridicule, using witty language to convey
insults or scorn
Eg.
It is
possible for your mind to be so open that your
brain falls out.
9.
Hyperbole
夸张
A figure of
speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis
or effect
Eg.
This book
weighs a ton.
10.
Euphemism
委婉
The act or an
example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague
term for one considered
harsh, blunt,
or offensive
Eg.
sleep with
—
have sexual intercourse
with;
departed
—
dead;
relieve
oneself
—
urinate
11.
Epigram
警句
,
隽语
,
讽刺短诗
A concise,
clever, often paradoxical statement
Or:
A short, witty poem expressing a single thought or
observation
Eg.
12.
Allusion
隐喻
,
典故
A figure of speech that makes a
reference to, or representation of, a place,
event, literary
work, myth, or work of
art, either directly or by implication
Eg.
A
son of the
morning
is a traveler; an allusion to
the practice in the Middle East to
rise
before dawn so one wouldn't have to travel in the
heat of day.
13.
Litotes
间接肯定
A figure of speech consisting of an
understatement in which an affirmative is
expressed
by negating its opposite
Eg.
This is
no
small
problem. (Instead of
“this is a big problem”)
14.
Oxymoron
矛盾形容法，逆喻
A
rhetorical figure in which incongruous or
contradictory terms are combined
Eg.
A mournful optimist
15.
Paradox
似非而是的隽语
A seemingly contradictory statement
that may nonetheless be true
Eg.
know
that I
know
nothing
.
(Knowing
logic is self-contradictory, but one
can know that they know nothing.)
16.
Transferred
epithet
移就
A
figure
of
speech
in
which
the
adjective
or
adverb
is
transferred
from
the
noun
it
logically belongs with, to another one
which fits it grammatically but not logically
Eg.
A sleepless night (night
cannot be sleepless; people can)
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